LINC Courses

LINC courses (Learning through Inclusive Collaboration) pair faculty from different disciplines, each teaching their own independent course, to create points of intersection, or links, between the two courses -- a few common readings, presentations, projects, etc., on which faculty and students in both classes will cooperate/coordinate.

The HHMI LINC initiative (Learning through Inclusive Collaboration) seeks to unlock the powerful synergy of intellectual and social inclusivity in the classroom to drive innovation at Emory University. We see interdisciplinary work as a fundamental form of intellectual inclusivity. Working across and between disciplines offers a multiplicity of points of entry, maximizing participants’ ability to find and express their perspectives and interests.

We see broad participation and engagement, by both students and faculty, as a key measure of social inclusivity. We propose that intellectual inclusivity, expressed through path breaking interdisciplinary practice, promotes social inclusivity by facilitating and attracting the participation of people from a wide range of identities, perspectives, and approaches. Through LINC courses that leverage existing courses to create points of intersection, we will assess whether intellectual inclusivity promotes social inclusivity and fosters innovation.

As a key component of achieving this vision, we are offering a workshop on “Learning through Inclusive Collaboration” that will lead directly to faculty teaching a paired LINC (Learning through Inclusive Collaboration) course in the 2024-25 AY. The LINC workshop will be May 8-9, 2024.

The workshop will leverage existing course offerings by preparing faculty pairs from different disciplines to create points of intersection, or links, between the two courses that encourage a diverse range of perspectives and thus lead to a more inclusive classroom. Each course will remain independently taught through the home department, but each faculty member will revise their syllabus to be more interdisciplinary and inclusive, and to include several points of convergence with their partner LINC course, such as common readings, presentations, projects, etc., on which faculty and students in both classes will cooperate/coordinate.

Professor Chris Eagle in the Center for the Study of Human Health plans to teach an upper level seminar entitled: War & Trauma. The course covers cultural and clinical ideas about war and trauma from WWI to the present, and reflects on how different forms of evidence (i.e, fiction, poetry, testimonials, theoretical essays, and clinical case-studies) can reveal different facets of the traumatic experience.

Professor Andy Kazama in the Psychology Department plans to teach an upper level seminar entitled: The Neurobiology of PTSD. The course covers various neurobiological aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder using peer-reviewed articles drawn from a wide variety of biomedical fields (i.e., genetics, hormones, brain structures, and current treatment approaches to the disorder).

Drawing from their respective backgrounds in Literature and Neuroscience, Professors Eagle and Kazama have LINC-ed their courses with three points of intersection distributed at the beginning, middle and end of the semester. They will assign the same readings and host combined class discussion sessions highlighting the importance of interdisciplinarity and the advantages of drawing on diverse ideas to spark innovation and gain a fuller understanding of traumatic experiences.