Complex Problem & Enduring Question Courses
First year students are invited to enroll in Boston College’s innovative Complex Problem and Enduring Question University Core courses. These courses are collaboratively taught by faculty members from different fields and are designed to engage students in interdisciplinary explorations of topics of critical importance. These include areas such as migration, social inequalities, technological change, compassion and belonging, and justice and the common good, to name a few.
Complex Problem and Enduring Question courses extend inquiry beyond the classroom to labs, Reflection sessions, conversations with outside speakers, and off-campus field trips, creating an intensive shared learning experience for both teachers and students. They exemplify Boston College’s distinctive approach to Core education by establishing a foundation for students’ intellectual development and preparing them to become engaged, effective world citizens.
Fall 2026 Complex Problem and Enduring Question Courses
Complex Problem Courses
Complex Problem courses are six-credit courses, team-taught by professors from different academic fields. Students meet multiple days each week for lectures and once per week for lab. Students and faculty also gather for weekly Reflection sessions, in which they integrate the content of the course with their lived experiences. Each paired Complex Problem course fulfills up to three University Core requirements.
If you have any questions about these courses or how to register, e-mail core@bc.edu.
Real Estate and Urban Action: Transforming Communities and Increasing Access to Opportunity
ECON2217 + UNAS1743
▶ Fulfills 2 Social Science + Cultural Diversity
Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, Economics
Neil McCullagh, Carroll School of Management
Andrei Guadarrama, Core Fellow
This course explores concepts of social, economic, and racial inequality with a focus on the interaction between housing, labor markets, and the ultimate accumulation of wealth. Housing will be examined through a study of the history of affordable housing, an exploration of the transformation of Columbia Point Public Housing Development to Harbor Point, and an applied simulation. Labor markets will be explored at the theoretical level (e.g., labor supply/demand, human capital, discrimination) before delving into data and literature on how changes over the last 40 years have expanded inequality. The course will conclude with how the lack of both affordable housing and quality labor market opportunities can interact to restrict intergenerational wealth accumulation and opportunity. Through field projects, simulations, and a practical final project, the course will challenge students to explore and test solutions for transforming distressed communities into safe, desirable neighborhoods that produce better outcomes for all residents.
Lecture:
- TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.]
Lab (Choose 1)
- M 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
- M 1:00 – 2:15 p.m.
- F 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
- F 1:00 – 2:15 p.m.
Reflection
- W 6:00 – 7:15 p.m.
Making the Modern World: Design, Ethics, and Engineering
ENGR1801 + HIST1627
▶ Fulfills 1 Natural Science + History II + Cultural Diversity
Kristen Conroy, Engineering
Jenna Tonn, Engineering & History
Siddhant Joshi, Core Fellow
Together we will consider how engineers and other stakeholders navigate risks related to industrial and environmental disasters, balance financial, technological, and regulatory pressures associated with complex socio-technical problems, and negotiate technical and political liabilities surrounding artificial intelligence, surveillance, and climate adaptation. Engineering systems present pressing technical, ethical, and moral problems that we must grapple with as engaged global citizens. Students will explore the social, cultural, and institutional history of engineering, learn foundational skills in quantitative analysis of real-world engineering designs, and understand the political, environmental, economic, and ethical tradeoffs associated with building the modern world. Students will also collaborate on group design projects based on human-centered engineering.
Lecture:
- TTh 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
Lab (Choose 1):
- M 10:00 – 11:50 a.m.
- M 2:00 – 3:50 p.m.
- T 12:00 – 1:50 p.m.
- T 3:00 – 4:50 p.m.
Reflection:
- Th 6:00 – 7:15 p.m.
Consumer Culture: Past, Present, and Sustainable Futures
HIST1717 + SOCY1714
▶ Fulfills History II + 1 Social Science
Robin Fleming, History
Juliet Schor, Sociology
Ethan Tupelo, Core Fellow
Although we are increasingly aware that our habits of consumption affect the environment, it is hard to imagine that consuming patterns can be changed. In this course, students will learn that practices of consumption are both socially and historically constructed, that they change dramatically over time, and that there are (and always have been) urgent moral issues connected to these ways of life. We will explore the global, social, and environmental dimensions of consumption, studying things like the 1897 Sears catalog, 1950s television shows, Canada Goose jackets, DIY manuals and makerspaces, and hippy cookbooks of the 1960s.
Lecture:
- MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
Lab (Choose 1):
- Tu 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
- Tu 4:30 – 5:45 p.m.
