Special topics courses, Fall 2026 (#1401)

Topics/tags: Registration, Grinnell, Data

We’re currently wrapping up pre-pre-registration for Fall 2026 at Grinnell. That is, we’re finishing the time in which returning students work with their advisors to make their preliminary course plans for the fall. Next week, students will click the Register buttons to make their preliminary registrations. Why preliminary? Because Grinnell still has students register for courses to show interest and then cuts down the over-enrolled courses (or, if possible, adds other sections).

Back in the day, the Registrar’s office would distribute a list of special topics courses for each semester. I relished that list as an opportunity to talk to students about things they might consider outside their major. At some point, they stopped doing so. It doesn’t look like one can check the search courses tool for courses offered in a particular semester. I suppose the only approach is to use the full list of classes [2] and then gather additional information from elsewhere.

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Added after publication.

It appears that I’m insufficiently competent at using technology. Dean Feingold tells me that the bottom of the search courses tool has a Course Type field, and that includes Special Topics. Who knew? [1]

A colleague also suggested using the Search for courses field on that page. I had worried that you could not limit your search to a particular semester, but it appears you can do so on the following page.

I suppose this is the last time I’ll need to write this type of musing.

For now, you might still choose to read on since I’ve presented the information in one, convenient document. Or you can just search yourself.

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Here goes! Apologies in advance to those teaching any courses I inadvertently left out. Courses should be four credits unless noted otherwise (at the end of the description), but I make no guarantees of correctness.

ADS-195-01, ST: Intro African Diaspora Studies, TuTh 1:10–2:30 PM [3]

Introductory Special Topic: Introduction to African Diaspora Studies. This course introduces students to the key questions, concepts, approaches, and problems in African Diaspora Studies. It centers the varied histories, experiences, ideas, and creativity of people of African descent around the world. Exploring the changing meanings of Africa and Blackness across time, the course examines the formation of race in different contexts. Students analyze how race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, kinship, class, age, and geography shape culture, ritual, ideology, and politics through an interdisciplinary lens. Prerequisite: None.

ADS-295-01, ST: Disaster Recovery in Arts, MWF 9:00–9:50 AM

Special Topic: Disaster Recovery in the Arts. Also listed as ARH-295 and HUM-295. This course is a comparative analysis from an artistic perspective of how disasters affect the cultural narratives of visual art. As a case study, the course will feature the events following the aftermath of Louisiana’s Hurricane Katrina and Haiti’s 2010 earthquake. This course explores the intersection of creative practice, trauma response, and redesigning memory in the aftermath of disaster. Students will examine how artists, cultural institutions, and creative networks contribute to recovery, remembrance, and renewal. Prerequisite: Second-year standing.

ADS-295-02, ST: Life in African Diaspora, MWF 11:00–11:50 AM

Special Topic: Life in the African Diaspora. Drawing from a variety of fields and disciplines, we will examine cultural expression, political and social movements, migration, and other elements of individual and collective life in the African diaspora. We will focus especially on embodied and lived experiences, helping us see how race, gender, and class function in communities across contexts; how communities navigate struggle and express joy; and how members of particular communities situate themselves in the expansive African diaspora. Prerequisite: TUT-100.

AMS-295-01, ST: The Camera and the Body, TuTh 9:30–10:50 AM

Special Topic: The Camera and the Body. Also listed as FMS-295. This course examines photography’s role in the production of authoritative knowledge about the human body in the U.S. - including by advancing pseudoscientific theories of racial hierarchies, propagating ethnic stereotypes, informing medical diagnoses of the disabled body, delimiting aesthetic ideals for gendered life, and creating spectacles of violence against Black bodies. We will also look at how artists and activists have used the camera as a tool of resistance to resignify marginalized bodies with political power. Prerequisite: AMS-130 or FMS-155.

ANT-295-01, ST: Ancient Mesopotamia, MWF 9:00–9:50 AM

Special Topic: Area Studies in Archaeology: Ancient Mesopotamia. This intermediate-level archaeology course explores Ancient Mesopotamia from the Paleolithic to the Iron Age. Students will engage with topics such as the emergence of agriculture, the development of writing, the emergence of cities and social complexity, literature, ideology, state formation, and imperial expansion. This class offers an introduction to the history of archaeological research in West Asia and to how a legacy of colonial and post-colonial engagement continues to shape research in the region. Prerequisite: ANT-104.

