November 7, 2017

ANTHROPOLOGY

Reflecting on Work Identity (ANTH 245.940)

This online course is designed for students to take during their first co-op cycle. The first phase of the course will focus on the self; the student will participate in self-categorization and evaluation of personal expectations in regard to their co-op and future professional life. The second phase will consist of an analysis of power dynamics at the workplace, focusing on the other rather than the self. The final phase is a synthesis of the self and the other, in which the student will combine knowledge acquired from the readings and personal experiences in order to address issues facing the modern workplace, as well as reflect on their individual work identity.

This 3.0 course is taught by Simone Schlichting-Artur, PhD, and is offered online.

Contemporary Jewish Life (ANTH 212.001)

This course focuses on developments in Jewish life and communal institutions, starting in the late twentieth century. Students take a look at how Jews in America and Israel have changed and continued their traditions. Using film and ethnographic accounts, the class explores foodways, music, religious life, gender roles, neighborhood life, youth and older folks.

This 3.0 credit course, taught by Rakhmiel Peltz, PhD, is open to undergraduates. It will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 am - 12:20 p.m. Location TBD.

Map Your Life (ANTH 212.900)

The Map Your Life course is designed for self-exploration and discovery. Its goal is to enhance students' understanding of themselves as unique individuals, members of society, and as part of the larger world so they can orchestrate a more authentic, productive and satisfying life. Students will develop a Life Map from a safe vantage point in which they will explore their values, beliefs, aspirations and purpose as well as future plans in such areas as education, career, finances, lifestyle and partnerships.

This 3.0 credit course, taught by Wesley Shumar, PhD, is open to undergraduates. It will meet online.

Social Mapping (ANTH 212.901)

This course explores why prevailing institutions have limited ability to deal with illusions, prejudices, self-limiting ideologies, and other forms of conceptual imprisonment that diminish us as individuals, separate us into warring camps, and perpetuate the endless cycle of misadventures, destruction and despair that humankind endures. The course challenges students to assemble their own Social Map of how we would deal with the great issues of our time in a manner that: (a) liberates us from conceptual imprisonment, (b) unites us rather than divides us, and (c) spawns love, compassion, charity, and hope rather than hatred, indifference, greed, and despair. In class discussions and through the critique of each other’s’ Social Map, students will be encouraged to become better listeners, better analysts, and better able to negotiate our way in a complex, rapidly changing, global environment.

This 3.0 credit course, taught by Wesley Shumar, PhD, is open to undergraduates. It will meet online.

Goddesses in Religion: From the Neolithic to the Present (ANTH T280.001)

This course will take us on a journey from the remote past to the present as we focus on myths and other narratives as well as the images of goddesses in the archaeological record. It will focus primarily on the changes and shifts in Goddess Worship over time from veneration to denial. In addition, there will be exploration of the connections and attitudes through comparisons of monotheism, polytheism, western and eastern religions, first world and fourth world societies and the connections to other cultural factors. Finally, students will look at manifestations of Goddess Worship: Wicca, Druids, and Pagan Reconstructionism.

This 3.0 credit course, taught by Barbara Hornum, PhD, is open to undergraduates. It will meet Mondays, 3 – 5:50 p.m. Location TBD.

Digital Detox (ANTH T280.002)

We live in an increasingly connected world, full of smart phones, smart thermostats, smart coffee makers and driverless cars. The average American now spends more than 10 hours per day in front of a screen. We work in front of one, relax in front of one. It’s how we connect with our friends, keep track of our plans, decide where to eat, and navigate the city around us. It is the last thing we see before we go to sleep and the first we see when we wake up. What is that doing to us? How is it affecting how we see the world around us and act within it? What kinds of consequences does it have for our mental and physical health?

This course examines the social, cultural, and emotional consequences of spending so much of our lives online. Students will read some of the latest studies about what constant connectivity may be doing for us and to us and taking a direct look at their how their own digital lives are affecting them. The class will also serve as a sort of miniature “digital detox,” a space away from online culture, where students will attempt to reconnect with those things they may have given up or forgotten about in the quest to keep up with the latest technology. All readings will be from physical books and hand outs and will be done in class. All assignments will be done with pen and paper. The course will culminate in a weekend-long digital detox, where students will experience together how difficult it has become to step away from our screens and decide for themselves what steps, if any, to take next.

