After College Planning
This course will be designed for students to think about life outside of college, whether it is learning about what’s needed to get into a masters program, what a FICO score is, or student loan education.
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Autism Acceptance and Appreciation
We will focus on correcting the stigma surrounding autism as something that needs to be cured. We will be looking into where the stigma comes from as well as why many things commonly associated with autism are harmful to the autistic community.
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Commuter Community
We will discuss the issues facing commuter students with the goal of developing policy recommendations, resolutions, and build community.
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Creative Writing: Free style
This course is about tapping into certain parts of yourself that we often shut down, silence, and ignore. The courses content will consist of submitting assignments of any writing that you like, whether it be writing poetry, songs, novels, short stories or any kind of free style type of English writing. The purpose of the course is to provide students with a stress free and supportive platform of self-expression and self-discovery.
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Cult Leader Psychology
In this course (an offshoot branch of my previous Psychology of Serial Killer class), we will learn about different historical cults as well as the people who established and put them together. We will learn the basics of cult make-up -- what defines one as well as warning signs.
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Fanfiction as Literature
This course seeks to examine fanfiction, self-published stories by media fans, as the literary form it is. We will examine the evolution of modern fanfiction; what preceded it; the legal concerns surrounding its publication; the differences between fanfiction, transformative fiction, and adaptation; the socio-cultural aspects of reading and writing it; fanfiction etiquette; traits of the genre, and more. And, whether first-time or long-time readers or writers, students will be challenged to write some fanfiction of their own.
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Generational wealth
This course will focus on the importance of generational wealth. Most families of color don’t learn how to build economic power. By focusing on financial stability and our own families' relationship with money, people of color may be able to break the chains of poverty. In this course, we will help each other see money differently and learn our economic history.
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Meditation
We will use meditation to cultivate open awareness of the world and space with practices of breathing, seeing, hearing and sensing. I will use techniques I learned when working with the rhythmic gymnastics competitors of T J Sokol Karlovo Pole Academy in the field of psychological preparation, relaxation, music therapy, development of orientation.
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Personal Branding and Communication
Students will: Understand the basics of personal branding and what it means to inhabit their brand; Build and manage their own LinkedIn profile; examine PR and Personal Branding case studies; Learn possible work-related obstacles students may face and learn how to deal with them; Investigate mainstream media and how minorities are portrayed in the workforce/corporate culture; Students will improve their creative writing; resume building; and public speaking (personal elevator pitch)
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Practical Travel
Practical travel will teach students of all aspects surrounding travel. This course will cover topics and skills for any type of travel whether rural, in the wild, or overseas. We will use many disciplines from anatomy and astronomy, to geology and sociology to equip you for whatever you may face when traveling. You will expand your use of science to practical, life applications.
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Predator and Prey: Traditional and Transgressive Portrayals of Women in Horror Movies
An introductory course on women's roles in horror films and how those films directly or indirectly approach misogyny.
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Psychology of Psychedelics
This course will discuss the long history of psychedelics and how its utility and stigma has changed throughout the years. The class will discuss its effect on the brain as well as the way that experiences including psychedelics can affect our psyche. Its dangers will be acknowledged and its potential in the field of psychology will be questioned.
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Pursuit of Happiness
This course is designed to help students develop and apply different strategies, both physically and mentally, to improve overall well-being and happiness. This includes positive reinforcement, goal setting and real-life applications.
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Skills for Politics: Understanding and Developing Political Skills
Through examining hot topics in California’s politics like urban planning, budgeting, and primary challenges, will learn how local and state politics in California works. This will prepare us to engage in professional development through working in political campaigns or government offices.
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Study of Studio Ghibli Films: A Thematic Study
Through analyzing the works of the studio that produced Spirited Away and Ponyo, we will explore themes such as environmentalism, feminism, war, coming of age, family, and friendship. Studio Ghibli is an acclaimed Japanese film studio known for their beloved animated feature films and recognizable art style. Students will discuss how iconography, aesthetics, character development, and music contribute to shaping these films.
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Theatre Voice History: A Historical Journey
This course will focus on improving vocal and musical ability in the musical theatre genre, as well as examine how American musical theatre has changed over the course of its history. Students will bring in songs from each time period we cover using them to workshop their vocal technique as well as examining them as representative of that period's style.
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U.S. Constitution: Know your Rights!
The main goal of this course is for students to leave empowered in terms of knowing their rights. This course aims to enhance students' understanding of what the Constitution is -- the articles and amendments. We will practice active learning techniques so as to jointly question why the constitution is built the way it is, who it benefits/ excludes.
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Weaire-Phelan Structure: An Examination of its Applications and Properties
Weaire-Phelan is an interesting three-dimensional structure, which has the highest volume to surface area ratio found so far. We will read various scientific articles, especially in the realm of energy loss in foams and crystalline structures and the fundamental mode of vibrations observed in hexagonal membranes. One goal will be to write a paper about our research and explore publishing possibilities.