Spring 2025 UF Quest 2 Courses

Humans can be created with specific “designer” characteristics, but should we? We will examine the technologies behind how the human genome can be modified and discuss the controversies surrounding these technologies.

How do we feed a growing global population in the face of nutritional, environmental, and economic challenges?

How might we reconnect the world with agriculture and food systems through Agritourism?

In this course, students will explore their ability to address problems in clothing production and promotion. They will ask the questions “how might consumers write to advocate for sustainable strategies in the fashion industry?” and “to which target readers might consumers communicate their concerns?

How can everyday people use effective communication to better understand and engage with civic life?

When am I in a community, and when am I in a cult? When is conformity good for me, and when is it not?

Can Europeans sustain traditional food culture, competitive levels of food production, and improve population health while achieving the goals of Agenda 2023 and the European Green Deal?

What is the relationship between society, the built environment, and the natural environment, and what does it mean to develop in a sustainable way?

How does the law help us to conserve and protect wildlife populations in the United States?

But what is political violence? Why can defining “terrorism” be so difficult and morally charged? What sort of person becomes a terrorist and why? How do terrorists maintain organizations, exploit media attention, and (in some cases) come to power? How can societies and states prevent political violence? 

Whose interests are served by privacy protection and whose interests are served by surveillance? How does ubiquitous data collection and use create challenges for individuals and for social structures? What kinds of limitations might be needed and why?

How do the disciplines of art and science converge in astrophotography to help us explore and express our relationship with the cosmos?

What social, political, biological, and environmental factors led to historic disease outbreaks? What would happen if our planet experienced a pandemic today? How can we prepare for the next disease pandemic?

What is constitutional government? When can a state be called constitutional? Does a state require a formal written constitution to be constitutional? What are the political, legal, and moral factors required for constitutional government, and how might these differ across space and time? 

Why do human decisions often result in unintended consequences on the environment, and how can we better predict and prevent them?

What is romantic love, and how do the experiences, expectations, discourses, and desires related to romantic love help us to understand ourselves and others?

How can agricultural and environmental policy be used to address emerging food security and environmental threats around the world? 

How will we meet our energy needs based on available resources in a way that is environmentally friendly, economically viable, fair, and politically attainable?

Are plants crying out for help and we can’t hear? Do plants talk? Do plants remember? Do plants see?

What do we eat, and how can we eat for a more sustainable future?

What social, political, biological, and environmental factors led to historic disease outbreaks? What would happen if our planet experienced a pandemic today? How can we prepare for the next disease pandemic?

How can we more critically consume maps to increase our understanding of the world we inhabit?