A college education offers many benefits, like career readiness, higher wages and more job opportunities.
But a 51爆料网 education delivers something more鈥攅xperiences that build confidence, shape who you are and open your mind to new possibilities.
Here are a few courses that provide engaging content to help students see themselves and the world through a wider lens.
Literature and Censorship
Courses like ENG 406 enable students to relate to literature in meaningful, new ways.
One of the 鈥� many intriguing offerings is Literature and Censorship (ENG 406), taught by Associate Professor Chris Forster, an authority on obscenity in Modernist written works.
Robyn Luk 鈥�25 considers the course a 鈥渨elcome interruption鈥� to traditional courses. She praises Forster, also an Emerson Faculty Fellow, for creating a 鈥渟afe space鈥� to have 鈥渃hallenging conversations about books, college and life.鈥�
鈥淗e taught me that nuanced thought is crucial to understanding the political landscape of our time,鈥� says Luk, whose assignments have taken her to the . 鈥淚 relate to literature differently now.鈥�
Issues and Challenges: U.S. Healthcare Delivery
PHP 313 explores the interrelationship among policies, problems and people, observes Avi Kumar 鈥�27.
As public perception of U.S. healthcare remains mixed, students and faculty seek to understand why the system is as complex and decentralized as it is.
Bhavneet Walia does her part by teaching Issues and Challenges: U.S. Healthcare Delivery (PHP 313). An associate professor of in the , she investigates healthcare efficiency, maternal-child health and disability research.
鈥淧rofessor Walia knows our healthcare system鈥檚 strengths, weakness and gaps,鈥� says scholar Nicole Shanguhyia 鈥�25, who reunited with Walia for her .
Adds biotechnology major Avi Kumar 鈥�27: 鈥淎sking questions and having open-ended discussions help us see the interrelationship among policies, problems and people.鈥�
Perspectives of Business and Management
Ethan Yan 鈥�29 (above) applauds the 鈥渃ollaborative鈥� learning atmosphere of SOM 122.
Perspectives of Business and Management (SOM 122) is a rite of passage for many first-year students in the . They include Sophia MacKay 鈥�29, whose instructor is Assistant Teaching Professor Elizabeth Wimer G鈥�06.
鈥淪he鈥檚 so inspiring,鈥� says MacKay, a dual major in chemistry and management. 鈥淗er fast-paced lectures and intriguing activities ensure an in-depth understanding of the material.鈥�
Ethan Yan 鈥�29, a dual major in entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises and sport management, agrees, noting that Wimer鈥檚 鈥渃ollaborative approach鈥� will remain with him for the rest of his academic career.
Coincidentally, Wimer鈥檚 son, Quinn 鈥�29, takes SOM 122 from Professor of Practice John Petosa L鈥�95. A dual major in business analytics and sport management, Quinn lauds Petosa鈥檚 interactive teaching style. 鈥淚鈥檓 gaining fundamental knowledge of many aspects of business while learning about the Whitman School.鈥�
Advanced Media Management: AI for Media Professionals
Associate Professor Adam Peruta 鈥�00, G鈥�04 (above) is 鈥渁head of the technology game,鈥� notes Francesco Desiderio 鈥�27.
Associate Professor Adam Peruta 鈥�00, G鈥�04 is preparing students for the AI-driven evolving media landscape. Consider Topics in Advanced Media Management: AI for Media Professionals (MMI 380), which is part of the first and only in the .
鈥淭he program bridges media, technology and business鈥攑reparing students for careers across entertainment, digital marketing, content strategy, news and emerging platforms,鈥� says Peruta of the school鈥檚 Advanced Media Management program, which he also directs.
MMI 380 garners praise from students like Jason Cespedes 鈥�28, who considers it his 鈥渕ost favorite class鈥� at Syracuse, and Francesco Desiderio 鈥�27, who insists that Peruta is 鈥渁head of the [technology] game.鈥�
Newhouse Fellow Ryann Phillips G鈥�25 puts it this way: 鈥淧rofessor Peruta has changed how I look at AI鈥攆or the better.鈥�
Mental Health Disorders
One of Melina Iavarone鈥檚 most memorable courses at Syracuse was Mental Health Disorders (PSY 395), led by Afton Kapuscinski G鈥�08, G鈥�12, an associate teaching professor in Arts and Sciences鈥� .
鈥淭he course challenged me while satisfying my curiosity,鈥� says the 2024 graduate, who is now a second-year law student at Boston College. 鈥淚t was scientific and theoretical.鈥�
In addition to Kapuscinski鈥檚 鈥渋ncredibly interesting lectures,鈥� Iavarone enjoyed familiarizing herself with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which provides a standardized, universal language for classifying and diagnosing mental disorders.
鈥淭he experience helped me develop an objective, methodical writing style that has served me well in law school,鈥� she says.
