On-Campus Courses
If you had a month to study anything you wanted to, what would you choose to learn? Would you lose yourself in Shakespeare? Could you learn how to create 4D art or try your shot managing a global crisis as a future world leader? Maybe you’d study the pursuit of happiness, or explore the science behind magic, your choice.
Carthage’s January Term offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in course topics not always available during the spring and fall terms. While many students choose to study abroad during J-Term, most students remain on campus, where they take a single course in a subject of their choosing.
J-Term courses meet for three hours daily, from 9 a.m. to noon or from 1 to 4 p.m. This format allows students to dive deep into their course material and then spend the other half of the day studying, hanging out with friends, or enjoying the Wisconsin winter.
Here’s a look at some of the courses offered on campus during J-Term.
This course focuses on the connection between humans and the objects we choose to make. A single type of object will be chosen as the subject for each offering. Cultural and historical contexts of this object will be considered, as well as the engineering principles at work in its function. Students will also make and test their own versions of this object throughout the course.
Instructor: Professor Ross Crowley, Engineering
Become immersed in the economics behind one of America’s favorite beverages: beer! Learn about the structure of the entire beer industry, from breweries to retail sales. You’ll work in a group to brew several small batches of beer to learn the basic techniques of brewing and how brewing choices affect the costs of breweries. Additionally, groups will assume the role of one of the major types of firms in the beer industry supply chain and explore the economics of their role. Analyze the market structure of the beer industry, applying different models of competition and discussing how the regulatory framework that governs alcohol production and distribution in the United States has affected different types of firms.
Instructor: Professor Erik Johnson, Economics
Explore the role of cinema in defining societal awareness and knowledge of environmental issues. Students will evaluate the underlying concepts and factual basis of environmental issues as depicted in mainstream movies and documentaries, exploring topics including global climate change, toxicology, sustainable agriculture, and conservation.
Instructor: Professor Tracy Gartner, Environmental Science
This course explores recent writings about Gen Z (also known as “iGen” or “zoomers”) by leading researchers in the field of sociology and psychology. The writings represent multiple perspectives and topics, but of particular note is the Gen Z’s relationship with social media, mental health, and human relationships. Students interested in polishing their formal and personal writing skills, as well as their oral presentation skills, will especially benefit from taking this course.
Instructor: Professor Dimitri Shapovalov, General Education
This course is meant to be an intense investigation into the issues, events, and understandings of 20th century China (including Taiwan) through film. It is the intention of the course to offer the students new insights into the politics, society, and culture of 20th century China by utilizing the texts of the acclaimed “New Chinese Cinema.” This course will not be a chronological survey of Chinese history, rather it will approach each film within a specific historical context and a particular thematic premise. Particular issues to be examined will be the role and position of women and ethnic minorities in China, critiques of Maoism and Maoist-society/culture, and rural/urban divides.
Instructor: Professor Stephen Udry, History
Each offering in this rotating selection of courses explores a single diverse ethnic literature, such as African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic-American, and Native American. While content will vary according to the discretion of the instructor, this group of courses is united by a common desire to read a diverse literature according to its own heritage double-voiced as it is further complicated by issues of gender and class. To this end, a course in Native American literature, for example, might begin with a study of the creation myths in the oral tradition, then move to historical, anthropological, autobiographical, and fictional accounts of the Native American experience as the two (often conflicting) voices of Native American and American describe it.
Instructor: Professor Shannon Brennan, Women’s and Gender Studies
Photographic technology has permeated almost every component of our day-to-day experience. As this technology has continued to evolve since its creation, various techniques and equipment have become increasingly important to understand in order to practice in this competitive and multifaceted medium. This course is designed to introduce students to the vast diversity of techniques and practices relevant in the field of photography. Through studio assignments, screenings, readings, lectures, discussion, and/or workshops, students will be introduced to this art medium. For this specific topic offering, we will investigate studio lighting, digital image management, portrait photography, and product (object) photography to make engaging compositions in unique environments while connecting to a range of significant photographic genres.
Instructor: Professor Joshua McGowan, Art
This course presents a topical introduction to the key principles and concepts of physics in the context of world events and natural phenomena that confront world leaders and that require informed decisions and responses.
Energy, health, counterterrorism, remote sensing, space programs, nuclear proliferation, and a host of other modern challenges have technological and scientific dimensions, the understanding of which is essential to avoiding disastrous policy decisions. Consider the application of physics to these societal challenges.
The material is covered at a level and pace that a future world leader should be able to handle; the emphasis is on the development of physical reasoning skills, and not on detailed, mathematical problem-solving.
Instructor: Professor Kevin Morris, Physics
This course offers all majors and minors an opportunity to explore urban communities with mentors in elementary schools. Students will read about current issues in urban education as well as three specific models of urban teaching, learn about schools as social institutions in urban settings, the basics of lesson planning and assessment, and work directly with a mentor teacher to plan and execute a needs-based urban learning experience within local schools.
Instructor: Professor Katherine Hilson, Sociology
In this course, you’ll be exposed to murder mysteries — in novels, short stories, mini-series, movies, television shows, games, and dinner theater. Read and watch several murder mysteries, primarily ones by female authors with female protagonists. The goal is for you to explore a range of mysteries and some of the psychological concepts that arise in them.
Instructor: Professor Leslie Cameron, Psychology