ANT-295-02, ST: Evolution/Human Behavior, MWF 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM

Special Topic: Evolution and Human Behavior. This course examines human psychology, behavior, and culture through evolutionary anthropology. The course integrates ethnography, comparative cross-cultural research, behavioral ecology, and experimental and observational approaches to understand how natural selection, ecology, development, and cultural transmission shape both human universals and behavioral diversity. Students learn to critically evaluate evolutionary explanations and apply evolutionary frameworks to topics such as cooperation, family life, social norms, and cultural change. Prerequisite: ANT-104, BIO-251 or a 200-level Biological Anthropology course.

ANT-395-01, ST: SOLIDARITY! Ethngrphy Med, TuTh 8:00–9:20 AM

Advanced Special Topic: SOLIDARITY! Multimodal Production, Ethnography, and the Role of Media in Making Connections. This practicum examines how researchers and mediamakers have forged and analyzed connections across social divides. Drawing on linguistic, economic, and multimodal anthropology, we will consider different communication media and modes as aesthetic, analytical, and political tools. The stakes of language use, ethnographic and documentary film, and novel online platforms offer rich fodder for critical discussion and creative inspiration. How can solidarity challenge configurations of power and gross inequality in the face of often overwhelming odds? Prerequisite: ANT 104, ANT-260, ANT-265 or ANT-280.

ANT-395-02, ST: Soc Inequality/Hum Nature, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

Advanced Special Topic: Social Inequality and Human Nature. This course examines the evolutionary, biological, and cultural foundations of social inequality. The course critically evaluates adaptationist, behavioral ecological, and cultural evolutionary theories of hierarchy, stratification, and power, drawing on ethnography, cross-cultural research, and contemporary social science. Through intensive reading and discussion, students assess competing explanations for inequality, examine its social and biological consequences, and evaluate the relevance and limits of evolutionary approaches for understanding inequality in the modern world. Prerequisites: ANT-280, BIO-251 or a 200-level Biological Anthropology class.

ADS-295-01, ST: Disaster Recovery in Arts, MWF 9:00–9:50 AM

See ADS-295-01 above.

ARH-295-02, ST: Medieval/Renaissance Art, MWF 9:00–9:50 AM

Special Topic: Greeks vs.Goths? Reevaluating Renaissance and Medieval Art. Since the 16th-century when Giorgio Vasari heralded the rebirth of what he considered praiseworthy arts - painting, sculpture, and architecture - in his native Florence, finally ending the supposedly barbarous style of the Goths, art historians have often made a sharp distinction between medieval and Renaissance art. This course will challenge that clear division by examining both high and low art not only in Italy but across Europe from the Gothic period through the career of Michelangelo. Prerequisite: Second-year standing.

ARH-295-03, ST: Cinemas of Disability, MW 2:40–4:00 PM

Special Topic: Cinemas of Disability. This course examines histories of disability and disability representation in the cinema through both artistic and medical visualizations. Divided into three units, Cinemas of Disability begins by analyzing disability representation through the figure of the super crip and the concept of narrative prothesis. Students then consider the accessibility of film and media through participation in a disability film festival, and finally, themes of staring, the ableist gaze, and political agency are explored through documentary perspectives. Prerequisite: Second-year standing.

BIO-195-01, ST: Art and Biology, MWF 9:00–9:50 AM

Special Topic: Seeing Nature: the Role of Visual Art in Biological Research. Also listed as ENV-195. This course explores similarities between the processes of making art and conducting biological research. Through lectures, discussions, in-class projects, and out-of-class writing and art-making assignments, students will consider the role of visual arts in the history of the field of biology as well as currently. Prior artistic experience is not expected. Prerequisite: BIO-150.

CHI-195-01, ST: Three Kingdoms Pop Cult, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

Introductory Special Topic: Three Kingdoms in Pop Culture: Novels, Films, Comics, and Video Games. Also lissted as EAS-195. This course explores the transformation of the Three Kingdoms period of China (220-280 CE) from historical record into one of the most enduring narrative traditions in East Asia and global media. Beginning with primary historical sources such as Records of the Three Kingdoms, the course traces the evolution of the Three Kingdoms story through literary adaptation and into modern cultural forms including television drama, film, comics, and video games. Prerequisites: None.

EAS-195-01, ST: Three Kingdoms Pop Cult, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

See CHI-195-01 above.

