Registration is coming! Along with the rush I get considering which classes to take, I am struck with a sense of regret for what could have been. With a dwindling amount of time left at Kenyon, and only 12 more possible classes left in my college career, I can’t help but ruminate on the classes I wish I had taken.
But, it’s never too late! We all have at least one semester left, full of possibility.
So, here’s a curated searchable schedule: a consideration of the could-haves and could-bes. Here are some classes that are unique and cool because of the experience they provide, their approach or simply their subject matter.
ENVS 253: Sustainable Agriculture
This class is really neat because students see and participate in farming first-hand. In addition to a seminar, it requires weekly four-hour work sessions at a local farm, either Dharma Farm or Fox Hollow Farm. Offered every fall!
AMST 330: Sankofa Project: Theory and Practice of Urban Education
I think the coolest part of this class is that students spend 10 days in Cleveland during winter break and attend a public high school. Like “Sustainable Agriculture,” learning isn’t limited to the classroom. At the end of the semester, students work together to organize a culminating project to show the school what they’ve learned.
SOCY 291: ST: Hip-Hop in Urban America
Looking at the influence of hip-hop lets students groove while they learn. Assigned a region and a rapper for closer study, you can learn about the relationship between music and urban culture and even spit some rhymes of your own for rap battles.
MATH 347: Mathematical Models
Maybe you’ve seen a story about this course on the main page of Kenyon’s website. Students in this class participate in one of two semester-long projects; determining “an optimized staffing plan for a Nationwide call center or determining the shelf life of data verifying information about pharmaceuticals collected by Sproxil, Inc.” Students communicate directly with representatives from companies and apply mathematics in a practical way.
CLAS 255: Rhetoric in Antiquity
In looking at the art of public speaking through famous rhetoricians from Cicero to Martin Luther King Jr., this class teaches the strategies of rhetoric. Students have a chance to try for themselves by assuming the pulpit and delivering their own rhetorical performances.
SOCY 237: Borders and Border Crossing
Learning about the implications of national borders and all that is exchanged across them culminates in a trip to the American/Mexican border. During the first week of spring break, students are able to apply what they’ve learned to the real issues of how Mexican immigration and trade are handled by the U.S.
ENGL 391: ST: Middlemarch
This literature class is unique because the whole semester is spent reading one book! Multiple times! George Eliot’s most renowned work is about 750 pages in length and would be great to have a whole semester to focus on.
- Brooke Mason Cheney '17
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