Course Description:
Economics is the study of how a society uses limited resources to produce and distribute the goods needed to live healthy and fulfilling lives. This course focuses on the decisions made by individuals and firms. Grounded in the school’s mission with special attention to issues of stewardship and sustainability, Westtown’s Economics courses also investigate the nontraditional discipline of Ecological Economics, which probes the limits of the Earth’s resources and calls into question the basic assumption of the feasibility of ongoing growth in consumption. The goal of this course is to provide a solid foundation in most of the topics found in an introductory college-level economics class.

Macroeconomics

Credit: 0.5
NCAA Approved
Session:
July 15 – August 2, 2024

Class meeting time:
Monday-Thursday 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EDT

Synchronous class meeting during this time
Asynchronous work (an average of 5 hours daily) completed independently.

Office Hours: By appointment with individual students to support students in their time zone.

Teacher:
Elson Oshman Blunt

Course Description:
Macroeconomics focuses on the dynamics of the economy as a whole, covering topics such as inflation, growth, finance, and US monetary policy. Students also complete a major research paper on a topic of their choice related to Economics. Grounded in the school’s mission with special attention to issues of stewardship and sustainability, Westtown’s Economics courses also investigate the nontraditional discipline of Ecological Economics, which probes the limits of the Earth’s resources and calls into question the basic assumption of the feasibility of ongoing growth in consumption.

Important Information About Westtown’s Online Economics Courses
Taking Economics online affords students the opportunity to learn at a distance without sacrificing the collaborative quality of education central to Westtown’s classroom experience. Course materials and goals are similar to Westtown’s school year syllabus but will be adapted and combined with traditional textbook materials (based on Greg Mankiw’s Essentials of Economics) to take advantage of online capabilities and provide the best possible learning experience. Students will watch short whiteboard-style lecture videos created exclusively for this course, navigate labs designed to guide students to understanding through constructing and applying economic concepts, and consult with student partners as needed to help each other master the material. We will meet synchronously as a class for an hour on Zoom Monday to Thursday evenings for discussion of the current topic. The average student should expect to spend about six hours each day working independently and collaboratively to complete this course. Additional questions about the course can be emailed directly to the instructor at elson.blunt@westtown.edu.

Evolution of Human Psychology

Credit: 0.5
Session:
June 20 – July 12 , 2024

Class Meeting Time:
Monday – Friday
7:00p.m. – 8:15p.m. and 8:45p.m. – 10:00p.m. EDT

Office Hours:
By appointment with individual students to support students in their time zone.

Teacher:
Louisa Egan-Brad

Course Description:
With a grounded understanding of Darwin’s theory of evolution and its relation to mental and behavioral traits and structures, students will analyze the ways in which human nature reflects the process of evolution and how this process has changed and adapted within the broader context of the animal kingdom. A range of topics will be considered. Among other questions, we will ask: Why do we help others, even in contexts in which giving help may be costly to ourselves? Why is religion found in all cultures of the world? Why do men and women look for different characteristics in their mates? Why is polygamy present in some human cultures and not others? Are humans predisposed to use war as a means of resolving conflicts?