ExCourses

When it comes to registering for classes, Tufts follows the time-honored seniority tradition: seniors pick first, freshmen pick last. But the ExCollege doesn't seem to have gotten that memo. In fact, the University's home for new and unusual courses doesn't stagger course selection at all. Come 9:00am EST on Tuesday, September 1, 2011, potentially thousands of students across campus will be logging on to grab spots in some of the coolest classes offered. Those classes, as of today, are listed online.

(No elephants are harmed at the Experimental College)

The Experimental College is open to all students at the university, offering full- and half-credit courses of both the graded and pass/fail variety in an unusual array of fields. Some courses are taught by professors, others by (well vetted) students. My "LOST as Literature" class from last year was a member of the ExCollege, while selections like "American Sign Language" are Ex-ExCollege courses - they started there, graduated, and became part of other departments.

This semester's selection includes such diverse titles as: "Arthuriana Through the Ages," "Sports Obsession: Athletics, Money, and Culture," and "The Right to Marry: The Legal Perspective." The "EPIIC" colloquium exploring sources of conflict in the 21st century is expected to be in high demand, and "Rape Aggression Defense" is appearing in multiple sections, no doubt in continued response to high (or high enough) interest levels. Most classes are offered at night, when day jobs and other classes won't conflict for instructors and students. Many courses are held once weekly, for approximately 2.5 hours per session.

So go ahead, take a look at the listings. Don't get your hopes up, of course; everyone in school could be vying for these courses. Which makes me wonder if I should have published this post at all...