EDU-295-01, ST: Sociology of Education, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

Special Topic: Sociology of Education. Also listed as SOC-295. This special topic course examines education as a central social institution and explores its role in shaping individual lives and broader societal structures. Education is often portrayed as the great equalizer, a neutral, merit-based path to opportunity and social mobility. Throughout the course, we will confront this paradox to understand how certain disparities significantly affect students’ educational outcomes and their broader life trajectories. Through a sociological lens, students will analyze how education intersects with issues of power, inequality, and social change. Topics include the historical development of schooling, educational policy, curriculum and pedagogy, race, class, and gender dynamics, school discipline, and education reform. Students will critically engage with theories and research to understand education’s dual function as a mechanism for both social reproduction and transformation. Prerequisite: SOC-111.

ENG-395-01, ST: Queer Memoir & Autotheory, MW 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM

Advancd Special Topic: Queer Memoir and Autotheory. Also listed as GWS-395. This course examines how queer writers use memoir and autotheory to narrate and theorize queer life. How do queer writers challenge chrono-normativity in a genre that often seems to demand a linear beginning, middle, and end? Throughout the semester, we will ask what it means to tell a queer life story and to queer the conventions of memoir. We will also examine queer autotheory, a form of life writing that combines autobiography and critical theory. Prerequisite: GWS-111 and one 200-level GWS course or ENG-120 or 121 and one 200 level literature course in English.

ENG-395-02, ST: Multisensory Imagery, TuTh 7:00-8:50 PM

Advancd Special Topic: Multisensory Imagery. What is lost when we restrict description in a poem to sight-based imagery? A red barn is so much more than what our orbs alone can make of it. If the poet has taken the time to describe the barn more fully, we will hear the squawking of a bird on the roof ridge. We will hear the beams themselves whine and crack in the wind. We will feel, as if with our hands, the warped and splintered boards, the fifty-year-old paint peeling like a bad sunburn. We might even smell the pile of dung that sits beside the barn like a pot on the stove. In this three-week course, we will explore how multisensory description can bring the fullness of what we experience to the page. We will learn how to create dynamic images in poems, leaning on the neurological condition (and figure of speech) called synesthesia. Date: Fall meets September 8 to September 24. Spring meets February 23 to March 11. Prerequisite: ENG 205, 206, or 207.

2 credits.

ENV-195-01, ST: Art and Biology, MWF 9:00–9:50 AM

See BIO-195-01 above.

FMS-195-01, ST: Lights/Camera/Wanderlust!, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

Introductory Special Topic: Lights, Camera, Wanderlust! This course explores the intimate relationship between cinema and travel in the early twentieth century, contextualizing how cinema’s history is closely intertwined with the histories of colonialism, tourism, and migration, by looking at early travelogues and contemporary films on road trips. We will examine the cinematic strategies employed to feature places and cultures along with their ideological underpinnings. Buckle up for a wild ride! Prerequisites: None.

FMS-295-01, ST: Collaboration Dramaturgies MW 9:30–10:50 AM

Special Topic: Collaboration Dramaturgies. Also listed as THD-295. How do directors, designers, actors, writers, dramaturgs, and producers build strong collaborations for theatre, dance, film, and other artistic processes? This course will iterate the honing and communicating of creative choices, from analyzing text and images to building shared vocabulary to preparing audiences to practicing reflection, feedback, and flexibility. We will consider practical issues like time and team management, as well as how to make space for dreaming and supporting big ideas and intuitions. Prerequisite: TUT-100

FMS-295-02, ST: Cinemas of Disability, MW 2:40–4:00 PM

See ARH-295-03 above.

FMS-295-03, ST: The Camera and the Body, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

See AMS-295-01 above

FRN-295-01, ST: Experiencing French, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

Special Topic: Experiencing French. This special course will take French outside of the classroom. Students will practice office vocabulary in offices across campus, library vocabulary while exploring the library, gym vocabulary at the Bear, housing vocabulary at the French House, etc. We will learn the vocabulary, language structures, expressions, and grammar that comes out of our natural curiosity of these spaces, so students think differently about and in French. The goal of this course is to get students to think with French outside the classroom while exploring our campus and students’ interests. This course is accessible to students who have completed the 100-level of French at Grinnell or by placement and will accommodate a variety of linguistic skills and learning goals that will be decided by the professor with the students enrolled. Prerequisite: FRN 102 or 103 or placement in 200-level French. 2 credits

FRN-395-01, ST: Caribbean Voices, TuTh 2:10–4:00 PM

Advanced Special Topic: Parole des femmes : Voix, corps et imaginaires de la Caraïbe. The French Caribbean is a rich space of cultural creation, yet it remains less studied than its Anglophone and Hispanophone counterparts. Even within existing scholarship, women creators are often marginalized. This seminar examines literary and cinematic works by women and about women from Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Haiti. We will explore both the different and shared dimensions of the experiences of women through the works of Marie Chauvet, Françoise Ega, Maryse Condé, among others. Taught in French. Prerequisite: FRN 312 or 313.

