It's that time of year again. Students scramble to pre-register for courses, desperately try to secure coveted spots in upper-level seminars and finalize their plans for course enrollment as spring registration fast approaches.
This week, the News-Letter surveyed the list of courses offered next semester, selecting three courses - two old, one new - that will spice up any student's spring schedule.
230.199 Criminal Justice & Correction
This course has been offered at Hopkins since 1971, but it has not yet lost its popularity, enrolling up to 60 students each semester.
Led by Professor Stephen Harris of University of Baltimore, the students receive an overview of the present society's criminal justice system through field trips, guest visits and court watching.
"This course will focus on how crime affects an urban society such as Baltimore. Students will explore the cause of crime and how society deals with crimes or ignores them," Harris said.
The course has attracted many students because of the hands-on approach to Harris's teaching.
Students talk to judges, juvenile authorities and even ex-offenders. They also intern with any agent or department of criminal justice they are interested in. Afterwards, students discuss their various experiences working for different departments.
Harris first came up with the idea for the course after being contacted by a Hopkins chaplain.
"He wanted a course which could connect Hopkins students to everyday problems. One was about Medicare and another was criminal justice. I have been teaching this course since 1971 ... It's been a long time," he said.
389.363 Curating Culture at Hopkins'
Evergreen Museum & Library: Excellence in 20th Century Design
The Museums and Society department is offering a new hands-on course this semester, focusing on curating the Hopkins Evergreen Museum. Students will have a chance to participate in creating, developing and planning an actual exhibition in the museum, which is open to the public.
The focus of the course will be on 20th century design and American modernism. Professor James Abbott will lead the course by introducing students to two influential cases, Baltimorean Ed Benesch and Czech-born Erno Fabry.
"These two somewhat forgotten men contributed greatly to the promotion of Modernism in post-World War II America," Abbott wrote in an e-mail to the News-Letter.
Abbott noted that Hopkins's Evergreen Museum and Library, located north of campus close to Loyola University's campus, is an often-forgotten resource for students interested in art, design, architecture and the museum field.
He added that since the Evergreen Museum contains collections of fine and decorative arts representing many centuries and many different cultures, "It makes the perfect backdrop for courses that address the idea of museums." At the end of the semester, students will serve as curators themselves, selecting objects for their own exhibition.
020.125 Biology in Film
Biology in Film, taught by Professor Joel Schildbach, is a course best described as a combination of academia and pop culture.
Every Thursday night, students watch highly acclaimed Hollywood films while a different faculty member of the Biology department provides an introduction and leads a discussion of the film.
The topics covered include early discoveries in the biomedical arena, genetic and infectious diseases and the potential consequences of human genetic engineering. Students are simply expected to attend the class, watch the film and fill out a questionnaire based on what they just watched.
Many students, more specifically freshmen, have already expressed interest in the course's untraditional combination of film and biological science. Others are attracted to the course's Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grading policy.
"It would be cool to see applications of biology in real life through motion pictures," freshman Winny Yun said, as she glanced through the courses on the registrar.
"I would love to take this class. I mean, where and how can you watch Hollywood movies for free every week?" Ji-Eun Park, also a freshman, agreed.
However, students interested in taking Biology in Film should note that the course is only worth one credit.
