Non-credit, short courses are two-week courses that enroll high school students only. They are taught by Emory College faculty and are small discussion, lab, or studio classes. Professors will evaluate the student's performance based on attendance, participation, written work, presentations, and/or artistic portfolios, depending upon the course. Professors will provide verbal and/or written evaluations, and the student will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the program.
Session A: June 28-July 9 (residential program available)
Telling My Story: Contemporary Non-Fiction
Professor William Gruber
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session A: June 28 - July 9 Non-credit.
Some of the best and most interesting contemporary writers work in a relatively new genre called creative non-fiction. Their writing features many of the artistic techniques common to novels and poetry—for example, dialogue, narrative, metaphoric language--only their stories aren’t made up, but true. We’ll read and discuss writers’ experiences with travel (Lawrence Millman, Last Places), young love (Amy Benson, The Sparkling-Eyed Boy), nature (Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire), books (Anne Fadiman, Ex Libris), American history (Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried), and religion (Annie Dillard, For the Time Being). Prerequisites: none.
Click here for three samples of non-fiction—two pieces of student writing from recent classes at Emory (The Health Benefits of Moshing and On Forgiveness), and an excerpt from Professor Gruber's book, On All Sides Nowhere (Houghton Mifflin, 2002).
Spectacular Soundtracks: The Role of Music in the Movies
Professor Scott Stewart
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session A: June 28 - July 9. Non-credit.
Music for film occupies a unique position in the art world as being the only performed music which is not intended to be heard. Noted film composer Bernard Herrmann once said that the cinema is “the art form that will define our culture for the people of the twenty-first century.” This mini-course will explore the role of music in the cinema, surveying film music from the silent film era through the present, with an emphasis on feature-length films from Hollywood. We will spend time studying the elements of music and how film composers have manipulated musical materials to form artistically effective soundtracks. Prerequisites: none
Medicines for Mental Health
Professor Kenneth Carter
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session A: June 28 - July 9. Non-credit.
Since Time magazine profiled Prozac as a cover model over 10 years ago, medications for psychological disorders have been in the forefront of our culture. Most people, however, are not exactly sure how they work on our brains and bodies. This class will cover the basic information about some of the most common medications for psychological disorders including depression, anxiety, and insomnia. We'll discuss how these medications work on the brain system as well as on neurotransmitters, their common side effects, and also how to decipher the information in that little handout that's included in the medications. No previous background in chemistry, biology, or medicine is necessary. Prerequisites: none, but a background in biology, chemistry, or psychology will be helpful.
Ethics and Bioethics
Professor Peter Wakefield
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session A: June 28 - July 9. Non-credit
How do we define the boundaries of human life—at the beginning, middle or end of our fleeting moment on earth? How different are humans (genetically, morally) from other animals? Does altering our looks through aesthetic surgery affect who we are? Would altering our genetic make-up to prevent a disease alter who we are? Medical and technological developments blur intuitions about when and where life and identity begin and end. Highlighting selected works of Emory University researchers, this course begins with classical ethical notions and draws on history of philosophy, literature, medicine,and film to raise and critically analyze questions that confront doctors, patients, policy makers, and citizens in our times.
Texts to be studied include: Peter Singer, Practical Ethics and Cambridge Textbook of Bioethics; Mary Doria Russell, The Sparrow; Plato, Gorgias; Sander Gilman, “Ethnicity and Aesthetic Surgery”; Howard Kushner, A Cursing Brain?: The Histories of Tourette Syndrome; Ghost in the Genes (NOVA); and Bernard M. Dickens, et al. “Euthanasia and End of Life Care.”
Schedules permitting, students will tour and Emory Healthcare facility and speak with a medical professional. In addition to short writing assignments and in-class discussions, students will make a brief oral presentation on a bioethical issue. Prerequisites: none
Crossing Borders: Exploring the U.S. Immigrant Experience through Latino Literature
Professor Lisa Dillman
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session A: June 28 - July 9. Non-credit.
Neuroscience and Technology: The Brain and Cognitve Enhancements
Professor Michael Crutcher
1:00 - 3:30 p.m. M-F, Session A: June 28 - July 9. Non-credit.
This course will examine the science of brain and cognitive enhancement techniques while exploring both the history of these techniques and predictions of future enhancement technologies. Topics to be covered include drug enhancements and mood manipulation, electrical stimulation of the brain, cochlear and visual implants, deep brain stimulation for the treatment of neurological diseases, motor prosthetic devices and memory enhancement technologies. We will also discuss the ethical implications of possible future developments in this field, including genetic manipulations and the use of brain implants to dramatically increase our capabilities. Prerequisites: none
Al-Qaeda and the War on Terror: Counter-Terrorism and US Relations with the Islamic World
Professor Devin J. Stewart
1:00 - 3:30 p.m. M-F, Session A: June 28 - July 9. Non-credit.
Session B: July 12 - July 23(residential program available)
Psychology in Current Fiction: A “Novel” Approach to the Study of Human Behavior
Professor Marshall Duke
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session B: July 12-23. Non-credit
This seminar will begin with a basic grounding in three areas of psychology: 1) psychoanalytic, behavioral, and interactional approaches to personality; 2) theories of family dynamics; and 3) theories of psychological and social development from childhood to old age. Using this information about real people, three current works of fiction will be read and analyzed. Emphasis will be on the manner in which psychological knowledge can be applied not only to the characters and plots in the novels, but to their writers as well. Further focus will be on the ways in which knowledge gained from fictional characters can be applied to the understanding of real-life people and situations. Students will be required to prepare two term papers and to participate actively in class discussions. Prerequisites: Students must be able and willing to read 100-150 pages per day.
