Ampersand Programs

All Programs and Descriptions

50 Years of Hip-Hop

Explore the beats, rhymes, and cultural creativity that started as a local New York City fad but has grown into an unstoppable global phenomenon.

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Encountering Chinese Culture

Explore Chinese cultural narratives in relation to how they have been performed—on stage, on screen, and as experienced in everyday life—from the imperial period to the present.

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Examining America

Examining America is a two-semester course sequence that introduces students to the multidisciplinary and critical study of American culture, history, politics, and society. In both semesters students gain a foundational understanding of course concepts, frameworks, and topics related to the formation of identities in the United States and across American imperialism, including issues of race and ethnicity, arts and performance, media and popular culture, and inequalities that shape the experiences, works, and lives of diverse populations. 

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Global Citizenship Program

In this yearlong program led by three instructors from different disciplines, students explore how their own mental maps compare to the realities of a globalized world, as well as how language plays a role in refugee resettlement within the legal, healthcare, and educational systems. Through thoughtful class discussions and a community-based learning project with local organizations, students develop a critical consciousness and collaboration skills that will serve them throughout college and their future career. Joining the Global Citizenship Program provides participants with a community that starts in the classroom and extends to our global St. Louis community and beyond. 

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History, Memory & Representation of the Holocaust

Analyze the history and memory of the Nazi genocide of European Jews and other groups between 1933 and 1945.

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Literary Culture of Modern Ireland

Explore Irish identities and the development of those identities through the island's rich literary history. 

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Medicine and Society

The foundation of this multi-year program is medical anthropology—the study of human health and illness across culture, time, and location—and we tackle wide-ranging issues like the ethics of genetic engineering, social and behavioral factors affecting infectious diseases, and the causes of health disparities. The program also emphasizes service and research at health-related sites throughout St. Louis, and the curriculum is fully coordinated with pre-medical course requirements.

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Mind, Brain, Behavior

How do we think, remember, and process language?  What is human consciousness?  In this two-year program, you will investigate exciting new theories, problems, and empirical studies in the areas of attention, memory, and language.  First-year MBB students take two core courses that provide an introduction to the mind-brain from three different cognitive science perspectives; Psychology, Neuroscience, and Philosophy. In the second year, MBB students can undertake research under the supervision of a participating MBB faculty mentor.

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Modern Media: The Good, the Bad, & the Future

Explore the history and the future of mass media, including how digital technologies have shaped journalism, publishing, documentary, and news reportage. With an understanding of both historical and current trends, you will then work to create content specific to traditional and new media channels.

Learn More

Pathfinder Fellows in Environmental Leadership

Pathfinder Fellows in Environmental Leadership is a three-year, interdisciplinary cohort-based undergraduate program providing the academic rigor and field experience needed to deeply understand, respect and respond to a place and its people in light of environmental challenges. Integrated around the themes of environmental science, policy, humanities and sustainability, the program welcomes students from all interests with a yearly cohort of 12-16 students.

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Phage Hunters

This two-semester program engages you in a national research project to isolate and analyze novel bacteriophage (bacterial viruses). The course is part of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) initiative, in which we partner with more than 100 other colleges and universities across the nation. The program is designed to provide first-year students with an opportunity to participate in scientific research on the discovery, isolation and characterization of new phage from their first day on campus.

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Rethinking WashU's Relationship to Enslavement

Engage in an original research project pertaining to the history of Washington University and its many and complex relationships to the institutions of enslavement.  

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Safe Asylum: Refugee Politics and Pathways

How do people whose lives have been disrupted by trauma – often by war, but also other forms of state violence – make a new home? Join other students who want to understand the politics and lived experiences of refugees seeking safe asylum. The end-of-year study trip will illuminate the global challenges we study through first-hand experiences in Morocco and Germany.

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Shakespeare's Globe: All the World's a Stage

Inhabit Shakespeare’s language, enact his works, and stride across the stage of the Globe Theatre in London.

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Text and Traditions

There are many ways for you to begin a serious engagement with literature, philosophy, history, art, and critical thinking at WashU. One of the best is to enroll in the Text and Traditions program. In “T&T,” students explore the texts and intellectual traditions upon which modern culture has been built—from ancient Mediterranean thought to the modern novel. The goal of the program is to provide a serious foundation in the humanities, a foundation in content and in methods of inquiry. Each fall, the program accepts 50 first-year students to embark together on a semester-long journey through the classics.

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The History of Culture of the Venetian Republic

Wade into Venice, the most envied and dazzling city in Europe, and discover how it lost it all.

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Programs with Travel

These programs typically have an international and/or domestic travel component, which could be affected by federal and local guidelines related to health, safety, and security considerations. These programs main academic components will not be affected.