This 3.0 credit course, taught by Brent Luvaas, PhD, is open to undergraduates. It will meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 1 – 1:50 p.m. Location TBD.

CHEMISTRY

The Chemistry Behind Drugs: Fundamentals of Medicinal Chemistry (CHEM T380.001)

This interactive course covers the basic concepts of general and organic chemistry that constitute the foundation of medicinal chemistry. Students will apply fundamental notions of physicochemical properties of functional groups (such as, electronic effects, water/lipid solubility, acidity/basicity related to ionization and salt formation under physiological conditions, etc.) and structure-activity relationships (SAR) to design drugs and predict their potential interactions with biological targets, as well as their pharmacological action and bioavailability. Intended as a primer for students interested in pursuing a career in bioorganic chemistry, chemical biology, biomaterials, biotechnology, pharmaceutics or health sciences (medicine included), this course also lays the groundwork for a better understanding of the following courses: Chemistry of Biomolecules (CHEM 371.001), Biochemistry (BIO 311.A) and Pharmacology (BIO 314.001).

This 3.0 credit course, taught by Monica Ilies, PhD, is open to undergraduate students who have taken CHEM 243 or CHEM 249. This class will meet Mondays and Fridays, 4:30 - 5:50 p.m. Location: Stratton Hall 219.

COMMUNICATION

Readers Theater: Dramatic Presentation (COM T180.001)

This course is designed to provide international and domestic students with a multicultural preparation and performance experience that should increase their understanding of how our backgrounds, culture, and media exposure have created frames of understanding that are often stereotypical about each other. These stereotypes can be brought to awareness through discussion, reflection, and communication. New positive understandings can be powerfully communicated through performance activities such as a Readers Theater that contain scenes from plays and movies, songs and other literary sources.

This 3.0 credit course, taught by Alexis Finger, is open to undergraduates. It will meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 1 – 1:50 p.m. Location TBD.

Visual Communication (COM T380.001)

This course explores how the visual aspects of our PowerPoint presentations, websites, photographic images, logos and other communication media work to convey messages to their receivers. Learning will be achieved through a combination hands-on exercises and theoretical constructs. Students will focus on which visual approaches enhance the communication effectiveness of the messages students are asked to craft in their coursework, as well as what they will be asked to create in the work world.

This 3.0 credit course, taught by Allan Stegeman, is open to undergraduates beyond the freshman level. It will meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 12 – 12:50 p.m. Location TBD.

Plan and Conduct Focus Groups (COM T380.002)

This qualitative research methods course will discuss the use of focus groups to collect data for social science inquiry from both an academic and a consumer research perspective. Students will take an in-depth look at how to plan, implement and analyze data collected through a focus group process, including: purposes and uses of focus group interviews, human subjects research considerations, participant recruitment, sampling, question design, facilitation techniques, recording options, transcription, analysis and reporting of data.

Students will understand and gain hands-on experience in focus group planning, moderating, analysis and reporting. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to plan, conduct and analyze a focus group on their own.

This 3.0 credit course, taught by Susan Stein, PhD, is open to undergraduates beyond the freshman level. It will meet Mondays, 2 – 4:50 p.m. Location TBD.

Cross-Cultural Issues in Media (COM 400.900)

This seminar examines cross-cultural issues in media representation from a critical media literacy perspective, including the construction of significance, the representation of identity and expertise, and the effects of translation. Participants will actively research, interview, develop and present case studies of global and local media representation from a critical, cross-cultural perspective.

GLOBAL STUDIES

Evening Elementary Language Courses (for Freshman and Sophomores only)

Elementary language courses meet the needs of students who want to learn a new language but do not have enough room in their schedules to take a 4.0-credit class. These courses are restricted to first-year and sophomore students in majors with little flexibility in their schedules.

Option 1 Sequence (201725 & 201735):
Spanish, German, Chinese, Korean or Hebrew
Focus: Technology, Business and Engineering

Option 2 Sequence (201725 & 201735):
Spanish, French, Italian or Japanese
Focus: Art, Design and Hospitality

The winter and spring sequence (2.0 credits each for a total of 4.0) is equivalent to a regular 4.0-credit 101 class. Students must have no or minimal experience with the language in order to register (students with knowledge of the language should take the placement test). For more information, please contact Kate Hughes, Associate Director of Global Studies and Modern Languages, at kfh28@drexel.edu.

