This document provides information on multiple Justice Brandeis Semester (JBS) programs offered at Brandeis University between August 2012 - July 2011. The programs allow students to earn college credits while gaining hands-on experience through experiential learning. Example programs described include an Environmental Field Semester, Web Services and Social Networks program, Ethnographic Fieldwork, Environmental Health and Justice, and Filmmaking. The programs are led by Brandeis professors and involve both classroom and practical community-engaged learning. Students can earn 12-20 credits through immersive work on various topics like the environment, computer science, anthropology, and public health.

1. Fall Program
August 30–December 21, 2012
Professor Brian Donahue with Michael Harrity,
Hannah Ramer and Emily Silver
20 credits (no prerequisites)
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Explore the stewardship of land and other natural resources,
using conservation land in Weston, Mass., as your living
laboratory. Learn about and practice sustainable community
farming and forestry. Look at the forces driving and
attempting to control suburban development. Delve into
the history, ecology, economics, law, conservation and
stewardship of land and communities in New England.
Gain critical knowledge and practical skills in research,
writing, geographic information systems (GIS), presentation
and management that create effective environmental
protection and sustainable engagement at the community
level. Tackle real issues — all as you learn!
Environmental
Field Semester
COLLEGE CREDIT. REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE.
JBS | Brandeis
JUSTICE BRANDEIS SEMESTER
CURRICULUM
AMST 104bj Boston and Its Suburbs: Environment and History
BIOL 32aj Field Biology
NEW! ENVS 20aj Sustainability in Suburbia
ENVS 100ej GIS and Field Methods:
The New England Landscape
OFFICEOFCOMMUNICATIONS©2011BRANDEISUNIVERSITYC101B
“The JBS experience is like no other
college experience: a chance to really
get to know both your peers and
professors while engaging in hands-on
learning and social justice work. At the
end of the semester, I felt that we had
accomplished something great: in the
community and also in ourselves.”
Emilie Schuler ’11, JBS Environmental
Field Semester fall 2010
www.brandeis.edu/jbs
ABOUT JBS
JBS takes two methods of
study — classroom training and
experiential learning — and joins
them in a unique curriculum that
enables you to engage fully in a
topic you are passionate about.
JBS ALLOWS YOU TO:
›› earn 12–20 credits
›› fulfill many university requirements
›› build close relationships with faculty
and peers
›› engage with the community
›› open avenues for internships
›› expand your network
›› acquire skills for your future
APPLICATION DEADLINE
March 16, 2012
Applications are reviewed
on a rolling admissions basis
until the closing deadline.
Financial aid is available.
©DANL.PERLMAN/ECOLIBRARY.ORG

2. Summer Program with Optional Fall Extension
May 29–August 3, 2012
Professors Tim Hickey and Pito Salas
12–20 credits (prerequisites: COS11a and 12b, or 21a)
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Are you an innovator? Here is your chance to prove it.
Engage in the cutting-edge theory and practice of developing
Web-based applications in this start-up-style computer
science program. Each week brings a diverse schedule of
lectures, hands-on lab work, discussions, student presenta-
tions and talks by guest lecturers from the Greater Boston
tech community. Learn the foundations and pragmatics
of engineering a serious bit of software through the use
of Ruby on Rails, Pivotal Tracker, Eclipse, GIT and all the
modern tools of the trade. Experience the excitement of
conceiving, designing and actually building a cool and real
software product!
Web Services and
Social Networks
COLLEGE CREDIT. REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE.
JBS | Brandeis
JUSTICE BRANDEIS SEMESTER
CURRICULUM
COSI 152aj Web Application Programming
COSI 152bj Engineering Social Networks
COSI 154aj The JBS Incubator
OFFICEOFCOMMUNICATIONS©2011BRANDEISUNIVERSITYC101B
“To all of my friends who have even a
peripheral interest in Web development,
I would recommend this program
enthusiastically.”
JBS summer 2010 student
www.brandeis.edu/jbs
ABOUT JBS
JBS takes two methods of
study — classroom training and
experiential learning — and joins
them in a unique curriculum that
enables you to engage fully in a
topic you are passionate about.
JBS ALLOWS YOU TO:
›› earn 12–20 credits
›› fulfill many university requirements
›› build close relationships with faculty
and peers
›› engage with the community
›› open avenues for internships
›› expand your network
›› acquire skills for your future
APPLICATION DEADLINE
March 16, 2012
Applications are reviewed
on a rolling admissions basis
until the closing deadline.
Financial aid is available.

