Cool Courses for Spring Quarter 2025

As you think about spring quarter 2025 course registration, check out these unique Arts & Sciences offerings. They’re open to all students, have no prerequisites, and fulfill Areas of Knowledge requirements as noted.

Sci-Fi to Fairy Tales
Tackling Societal Challenges
Media & Its Impact
The Dark Side, in Film & Literature
Arts & Culture
Science Through Another Lens
More Cool Courses

Science & Speculative Fiction of Southeast Asia

ASIAN 207
(listed as “Special Topics in Literature and Culture of Asia")
Southeast Asian science fiction has taken several imaginative forms of looking at the world, with works like Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon and Netflix’s adaptation of the Filipino graphic novel Trese helping to raise the profile of Southeast Asian speculative and science fiction. Explore themes, voices, and stories beyond the mainstream western sci-fi sphere.
Nazry Bahrawi, Asian Languages & Literature
5 credits, A&H

Science Fiction in Eastern Europe: Brave New Worlds

POLSH 325 A / GLITS 252 B / C LIT 421 A
Shaped by the experience of two world wars, two totalitarianisms, and several revolutions, continental sci-fi is known for its radical and uncompromising thought experiments and daring aesthetics. Examine European science fiction literature, drama, and film produced in Central and Eastern Europe through the lens of the relationship between culture and science.
Agnieszka Jezyk, Slavic Languages and Literatures
5 credits, A&H            

Hans Christian Andersen and the Fairy Tale Tradition

SCAND 232 A / GLITS 252 A / C LIT 252 A
Why do we love fairy tales? Where do fairy tales come from? Is the storyteller a performer, a folklorist, or a creative writer? Study fairy tales in relation to literary and cultural history and social contexts, with a particular focus on the predominant concerns in Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen’s celebrated tales.
Marianne Stecher-Hansen, Scandinavian Studies
5 credits, A&H

Housing Crisis

SOC 201
(listed as “Special Topics in Sociology”)
The US is experiencing a housing crisis. Homeownership is unobtainable, rents are high, racial inequity in housing is profound, homelessness is enduring, and extreme housing insecurity like eviction is pervasive. Explore the key foundations, important dimensions, and debated solutions to the American housing crisis, drawing upon work across sociology, history, and public policy.
Andrew Messamore, Sociology
5 credits, SSc

Diplomacy, Strategy, and United States Foreign Policy

JSIS B 220 A
Develop a well-rounded understanding of US foreign affairs by exploring theories and approaches in US foreign policy, with a focus on key historical events that have shaped modern US foreign affairs. This course covers diplomacy, strategy, and US foreign relations, including military, economic, and cultural aspects.
Daniel Bessner, International Studies
5 credits, SSc

Ties that Kill: Infectious Disease and Social Dynamics

SOC 301
(listed as “Special Topics in Sociology”)
How does human behavior influence infectious disease dynamics? Explore how social interactions — sex networks, contacts, kinship — influence the spread of infectious diseases. Learn how to critique and evaluate interventions targeting directly transmitted human diseases, and how factors like sex/gender, race, socioeconomic status, and culture shape everything from disease exposure to mortality rates.
Audrey Dorelien, Sociology
5 credits, SSc

Cybersecurity and International Studies

JSIS B 355 A
Dive into the world of cybersecurity, exploring the international agreements, organizations, and infrastructures that shape digital security today. Learn key technical terms and the legal frameworks that govern the cyber world, gaining a deeper understanding of how global policies and technologies intersect to protect — and challenge — our online lives.
Jessica Beyer, International Studies
5 credits, SSc / W

Geographies of International Development and Environmental Change

GEOG 270
Explore how concepts, theories, and ideologies of international development and environmental issues are interrelated. The class will examine how these issues connect people and places around the world, with a focus on topics such as population, consumption, carbon, land, and water.
Gretchen Sneegas, Geography
5 credits, SSc

Spanish and Latin American Literary Journalism

SPAN 338
Dive into the often exciting world of creative nonfiction writing — journalism! — that explores local life and cultural issues in contemporary Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Argentina. The class will read narrative journalism with a social purpose, exploring individual experiences in civic engagement and social commitment.  The language prerequisite listed in MyPlan is waived for this English-language version of the class.     
Sam Jaffee, Spanish and Portuguese Studies
5 credits, A&H

Migration and Media: Tools, Information, and Communications of Migrations

CHID 370A
(listed as “The Cultural Impact of Information Technology”)
Explore how media shapes the experiences of diasporas before, during, and after migration, and examine tools, data, and communication patterns that impact migrants’ lives. Students will connect their own experiences with migration narratives as they engage with films, podcasts, and other multimedia to understand the transmission of information across time and space.
Sarah Nguyễn, iSchool
5 credits, A&H / SSc

Violence & Trauma in Korean Literature

GLITS 253 A / KOREAN 360 A / C LIT 322 C
(listed by various course names)
To understand a culture, one must understand its past, including the dark and traumatic aspects. To understand 21st century Korea, one must understand how violence colors much of its 20th century. Through literary works from the 1950s to the 2020s — including novels, short stories, webtoons, and graphic novels — explore the different theories and usage of trauma and violence within Korean literature, and how it reflects the cultural and historical narratives of Korean society. No knowledge of Korean is required.
Emily Marie Anderson Hall, Asian Languages & Literature
5 credits, A&H (SSc / A&H for GLITS 253A)

Popular Film and the Holocaust

GERMAN 195 / JEW ST 175
Have we learned nothing?  Recent events around the globe have revived frightful memories of the Holocaust. Why do we seem destined to repeat the past? This course looks at how the Holocaust has been represented in popular film from 1945 to the present, including the challenges of representing horrific deeds on film, as well as filmmakers who appropriate the Holocaust simply to “pump up the volume” in their films. Throughout the term, we will draw comparisons and contrasts with the geo-political map of today.
Richard Block, German Studies
5 credits, A&H / DIV

