The Experimental College released its course listings last Monday, selecting 24 courses to be offered this spring. The list included such classes as "Media Ethics," "The Business of the NBA," and "After Babel," and boasted the usual business-oriented courses, the ever-popular stock market and genetics ethics classes, as well as several new and innovative options.
"Cuba: Its Music, Art, and Culture," to be taught by Professor Susan Thomas and a Cuban artist, was also among the proposed offerings. The course examines Cuban art and culture from both a historical and aesthetic perspective.
"After Babel: Exploring the Languages of the World" is being offered for the first time. The course involves the study and practice of language. According to Professor Robyn Gittleman, it fills a gap in Tufts' language offerings.
"Disability and Public Policy," a returning course taught by Professor Linda Long, will fulfill a community health or American studies credit. Long has an extensive background in law and public policy.
There will also be a cluster of courses relating to business and another relating to international relations. Gittleman said that the courses provide a personal, hands-on level of teaching, with some teaching new techniques and others focusing on cutting-edge subject areas.
"We push forward to try to supplement and complement traditional course offerings," she said.
The Ex College continues to offer the more traditional business courses which are "popular, and fulfill the need for lots of students to have a global aspect to the traditional curriculum," Gittleman said.
"It helps look ahead to the next step after graduating, when students enter the business world," she said. There will likely be one more business-related course offered by the time students register for Ex College courses in January, after it decides how to use a special endowment dedicated to offering courses on innovation in the workplace.
Aside from new and exciting topics, the Ex College will draw from a diverse pool of instructors for its new courses. Two science classes will be taught by Tufts seniors, and several will be taught by celebrities and ex-professionals. Marc Jurkowitz, a journalist for The Boston Globe, is returning for his third year to teach "Media Ethics." Jurkowitz has found that students at Tufts were genuinely interested in the issues. "It's a more organic course than a course about theory. It focuses on real-life situations that journalists experience," he said.
Edmund Dunn, the chief executive officer of MIT Enterprise, will teach one of the high-tech business courses. "The Business of Sports: A Study of the NBA" will be taught for the fourth year by Jan Volk, who was the general manager of the Boston Celtics for 26 years. Volk said he has enjoyed his experience with the Ex College immensely.
"I'm not a teacher by training, and the job is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I have a renewed and increased respect for teachers," Volk said. He also said that Tufts students' curiosity brought fresh insights to the class, which relies heavily on participation.
"It's not a spectator sport," Volk said. "I've learned a lot about the business I'm in from teaching this class."
Gittleman, the Ex College director, has filled her position for over 25 years, and explained that the process of choosing the courses involves committees comprised of students and faculty. Generally, everyone must come to a consensus for a course to be accepted.
It is important to the Ex College that the committee members agree on each course, rather than relying on a majority vote. This year, from 70 courses proposed, only 24 were chosen. The number of classes depends on the Ex College budget, although it does not normally fluctuate. The amount of proposals the department receives each year depends on "if the job market is very poor," Gittleman said. "The number has been stable for some time. The job market now is good, so we still get a good number of proposals, but not quite as many as previous years."
The course selection process involves an effort to balance Ex College offerings. The committee looks for courses that will be popular and/or add relevant topics to the University curriculum. To start the process, the course selection committee divides the courses into categories: Media, Arts, Business, Global Issues, etc. They then make sure that they have at least one or two courses under each category.
"We hope we can offer something to everybody, both Liberal Arts and Engineering majors," Gittleman said.