50 Years of Hip-Hop

Explore the beats, rhymes, and cultural creativity that started as a local New York City fad but has grown into an unstoppable global phenomenon.

Learn More

Encountering Chinese Culture

Explore Chinese cultural narratives in relation to how they have been performed—on stage, on screen, and as experienced in everyday life—from the imperial period to the present.

Learn More

Global Citizenship Program

In this yearlong program led by three instructors from different disciplines, students explore how their own mental maps compare to the realities of a globalized world, as well as how language plays a role in refugee resettlement within the legal, healthcare, and educational systems. Through thoughtful class discussions and a community-based learning project with local organizations, students develop a critical consciousness and collaboration skills that will serve them throughout college and their future career. Joining the Global Citizenship Program provides participants with a community that starts in the classroom and extends to our global St. Louis community and beyond. 

Learn More

History, Memory & Representation of the Holocaust

Analyze the history and memory of the Nazi genocide of European Jews and other groups between 1933 and 1945.

Learn More 

Literary Culture of Modern Ireland

Explore Irish identities and the development of those identities through the island's rich literary history. 

Learn More 

Modern Media: The Good, the Bad, & the Future

Explore the history and the future of mass media, including how digital technologies have shaped journalism, publishing, documentary, and news reportage. With an understanding of both historical and current trends, you will then work to create content specific to traditional and new media channels.

Learn More

Safe Asylum: Refugee Politics and Pathways

How do people whose lives have been disrupted by trauma – often by war, but also other forms of state violence – make a new home? Join other students who want to understand the politics and lived experiences of refugees seeking safe asylum. The end-of-year study trip will illuminate the global challenges we study through first-hand experiences in Morocco and Germany.

Learn More

Shakespeare's Globe: All the World's a Stage

Inhabit Shakespeare’s language, enact his works, and stride across the stage of the Globe Theatre in London.

Learn More

Programs with Research

Mind, Brain, Behavior

How do we think, remember, and process language?  What is human consciousness?  In this two-year program, you will investigate exciting new theories, problems, and empirical studies in the areas of attention, memory, and language.  First-year MBB students take two core courses that provide an introduction to the mind-brain from three different cognitive science perspectives; Psychology, Neuroscience, and Philosophy. In the second year, MBB students can undertake research under the supervision of a participating MBB faculty mentor.

Learn More

Phage Hunters and Bioinformatics

This two-semester program engages you in a national research project to isolate and analyze novel bacteriophage (bacterial viruses). The course is part of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) initiative, in which we partner with more than 100 other colleges and universities across the nation. The program is designed to provide first-year students with an opportunity to participate in scientific research on the discovery, isolation and characterization of new phage from their first day on campus.

Learn More

Rethinking WashU's Relationship to Enslavement

Engage in an original research project pertaining to the history of Washington University and its many and complex relationships to the institutions of enslavement.  

Learn More

Programs with In-the-Field or Service

50 Years of Hip-Hop

Explore the beats, rhymes, and cultural creativity that started as a local New York City fad but has grown into an unstoppable global phenomenon.

Learn More

Global Citizenship Program

In this yearlong program led by three instructors from different disciplines, students explore how their own mental maps compare to the realities of a globalized world, as well as how language plays a role in refugee resettlement within the legal, healthcare, and educational systems. Through thoughtful class discussions and a community-based learning project with local organizations, students develop a critical consciousness and collaboration skills that will serve them throughout college and their future career. Joining the Global Citizenship Program provides participants with a community that starts in the classroom and extends to our global St. Louis community and beyond. 

 

Learn More

Medicine and Society

The foundation of this multi-year program is medical anthropology—the study of human health and illness across culture, time, and location—and we tackle wide-ranging issues like the ethics of genetic engineering, social and behavioral factors affecting infectious diseases, and the causes of health disparities. The program also emphasizes service and research at health-related sites throughout St. Louis, and the curriculum is fully coordinated with pre-medical course requirements.

Learn More

Modern Media: The Good, the Bad, & the Future

Explore the history and the future of mass media, including how digital technologies have shaped journalism, publishing, documentary, and news reportage. With an understanding of both historical and current trends, you will then work to create content specific to traditional and new media channels.

Learn More

Pathfinder Fellows in Environmental Leadership

Pathfinder Fellows in Environmental Leadership is a three-year, interdisciplinary cohort-based undergraduate program providing the academic rigor and field experience needed to deeply understand, respect and respond to a place and its people in light of environmental challenges. Integrated around the themes of environmental science, policy, humanities and sustainability, the program welcomes students from all interests with a yearly cohort of 12-16 students.

Learn More

Rethinking WashU's Relationship to Enslavement

Engage in an original research project pertaining to the history of Washington University and its many and complex relationships to the institutions of enslavement.  

Learn More