New Offerings in UAB's College of Arts and Sciences, 2013-2014
Doug Baulos shows students how to recreate Renaissance techniques as part of a hands-on workshop in the Italian Renaissance Art class taught by Noa Turel.Sometimes, the best way to get to know a subject is to roll up your sleeves and get a little dirt under your nails. This fall, undergraduates in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences are painting in burnt sienna for a hands-on lesson in Renaissance art techniques, seeking out the hidden connections among living organisms, and getting down in the weeds with three of the toughest texts in English literature.
Learn more about these and other intriguing new course offerings—and get a preview of cool new classes scheduled to debut in spring 2014.
Fall 2013
Italian Renaissance Art
Synopsis: Gain a deep understanding of one of the most pivotal eras in world culture.
Instructor: Noa Turel, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Art and Art History
This course takes a hands-on approach to art history, including a workshop on historic technique, on-site practice in analyzing artworks on display at the Birmingham Museum of Art, and detailed readings in primary sources. During the workshop in early October, Gary Chapman, professor of painting and drawing, taught students the art of gilding; Doug Baulos, assistant professor of drawing and bookmaking, demonstrated the use of ancient ground pigments such as burnt sienna and ultramarine blue.
Mathematical Finance
Synopsis: Understand the formulas that rule modern Wall Street.
Instructor: Paul Jung, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Mathematics
Mathematics is becoming an ever more important part of finance and financial engineering. This course is aimed at introducing the basic concepts and tools needed to understand options and other financial derivatives. It also covers the Capital Asset Pricing Model and the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Formula, two theories that won the Nobel Prize and created a revolution in financial markets worldwide.
African Aesthetics and Traditional Religion
Synopsis: Trace the cultural unity and shared customs and traditions of Africans around the world.
Instructor: DeReef Jamison, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor, African American Studies program
Examine the spiritual beliefs, aesthetics, and worldviews of people of African descent both on the African continent and across the globe. This course highlights the aspects of African cultures that have endured despite the experiences of slavery and analyzes the impact of African culture on Western civilization in areas such as art, music, language, and cuisine.
Functional Genomics and Systems Biology
Synopsis: Understand the complex interactions among everything from molecules to entire species.
Instructor: Shahid Mukhtar, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Biology
Uncover the relationships between biological systems at the molecular, network, and genomic levels in this introduction to established practices and cutting-edge techniques in genome sequencing, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. Students also learn about experimental perturbation of genomes, gene regulatory networks, comparative genomics and evolution, and basic bioinformatics.
Three Tough Texts: Joyce's Ulysses, Eliot's The Waste Land, and Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury
Synopsis: Grapple with some of the thorniest problems in 20th century literature.
Instructor: Kieran Quinlan, Ph.D., professor, Department of English
When James Joyce published Ulysses in 1922, his stream-of-consciousness technique and risqué subject matter caused a scandal—and inspired other masterpieces, including T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land and William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. This course guides students through the intricacies of each work and traces the interconnections between this infamous trinity.
Spring 2014
Beatlemania
Synopsis: Chart the historical forces that turned the lads from Liverpool into a global phenomenon.
Instructor: Andre Millard, Ph.D., professor, Department of History
There's more to the Beatles' success than catchy tunes and floppy haircuts. This class explores the demographic, economic, and technological factors behind the mass hysteria, from the post-war baby boom to the rise in teen spending power to the development of jetliners and affordable cameras. Students will also see how these same overarching trends were reflected throughout popular culture in the 1960s. Class activities will include listening to music by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Cream, Bob Dylan, The Kinks, and more, and watching seminal films such as Blow Up, Easy Rider, and the Beatles's own Hard Day's Night.
3D Design and Printing
Synopsis: Turn ideas into reality with one of today's hottest technologies.
Instructor: Kenneth Sloan, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Computer and Information Sciences
Learn the principles behind the magic of 3D printing, which transforms computer files into solid objects using ultra-thin layers of superheated plastic. After learning the rudiments of 3D printing techniques, students use the printers, scanners, and other cutting-edge hardware in UAB's 3D Print Lab to develop and produce an original design. (Learn more in this UAB Magazine feature.)
Musical Theatre Performance I
Synopsis: Gotta sing? Gotta act? Learn how to improve in both areas in order to nail that next audition.
Instructor: Valerie Accetta, M.F.A., assistant professor, Department of Theatre
Reach a new level in singing and acting technique with this course's systematic approach to the craft. Students also receive training and practice in selecting, preparing, and presenting audition material. Musical Theatre Performance II, offered in the fall semester, expands on these skills with further training.
Environmental Sociology
Synopsis: Investigate the human causes and consequences of environmental problems—and explore potential solutions.
Instructor: Christopher Biga, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Sociology
Survey classical and contemporary theories about the interaction between humans and their environment in this course, which offers a comprehensive introduction to a growing discipline. Students will learn to examine environmental inequalities and analyze social, political, and cultural responses to environmental change.
Drugs, Society, and Crime
Synopsis: Take a closer look at the policies and philosophy behind the war on drugs.
Instructor: Hayden Griffin, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Justice Sciences
More than half of the individuals in American prisons are incarcerated because of drug-related convictions or suffer from drug problems. This course probes the nation's drug dilemmas at every level: What substances are banned and why? What effect does regulation have on crime rates? How do illegal drugs travel to the United States? And how does the media shape our perceptions concerning drugs?