I know, not exactly study abroad related, but wouldn’t you like to know all the cool classes I’ve picked out to take next semester? Yes? I thought so.
French 164: Global France
Explores connections between France’s imperial history in Africa, Asia and the Americas and contemporary cultural/ political debates about citizenship, integration and belonging in France from 17th century to present. Analyzes ethical dilemmas posed by colonialism. Includes novels (e.g., works by Dumas, Camus, Cesaire, Fanon, Djebar, Chamoiseau), films, music, historical documents, cultural/literary criticism, social/political theory, legal documents and writings on government policy. Weekly lecture in English and two discussion sections: one in English, one in French.
(Need I say anything more? This class looks incredible)
History 196S (Junior/Senior seminar): Modern South African History through Biography/Autobiography
This seminar uses biography and autobiography to explore key themes in twentieth-century South African history. The range of people we will read about include a Scottish-born labor radical, an African prophetess, and the self-styled godfather of Soweto. In addition to lesser-known personalities, we will consider some of South Africa’s most famous citizens, including Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko, and Helen Suzman, and Nelson Mandela. Some of the issues we will discuss include South Africa’s mining-centered industrialization, the ways in which segregation and apartheid affected people’s daily lives, ideological and programmatic opposition to segregation and apartheid, and the AIDS epidemic.
(Ditto this class. Basically designed for me, I think.)
French 107: French Phonetics
This course covers the theory and practice of French pronunciation, corrective phonetics, phonetic transcription, intonation, accentuation, syllabification, elision and liaison. You will have significant practice reading aloud (poetry and theater excerpts, etc.). There will be a specific focus on those areas of speech production in French that have traditionally proven to be the most difficult for native speakers of English, and priority will be given to errors that affect a native French speaker’s ability to understand you. Through this study you will also, by necessity, increase your working knowledge of French vocabulary and your grammatical accuracy.
(So this class sounds kind of boring but I’m actually really excited about it because hopefully by the time I finish this semester I’ll have some sort of conversational abilities in French, but also the worst accent of all time ever, since the accent is completely different in Senegal than actual France. So this class will be a good corrective measure for that. Plus it’ll give me a chance to practice my French next semester so I don’t lose it. Ten cool points for that alone.)
Spanish 1: Elementary Spanish
Introduces the basic elements of the language and includes exposure to aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures. Equal attention to aural comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills conducted entirely in Spanish using a task-based approach. Five class meetings a week.
(Why am I randomly picking up another language at the end of my junior year of college? That is a question one would only ask if they did not know me. Because if you know me you know that this is the very kind of random academic decision I am prone to making at the drop of a hat. But also it turns out that even though I have no natural aptitude for languages, I think they’re a really important skill. Especially spanish. So alright, let’s give this a shot)
ISIS 140: Web-based Multimedia Communication
Multimedia information systems, including presentation media, hypermedia, graphics, animation, sound, video, and integrated authoring techniques; underlying technologies that make them possible. Practice in the design innovation, programming, and assessment of web-based digital multimedia information systems. Intended for students in non-technical disciplines.
(Okay, so I don’t really want to take this course so much, but it looks easy, I’ve heard it’s kind of fun, and most importantly, it somehow fulfills one of my dreaded required math courses in a non-heart attack inducing way. So that’s good)
Alright, this is the end of this rambling discourse on class selection. Now I’m just going to sit back and admire this lovely schedule. Beautiful.
