Twelve Cool Classes

Your subject matter in TIDES 1175-01

Today may technically be the first day of summer, but with New Student Orientation in full swing, we're already looking forward to the fall semester. Class registration has begun for the incoming class of 2021 and they've got some cool ones to choose from this fall. I thought it might be neat to take a look at some of the coolest classes we're offering for freshmen this year. Some are new courses, some are golden oldies. These courses do not have any prerequisites at all and are are open to all Newcomb-Tulane College undergraduates. Thanks to my girl Dayna Gessler from academic advising for getting this great list together!

Speaking of first day of class, here is a #TBT to me on Tulane day 1. Puka shells were HOT back then.

TIDE-1175-01 Game of Thrones
Are you a Game of Thrones fan? Do you debate Jon Snows parentage in your spare time? Do you hum the show’s theme song without even realizing it? Do you want to get to know other Game of Thrones fans at Tulane? Then the Game of Thrones TIDES is for you. Topics covered include the role of violence and sexuality in the television series as well as the debate over George RR. Martin’s obligation to his fans to “write like the wind.” Students should be caught up on Seasons 1-5 of the television series before the course begins. Although it is not necessary to have read the novels in order to register for this course, students who are fans of Martin’s Songs of Fire and Ice Series (Game of Thrones and its sequels) are especially welcome.

TIDE 1025-01 Karate: Art & Philosophy
Originating in Okinawa, Japan, traditional karate offers its practitioners self-defense skills, while providing them with a balanced fitness system, which includes aerobics, strength, and flexibility training. The concentration required during training, together with the physical exercise, are an excellent way to stress relief and healthy fun. Students will have the opportunity to know people of the New Orleans karate community through guest lectures of high-level, instructors and through their own visits to local karate clubs. Totally inexperienced students as well as those who have karate expertise will benefit from and will enjoy this class.

ANTH 3200 Magic, Witchcraft and Religion
This course is an exploration into religion and the occult. We will examine a wide range of topics, such as hauntings, spirit possession, the role of evil in the moral imagination, and the construction of symbols as well as various practices associated healing, witchcraft (or sorcery) accusations, and the experience of suffering and death. Anthropological approaches challenge the categories of "religion" and "witchcraft", which stem from Western conceptions of reality, Christianity, and ethnocentric views of the "other".

CRDV-1090-01 Majors, Internships and Jobs
CRDV 1090 helps students to clarify their strengths, values and goals in order to maximize student potential. Students connect collegiate academic and extracurricular experiences to professional pursuits. Students create and refine professional documents, evaluate decision making processes and learn to utilize professional social media in order to network more effectively. Students are guided through the career development process through various assignments. (Side note, I've previously blogged about this awesome class!)

MCGS 2000 Introduction to Musical Cultures of the Gulf South
An introduction to the culture of the Gulf South region with an emphasis on New Orleans music, history, ritual, dance, and cultural geography. Explores the musical relationship of the Gulf South region to the Caribbean and African diaspora. Introduces critical tools for analysis of the relationship of music and place. Themes of the course include ethnic migrations, social diversity, vernacular architecture, and slavery. Field trips to second-line parades, Mississippi River access points, diverse neighborhoods and historical slave markets.

CELL 2220 Career in Cell & Molecular Biology
Get acquainted with a variety of careers available to professionals with a science degree: medical professionals, research, science writing, technology transfer, government policy. Learn not to meets professionals in the field, write a CV and cover letter in order to have it passed on to potential research and clinical opportunities.

COMM 2812 Media and Reproductive Rights
This course focuses on the relationships between reproductive politics, popular and social media, and movements for reproductive rights in the United States.

Cities of the Dead! (from ghostcitytours.com)

TIDE 1000-01 New Orleans Cities of the Dead: Cemetery Architecture & Its Cultural Legacy
Heather Knight.  Students will be introduced to the history and cultural folkways of New Orleans through the study of historic figures, cemetery architecture, monument construction and funerary symbolism reflected in stone and iron.  Why are above-ground tombs more prevalent in New Orleans?  What are the different tomb types and their architectural styles?  Why do families in Louisiana visit cemeteries on All Saints Day?  What symbolism does funerary art in stone and iron reveal?  This TIDE will provide five informative field sessions to local cemeteries and five class lectures.

SISE 4820 Taylor your Life
Learn how to tackle the “wicked” problem of what to do with your life by applying methods and mindsets of design thinking to career development. Students will learn how to ideate multiple life paths, clarify their interests, focus and target their search, prototype and test elements of careers that interest them, market and brand themselves to stand out from the crowd, and map their community to effectively network with other changemakers around the world. By invoking curiosity, ideating multiple possibilities, prototyping and testing different pathways, and remaining centered on human relationships and communities, students will engage in a series of interactive, dynamic activities and learn how to design a life that makes a positive difference in the world and is “TAYLORed” to their unique life and personality.

TIDE 1370-01 Adventure, Discipline, Obsession:  A Running Conversation
Like to have class outside? Want to get off campus and see the city? Like to learn in unconventional ways? And, oh yes, do you run?  Then run with us in the early evening or early morning while we discuss a variety of aspects of life in motion, from the mythical (or not) "runner's high" to running as a metaphor for life. (Why did Forrest Gump run? Why did he stop running?) Most run will go off campus, in locations such as Audubon Park, City Park, and the French Quarter, and end with refueling (i.e., a meal, procured from Whole Foods Grocery).

SISE 2010 Introduction to Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship
The introductory class gives students an appreciation for the field of social entrepreneurship and introduces students to several helpful frameworks that will be used in subsequent classes. Students will examine key concepts and the historical context, understand current theories and debates about social change, and discuss case studies of social entrepreneurs. The class will address two overarching tenets of SISE: Social impact can best be created by moving away from the current divisive approach of separate sectors and towards blended models that connect and combine sectors in new ways Social mission and social impact are the primary focus - understanding what your mission is, and how you create the greatest social impact, is key.
This course has a service learning component that goes with it.




ARST-1170-01 Foundations of Art: Glass (Glass Blowing)
This course focuses on the history and theory of glass art, and also introduces basic techniques with attention given to issues of composition, perception, communication, and expression. Emphasis also will be placed on the relationships between glass art, other art mediums, and the history of art. See my previous blog about the time I sneaked back into the glass studio! Oh and by the way, just a few days after I got dropped off at Tulane, I took glassblowing!
me.