GWS-295-01, ST: As/Am Gndrs Sex Feminisms, TuTh 1:10-2:30 PM

Special Topic: Asian/American Genders, Sexualities, Feminisms. This course surveys foundational and current issues, concepts, and frameworks in Asian/American gender, sexuality, and feminist studies. We will examine social and cultural critiques, scholarly inquiries, and expressive productions by and/or centering people of Asian descent across the US empire and will embrace comparative, relational, and intersectional approaches to analyzing difference. Topics include migration, diaspora, transnationalism, belonging, embodiment, space, grief, memory, family, labor, selfhood, representation, colonialism, imperialism, class, militarism, justice, and environmentalism. Prerequisites: GWS-111, AMS-130, or SOC-111.

GWS-395-01, ST: Queer Memoir & Autotheory, MW 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM

See ENG-395-01 above.

HIS-295-01, ST: God/Empire/Medieval World, TuTh 1:10-2:30 PM

Special Topic: God, Emppire, and the Birth of the Medieval World. Did the fall of Rome truly signal the beginning of a Dark Age, out of which the modern world would eventually emerge? Defining what is medieval has long played a crucial role in defining what is modern. In this class students will learn to test the surviving evidence of the medieval world in order to determine the strength of these definitions. Which empire, if any, was the true heir of the ancient world: Justinian and the Byzantines, Charlemagne and the Franks, or Harun al-Rashid and the Abbasids? When did that ancient world end and the medieval world begin? Beginning in the years leading up to Constantine and his conversion to Christianity, this course will examine these questions, as well as crucial topics like the barbarian invasions, the birth of Christendom, the appearance and rapid spread of Islam, and the rise and fall of the Carolingian Empire. Along the way students will learn the challenges of interpreting a world that survives only in extremely varied and fragmentary sources. Prerequisite: HIS-100 or second-year standing.

HIS-295-02, ST: Am Revolution at 250, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

Special Topic: The American Revolution at 250. What do battles over the meaning of the American Revolution accomplish? This class will examine the founding of the United States upon its 250th anniversary to assess that question. We will study the American Revolution and then analyze trends in commemoration of the Revolution over time with a particular emphasis on the present day. Topics will range widely: slavery, warfare, Indigenous history, gender, political parties, the U.S. Constitution, public history, monuments, UFC, and more. Prerequisite: HIS-100 or second-year standing.

HUM-295-01, ST: Disaster Recovery in Arts, MWF 9:00–9:50 AM

See ADS-295-01 above.

LIN-295-01, ST: Second Lang Acquisition, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

pecial Topic: Second Language Acquisition: Theory and Pedagogy. This course introduces the fundamental concepts of second language acquisition and their implications for foreign language teaching. Drawing upon theory and current research, students will gain an understanding of cognitive, social, and individual factors of adult language learning. Students will also become familiar with the language education guidelines and standards in the U.S. Students will have an opportunity to reflect on their own teaching and learning experiences, as well as design various teaching activities. Prerequisite: LIN-114 with grade S, C, or better, Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, or one 300-level course in a foreign language with grade S, C, or better.

LIN-395-01, ST: Field Methods, MW 1:10-2:30 PM

Special Topic: Field Methods. In this course, we will work collaboratively to gather data and uncover the grammatical structures of an unfamiliar language through direct interaction with a native speaker. Students will learn elicitation techniques through group and individual sessions, develop data presentation skills by sharing their findings with their peers, and ultimately produce a grammatical sketch of the language. Additionally, we will discuss the practical considerations and ethics of conducting linguistic fieldwork in speech communities. Prerequisite: LIN-114 and one of the following: LIN 216, 228, 240, 270, 280, CLS-270 or LIN 295-Second Language Acquisition, 295-Loan Word Adaptations with permission.

