Have you ever wanted to study the ancient healing practices of Shamanism? Or maybe the effects of sex, love and romance in the mass media? Perhaps you would prefer something closer to home like the history of ASU?
For students seeking to deviate from the boredom that accompanies required coursework, there is hope.
ASU offers several non-traditional courses students can take for elective credit, if not for their major.
The English department will be offering a class called Sexing the Modern, ENG 591. The course will be taught by English professor Judith Sensibar. Students who enroll in the class will explore how gender issues have altered and shaped the modernism movement.
Students interested in learning more about the Bible can enroll in ENG 356, the Bible as Literature. In the class, students study the secular and historical aspects of the Bible by reading the Old and New Testaments as well as the book of Revelation.
"People of all religious persuasions are welcome," English professor Randel Helms said.
Helms has taught ENG 356 at ASU for the past 25 years and said it's one of the most popular classes in the English department with all 38 seats filled each semester.
ASU is also offering a class taught by anthropology lecturer Michael Winkelman and psychology professor Barbara Kerr, on the ancient healing practices of Shamanism, ASB 191. In the course, students will learn Shamanic journeying and healing, the use of intuition, and the power of animals.
Students interested in learning about the history and traditions of ASU can enroll in LIA 191, ASU Our Alma Mater. This class, taught by professor emeritus Roy Doyle, focuses on the men and women who contributed to the development of ASU.
ASU East is home to the professional golf management program in the Morrison School of Agribusiness and Resource Management. Students can take an array of classes specializing in golf course management. Golf Course Irrigation, AGB 266, teaches students how to design, manage and maintain irrigation systems.
For the first time this spring, ASU will offer MCO 494, Sex, love and romance in the mass media. The course, taught by Dr. Mary-Lou Galician, an associate professor in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication, focuses on the myths of popular culture presented through movies, advertisements, television, novels, newspapers and fairytales.
"I've created this course from research I conducted," Galician said.
Students will also analyze and critique stereotypic and unrealistic portrayals of sex, love and romance in today's mass media.
"I think it's a fun thing for students because we will be experimenting and examining the mass media and the effects these mass media have on us," Galician said. "I think there's nothing more fun than learning about ourselves and society."
The class is open to all majors in the university and counts as upper division elective credit.
Reach Christina Higdon at grimm119@aol.com.