3. Summer Program
May 29–August 3, 2012
10 weeks
Professor Elizabeth Ferry
12 credits (prerequisites: one anthropology
course or permission from instructor)
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Here is your chance truly to take the reins of your academic
career. Learning along with your peers under the guidance
of a professor, you will design and conduct an independent
field research project of your own choosing in the Boston
area. Learn and practice interview techniques, field note
taking and management, and participant observation, all
while exploring a topic you are passionate about. The final
project will be tailored to your research and might be
a proposal and chapter for a senior thesis, short video,
website design, PowerPoint presentation, podcast,
curriculum or other project.
Ethnographic Fieldwork
COLLEGE CREDIT. REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE.
JBS | Brandeis
JUSTICE BRANDEIS SEMESTER
CURRICULUM
Enroll in the first two courses:
ANTH 183aj Anthropological Inquiry
NEW! ANTH 181aj Ethnographic Research
And choose one of the following:
ANTH 98aj Individual Readings and Research in Anthropology
ANTH 99aj Senior Research
OFFICEOFCOMMUNICATIONS©2011BRANDEISUNIVERSITYC101B
www.brandeis.edu/jbs
“This learning environment is much
more conducive to gaining fuller, more
rooted knowledge, as it enables students
to make personal connections with the
course material.”
JBS summer 2010 student
ABOUT JBS
JBS takes two methods of
study — classroom training and
experiential learning — and joins
them in a unique curriculum that
enables you to engage fully in a
topic you are passionate about.
JBS ALLOWS YOU TO:
›› earn 12–20 credits
›› fulfill many university requirements
›› build close relationships with faculty
and peers
›› engage with the community
›› open avenues for internships
›› expand your network
›› acquire skills for your future
APPLICATION DEADLINE
March 16, 2012
Applications are reviewed
on a rolling admissions basis
until the closing deadline.
Financial aid is available.

4. Fall 2011
September 1–December 21, 2011
Professor Laura Goldin, with Dr. James Stewart,
Ted Myatt, Joseph Allen, Matt Fragala
16 credits (no prerequisites)
Program Overview
Engage directly with the community as you delve into the
law, policy, social impacts and science of environmental
health challenges facing individuals and families today.
Focus on low-income, diverse communities burdened by
pollution and lack of access to safe housing, healthy food
and open space. Alongside community members and at-risk
youth, students will work to reduce childhood lead exposure,
prevent homelessness, create urban gardens and produce
an environmental health study addressing key questions.
Gain critical knowledge and practical skills on housing and
toxics law, negotiation, advocacy, client counseling, study
design and much more. Tackle real issues — all as you learn!
Environmental Health
and Justice
COLLEGE CREDIT. REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE.
JBS | Brandeis
justice brandeis semester
Curriculum
AMST 102aj Environment, Social Justice and
Empowerment
BISC 6bj Environmental Health
NEW! ENVS 102aj Field Research and Study Methods
About JBS
JBS takes two methods of
study — classroom training and
experiential learning — and joins
them in a unique curriculum that
enables you to fully engage in a
topic you are passionate about.
JBS allows you to:
›› earn 16 credits
›› fulfill many university requirements
›› build close relationships
with faculty and peers
›› engage with the community
›› open avenues for internships
›› expand your network
›› acquire skills for your future
Application deadline
March 15, 2011
Financial aid is available.
OfficeofCommunications©2010BrandeisUniversityB020C
www.brandeis.edu/jbs
“Everything we did — learning in the classroom,
studying books and other writings, visiting
and working with organizations, meeting with
professionals — blended together to form an
almost seamless whole, and I left the program
feeling that I learned an interconnected
system rather than just one part of it.”
JBS Environmental Health and Justice
summer 2010 student

