Classes your grandma won't pay for

Nov 4

Pre-Registration for next semester's (Spring 2020) classes fast approaches. Don't freak out. We know that realistically everything will change by the time it's January, and that no period of time is a more ~liminal~ space than shopping period is. But it would be nice to have that capped class you need for your concentration locked down, I guess. So, wake up at 8 a.m. on your respective day, queue up the clock with the seconds on it, and press that button. Then feel weirdly confident or weirdly ashamed, depending on how that works out for you.

Pre-Registration Opens for:

Seniors: Tuesday, November 5, at 8 a.m.

Juniors: Wednesday, November 6, at 8 a.m.

Sophomores: Thursday, November 7, at 8 a.m.

First Years: Friday, November 8, at 8 a.m.

Last week, I was telling my grandmother about my classes. When it came to my description of my seminar entitled Reading Sex, and invocation of Leo Bersani's essay "Is the Rectum a Grave?" (would recommend), my grandmas turned to my mom and said, jokingly, "I'm not paying for that."

Sure, she was kidding. She trusts me to make my own decisions about my education. And the money she and my grandpa put aside to contribute towards said education is not contingent upon me taking classes of which she approves. For the heck of it, though, I've searched C@B for some of the classes that do have the shock value that Reading Sex does. As my friend likes to say, "this is what other people are afraid Brown is."

HIST 1976C Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Environmental Histories of Non-Human Actors

In other words, history of things no one cares about. And yes, I know that some people think no one cares about history in general.

HMAN 1974L The Coming Apocalypse: Between the Earth and the World

Also known as, things one doesn't want to think about. And who knew "Humanities" was a category on C@B?

ENGL 1180H Satire and Humor Writing

"I studied English at Brown." But what you really mean is you were trained to be sarcastic in an smart way and given an "A" for it. Forget my grandma, that idea scares me.

JUDS 1722 Money, Power, Sex and Love: Gender and the Family in Modern Jewish History

No matter who your grandma is, there's something in here for her to take issue with.

HIAA 0006 Wood Structures

I mean, I don't even know where to begin on this one. I'm picturing everything from popsicle stick models to the Trojan Horse. Take it and let me know why this is important. I trust it is.

CLPS 1180B Animal Languages

The term "syntax in whale songs" is used in this course description. Still deciding if I love or hate that.

AMST 1906A History of Skill

If your final paper for this class isn't an in-depth analysis of what it means to be skilled in engaging in discussion about the history of skill, then something's wrong.

COST 0525 The History and Practice of Yoga in India and Beyond

Please take this class. It looks awesome. But, yeah, you might have to explain it to some people.

Which brings me to my final point: we are blessed that this is what people fear about Brown. There is no shortage to the intriguing, odd, niche classes offered, and if you're not taking advantage of this fact, I suggest you change that immediately. What is the Open Curriculum for, if not this?