Eager to get to the bottom of this relationship, juniors Parker Killenberg and Jordan Sclar have created an Explorations course, Man’s Best Friend: The Psychology of Dogs for first-year students this Fall.

A fascinating course that explores Antarctica's formation and future in a storytelling context, taught by Marissa Grunes, a scholar of American literature whose dissertation examined the intersection of architecture and environmentalism in nineteenth-century American literature.

Jumbos "master the elements" of complex themes of a critically acclaimed show. Old and new fans alike have come together to express their love for the show and marvel over its characters, art, and world-building. Creating this same sense of community at Tufts, Emma Downs provides a place for fans to speak about the show in her Fall 2020 ExCollege course for first-years.

“What does Dancehall even have to do with women?” With one critical question, the foundation for an ExCollege course was born. Instructor Onisha Etkins said she “knew that Dancehall — a genre of Jamaican music that emerged in the 1970s — provided such a freeing space as a dancer and a Black woman,” and recognized that other dancers in this space shared a similar sentiment. 

There’s a lot we don’t know. Whether from a lack of education or through social codes that encourage some level of innocence, the practice of not knowing is largely ingrained in our lives. Critical analysis is central to Ethics of Ignorance, a Fall 2020 ExCollege class that explores "unspoken ethical codes" and responds to different levels of ignorance we apply to the world around us.

Tufts Alum and Visiting Lecturer Jonathan Rosen teaches Behind the Reporter’s Notebook: The Practice of Global Journalism in the 21st Century.

Jack Waisel's Explorations course, Presidential Campaigns: The Evolution of Strategies and Tactics, has first-year students exploring the characteristics of winning (and losing) campaigns while investigating the unique qualities of the 2020 election.

Everyone’s talking about The Great British Bake Off, Antoni from Queer Eye visited Tufts, and food blogs for all kinds of specialized diets fill Instagram feeds... In recent years, food-related content has taken off to become a dominant force in mainstream media. This semester, Tufts alumna Denise Drower Swidey (A90) is teaching An Insider’s Guide to the World of Food Media, in which students explore the history of food media’s popularization and have a chance to participate in the practice.

Every ExCollege course has its own special and unique moments. For Famous Trials in U.S. History, the Tuesday evening class shared an experience to remember for a lifetime: the announcement that the remainder of the semester was to be completed remotely. For the students — the majority of whom are seniors — the news was shocking and emotional.

The term “wandering” is defined as traveling aimlessly from place to place. But what does it mean to wander in a game? How does exploration in videogames reflect the real world and to lived experiences? Dr. Melissa Kagen and her students take on these questions and more in the Spring 2020 ExCollege class Wandering Games: Play, Performance, Protest. 

Rage, fear, elation, trepidation: these are just some of the emotions brought out by political discussion in today's divisive climate. On the other hand, many young people feel desensitized to political drama and hopeless about the prospect of change. How do we negotiate these feelings, or lack thereof? How can we relate what we feel to how we act?

With a wave of true crime podcasts and television programs surging in popularity recently, people seem more fascinated than ever in understanding the genre's connection to the real world. Yet, this Spring 2020 course asks how true crime in modern media shapes viewers' perception of crime. The truth can be much more distressing.