During the Winter term at Drexel, I think we can all agree it is the time of year where things can get slow and depressing quickly. What would make the term go by a little faster is having a plan of action and a killer class schedule to make school livelier. Though there aren’t that many activities that go on in the cold, slow time of the year, here are three classes that could spice up your class schedule and potentially make your winter term worth it!
1. Story Medicine (WRIT 215)
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Story Medicine is a community-based learning class in which students will go to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and perform shows for hospitalized children. During this time, students will head over to the studio at CHOP, eager and ready in front of the camera with their own original, broadcasting material. Students are able to work collaboratively, working on projects ranging from writing scripts, acting, and production. The class is taught by Nomi Eve, a professor in the English and Philosophy department at Drexel, where she brings students to work outside the classroom while also bringing their own magic to CHOP. “Story Medicine forced me to step outside of my comfort zone and taught me that seeing a child smile is the best payoff there is to hard work,” says a former Story Medicine student.
2. Life is Beautiful (WRIT 305)
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Life is Beautiful is another community-based learning class where the Drexel English and Philosophy department that pairs students with a patient in an area hospice or home to interview and write a life journal on behalf of the patient. Taught by Kenneth Bingham, a teacher in the English and Philosophy department, he advocates for his students that hospice is not about dying, but it is about celebrating the life we have lived. Students will meet regularly for class while discussing their experiences as well as the challenges they face. They can write in the form of life journals, film, scrapbooks, or more to present as gifts to their families celebrating the life of a loved one during the finals’ week. As people, we naturally fear death and dying, and by taking a class such as students learn the importance of life.
3. Sex & Society (SOC 222)
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Sex & Society is a class similar to Philosophy of Sex & Love previously taught by Andrew Kirk during the Fall term of 2019. This class studies the topics of gender and sexuality and how it can be used to create identity and society. It also speaks of how gender and other sexualities are socially produced while talking about the meanings of different orientations and practices. Just like Philosophy of Sex & Love, if one is triggered easily by talk of birth control, sexual technologies, gender norms, and social control of sex… DO NOT TAKE IT. A previous student stated, “conversations in sex & society were fun yet enlightening. By sharing our personal experiences, we were able to more easily understand the societal ideologies surrounding sex & genders.” This informative discussion-based course worth four credits is taught by Jason Ome.