As students meticulously plan their schedules during course registration for spring semester, which begins today for undergraduates, there are a number of unexpected and interesting classes that may catch their attention. No matter the area of study, students can choose courses across a wide spectrum of subjects to expand their knowledge.
We’ve compiled a list of some interesting classes that will be offered next semester to give students an idea of what they can take. Don’t see something here that interests you? Check the registrar’s website for more course listings.
Do you have another favorite course not listed here? Tell us below in the comments.
Ancient Medicine
ANEE (Ancient Near East/Egyptian Studies)/CLSC (Classics) 337/CLSC (Classics) 437/HSTY (History) 337/HSTY (History) 437
Instructor: Maddalena Rumor
Open to undergraduate and graduate students
This course offers a general survey of the history of medicine from its origins in pre-historical times to Galen (2nd c. CE) with a view to gaining a better understanding of the path that eventually led to modern medical practice. The various medical systems considered—including the ancient Babylonian, Egyptian, Jewish, Chinese, Ayurvedic, Greek and Roman traditions—will be examined through the study of primary and secondary sources, while key conceptual developments and practices are identified within their cultural and social context. Special issues, such as epidemics, women’s medicine, and surgery, are also explored and discussed.
Creativity in Design & Business: Sources of Perception, Imagination, & Creative Thinking
ENTP (Entrepreneurship) 302/DESN (Design & Innovation) 302
Instructor: Richard Buchanan
Open to undergraduate students
The goal of this course is to develop skills and techniques for creative problem solving. The course is for anyone interested in design, the development of new products and services, and strategies for change in organizations and society. It is useful wherever we face challenging situations that require imagination, new ideas and innovative approaches in a rapidly changing world. At its core, creativity is an issue of perception. Learning to change one’s perception from what is known, comfortable and familiar to what is unknown and potentially valuable and rewarding is the challenge of this course. We will explore a wide variety of methods, techniques and tools for encouraging new perceptions. There will be useful readings, but also exercises and projects for individuals and teams to develop new strategies of creative thinking.
Cyberlaw
LAWS (Law) 5314
Instructor: Raymond Ku
Open to School of Law students
This subject deals with how the law regulates and otherwise applies to activities taking place in ‘cyberspace.’ It considers how existing legal principles are being modified and extended in the digital information age to meet the needs of society, particularly in relation to electronic commerce. As the nature of dealings in cyberspace develops and new legal problems emerge over time, the focus of the subject may change to reflect current legal issues. However, topics for discussion will be drawn from the following:
- The nature of the internet;
- Legal regulation of cyberspace vs. self-regulation;
- The relevance of international law/international regulation;
- E-commerce contracting;
- ‘Property’ in cyberspace with particular reference to intellectual property, trademarks and domain names;
- Defamation on the internet;
- Online crime (e.g., fraud, pornography, etc.);
- Information privacy and security;
- Online dispute resolution; and
- Associated conflicts of law issues.
Economics of Crime
ECON (Economics) 360
Instructor: Heyu Xiong
Open to undergraduate students
Crime and incarceration impose tremendous costs on society with lasting impact on individuals, families, and communities. Over the past four decades, the incarceration rate in the United States has grown to an historically unprecedented level, with approximately 2.2 million people behind bars. In light of the substantial resources allocated toward crime, it is only natural to ask whether the criminal justice system achieves its goals. The purpose of this course is to develop the analytical skills necessary for understanding the economic rationale for criminal law and the criminal justice system. Through the lens of microeconomic theory, we will deal with questions such as when and what to criminalize, the severity of punishment, the determinants of the supply of criminal activity, the effects of policing, and the optimal level of enforcement. This course will introduce students to key concepts in crime policy and help develop their policy analysis skills, including the ability to frame problems and policy alternatives, think critically about empirical evidence, use cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis to compare policy alternatives, and communicate the findings in writing.
