Spring 2022 Sophomore Seminars are Off and Running
Six exciting sophomore seminars are up and running and hitting full speed as we reach the end of the semester's first quarter.
ENG/FILM 3067
Lived Experience: James Baldwin and Spike Lee
Peter Bailey; 1-unit
This course will be comprised of many dialogues, two of them between the essays and fictions of James Baldwin (Go Tell It on the Mountain and the stories in Going to Meet the Man) and the films of Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Crooklyn, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Bamboozled, and Black Klansman). Because Lee worked from Baldwin’s screenplay for Malcolm X, we know they have much to exchange with each other—including a substantial disagreement over the goals of African/American art. Another central class dialogue will be between class members discussing the cultural and ideological contributions of Baldwin and Lee in the era of Black Lives Matter.
ENVS 3069
For the Love of Chocolate
Sara Ashpole; 1-unit
Cocoa has been cultivated for centuries and today it’s a much loved indulgent confectionery. In this course, students explore the interdisciplinary nature of chocolate and sustainability. Chocolate is art, music, film, literature, spiritual, medicinal, culinary, commodity, injustice, environment and science. Historians shed light on how chocolate changed the world. Economists show a greedy consumer-driven global chocolate market estimated at 139 billion USD, which might just vanish as scientists estimate there are less than 25 years before the plant faces extinction from climate change. This course aims to foster creativity by allowing students to share their own ideas and interests around chocolate.
PH 3011
Foundations of Community Health
Marianna Locke; 1-unit
This interdisciplinary course will examine community health in the United States from a sociological perspective. We will study the relationship between self and society by exploring how social and environmental factors influence health outcomes. This analysis will be rooted in the intersection of individual and community health. Students will develop a deeper understanding for the complex relationships, policies, problems, and potential solutions that exist in the field of community health. Ultimately, this course will challenge students move beyond awareness to action, in relation to both individual and community wellbeing.
ND 100
Careers 101: The Liberal Arts and Careers
Alvin Henry and Michelle Gould; 0.5-unit
This course provides students with the foundational skills, resources, and tools necessary to explore, assess, and pursue a career. It will show how a liberal arts education helps students become leaders, innovators, and global citizens. Through a series of projects and case studies, students will develop and apply their new skills and knowledge. By the end of the course, students will write and revise relevant job materials that will create success in searching for employment. Topics covered include networking with alumni, interviewing, resumes, digital profiles, cover letters, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, skills assessments, developing new skills as needed (upskilling), cultivating resiliency, and critically reflecting on the intersection of the liberal arts and your career trajectory.
ND 3011
PALS—Promoting Active Laurentian Safety: Awareness and Action
Evelyn Jennings & Victoria Lederer; 0.5-unit
Ever wondered how you could help to shift campus culture in a positive direction and develop the relationships and knowledge to do it? We’ll discuss some of the challenges faced by college students, especially regarding mental health and wellness. We'll learn and practice actions that can interrupt bias, help build a sex positive and safe community, and work toward a more inclusive campus culture, and you’ll develop a proposal for campus programming on an issue you care about.
AAH/FILM 269
Digital Media and Culture I
Amy Hauber; 1-unit
This is a combination studio art/seminar course. Over the course of the semester you will learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. At the same time, through readings, media, group discussions and exercises, we will explore some of the major theoretical issues surrounding digital communications and technology, and how they affect contemporary society/life/identity.