By the time high school students complete their required history courses, they've learned about the Colonial period, the Civil War and who fought in World War II.
But most history courses in high school - and at Tufts, for that matter - lack the time to cover arcane topics like wine production during the German occupation of France.
For the handful of Jumbos enrolled in independent study courses at Tufts, however, offered classes are not a problem. Unable to find courses for the subjects that interested them, these Jumbos have created their own.
Independent study courses allow students to design a curriculum and meet individually with professors to discuss their progress. As a result, they offer students the chance to have a more in-depth learning experience.
Take senior and biology major Marc Bouffard, who, through an independent study course in the Department of Romance Languages, will be studying French wine production within the context of French national and provincial culture. The class delves into historical issues involving Axis powers who demanded that many infamous French vineyards "mobilize" for the war effort by mass-producing wine to feed the German Army, according to Bouffard.
"I've always been interested in the subject," he said, "I just now realized that I could get credit for studying it."
The process of creating such a course, however, is often highly demanding.
After returning from a year abroad at Oxford University, Bouffard realized that he still had two French culture courses left to take in his final year, but that none of the qualifying classes fit into his schedule, which he had planned around his biology major's required classes.
Bouffard instead came up with the idea of an independent course, writing a brief synopsis of his proposal and preliminary syllabus and submitting it to the head of the department. She responded positively, encouraging Bouffard to pursue the subject and recommending specific professors to guide his study.
Bouffard then introduced himself to Gerard Gasarian, an Associate Professor of French, who was interested in the proposed topic.
"I was intrigued by his desire to see how the wine-making process would and might differ according to the cultural context," Gasarian said, citing provincial rivalries among wine producers that "go back to the 12th century."
Gasarian in his time at Tufts has guided many other independent study courses and he emphasized the unique position a student should have in order to pursue such a course.
"We are a small department and we don't give [independent study courses] liberally," Gasarian said.
He described ideal candidates as "exceptional students that have strong ideas and don't have time to present them in class."
Some students who undertake independent study courses already have experience in the area and want to pursue a highly specific subject, often to begin research for senior theses or other final projects.
Megan Carter, a senior double-majoring in international relations and Russian studies, is one student with highly specialized interests. After a high school trip to Azerbaijan, a small country in Southwestern Asia that borders Iran and Russia, Carter knew she eventually wanted to study the region's cultural issues. In the second semester of her sophomore year, she designed an independent study course in the history department called "Ethnic Conflicts in the Caucasus and Central Asia."
"It's a great option if you have a really passionate interest or want to pursue a particular idea further," Carter said. "The flexibility I had in choosing readings and what I wanted my final product to be - a paper and biweekly summaries - was great."
Over the following year, Carter further pursued her interest and is now working on her senior thesis on a similar topic.
"The research I did before is useful now, and it also really helped me narrow down my field of interest to a more specific question," she said.
Fellow senior Joshua Benjamin followed a similar academic track. After a high school immersion program in Quebec, Canada, and a few months working at a summer camp in the same region, Benjamin gained a deep appreciation for the uniqueness of Qu?©b?©cois culture.
"[Quebec is] really between two cultures: North American and French," he said.
In a self-designed course entitled, "Identity through Qu?©b?©cois Literature," Benjamin worked with Lecturer of Romance Languages Claire Schub, who had completed her doctoral thesis on Qu?©b?©cois poetry, but hadn't pursued the subject since.
Benjamin is currently utilizing the research gleaned from the course for his senior thesis regarding immigration and nationalist movements around the world, including Quebec. He said he thinks professors can also benefit from independent study courses.
"A lot of the literature was new for both of us," Benjamin said. "It was a mutual learning experience."
Professor Gasarian agreed.
"The beauty of an independent study is the ability for me to learn more in the process of a young mind developing," he said. "When I teach a course, I have my bases covered, but I can't know everything, not even in my own field - let's be honest."
