Spring 2025 Sophomore Seminars
For spring 2025, we are pleased to offer four sophomore seminars. Seminars are offered in Digital Media and Film/PCA, Economics, Public Health/SSES, and Political Science. These seminars are open only to sophomores. Registration in APR2 begins on Monday, November 11, 2024. Each seminar will incorporate one-on-one mentoring, career exploration, and building classroom community.
Additionally, please keep an eye out for messages later this semester about our Sophomore Tuesday, January 14, 2025 CIIS Off-Campus Study Workshop to help you with your off-campus study application which is due Feb. 1, 2025. And we will offer the Maurer Institute of Communication Leadership, a paid opportunity to help sophomores develop communication strategies needed for effective leadership.
DMF 3700/PCA 3075: Digital Storytelling
Nicole Roche, T/H, 2:40-4:10, 1 Unit
Participants in this sophomore seminar will develop a variety of digital storytelling and production skills. Topics to be covered include digital photography, web design, graphic design, audio recording and editing, and more. Classes will include hands-on instruction and practice with digital tools and platforms, such as the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. Students will have regular access to the Digital Scholarship Studio and editing suite in ODY Library for producing audio- and video-based projects. All participants will create a digital portfolio that showcases their work for the course, including a final project that brings together the skills they have acquired throughout the semester.
ECON- 3024: Does Money Make the World Go Round? Understanding the Federal Reserve System Globally and Locally
Cynthia Bansak, T/H,1:00-2:30, 1Unit
The course uses an introduction to the Federal Reserve System, the monetary arm of the US government, to allow students to more deeply understand the role of money and the central bank both historically and practically, and it offers an avenue for students to consider careers in economics, banking, finance, housing and public policy. While studying and reporting on the Fed’s complex structure and role in the U.S. economy, students will explore major and career possibilities through mentoring meetings and one-on-one interviews with practitioners in the local community and beyond. Pre-requisite ECON 100
PH/SSES 3024: Somatic Transformation: From Self to Social Justice
Marianna Locke, M/W, 7:00-8:30pm, 1 Unit
What does it mean to be healthy? Is wellness a choice? How does positionality shape health and wellness experiences? This seminar will discuss these questions and others related to the health and wellness industry in the United States. We will explore multiple dimensions of wellness through scholarly literature and popular sources. Most importantly, we will examine how social factors influence health outcomes.
POLS 3049: Racial Segregation in 21st Century
Precious Hall, M/W, 12:50-2:20, 1 Unit
This researched-based seminar will examine questions of race, segregation, and diversity in the 21st century. Students will collaborate, using Census data to investigate just how much racial integration has occurred in the 21st century. Analyzing various measures of equity and inclusion, students taking this course will seek to determine just what locales are truly integrated and the expected difference in outcomes between truly integrated and still racially segregated areas. Along the way, this course will discuss the ways in which segregation and inequality have been created through institutional decisions, the legacy of both de facto and de jure segregation, and both the direct and indirect consequences of segregation at the micro and macro levels.
