ESP Biography



JOHNATHAN BOWES, Quirky Stanford senior




Major: STS

College/Employer: Stanford

Year of Graduation: 2015

Picture of Johnathan Bowes

Brief Biographical Sketch:

Originally from a suburb of Sacramento, California (but most recently from Chattanooga, Tennessee), Johnathan is a senior undergraduate at Stanford majoring in Science, Technology, and Society, or STS.
Johnathan currently works as an RA in the dorm he lived in as a frosh and as a TA. He's also involved with a variety of Stanford voluntary student organizations (VSOs), and he writes a weekly column for The Stanford Daily.
Feel free to ask him questions about anything--Stanford related or not!



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

S4433: Prejudice and Pride: Queer/LGBT History in Splash Spring 2015 (Apr. 11 - 12, 2015)
In 1895, Oscar Wilde was convicted of “gross indecency” for practicing “the love that dare not speak its name.” In 2001, the Netherlands became the first nation in the world to allow same-sex marriage. How did such a dramatic shift occur in a little over a century, and have similar shifts happened in the past? This class will look at how societies over the past few thousand years have dealt with queer/LGBT-identified people. This is primarily a lecture class, though it will also include some discussion.


B4437: Bioethics Basics in Splash Spring 2015 (Apr. 11 - 12, 2015)
The study of ethics seeks to answer what is right and wrong, whether in a given scenario or in life in general. When that study focuses on biology, medicine, and the intersections of the two, it's called bioethics. This course will talk about some of the basic principles that guide bioethics as it's practised today as well as let you take on the role of ethicists tackling some of the most famous cases in the field.


S3859: Prejudice and Pride: Queer/LGBT History in Splash Fall 2014 (Nov. 08 - 09, 2014)
In 1895, Oscar Wilde was convicted of “gross indecency” for practicing “the love that dare not speak its name.” In 2001, the Netherlands became the first nation in the world to allow same-sex marriage. How did such a dramatic shift occur in a little over a century, and have similar shifts happened in the past? This class will look at how societies over the past few thousand years have dealt with queer/LGBT-identified people. This is primarily a lecture class, though it will also include some discussion.


V3128: Mother Monster: The ART & POP of Lady Gaga in Splash! Fall 2013 (Nov. 02 - 03, 2013)
Stefani Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga, just danced out onto the international scene in 2008 and 2009 with The Fame. In the years since, Mother Monster has redefined what it means to be an international superstar. This class will look at how her music and other works have developed over the past few years and created the icon we know as Lady Gaga. This class, while offered at previous Splash! conferences, has been updated to include what’s known about Gaga’s next masterpiece, ARTPOP, and other works since the release of Born This Way.


S3129: Prejudice and Pride: Queer/LGBT History in Splash! Fall 2013 (Nov. 02 - 03, 2013)
In 1895, Oscar Wilde was convicted of “gross indecency” for practicing “the love that dare not speak its name.” In 2001, the Netherlands became the first nation in the world to allow same-sex marriage. How did such a dramatic shift occur in a little over a century, and have similar shifts happened in the past? This class will look at how societies over the past few thousand years have dealt with queer/LGBT-identified people. This is primarily a lecture class, though it will also include some discussion.


B3150: Sex 101: Basic Sexual Education in Splash! Fall 2013 (Nov. 02 - 03, 2013)
Curious about sex, sexual health/wellness, or about safer sex practices? Feel like your school sex ed hasn't given you all the information you want? If you said yes to either of those questions, this class is for you! In this class, we'll take a sex-positive approach to some of the basics of sexual education. Topics will likely include things like anatomy, sexually transmitted infections, and overall sexual wellness.


H2348: Mother Monster: The ART & POP of Lady Gaga in Splash! Fall 2012 (Nov. 03 - 04, 2012)
Stefani Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga, just danced out onto the international scene in 2008 and 2009 with The Fame. In the years since, Mother Monster has redefined what it means to be an international superstar. This class will look at how her music and other works have developed over the past few years and created the icon we know as Lady Gaga. This class, first offered at Splash! Spring 2012, has been updated to include what's known about Gaga's next masterpiece, ARTPOP, and other works since the release of Born This Way.


S2349: Dixie 101: How the South Was Made in Splash! Fall 2012 (Nov. 03 - 04, 2012)
Have y'all ever wondered how the American South got to be the way it is? What about the states from Texas to Virginia gave rise to country music, dulcet drawls, and NASCAR? Why is the Civil War still such a big deal in the states of the Confederacy? This course aims to look at how the South developed through history into the region we know today, from the first colonies to slave and plantation culture and to the rise of Southernization in modern America.


S2350: Prejudice & Pride: Queer/LGBT History in Splash! Fall 2012 (Nov. 03 - 04, 2012)
In 1895, Oscar Wilde was convicted of "gross indecency" for practicing "the love that dare not speak its name." In 2001, the Netherlands became the first nation in the world to allow same-sex marriage. How did such a dramatic shift occur in a little over a century, and have similar shifts happened in the past? This class will look at how societies over the past few thousand years have dealt with queer/LGBT-identified people. We'll touch on things from Plato to Prop 8, mahus to massacres, and beyond. The class will be roughly half-lecture, half-discussion.


S2292: Dixie 101: How The South Was Made in Splash! Spring 2012 (Apr. 21 - 22, 2012)
Have y'all ever wondered how the American South got to be the way it is? What about the states from Texas to Virginia gave rise to country music, dulcet drawls, and NASCAR? Why is the Civil War still such a big deal in the states of the Confederacy? This course aims to look at how the South developed through history into the region we know today, from the first colonies to slave and plantation culture and to the rise of Southernization in modern America.


S2297: Mother Monster: Lady Gaga and Fame in Splash! Spring 2012 (Apr. 21 - 22, 2012)
Stefani Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga, just danced out onto the international scene in 2008 and 2009 with The Fame. In the years since, Mother Monster has redefined what it means to be an international superstar. This class will look at how her music and other works have developed over the past few years and created the icon we know as Lady Gaga.