Framing Mafia

ITAL 352 A
(listed as “Italian Cultural History”)
By exploring depictions of the Italian mafia in some of the most iconic films in both American and Italian cinema — from American classics like "Scarface" and "Goodfellas" to Italian classics — students will learn how Hollywood spectacle influenced American ideas of the Mafia while Italian films discussed the Mafia in connection with sociopolitical issues.
Claudio Mazzola, French & Italian Studies
5 credits, A&H / SSc

The Water Crisis in Literature and Film

FRENCH 228 A / LIT 228 A
Through film, literature, and other media that address the water crisis, explore how water's meaning has changed, particularly as people become more conscious of risks in supply and as access to water is increasingly mediated. Learn about the intersection of society with natural resources, pollution, natural/man-made scarcity, privatization, and commodification.
Richard Watts, French & Italian Studies
5 credits, SSc / A&H

Black Feminist Art and Performance

GWSS 325
Explore how Black artists from around the world create work, in a variety of mediums, that engages with feminist concerns about identity and power. Students will gain skills and vocabulary for describing the formal elements of art and interpreting their meaning, learn key concepts of feminist and queer analyses of identity and power, and practice integrating these concepts into creative thinking and projects.          
Kemi Adeyemi, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies
5 credits, A&H / SSc / DIV

Powwow Cultures in Native North America

AIS 321 / MUS 321
Learn about historic and contemporary powwow practices by engaging in a variety of participatory and hands-on activities, ranging from interactions with powwow musicians, dancers, organizers, and community members (via guest lectures and participation in the annual UW First Nations Powwow) to analyses of print and audiovisual media, including social media.
Jessica Bissett-Perea, American Indian Studies
John-Carlos Perea, Music
5 credits, A&H / SSc / DIV

Contemporary Japanese Art and Society

JAPAN 380
Explore major trends in art and performance in Japan from 1945 to the present, with a focus on how art and artists relate to society, politics, and social change. Expand your mind, expand your world.
Justin Jesty, Asian Languages & Literature
5 credits, A&H

Drama Movers and Shakers: Theatre Innovators from the 1920s to the 2020s

DRAMA 494
(listed as “Special Studies in Theatre and Drama”)
This class surveys some of the major influencers of the styles, movements, and aesthetics of theatre training and content of the 20th century and contemporary theatre.
Odai Johnson, Drama
5 credits, A&H

Science Communication: Video Storytelling in Biology

BIOL 305
Students in this course make short films on biological stories, concepts, or theories. After making two videos using previously shot footage of an assortment of wildlife, students will create their own short video on a topic of their choosing, from developing a storyline to filming to editing and producing the video. The final videos will be played in the BIOL 305 Video Showcase during finals week.
P. Dee Boersma, Biology
3 credits, NSc / A&H

Pacific Indigenous Astrophysics

ASTR 190 A / ASTR 597
(listed as “Modern Topics in Astronomy for Non-Science Majors”)
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Ocean have navigated our watery continent guided by the stars, wind, swells, marine life and ancestors. Learn about the cosmos through both an Indigenous and Western lens, and the cultural impact of reclaiming Indigenous cultural practices. This course will cover Indigenous wisdom intertwined with modern-day concepts of astrophysics as a continued way of strengthening our relationship with the cosmos.
Brittany Kamai, Astronomy
5 credits, NSc 

Making Manuscripts: Manuscript and Handwriting Technology from Antiquity to Today

TXTDS 220 A
Quills, pens, pencils, vellum and paper: we forget in our digital age that the most enduring writing technologies have been the tools we use to write by hand. We’ll explore the history of handwriting and manuscripts, from medieval manuscripts to handwriting today. We still often sign, now with a stylus or our finger on a screen. We’ll visit UW Special Collections and see up close manuscript fragments and books, some dating back to the 12th century.      
Beatrice Arduini, French & Italian Studies
5 credits, SSc / A&H

Transnational Fandom Studies

GWSS 372
Fandom and its cultural formations shape the way we engage with music, manga, film, and more. Explore fandom through a transnational feminist lens, using case studies of fan communities from both sides of the Pacific. These case studies will include the development of boys' love as a shoujo manga genre, and BTS' international fandom in the context of the Hallyu wave.
Regina Y Lee; Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies
5 credits, DIV / SSc

Gender, Sex, and Religion in Islamic Thought

RELIG 334 A / MELC 396A / GWSS 334
By looking at Biblical and Quranic conceptions of gender and sexuality, explore how ancient and premodern Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interpreters of scripture shaped the way that we think and talk about gender and sexuality today. The course takes a feminist approach to reading foundational religious texts and centers women’s perspectives in the reading of premodern works. 
Mika Ahuvia, International Studies
Lillian McCabe, Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures
5 credits, SSc / DIV

Introduction to Language & Society

LING 233 / ANTH 233 A / COM 233 A
Learn about the study of sociolects — the varieties of language that arise from differences in cultural and societal groups, often reflective of power inequalities. Through the systematic observation and critical discussion of linguistic phenomena, this course raises awareness of the role that society and the individual play in shaping how we speak.
Betsy Evans, Linguistics
5 credits,  A&H / DIV                             

Alexander the Great: Myth and History

CLASSICS 496 A
(listed as “Special Topics”)
In his short life, Alexander III of Macedon made himself a mythical figure. In death, the myths of Alexander the Great multiplied as they have for few other human beings. This course explores these myths, looking at how interconnected ancient societies across Eurasia imagined Alexander.
Ray Lahiri, Classics
5 credits, A&H / W (optional)