Ahead of advance Spring registration opening today, The Alligator interviewed six professors about their new classes.
IDS2334: Chemistry in the Cocina Latina
Gillian Lord didn’t think her Facebook post would turn into a real class. But when Lord, the chair of the UF Spanish and Portuguese Studies department, posted about a Latin cookbook, Valeria Kleiman, an Argentinean UF chemistry professor, responded with enthusiasm.
Their interdisciplinary class takes students on a chemical, historical and linguistic journey through experiments, vocabulary lessons and cooking.
“The sciences haven’t done as great a job of internationalizing as the humanities have,” Lord said.
WST4930: Transgender Studies
The first class on transgender studies will be taught this Spring by Billy Huff, the director of LGBTQ Affairs at UF.
“Sex and gender are some of the most fundamental ways we identify ourselves and ways we structure our society,” Huff said.
The class will talk about violence and anti-transgender speech. Huff said he hopes even non-trans students will see themselves reflected in the texts.
IDH2930: (Un)common read - Addiction & Society
American drug addiction will be explored in Oliver Grundmann’s online course through the books “A Beautiful Boy” and “Methland.”
College is the first time people may become dependent, the pharmacy professor said.
“It affects people of all social classes,” Grundmann said.
ADV4930: Social Labs
After two pilot semesters, Bienvenido “Benny” Torres, a UF alumnus, and his students have created a College of Journalism and Communications capstone that lets students send an advertising pitch directly to brand-name companies.
Students will have access to the brand’s equipment to develop on-campus ambassadors for the selected company.
“I want to empower young people to learn creative processes,” Torres said.
LAS3930: Drug Wars
The complicated relationship between Latin America and the United States will be explored through two commodities — legal oil and illegal drugs.
Joel Correia, an assistant professor of Latin American studies, said he will use different mediums to analyze the topics through a political and ecological framework.
“Even the personal consumption choices of different students affect some of these seemingly different policies and processes,” Correia said.
SYD3410: Urban Sociology
Brenden Beck, an assistant professor of UF’s Sociology and Criminology & Law Department, wants students to see how their space changes based on economics, race and gender.
Gainesville, Miami and New York will be case studies explored through lectures, podcasts and films. Beck said he hopes the material inspires an awareness of local governments.
“You might not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you,” Beck said.
Contact Hannah Beatty at hbeatty@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @hannahbeatty_