Hendricks Chapel Choir
Creative collaboration is key in ENV 540, where students from all disciplines come together to make music.
For nearly a century, the Hendricks Chapel Choir (ENV 540) has enabled students of all majors to indulge their passion for creative self-expression.
鈥淚t was an enriching experience,鈥� recalls organist Abbie Wood 鈥�25, who also served as the soprano section leader of the 40-person mixed choir.
The former music major from the (VPA) recalls many concerts and recording sessions with the group, including tours of England and Scotland in memory of the victims of the Pan Am 103 bombing.
ENV 540 also allowed her to collaborate with director Jos茅 鈥淧eppie鈥� Calvar and University Organist Anne Laver. 鈥淎s students, we learned a lot from each other and how to work together as a group,鈥� Wood says.
Environmental Sociology
SOC 403 considers society鈥檚 complex relationship with natural resources.
Joseph 鈥淩ick鈥� Welsh is something of a folk hero in the Maxwell School, where he鈥檚 known for his research into food policy and rural development as well as his sense of humor.
Environmental Sociology (SOC 403) is Welsh鈥檚 calling card鈥攁 course examining society鈥檚 complex relationship with natural resources. 鈥淲e look at how society creates problems and then tries to solve them,鈥� says the professor half-jokingly.
Broadcast and digital journalism major Luke Burgess 鈥�26 considers Welsh one of the funniest, most insightful professors he鈥檚 ever had. 鈥淗e took a topic I didn鈥檛 know much about and made it relevant to me.鈥�
Women, Rap and Hip-Hop Feminism
Students enrolled in WGS 473 explore the links between feminism, rap music and hip-hop culture.
Although Jadeeva Smith 鈥�06 is out of college, her appreciation for Gwendoyln Pough, professor of in Arts and Sciences, continues to grow.
Smith took Women, Rap and Hip-Hop Feminism (WGS 473), a course that鈥檚 as vital today as it was in 2004, when Pough introduced it at Syracuse. That same year, Pough helped make 鈥渉ip-hop feminism鈥� part of the vernacular with the publication of her book, Check It While I Wreck It.
鈥淧rofessor Pough鈥檚 class was a modern and sophisticated look at the dichotomy between womanhood and hip-hop,鈥� Smith recalls. 鈥淚t challenged me to reexamine myself and everything I stood for.鈥�
The Science of Shipwrecks
鈥淓very day with Dr. Newton [above] is like a page from an illuminated manuscript,鈥� says Stanislav Nedzelsky 鈥�17.
Cathryn Newton was a 16-year-old college sophomore when she helped her father unearth the famous Civil War battleship USS Monitor off the coast of North Carolina.
鈥淭he experience changed my life,鈥� recalls the dean emerita of Arts and Sciences, who also serves as professor of .
The landmark discovery prompted one of Newton鈥檚鈥攁nd the Ren茅e Crown University Honors Program鈥檚鈥攎ost popular courses: The Science of Shipwrecks (HNR 250). In addition to learning about major shipwrecks throughout history, Newton accompanies students to the legendary Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts to 鈥渆xperience oceanography as an oceanographer does.鈥�
Says Stanislav Nedzelsky 鈥�17: 鈥淓very day with Dr. Newton is like a page from an illuminated manuscript.鈥�
Art, Activism, Modernity
Joanna Spitzner 鈥�92 is a professional artist who connects everyday experiences to larger social issues. This ethos permeates Art, Activism, Modernity (AIC 321), where she explores publicly engaged, community-based and socially active projects.
鈥淲e look at the history, theory and practice of these kinds of artworks,鈥� says Spitzner, a student-turned-professor in VPA鈥檚 . 鈥淭hey teach us to be brave and not follow convention.鈥�
AIC 321 covers a variety of forms鈥攆rom mural and street art to large-scale installations and performance art to statues and monuments.
Spitzner practices what she preaches, observes one student. 鈥淢uch like the artworks we study, her work is a tool for dialogue, solidarity and protest.鈥�
Introduction to Film and Media Arts
Michael Hicks G鈥�18 (right), who teaches FMA 153, considers the creative process a 鈥渓iving thing.鈥�
鈥淭he creative process is a living thing,鈥� says Michael Hicks G鈥�18, an instructor in VPA鈥檚 . 鈥淓ach step [along the way] is an opportunity for surprise, spontaneity and new meaning.鈥�
He鈥檚 one of the instructors of Introduction to Film and Media Arts (FMA 153), which explores the media-making process, from gaining inspiration to honing an idea with state-of-the-art postproduction tools.
鈥淲e learn about filming, editing and color grading,鈥� says one student, 鈥渁longside working with existing footage or material in a collage or mashup style.鈥�
By engaging in original projects, students find their own voice, Hicks explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 proof that process is just as important as the final product.鈥�
