Trinity students are currently registering for classes to take next semester. Every semester, there are new classes for students to take. These are a few new ones that three different departments on campus are offering.
Classical Studies
Melanie Godsey, department chair and assistant professor of classical studies, is offering a new course next semester: an advanced seminar on classical archaeology (CLAS 4491). Godsey said this course is a chance for students to dig deeper into archaeological coursework by honing their skills in reading and interpreting field work at key sites with current excavations.
“We will look at some of the most important questions in classical archaeology,” Godsey said. “Right now those questions include how do we understand untold voices in the past. They also include, ‘How do we incorporate multiple perspectives in our interpretation beyond our own?’”
The class will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:30 – 3:45 p.m. Godsey also said that she is excited to develop the class.
“This course is structured to do a lot of student-driven learning,” Godsey said. “What that means is that students will get to choose their own topics for their research projects and really build those up. So that kind of teaching is something I really enjoy doing because it comes from students’ passion and interest.”
History
Nicole Marafioti, department chair and professor of history, shared that the history department will be offering new classes such as “Indigenous Environmental History” (HIST 3465), “Civil Rights and Black Power Movements” (HIST 3492), “Animals in Europe Since 1500” (HIST 2431) and “Modern Brazil” (HIST 3344).
Marafioti said these classes are appropriate both for students in diverse fields that are experienced in history and approaching this area of study for the first time. According to her, all four courses are taught by professors in fields in which they are national experts.
“The fact that we have leading scholars of Indigenous history, of mid-century Black and African-American history in the U.S, of modern Brazil — these are remarkable classes to take with someone who is about to publish a book on the topic,” Marafioti said. “All of these transnational connections are broadening our historical outlook day by day, semester by semester.”
Marafioti said that the history department has a new set of major requirements that allow for a focus on Indigenous and Native, Asian, Latin American, European, Middle Eastern, U.S, comparative and ancient history. According to her, the new classes allow an opportunity for history majors and minors to have a more dynamic experience working through the program. For non-history majors and minors, Marafioti said that these classes open up new worlds.
“You can’t truly know a culture, or a region or a population until you’ve understood their past to some degree,” Marafioti said. “All of these classes do that so beautifully — the way that these cultures evolved the way that they’ve adapted to new circumstances and the way that they are still evolving today.”
Philosophy
Judith Norman, department chair and professor of philosophy, said that there is one class that the philosophy department is introducing: “Islamic Philosophy” (PHIL 3490). It will be run by new faculty member Hashem Morvarid, assistant professor of philosophy, who is an expert in Islamic theory.
“Islamic philosophy has been a vital part of the story of philosophy — both European philosophy and philosophy globally. It has often not received the attention that it deserves,” Norman said. “Islamic philosophers pioneered a lot of fascinating and innovative concepts, and arguments and ways of thinking about the world.”
Norman said that Morvarid’s class will be centered on the Islamic Golden Age and contemporary Islamic thought. The class will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:55 – 5:10 p.m. Although the course is upper division, Norman said that Morvarid would waive pre-requisites for students with any particular interest in the class.
“We are a small liberal arts university, with a small philosophy department, and for us to be able to offer a class like Islamic philosophy given our size is truly remarkable,” Norman said. “Philosophy often has this very narrow image of a certain continent — a certain set of thinking — and our department is really working to broaden the image of what philosophy is, who philosophers are and the concepts that philosophy engages with.”
Pre-registration dates for the spring semester began Nov. 10 and extend to Nov. 25. More information about other new classes offered next semester can be found on flyers around campus or with department chairs.