5. Summer Program
May 31—July 22, 2011
Professor David Cunningham
12 credits (no prerequisites)
Program Overview
Students will spend eight weeks in Mississippi immersed
in the legacy of the civil rights struggle. In collaboration
with the University of Mississippi’s William Winter Institute
for Racial Reconciliation and the Mississippi Truth Project,
students will provide research support for Truth Project
participants as they establish an oral history initiative that
creates a space for both victims and perpetrators to tell
their stories and for communities to work toward racial
justice and reconciliation. Engaging with local residents
around the state, students will have the unique opportunity
to apply cutting-edge historical, theoretical and method-
ological techniques to produce original research.
Civil Rights and Racial
Justice in Mississippi
COLLEGE CREDIT. REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE.
JBS | Brandeis
justice brandeis semester
Curriculum
SOC 156aj Social Change in American Communities
SOC 97bj Group Readings and Research
SOC 182aj Applied Research Methods
About JBS
JBS takes two methods of
study — classroom training and
experiential learning — and joins
them in a unique curriculum that
enables you to fully engage in a
topic you are passionate about.
JBS allows you to:
›› earn 12 credits in just eight weeks
›› fulfill many university requirements
›› build close relationships
with faculty and peers
›› engage with the community
›› open avenues for internships
›› expand your network
›› acquire skills for your future
Application deadline
March 15, 2011
Financial aid is available.
OfficeofCommunications©2010BrandeisUniversityB020b
“Through direct community engagement,
we were able to see the reasons for our
work and possibilities of what our work
could accomplish, which, to me, was highly
motivating and essential in discovering
connections that one would not see or
understand without the experiential learning.”
JBS summer 2010 student
www.brandeis.edu/jbs

6. Summer Program
May 31–July 22, 2011
Professors Tim Hickey and Pito Salas
12 credits (prerequisites: COS11a and 12b, or 21a)
Optional fall extension available
Program Overview
Are you an innovator? Here is your chance to prove it.
Engage in the cutting-edge theory and practice of
developing mobile and game applications in this start-up–
style computer science program. Each week brings a diverse
schedule of lectures, hands-on lab work, discussions, student
presentations and talks from guest lecturers from the
Greater Boston tech community. Learn the foundations and
pragmatics of engineering a serious bit of software through
the use of Android, Eclipse, Java, Test Driven Development,
GIT and all the modern tools of the trade. Experience the
excitement of conceiving, designing and actually building a
cool and real software product!
Mobile Applications and
Game Development
COLLEGE CREDIT. REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE.
JBS | Brandeis
justice brandeis semester
Curriculum
COSI 153aj Mobile Application Development
COSI 154aj The JBS Incubator
NEW! COSI 153bj Mobile Game Design
About JBS
JBS takes two methods of
study — classroom training and
experiential learning — and joins
them in a unique curriculum that
enables you to fully engage in a
topic you are passionate about.
JBS allows you to:
›› earn 12 credits in just eight weeks
›› fulfill many university requirements
›› build close relationships
with faculty and peers
›› engage with the community
›› open avenues for internships
›› expand your network
›› acquire skills for your future
Application deadline
March 15, 2011
Financial aid is available.
OfficeofCommunications©2010BrandeisUniversityB020D
“This is an experience that you wouldn’t be
able to get in one semester anywhere else.”
JBS Web Applications and Mobile
Development summer 2010 student
www.brandeis.edu/jbs

7. Summer Program
May 31–July 22, 2011
Professors Mark Dellelo and Marc Weinberg
12 credits (no prerequisites)
Program Overview
Have you ever wanted to create a movie? Here is your
chance to explore all phases of the filmmaking process —
screenwriting, production and editing. Working as part of a
team to write, produce, direct and edit a 20- to 30-minute
film, you’ll experience both the elements of narrative
moviemaking and the rigors of a collaborative enterprise that
requires intensive planning, organization and communication.
You’ll receive hands-on instruction in scriptwriting; in the
techniques of movie shooting, including camerawork,
image composition, lighting and cinematography, and
sound recording; and in specialized postproduction tasks
such as trimming, compositing, mixing and color-grading.
Filmmaking:
From Script to Screen
COLLEGE CREDIT. REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE.
JBS | Brandeis
justice brandeis semester
Curriculum
ENG 49aj Scriptwriting for the Short Film
FILM 110aj Film Production I
FILM 110bj Motion Picture Editing
About JBS
JBS takes two methods of
study — classroom training and
experiential learning — and joins
them in a unique curriculum that
enables you to fully engage in a
topic you are passionate about.
JBS allows you to:
›› earn 12 credits in just eight weeks
›› fulfill many university requirements
›› build close relationships
with faculty and peers
›› engage with the community
›› open avenues for internships
›› expand your network
›› acquire skills for your future
Application deadline
March 15, 2011
Financial aid is available.
OfficeofCommunications©2010BrandeisUniversityB020E
“JBS helped me gain useful skills that
I can apply in a real-world job.”
JBS summer 2010 student
www.brandeis.edu/jbs