English 60K/160K: Gender and American Cinema, 1930-1950
The Prof: Sianne Ngai The Concept: Through weekly screenings, explore family melodramas of the '30s and '40s and crime melodramas of the '40s and '50s. Learn how Hollywood has shaped our ideas of gender. The Appeal: Put down the popcorn and feed your mind with a mix of film studies, psychoanalytic theory, literature and American cultural studies.
History 188C: Jews in the Modern World
The Prof: Steven J. Zipperstein The Concept: Through fiction, history, art and film, consider the forces shaping Jewish life around the world from the 1700s to the present. The Appeal: Step outside the prism of tragedy -- peek into synagogues, study houses and ritual baths for an intimate sense of modern Judaism.
Biological Sciences/Human Biology 147: The Road to Buenos Aires -- Controlling Climate Change in the 21st Century
The Profs: Steve Schneider and Armin Rosencrantz The Concept: Grasp the complexity of coordinating 5 billion individual decisions that affect the planet's future. Debate solutions with experts. The Appeal: A chance to get your term paper published; several chapters in an upcoming text are papers from Schneider's past classes.
Communication 224A: Documentary Film Production
The Prof: Jan Krawitz The Concept: Kick off the graduate program in documentary film and video by directing and shooting three short films designed to "scintillate and entertain." The Appeal: Tap your inner Ken Burns in a course emphasizing originality, technical competence and risk-taking. A public screening reels in hundreds of subjects and friends.