- Th 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
- Th 4:30 – 5:45 p.m.
Reflection:
- W 6:00 – 7:15 p.m.
Climate Change and the Corporation: Risks, Rewards, and Responsibilities
EESC1704 + UNAS1733
▶ Fulfills 1 Natural Science + 1 Social Science
Tara Pisani Gareau, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Mary Ellen Carter, Carroll School of Management
Gayathri Goel, Core Fellow
Climate change is a complex, existential threat to humanity, manifesting in heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and flooding. Corporate America is a contributor to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, corporations are impacted by climate change as it threatens their physical assets and their ability to supply goods and services. Through an integrated approach that blends scientific analysis of climate change with case studies of corporations, students will learn the science behind climate risk and study how businesses are managing and communicating to stakeholders both the impacts of climate change on the firm as well as the firm's impact on the environment.
Lecture:
- TTh 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Lab (Choose 1):
- M 10:00 – 11:15 a.m.
- M 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
- W 10:00 – 11:15 a.m.
- W 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
Reflection:
- Tu 6:00 – 7:15 p.m.
Exchange and Values: Stories and Measures of Inequality
ECON2215 + ENGL1752
▶ Fulfills 1 Social Science + Literature + Cultural Diversity
Can Erbil, Economics
Kalpana Seshadri, English
Peter Giraudo, Core Fellow
This course explores inequality through a blend of economics and literature, providing a rich, interdisciplinary perspective. By examining real world cases, economic data, and literary narratives, students will understand different forms of inequality in society. The course is organized around five key themes–food, housing, health, education, and jobs–and includes interactive lectures and labs for in-depth analysis. It is designed to foster critical thinking about social justice, encouraging students to reflect on their values and aspirations in relation to societal inequities. This engaging course aims to deepen students' awareness and understanding of the economic and social aspects of inequality.
Lecture:
- TTh 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
Lab (Choose 1):
- M 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
- M 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
- W 9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
- F 2:00 – 3:15 p.m.
Reflection:
- Th 6:00 – 7:15 p.m.
Enduring Question Courses
Enduring Question courses are two linked three-credit courses taught by professors from different academic fields. The same 19 students take both courses. Four times during the semester, students and faculty gather for Reflection sessions, in which they integrate the content of the course with their lived experiences. Each pair of Enduring Question courses fulfills up to three University Core requirements.
If you have any questions about these courses or how to register, e-mail core@bc.edu.
The Meaning of Boston: Literature and Culture (ENGL1735)
The Meaning of Boston: History and Memory (HIST1630)
▶ Fulfills Literature + History II
Carlo Rotella, English
David Quigley, History, Provost and Dean of Faculties
How does a city–this city in which we find ourselves–create meaning?
Meaning flows through a city just as populations, capital, power, resources, and ideas do, and each of these flows conditions the others. In this course, we will consider what Boston has meant in different moments and to different people as we think about the forms of literary texts, how they express meaning, and their relationships to the historical moments in which they took shape and/or seek to capture. We will also consider the local in relation to national and international events and artistic movements. Throughout the semester, our discussions will move beyond the received meanings and standard tropes of Boston–the accent, the city on a hill, the regular-guy mythos retailed by Hollywood–to explore questions that Boston has consistently raised about human beings and nature, race and class difference, the form and function of the good life, the double-edged quality of moral causes, and the contest between the persistence of old ways and the succession of new ones.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
- TTh 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Creative Women: The Art World During the Renaissance (ARTH1715)
Creative Women: Society and Culture During the Renaissance (HIST1731)
▶ Fulfills Arts + History I
Stephanie Leone, Art History
Sarah Ross, History
How do women shape culture and society?
In 1971, Linda Nochlin posed the trailblazing question, “Why are there no great women artists?” A few years later, in 1976, medievalist Joan Kelly similarly inquired, “Did women have a Renaissance?” Prior to that time, women scarcely appeared in the pages of history and art history books. Since then, scholars have unearthed abundant evidence of women’s productivity beyond the domestic sphere. These paired courses examine how women made significant contributions in political, intellectual, creative, and artisanal work during the long Renaissance (1400-1650), as well as explore connections with creative women in our own time.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
- TTh 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
The Self and Its Limits: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives (PHIL1727)
The Self and Its Limits: Greco-Roman Slavery (CLAS1706)
▶ Fulfills 1 Philosophy + Literature + Cultural Diversity
Dermot Moran, Philosophy
Thomas Sapsford, Classical Studies
What is the relationship between the individual self and its social roles?