Elementary Computer Programming
ENGR (Engineering Science) 131
Instructor: Marc Buchner
Open to undergraduate students
Students will learn the fundamentals of computer programming and algorithmic problem solving. Concepts are illustrated using a wide range of examples from engineering, science, and other disciplines. Students learn how to create, debug, and test computer programs, and how to develop algorithmic solutions to problems and write programs that implement those solutions.
Global Environmental Problems
ESTD (Environmental Studies) 202/EEPS (Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences) 202
Instructor: Sharmila Giri
Open to undergraduate students
Global Environmental Problems is a course designed to provide students with an understanding of, and an appreciation for, human-influenced environmental changes that are global in scope. Accordingly, much of the material will focus on the nature and structure of natural global systems and how and where in those systems human influences occur, and will delve deeply into a few particular problems and solutions of current interest, such as population growth, climate change, ozone depletion, and fisheries, from a variety of viewpoints.
Mapping Music Through the Digital Humanities: A Cleveland Atlas
USSO (Think About The Social World) 292V
Open to undergraduate students
For all its celebrated preoccupation with rock, Cleveland is home to a wide variety of musical genres: jazz, blues, classical, polka, hip hop and gospel, among many others. Cleveland is also a home on the move, a city of immigration and outmigration, a city of waterways, bridges and commuter rails. Then again, Cleveland is a city of enclaves, borders and barricades, social distance despite geographic nearness. In this seminar, we will ask a fundamental question: Is music like a bridge that connects different people in the city, or is it a border that structures divisions? To answer this question, we will put digital mapping tools to use in better understanding the musical patterns that shape city life over time. We will examine the links between dominant and subcultural music; analyze music’s relationship to socio-economic forces such as segregation, urban decline, suburban flight, and revitalization; and reflect on how music defines Cleveland’s place in the national imagination. In the process, students will contribute to a digital atlas of Cleveland’s shifting musical soundscape. Music, at once rooted in identity and as rootless as radio waves, presents an alternate lens for understanding the routes and rifts shaping urban life.
Painting on Walls
ARTH (Art History) 300/400
Instructor: Erin Benay
Open to graduate students and undergraduates with permission
Since antiquity, walls have been sites for decoration, for mobilizing political action, and for coalescing community. Walls in Cleveland are no exception. This course explores the history of public mural painting from antiquity to the present day but it does so with an aim toward actively contributing to the civic life of our city. Students will join with community partner LAND Studio to develop the next stages of the InterUrban mural project. Established in 2016, the InterUrban project pairs artists with recipients of the Anisfield-Wolf book award to produce wall paintings that engage issues related to race and social justice. Together, LAND and the Anisfield-Wolf recipients have made Cleveland’s public transit system the site of humanities in action! This course will introduce students to the theory and methods of the public humanities and service learning, but it also will serve our larger university and urban community by bringing research into practice.
Teaching/Learning in the Community
NURS (Nursing) 210
Instructor: Shannon Wong
Open to undergraduate students
This course expands on foundational public health nursing concepts to develop student knowledge, skills, and attitudes in providing culturally competent health care to diverse populations using the service learning model. This course explores the relationships among learning needs, health literacy, teaching/learning interventions and evaluation of learning. Utilizing a balance between knowledge-centered and skill-centered approaches to delivering culturally competent care, students will engage in both traditional classroom and transcultural experiential learning encounters.
Women’s Issues
SASS (Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences) 555
Instructor: Kylie Evans
Open to Mandel School students
This course examines theories that are relevant to the development and socialization of women, and discusses issues that are relevant to women’s lives within the context of oppression based on sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination. Emphasis is placed on assisting students in becoming more aware of the issues that are specifically relevant to their own development and socialization, and preparing for effective and sensitive professional
practice by increasing knowledge about the issues facing women.
Set your schedule
Check the timeline for course registration for both undergraduates and graduate students.
Once you’re ready to schedule, complete registration through SIS.