MUS-295-01, ST: Songwriting & Production, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

Special Topic: Songwriting and Production Workshop. This workshop provides an environment in which students write, record, and produce original songs. Through guided exercises and structured peer critique, students will develop works in progress and refine them through revision. The course introduces common popular song structures and selected contemporary production techniques in direct support of students’ creative projects. Some prior experience with music-making or creative writing is recommended.. Dates: August 27 to October 8 Half-semester deadlines apply. Prerequisite: MUS-101, 120, 122, 220, 221, or 320. 2 credits.

PHE-195-01, ST: Coaching Methods, TuTh 9:30–10:50 AM

Introductory Special Topic: Coaching Methods for Women Athletes. This course will look at the history and unique experience of women athletes in sport. Together we will identify cultural challenges that women athletes face, and how coaches and other stakeholders create inclusive spaces and opportunities to help provide a more ealthy and equitable experience. Dates August 27 to October 15. Half-semester deadlines apply. Prerequisite: None. 2 credits.

PHE-195-02, ST: Born to Run, TuTh 9:30–10:50 AM

Introductory Special Topic: Born to Run. This two-credit course will explore running from many different perspectives including; biology, psychology, histo ry, modern culture of distance running, evolution, and anthropology. Our goal will be to better understand running, what makes some humans so good at it, and if we’ll ever reach the limit of human performance. Dates October 27 to December 10. Half-semester deadlines apply. Prerequisite: None. 2 credits.

PHI-295-01, ST: Medieval Philosophy, MW 1:10-2:30 PM

Special Topic: Medieval Philosophy. This course explores the works of a variety of medieval philosophers, such as Augustine, Boethius, al-Farabi, Avicenna, Anselm, Maimonides, Thomas Aquinas, and William of Ockham. Topics will include happiness, free will, God, human knowledge, the problem of evil, and the problem of universals. The course will also consider the relationship of medieval philosophy to ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. Prerequisite: PHI-111 or 121.

PHY-295-01, ST: Astrophysics in Nutshell, MW 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM

Special Topic: Astrophysics in a Nutshell. Astrophysics is the application of modern physical principles to the observable universe. This course provides an intermediate introduction to basic concepts in planetary, stellar, galactic and cosmological astrophysics. Other topics related to modern research and observations may be included as time permits. Dates: August 31 to October 14. Prerequisites: PHY-232. 2 credits.

POL-295-01, ST: Campaigns & Elections, MWF 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

Special Topic: Campaign and Elections. Offered in the context of the 2026 Midterms, this course will investigate campaigns and elections in the US. It poses fundamental questions about the role of elections in a democracy and the ways in which campaigns matter. Or don’t. It explores the institutional and legal framework for elections, with special attention to biases that might limit the voice of marginalized and underrepresented groups. It examines the vote at the individual level and election outcomes in the aggregate. Considering academic scholarship, a variety of data, as well the voices of practitioners, the course seeks to understand patterns associated campaigns and elections over time and to come to terms with the politics of 2026. Special attention will be devoted to voter suppression, campaign finance, and presidential nomination politics, topics manifesting themselves immediately in fall 2026 or looming in the not-so-distant future. Prerequisite: POL-101.

PSY-195-01, ST: Statistics in Psychology, MWF 3:10–4:00 PM

Introductory Special Topic: Fundamentals of Statistics in Psychology. An introduction to quantitative analysis necessary for understanding and creating knowledge in psychology. Students will become knowledgable concerning the use of common statistics for description, correlation, and infrerence. Students will analyze data for supporting or critiquing research arguments. Prerequisite: None.

PSY-395-01, ST: Asian American Psychology, TuTh 1:10-2:30 PM

Advanced Special Topic: Asian American Psychology. In this discussion-based seminar, we will utilize perspectives from social and cultural psychology to understand the psychological experience of Asian Americans in the United States. What are the psychological consequences of the deleterious, and false, stereotypes that Asian Americans confront (such as the perpetual foreigner stereotype and model minority stereotype)? How does the media’s portrayal, or lack of portrayal, of Asian Americans perpetuate stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination? How does culture, and for some, navigating multiple cultural identities, inform the Asian American experience? Asian Americans are also an incredibly diverse group (i.e., are not a monolith)-what are some sources of within-group variation (and also commonality) in the Asian American community in terms of psychological processes and experiences? Prerequisite: PSY-225 and two additional psychology courses numbered 200 or above.

PSY-395-02, ST: Intergroup Relations, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

Advanced Special Topic: Intergroup Relations, Conflict, and Reconciliation. This course explores the psychological basis of group conflict and intergroup relations, including both the roots of conflict, nature of prejudice, and paths to reconciliation. Pulling from primary and secondary literature in social, moral, and political psychology, students will learn about how we study intergroup relations, key theories in this discipline, and how we can apply these findings in real-world conflicts. Prerequisite: PSY-214 and 225.