These paired courses examine what factors make us free individuals and how that freedom has historically been removed from certain people. One course will explore the nature of the self in historical and contemporary perspectives from East and West to look at the nature of self-consciousness and personhood. The other will investigate how ancient Greeks and Romans justified the enslavement of individuals for material gain and how ancient slavery influenced American society both in terms of its use of slave-labor and in the arguments made for abolition.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
- TTh 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Breaking Bread: Food, Fiction, and Identity (ENGL1743)
Breaking Bread: Food, Fellowship, and Faith (THEO1730)
▶ Fulfills Literature + 1 Theology (Christian Theology)
Deanna Danforth, English
Liam Bergin, Theology
What is the role of food in shaping identity and building community?
More than daily acts that provide physical nourishment, eating and drinking are primordial human experiences that inform our relationships with others. The food we choose to eat and the gatherings at which we partake in these meals have social, cultural, environmental, religious, political, and ethical dimensions. These paired courses examine the deeper meanings of food encountered in literary forms and in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Discussions will be enriched by opportunities to cook and eat together.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 10:30 – 10:45 a.m.
- TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Exploring the Mystery of God: A Philosophical Perspective (PHIL1726)
Exploring the Mystery of God: A Theological Perspective (THEO1726)
▶ Fulfills 1 Philosophy + 1 Theology (Christian Theology)
Timothy Muldoon, Philosophy
L. Matthew Petillo, Theology
What is the relationship between human beings and God?
These paired courses explore conceptions of the divine that have been a fundamental part of Western civilization as well as the relationships that human beings have with the divine. The Philosophy course will examine how the Greeks viewed their gods in their literature and philosophy. The Theology course will explore various perspectives on God in ancient, medieval, and contemporary theological writings. There will be many intersections and divergences on the divine between the two courses.
These course lectures meet:
- MWF 9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
- MWF 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- M 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Artistic License: Cultural Property and the Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art (GERM1702)
Artistic License: Intellectual Property in the American Music Industry (MUSA1702)
▶ Fulfills 1 Social Science + Arts + Cultural Diversity
Nicholas Block, German Studies
Sarah Lindmark, Music
What does it mean to own art ethically?
These paired courses challenge students to question the nature of authenticity as it is legally constructed and performed in the media they engage with on a daily basis. Through the two distinct yet intertwined topics of stolen art and copied music, these courses attend to core concerns of ethical ownership. By the end of the semester, students will be able to form and articulate sophisticated ideas about how authenticity is produced, performed, and sold among art collectors and in the music industry, gaining an informed perspective on the ways in which the law assesses truth in art and music.
These course lectures meet:
- MWF 12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
- MWF 1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Roots and Routes: Reading Identity, Migration, and Culture (ENGL1712)
Roots and Routes: Writing Identity, Migration, and Culture (ENGL1713)
▶ Fulfills Literature + Writing + Cultural Diversity
Elizabeth Graver, English
Lynne Anderson, English
How does migration in today's world shape questions of identity, borders, and belonging and lead to a reimagining of home?
In these paired courses, students will read a range of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by authors whose migration stories offer different ways to think about what it means to be an outsider and build a new life and home. They will explore how their own roots and routes shape their identities. We will consider the gifts and challenges of making a home across cultures and discuss themes of power, voice, silence, memory and multilingualism, along with the experience of migrating in a globalized, wired, yet often divided world. Activities may include an author talk, a museum visit, an excursion to an immigrant neighborhood, creative writing, and several shared meals.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
- TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- W 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
From Hiroshima to K-Pop: Historical Perspectives (UNAS1716)
From Hiroshima to K-Pop: Filmmakers’ Perspectives (UNAS1717)
▶ Fulfills History II + Arts + Cultural Diversity
Ingu Hwang, International Studies
Christina Klein, English
What is the relationship between politics and popular culture?
How did East Asia emerge from the wreckage of the Second World War to become the dominant political, economic, and cultural force it is in the world today? What is the relationship between politics and popular culture? Since 1945, East Asia has experienced the Cold War, civil war, communist revolution, modernization, capitalism, democratization, and economic booms and busts. It has also become a powerhouse producer of popular and art cinema. In these paired courses, students will explore the relationship between politics and culture as they learn how historians and filmmakers have grappled with the tumultuous events of the past 75 years.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
- TTh 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- M 7:00 – 8:50 p.m.
