Confessions of Blognonian's shopaholics: the coolest classes at Brown

Happy start of the semester, Brunonia! As much as you may wish otherwise, shopping period is not over yet. The stress, confusion, indecision, and can-I-do-the-reading-for-ten-classes challenge could technically continue until September 20th.Fortunately, with the weekend has come some freedom to consider which courses you actually want to take. But before you make any final decisions, our staff has put together a list of courses we think you really ought to check out. Here's what made the cut (you might also check out our Fall 2016 Course Superlatives post):1. URBN 1230: Crime and the City    Professor Stefano Bloch    MWF 10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m., Salomon Center DECI (Salomon 101)According to one of our bloggers, Professor Bloch is a "total rock-star." He does get a 4.55 out of 5 on the Critical Review, which describes Bloch as passionate, knowledgeable, and accessible outside of class. The course itself focuses on exactly what the title says: crime in urban spaces. It covers topics like graffiti, homelessness, and gang violence, as well as race, class, and power dynamics. A lot of the readings are only a year old, so you'll be engaging with incredibly relevant and timely material. 2. CHEM 0090: Kitchen Chemistry Professor Sarah Delaney TTh 2:30 p.m. – 3:50 p.m., MacMillan 115The course description includes "edible experiments"...need I say more? This class will focus on the chemical processes involved in cooking, and will answer everything you've ever wondered about why foods do the things they do (like, why does fruit ripen, anyway? and why is butter a solid and olive oil a liquid when they are really very similar materials?). Added bonus: if you're off meal plan, the class is a way to get course credit AND free food. 3. MUSC 0220: Electroacoustic Improv Ensemble Professor Joseph Rovan Wed 7:00p.m. - 9:50p.m., Steinert Hall 205You probably haven't heard of this course, but if you have any experience with acoustics or electronics, you might want to check it out. It'll be a great opportunity to jam with other musicians but also to challenge yourself and experiment with new media that can be used to create musical awesomeness. 4. AFRI 0830: How Structural Racism Works Professor Tricia Rose MWF 11:00a.m. - 11:50a.m., List Art 120This course is integral to understanding a lot of the political conversations happening at Brown—if you're interested in learning more about those conversations or participating in them yourself, this course is for you. It's incredibly relevant to pressing contemporary issues in the United States, and it's a great way expand your perspective on issues of race. 5. ARAB 0100: First-Year Arabic Professor Alla Hassan or Professor Mirena Christoff (depending on the section) Various times and locationsATTENTION FIRST-YEARS: While it's true that Brown doesn't have any foreign language requirements unless they are specific to your concentration, and while you may be less-than-thrilled about diving into a new language (especially since becoming proficient in it requires such a long commitment), take some advice from an upperclassman: if you take a language now, you will thank yourself later. Languages come in handy in all different sorts of unexpected ways: they open up study abroad options and let you apply for jobs in other countries; they also look great on CVs and give you access to an entirely new set of literary works. These are just a few reasons you might consider taking Arabic. Not to mention, our blogger who suggested this course says Professor Hassan is ridiculously nice and clearly wants his students to succeed. 6. POLS 0010: Intro to American Political Processes Professor Wendy Schiller MW 8:30a.m. -9:50a.m., Wilson 102Thanks to Professor Wendy Schiller, who is an engaging and passionate teacher, you don't have to follow politics religiously to enjoy this class. The blogger who recommended it says Schiller "makes the political process intimately applicable to everyone." Plus, there's no better time than now to study American politics, seeing as we're right in the middle of an incredibly absurdly ridiculous election season. 7. HIST 1235A: Modern European Women + Gender History Professor Kelly R Colvin MWF 12:00p.m. - 12:50p.m., Smitty-B 201On the Critical Review, Professor Colvin's ratings don't fall below 4.84 out of 5 for any of the classes she's taught. She's also apparently got a great sense of humor, another perk of taking the class, which covers gender history from the eighteenth century, to the Victorian era, to World War II and the twentieth-century sexual revolution. Thanks to the variety of topics, you're bound to find something in the syllabus that interests you. 8. COLT 0812H: Literary Bestsellers of the Islamic World Professor Elias Muhanna MWF 9:00a.m. - 9:50a.m., Watson 114Want to explore a genre of literature that is probably very different from what you studied in high school? "Literary Bestsellers of the Islamic World" is a great opportunity to do just that. But even if you're not a "literature person," Professor Muhanna is incredibly talented at storytelling and at engaging students with the material. That's probably why his course has drawn students from all sorts of academic backgrounds, including a number of STEM students.Images via and via.