Even in this mild winter, on Valentine’s Day with spring break still weeks away, I start thinking of summer. I know that the drop/add period just recently ended at Wesleyan, but it’s not too early to start thinking of the cool classes one can take at Wes and still have two credits completed before July 4th. The summer session here is a time to explore new subject areas or get some requirements completed in small classes with some of our great professors. The two Thematic Institutes this year are really exciting. These are two linked courses that tie different perspectives together on an important topic. Scott Higgins and Steve Collins are teaming up for an Institute on thematic storytelling. Scott will emphasize how Hollywood conventions enabled intense creativity by focusing on four classic directors: Frank Borzage, John Ford, Vincente Minnelli and Howard Hawks. Steve’s linked class will teach students how to write screenplays from the ground up, answering the question: “How do we write in pictures?”
The other Thematic Institute this summer is entitled Pathologies of the Mind. Matthew Kurtz’s class will be investigating the neuroscience of psychopathologies such as schizophrenia, bipolar illness, depression, attention-deficit disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. His class emphasizing the biology of these disorders will be complemented by Jill Morawski’s course on cultural-historical perspectives on psychological disorders of thinking, mood, and life experiences. Together, these classes give students interested in psychology an extraordinarily multi-faceted approach.
Whether you’re interested in these institutes or computer science, government or creative writing, the Wesleyan Summer session has much to offer. Even just thinking about it makes me feel a little warmer…