Metamorphosis and Transformation: Biology and Evolution (BIOL1712)
Metamorphosis and Transformation: Literature and Myth (ENGL1751)
▶ Fulfills 1 Natural Science + Literature
Sarah McMenamin, Biology
Robert Stanton, English
What does it mean to experience metamorphosis or transformation?
Metamorphosis is a rich concept in both the sciences and the humanities. These paired courses will explore the transition of metamorphosis from the perspective of the natural world and from the perspective of literature, considering how bodies, minds, and characters undergo discrete transformations through time. We will explore what stimulates “metamorphosis” in biological organisms and fictional characters and what comes next after a major transformation. We will also ask where the raw materials of the metamorphic transformation come from and examine the risks, challenges, and rewards of emerging in the world with a new, mature form. In addition, we will investigate how metamorphic transformations are coordinated with growth—biological, physiological, psychological, or spiritual. The two courses will evaluate and test one another’s definitions of metamorphosis in order to understand this fundamental concept from two different disciplinary perspectives.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
- TTh 4:30 – 5:45 p.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Where We Are: Reading in Place (ENGL1745)
Where We Are: Writing in Place (ENGL1746)
▶ Fulfills Literature + Writing + Cultural Diversity
Christy Pottroff, English
Rebekah Mitsein, English
What is the relationship between where we are and who we are?
Where we are shapes our being, enables our thinking, inspires creativity, and facilitates connection. In these paired courses, students will think about where we are at a range of scales, from the local (What does it mean to be at BC?) to the historical (How are we part of the story of Boston?) to the global (What does the far-away have to do with us?). Students will cultivate a mindful and ethical relationship to place by bridging the imaginative possibilities that literary analysis facilitates with the sense of empowerment and personal agency that writing affords.
These course lectures meet:
- MWF 1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
- MWF 2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Data, Power, and the Making of Modern Science: Sociological Perspectives (SOCY1333)
Data, Power, and the Making of Modern Science: Historical Perspectives (HIST1739)
▶ Fulfills Social Science + History II + Cultural Diversity
Taylor Beauvais, Core Fellow
Kathryn Bruce, Core Fellow
What does it mean to create scientific knowledge?
These paired courses examine the social construction of knowledge through the lenses of social science and history. We will investigate how the creation, framing, accessibility, and purpose of knowledge are intertwined with broader cultural, political, and economic forces. We also examine the ways individuals and institutions claim expertise and authority. Students will examine the history of science through in-depth case studies addressing pivotal themes, including gender, class, sites of research, scientific communication, controversy and debate in the scientific community, and the influence of domestic and international politics. Students will also learn how social theory and scientific methodology embed social forces into knowledge production by dissecting case studies ranging from college ranking fraud, social media algorithms, micro-loans in Bangladesh, and why billionaires want to colonize space.
These course lectures meet:
Section 01
- MWF 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.
- MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
Section 02
- MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
- MWF 12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Reflection and Formation
Reflection is a central element of student formation at Boston College and a fundamental component of the design of Complex Problem and Enduring Question courses. In Reflection sessions, students connect the content of the course to their lives beyond the classroom and to the larger University community. In this way, Reflection is intimately tied to the University Core Curriculum learning goal of teaching students how to “examine their values and experiences and integrate what they learn with the principles that guide their lives.”
Hands-On, Project-Based Learning
Weekly, 75-minute labs are a distinctive feature of Complex Problem courses that allow students to develop and synthesize disciplinary skills, integrating lecture material with active learning. Students collaborate in groups on hands-on projects that extend the course beyond the walls of the classroom and into the broader community.
Lab sessions in Complex Problem courses may include:
- A partnership with the City of Boston’s Environment Department where students develop plans for inexpensive ways that residents of various neighborhoods could reduce carbon emissions
- A collaboration with local anti-violence organizations where students helped to develop programming for survivors
- A podcasting project where students students research, develop, and record a compelling story about climate issues
- A mural project honoring the founders of #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo
- A comprehensive revitalization plan for a Boston neighborhood impacted by various forms of injustice
- An urban walk to learn more about tree equity
- Engineering design projects focused on improved accessibility on the Boston College campus
- Case study research and concept mapping of Marine Protected Areas around the world
- Op-ed writing about ocean and climate change issues
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Students visit Boston’s Chinatown to reflect on sites built by Asian immigrants and inhabited by Asian Americans
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Students program and evaluate a robot prototype
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Students meditate, pray, and reflect as they walk outside the Burns Library
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Students engage in a yoga practice on the Bapst lawn