Language Proficiency Certificates

The Department of Global Studies and Modern Languages is pleased to offer new Intermediate Language Proficiency Certificates. Open to all Drexel undergraduate students, the certificates demonstrate recipients’ language proficiency and ability to interact with native speakers in everyday contexts. With an intermediate proficiency certificate, students have valuable proof of their language skills for future employers and graduate school.

To earn a certificate, students must complete up to the 202 level in a language and take at least 8 language credits at Drexel. The certificates are particularly beneficial for students who may not have the flexibility in their majors to fulfill the requirements of a language minor. Students with previous language experience must take a placement test before enrolling in their first language class at Drexel. Language credits taken abroad can count toward the certificate with permission from the department.

The certificates are available in all languages offered by the department: Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Hebrew and Italian. For more information, please contact Kate Hughes, Associate Director of Global Studies and Modern Languages, at kfh28@drexel.edu.

PHILOSOPHY

Aristotle: Practical Philosophy (PHIL 212.001)

This course will be an introduction to Aristotle's philosophy, covering his ethics, politics, poetics and rhetoric. Part two, “Aristotle: Theoretical Philosophy,” covering his metaphysics, physics and methodological writing, will be offered next fall, 2018-19.

This 3.0 credit course, taught by Jacques Catudal, PhD, is open to all undergraduate students. It will meet Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:30 – 1:50 p.m. Location TBD

Feminist Epistemology (PHIL T280.001)

How does gender affect the formation of knowledge, our understanding of experience, and scientific and other practices of inquiry and justification? These are some of the questions explored from the Feminist approach in epistemology. This course may be used to fulfill the requirement for PHIL 221, “Epistemology: Philosophy of Knowledge.”

This 3.0 credit course, taught by Flavia Padovani, PhD, is open to all undergraduate students above the freshman level. It will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30 – 1:50 p.m. Location TBD

Friedrich Nietzsche & Modern Philosophy (PHIL 485.001)

Nietzsche sought to shift the focus of philosophy concerned with history and politics from reason to multiple perspectives and “wills to power,” laughter and art. What might be the implications of such a transformation for politics and history today? We will discuss several of Nietzsche’s works, including “The Advantages and Disadvantages of History for Life,” “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” “Beyond Good & Evil” and “Genealogy of Morals” with this and related questions in mind. This course may be used to fulfill the requirement for PHIL 431, “Seminar in Modern Philosophy.”

This 3.0 credit writing intensive course, taught by Amy Bush, PhD, is open to undergraduate students with two Philosophy classes at the 200-level or higher. It will meet Mondays from 2 – 4:50 p.m. Location TBD

PHYSICS

Connections in Physics (PHYS T180.001)

“Connections in Physics” is a Community-Based Learning course in which Drexel undergraduates run an after-school science club at a local elementary or middle school. Building upon a new theme in physics each week, students will connect the material to their current Philadelphia community as well as to their future professional and personal pursuits. The course is scheduled to meet twice a week: one meeting will be on campus, and one meeting will be at the partnered local school where the afterschool science club will take place.

This 3.0 credit course is open to all undergraduate students. It will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30 – 4:50 p.m. Location TBD

SOCIOLOGY

Global Health Matters (SOC 313.001)

This course introduces students to a sociological perspective for understanding global health, healing and medicine — from individual experiences in local circumstances to practices that affect communities and societies throughout the world. It situates health and health care within cultural, social, historical, economic and political circumstances and addresses these topics in settings that are primarily outside the United States.

This 4.0 credit course, taught by Susan Bell, PhD, is open to undergraduate students above the freshman level. The course will meet Mondays and Wednesdays, 6 – 7:50 p.m. Location TBD

Housing and Homelessness (SOC T480.001)

This course examines how housing shapes individual, family, and neighborhood dynamics. Students will be introduced to housing policy in the United States, and will gain an in-depth understanding of homelessness and unstable housing. Other course topics include the meaning of home; the significance of homeownership in the United States; residential segregation; gated neighborhoods; and housing in transnational contexts. Students will learn how to think critically about the role of housing in enduring forms of race, class, and gender-based inequalities and to assess current policy for improving access to stable housing in Philadelphia.

This 4.0 credit course, taught by Claire Herbert, PhD, is open to undergraduate students. The course will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12 - 1:50 p.m. Location TBD