REL-195-01, ST: Love, Tu 7:00-9:50 PM

Introductory Special Topic: Love. What does it mean to live a life of love, both personally and publicly? We will explore this and related questions alongside extraordinary thinkers and activists, including James Baldwin, bell hooks, Martin Luther King, and Thich Nhat Hanh. Our goal will be to learn from them and with each other about what it means, in practice, to acknowledge our own suffering and the suffering of others and maintain a commitment to living a life of love. Prerequisite: None. 2 credits.

REL-295-01, ST: Life Worth Living, MW 11:00 AM–12:20 PM

Special Topic: Life Worth Living. What does it mean for a life to go well? What would it look like for a life to be lived well? What shapes could a life worth living take? These questions have been central to human existence for millennia. What can we learn about ourselves from these efforts? Life Worth Living explores these questions through engagement with the heritage of diverse religious traditions from ancient Mesopotamia, India, China, the Middle East, and the US. Prerequisite: One 100-level Studying Religion course, or second-year standing.

SOC-295-01, ST: Immigration & Transntnlsm, MW 8:00–9:20 AM

Special Topic: Immigration and Transnationalism. The course will begin with an overview of relevant topics in the field of international migration including: the distinctions between economic migrants, political refugees as well as populations currently being displaced by environmental disasters (earthquakes, droughts, etc); explanations for why migration occurs; its social, political, economic, and cultural impacts; the second generation and their modes of incorporation; how migration is gendered and its effects on identities; diasporas, citizenship and transnational alliances. Prerequisite: SOC-111.

SOC-295-02, ST: Soc Origins Pol Polarztn, MW 11:00 AM–12:20 PM

Special Topic: Social Origins of Political Polarization. This course will explain how and why people’s social location, interactions, and relations shape their meaning-making processes that may lead to their politics being based on us versus them. Students will learn different theories of polarization and their connections to key concepts in sociology such as culture, socialization, networks, and inequality. They will also acquire skills in the methods sociologists have used to study polarization, which include survey research, public opinion polls, and in-depth interviews. Prerequisite: SOC-111.

SOC-295-03, ST: Sociology of Education, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

See EDU-295-01 above.

THD-295-01, ST: Collab Dramaturgies, MW 9:30–10:50 AM

See FMS-295-01 above.

WIL-295-01, ST: Career Design Lab, TuTh 2:40–4:00 PM

Special Topic: Career Design Lab. The second and third years of college bring vexing decisions before students. What is the relationship between my academic interests and my post-college goals? How might my interests, values, and strengths inform this process? What additional experiences do I need (and how do I get them)? What knowledge, skills, insights, and relationships will I need to realize my post-college goals? This Career Design Lab is designed to provide students with the personal insights, tools, action plan, and overall career development foundation to fuel and guide their planning, decision-making, and goal-setting at Grinnell and beyond. Dates: 8/27/26 to 10/15/26. Half-semester deadlines apply. Prerequisite: second-year standing. 2 credits.

Wasn’t that interesting? So many courses worth taking! And I haven’t even gotten to the many courses that have moved from special topics to regularly-offered courses in recent years.

Good luck to all the students putting together their schedules. Make sure to look for courses outside your primary area(s) of interest! There are many awesome courses out there.

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Postscript: Gathering all that info also led me to some questions. Here are a few.

• When did we start listing Tutorial as a prerequisite? Is this just a way of saying at least one semester of college work? And what about transfer students who don’t take Tutorial?

• Why have we started to add with grade S, C, or better to prerequisites. I always thought that a passing grade was implicit for prerequisites.

• Psychology now has a Statistics for Psychology course. Are we starting to see the fracturing of Statistics 115? Is that a good thing?

• Would it be equally useful to have a list of two-credit courses? Certainly, some of my students want to include them in their schedules, perhaps to join with another two-credit course, perhaps to have a 14-credit semester, perhaps to add a few extra credits, perhaps just to learn as much as they can.

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[1] Apparently she did.

[2] Login required.

[3] If you are wondering about some of the strange timeslots, the faculty voted to update the timeslots this year to fit in another 2x80 (or 3x80) slot on MWF.

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Version 1.0 released 2026-04-04.

Version 1.1 of 2026-04-04.