Course registration for next fall is underway, and while the offerings are vast, and degree-specific requirements are many, there are a number of interesting classes for Case Western Reserve University students to expand their horizons and gain insight into new subjects, from social work to history, management to engineering.
Take a look below to see just a select few classes that will be offered next fall, and be sure to check the Registrar’s website for more course listings.
Have a course you’ve loved? Leave a comment to share your favorites.
Animals and Humans: Making Sense of the Human-Animal Bond
USNA 287C
Humans have complex relationships with animals. We eat some animals and consider other animals members of our family. We worship some animals and vilify others. This class examines the complexities of our relationship with animals. Through exploring human emotional, practical and epistemological ties with animals, this course examines what it means to be animal as well as what it means to be human. Students will analyze several questions related to the human-animal bond.
Take a look at the full list of Think about the Natural World courses.
Case Cooks: Healthy Lifestyles
NTRN 200H
This half-semester course will give students the skills to prepare healthy, simple, budget-friendly meals with weekly topics like “treasures from the earth,” “keep it simple and make it quick” and “grocery game plan.”
Note: Students with food allergies should email the instructor before registering.
Get information on other nutrition courses.
Contemporary Business and Communication
MGMT 201
A course that often draws students in majors across campus, this class uses lectures, in-class discussions, exercises, simulations and guest speakers to focus on contemporary issues of actual businesses. Students will gain an understanding of business’s role in society and how several different functions come together in the real world. Students will learn about accounting, finance, marketing, operations, business intelligence and human resources management in a class that includes topics on the economic and legal environment of business, the globalization of markets, workforce diversity, leadership and entrepreneurship.
Find out about other courses offered through the Weatherhead School of Management.
Dance in Culture – Ethnic Forms
DANC 121
Learn about dance as an art form and the role it plays in many cultures in this lecture class.
See the full list of dance classes at CWRU.
Drugs & Youth
SASS 355
Drug abuse is a more acute problem and more widespread than in any previous era of our country. Just as technology continues to evolve, drug use follows similar paths of evolution. Today, there are thousands of new drugs available that are used for medicinal purposes, recreational purposes, and other uses that affect the health of our citizens. Through the lens of different disciplines and theoretical perspectives, students will explore the impact of drug use and/or abuse on the lives of ordinary with academic readings and biographies of young people who have dealt with the problem of drug abuse. The course also will cover the impact of both macro (society) and micro (family and friends) on drug use of both licit (alcohol, over the counter and prescription drugs) and illicit (marijuana, hallucinogens and cocaine) on various subcultures, such as sports/athletics, college students, women, adolescents and more.
Find out more about social work courses.
Hollywood Cartoons, American Society
USSO 285L
This class provides a history of mainstream animation produced in the United States during the 20th century, emphasizing in particular the output of the Hollywood animation studios of the 1930s-1950s, the shift to television animation in the 1950s, and the rebirth of animation in the 1980s. In addition to the general history of the field and key periods of creative development in the genre, students will discuss various sub-genres or narrative fads within animation, cultural and social movements of the 20th century and how they are reflected in contemporaneous popular culture, issues of art versus commerce in the creation of popular animation, the intersection of animation and politics, and the representation of race, gender, sexuality and religion. Since this class focuses on visual media, we will also spend a great deal of time both watching films and discussing how to watch animated films with a critical eye.
Take a look at other courses offered as part of Think about the Social World.
Materials for Energy and Sustainability
EMSE 349
Intended for students in upper-level engineering or physical sciences, this course has two key threads: engineered materials as consumers of resources (raw materials, energy) and as key contributors to sustainable energy technologies (wind, solar, batteries, fuel cells, etc.).
Learn about other offerings through the Case School of Engineering.
Rock Wall Climbing
PHED 13B
Learn the skills, safely, terminology and equipment used in recreational rock climbing.
Explore other options for physical education classes.
Social History of Crime
HSTY 208
Students in this class will explore how the law works as a system of power to advance certain interests at the expense of less powerful groups, with an emphasis on America’s poor and working class. Topics will include the death penalty, abortion, rape, the war on drugs and the prison industry, and will give students a broader understanding of the relationship between law and history in American society.
View the full list of courses offered by the Department of History.
Transgender Literature
USSY 294 B
Literature and literary genres possess the power to reinforce or revolutionize cultural norms. From love stories to coming-of-age stories, one of the most impactful ways that literary genres reflect and shape society is in the representation of gender and sexuality. Over the generations, literature has evolved with our understanding of human diversity. Contrary to stereotypes that imagine the existence of only two genders, society is increasingly recognizing that there is a wider range of embodiment and identity beyond male and female. Thus, the question arises: How do our books and films on our shelves reflect the experience of transgender, intersex, genderqueer, and other non-binary lives? What texts from the past help us understand the long history of sex and sexuality? What new stories are being told? How is society reflecting and affecting this transgender literature? In this seminar, all people and their questions are welcome as we continue the experiment begun by Edith Anisfield Wolf, who believed that books and reading can transform our world. Following in her mission of social justice and diversity, we will learn how to read beyond stereotypes about gender (and, in the process, about sexuality, disability, class and race).
See other offerings as part of Think about the Symbolic World.