All of the Classes I Wish I Could Take (But Won’t Be Taking)

As I mentioned in my last post on how I’ve fulfilled my liberal arts requirements, advising week is upon us! It’s time for Carleton students to pick what they will take next year. This also means the release of the beloved Course Catalog, where all students spend hours perusing, building glorious plans, and creating about 20 Plan B’s. As a Registrar’s Office student worker who helps prepare the course catalogue, this is one of my favorite parts of the term. Therefore, I thought it might be fun to share some of the most exciting offerings for next fall, both to get excited for the next academic year and to give the Class of ’30 a few ideas about what to take…

A bit about my selection criteria: I love taking the weirdest classes possible. I’m an Art History major, and the rumors are true: our in-class discussions are truly very strange. I like classes where the information I learn surprises me and the ways we learn to think are unconventional. I also hate math. Really really hate it. So STEM majors, avert your eyes! This is a list of classes that would be fantastic for a fellow Humanities major, but also might feature some fun electives that would fill requirements for STEM majors. TL;DR: chill people only.

Also, I’m planning on taking none of these classes that I feature here. This is for two reasons: One, I want to highlight the diversity of classes offered, and I’m only taking classes that count towards my major and minor next term. And two, so that none of you can steal my spot in the classes I want. Without further ado, here are some super interesting classes being offered next fall!

Studio Arts 327: Woodworking: The Table

The table class is a rite of passage for many artistically-oriented Carls. The course description boasts about the “wondrous joys and enlightening frustrations of working with wood.” The goal of this class is to design and build a table out of wood. Seems simple, but it’s definitely not. It’s a really serious and difficult undertaking, but it sounds so fun to me. I doubt I’ll have the time to take this class at Carleton, but hopefully I will build a table someday, even if it’s just in my dreams.

English 242: Queer Literature: The Pre-Stonewall Origins

This English class focuses on queer literature from before 1969. Highlighted authors include Oscar Wilde, James Baldwin, and Patricia Highsmith. To my chagrin, I’ve never taken a queer studies class at Carleton. It’s a real shame because it’s a huge area of interest for me. Even if I won’t have time to take this class, I can scratch the itch by attending talks, like the talk on queer extinctions I attended last night through the Humanities Center. This class is also taught by Gregory Hewett, who leads the London study abroad that I’m planning to go on next spring! Even though I’m not an English major, I truly can’t recommend the department enough! Every class I’ve taken has been great and the professors are super kind.

Environmental Studies 220: Sovereignty and Sustainability

Okay, maybe I lied earlier. The STEM departments on campus do have some cool classes. Sovereignty and Sustainability talks about the legal structures that govern how indigenous groups manage lands. Indigenous studies is certainly an understudied area, and a really important thing to study given Carleton’s place on the homelands of the Wahpekute and Mdewakanton bands of the Dakota Nation. This class also comes highly recommended by friends of mine who have taken it. It certainly isn’t an easy class, but it’s both an interesting and important one to take.

Religion 245: Religion and Masculinity

This class is a real wild card that still sounds like an absolutely fantastic time. According to the course description, it starts with “contemporary discussions of… ‘getting buff for Jesus'” which then leads into a bigger discussion of gender in religious contexts. This class is taught by a visiting professor. If I can offer any piece of registration advice, it would be to take classes with mystery professors. A good Rate My Professor review is always a nice thing, but I’ve always really enjoyed my classes that I’ve taken with visiting profs. Plus, their classes are often only offered once at the college, so if they sound interesting, take them! This class doesn’t fit into my path towards graduation, but it truly sounds fascinating and I wish I had the time to take it.

Sociology/Anthropology 233: Anthropology of Food

This class covers the ways in which understanding a society’s footways helps unpack different aspects of human behavior. It examines not just the act of cooking and eating, but how societies get food and how conceptions of nutrition and diets differ. I’ve never taken an anthropology class before, but it’s often on the periphery of my art historical research. While I don’t plan to take this class, I definitely plan to take a class in the SOAN department before I graduate. Plus, this class might make me too hungry for my own good…

Emma (she/her/hers) is a sophomore Art History major/European Studies minor from Attleboro, Massachusetts. When she’s not in class, you can probably find Emma engrossed in a terribly long conversation in Burton Dining Hall, knitting at a Bald Spot picnic table, or perusing the museum studies stacks on third libe. Beyond blogging, she works for the Registrar’s Office, teaches adult tap dance classes downtown, and loves submitting to student publications like babyteeth and No Fidelity. She loves Carleton for the number of opportunities it offers and the close connections she’s formed with professors, not to mention proximity to coffee from Goodbye Blue Monday and early morning walks through the neighborhoods.