Science of Sustainability Institute
Professor Daphne Norton
9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. M-F, Session B: July 12-23. Non-credit
Globalization: The Sociology of a Shrinking World
Professor Frank Lechner
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session B: July 12-23. Non-credit
Lawyer as Advocate and Advisor:An Introductin to the Legal Profession
Professor Jennifer Romig
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session B: July 12-23. Non-credit
Shakespeare in Perfomance, From Stage to Screen
Professor Vincent Murphy
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session B: July 12-23. Non-credit. Lab Fee: $20
Life, Love, and Death on Screen: An Introduction to the Critical Analysis of Films
Professor Kevin Cryderman
1:00 - 3:30 p.m. M-F, Session B: July 12-23. Non-credit
Rather than negating or dismissing the visceral pleasures involved in viewing films of all kinds, this course will use that energized connection to various kinds of cinematic cultural production as a starting point to the critical analysis of film as a medium that is in a constant process of both stability and radical change. This course provides both a basic critical vocabulary for the analysis of films (film production, mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, sound, genre and so forth) and a basic introduction to college-level writing and critical thinking. Class activities will include lectures, discussions, clip analysis, quizzes and short essays about films. Prerequisites: none
Session C: July 26-August 6 (residential program available)
Public Health: Historical Links, Career Opportunities, and Practices
Professors Eugene Gangarosa, Michael Lane, Peter Schantz
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session C: July 26 - August 6. Non-credit.
This course is designed for students who are interested in exploring careers in public health. It will focus on unique opportunities for academic training at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health. The course will provide students an historical perspective of how public health evolved as a profession; the philosophy of public health, the formulation of public-health policies; tools used in public health practice, career opportunities; public health partners; and public health issues-past and present. The class will take place at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Museum. Prerequisites: High School Biology, Chemistry, and Algebra
The Power of Language in Media
Professor Debra Spitulnik
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session C: July 26 - August 6. Non-credit.
Media are a pervasive feature of everyday life, especially for high school age young adults. Being able to better understand how media work and how we relate to media is of high interest and applied relevance for young people today. Understanding the consequences of language choices in media is important for effective citizenship and it is eye-opening for those who tend to take the communication structures of media for granted. In this course, students are first introduced to basic concepts in media studies, linguistics, and discourse analysis. They then apply course concepts in original research into the language of newspapers, television, radio, advertisements, the Internet, and text messaging. This course is relevant for those considering a career in journalism, law, marketing, education, and other fields that emphasize attention to language and rhetoric. Prerequisites: none
Listening to the World: How to Study Music and Why It Matters
Professor Lynn Wood Bertrand
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session C: July 26 - August 6 Non-credit.
The Magic of Photography: Theory and Possibilities
Professor Nancy Marshall
9:00-11:30 a.m. M-F, Session C: July 26 - August 6. Non-credit. Lab fee: $150
An introduction to basic principles of photography including film processing and printing. Students will explore experimental image making, basic pinhole cameras, and the famous simple plastic Holga cameras using medium format film. The results will be extended into the digital darkroom using scanning and printing techniques.
The $150 lab fee will cover darkroom chemicals, pinhole materials, photographic papers, Holga cameras (which students will take home), film, digital paper and ink. Prerequisites: None
To see examples of the type of photography you'll be doing in this class, visit the Toy Camera website or the Pinhole Resource website.
Hamlet: The Last Action Hero
Professor Richard Rambuss
1:00 - 3:30 p.m. M-F, Session C: July 26 - August 6. Non-credit.
This literature and film course affords the opportunity for intensive study of Hamlet- one of Shakespeare’s most famous, but also most enigmatic works-on the page and on the screen. The single-work format of the course allows time to linger over Hamlet nearly scene-by-scene. In conjunction with its in-depth reading of the play, the course will consider two very different cinematic renderings of it: Franco Zeffirelli’s 1990 “Mel Gibson” Hamlet and Michael Almereyda’s 2000 technoculture Hamlet, with Ethan Hawke as the melancholy prince. It will also glance at several non-Hamlet films – The Last Action Hero, Clueless, and A Nightmare on Elm Street- that put the stuff of Shakespeare’s tragedy to other uses.
Pre-requisites: It would be optimal for students to have read Hamlet at least once on their own in preparation for the course and our (re-) reading of it together.
Aliens, Robots, Time Travel, and the Dystopic Future: Science Fiction Films since 1962
Professor Kevin Cryderman
1:00 - 3:30 p.m. M-F, Session C: July 26 - August 6. Non-credit.
Science fiction has long been a speculative genre that creates a sense of wonder or plays upon and interrogates otherness, whether that other is an alien, android or totalitarian regime. The genre creates imaginative worlds through an ever-expanding repertoire of figures and settings that has proved extremely adaptable to a wide variety of cultural-historical contexts. Indeed, Samuel R. Delaney once remarked that science fiction is not so much about a vision of the future (and it is that, too) as a significant distortion of and commentary on the present. At the same time, science fiction helps human communities to imagine both technologies and ways of being that play into humanity’s deepest fears, anxieties and desires. This course will examine science fiction films and television with a close attention to cinematic form as well as how the films may be symptomatic of the time in which they were produced. Prerequisites: none
Click here for admission information for international students