Category Archives: Liberal Arts & Sciences – Electives

All Liberal Arts Elective Courses: Quantitative Reasoning, Physical Science OR Life Science, Societies & the Social Sciences, Expressive Culture, General Liberal Arts Electives

Fall 2021

Primate Communication (ANTH-UA 59)

Examines how primates communicate and why their communication takes the forms it does. Discusses general issues associated with the study of animal communication: potential functions of communication, different modalities by which communicative signals can be transmitted, types of information that can be conveyed via each of these modalities, and ways in which researchers go about studying animal communication systems. Examines ways environmental and sociological factors influence the evolution of forms of communication.

Anthropology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2021)

ANTH-UA 59-000 (20885)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Mon4:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Lawrence, Jenna

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Societies & the Social Sciences Undergraduate
Fall 2021

Emerging Diseases (ANTH-UA 80)

Integrates evolutionary biology, genetics, immunology, ecology, and behavioral ecology, along with sociocultural anthropology, politics, and economics, to better understand newly emerging and reemerging diseases as they affect human health. General evolutionary theory and an introduction to Darwinian medicine are provided before the course examines viral, bacterial, parasitic, and prion-based diseases along with their hosts, vectors, and other organisms. Particular attention is paid to how humans have purposely and inadvertently created both biological and cultural environments for the transmission of different diseases. Media representations and misrepresentations are examined throughout the course.

Anthropology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Societies & the Social Sciences Undergraduate
Fall 2021

Language, Power, Identity (ANTH-UA 16)

Explores how identity is a process of “becoming” rather than a mode of “being” by examining how speakers enact their gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, and socioeconomic class through everyday conversations, narratives, performances, literacy activities, and public debates. Also explores the moral and political consequences of people’s identification strategies by examining how their beliefs about language reinforce or contest normative power structures. Readings on the relationship between bilingual education and accent discrimination, multilingualism and youth counterculture, migration and code-switching, media and religious publics, linguistic nationalism and xenophobia, and literacy and neo/liberalism in different areas of the world.

Anthropology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2021)

ANTH-UA 16-000 (20883)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Wed11:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Das, Sonia · Franco, Pedro

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Societies & the Social Sciences Undergraduate
Fall 2021

Culture, Power, Society (ANTH-UA 1)

What does it mean to think anthropologically? This course considers historically foundational practices of anthropological thought, its core method, fieldwork, and its most influential product, the ethnography, in order to think practically and creatively along the lines of what constitutes cultures, societies, translation, and difference. A central goal is to advance the concept of culture, with its attendant solidarities, hierarchies, and exclusions, in order to better understand continually changing systems of collective identifications.

Anthropology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2021)

ANTH-UA 1-000 (7762)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Tue,Thu11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Zhang, Amy

ANTH-UA 1-000 (7763)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Fri8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Jaramillo, Alejandro

ANTH-UA 1-000 (7764)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Fri8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Sengupta, Rohan

ANTH-UA 1-000 (7765)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Fri9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Peckham, Moira

ANTH-UA 1-000 (7766)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Fri9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Jaramillo, Alejandro

ANTH-UA 1-000 (9371)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Thu4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Martinez, Katrina

ANTH-UA 1-000 (9372)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Thu4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Thomas, Sujit

ANTH-UA 1-000 (10568)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Thu6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Evening)at Washington SquareInstructed by Thomas, Sujit

ANTH-UA 1-000 (10569)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Thu6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Evening)at Washington SquareInstructed by Sengupta, Rohan

ANTH-UA 1-000 (26334)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Thu2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Martinez, Katrina

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Societies & the Social Sciences Undergraduate
Fall 2023 Spring 2020

Animal Minds (ANST-UA 410)

This course examines the philosophy of cognitive ethology and comparative psychology. We begin by discussing the nature of animal minds. Are animals conscious? Do they experience pain? Do they have beliefs? Do they use language? Are they self-conscious? How can we know? This involves applying concepts from metaphysics and epistemology to research in cognitive ethology and comparative psychology. We then discuss more general questions like: Are animals agents? Do they have free will? Do they live meaningful lives? Do they have moral rights? This involves applying concepts from ethics, existentialism, and other areas of philosophy to our conclusions about animal minds. Finally, we also ask, along the way, how research on animal minds can affect our philosophical theories. For example, should we revise our theories of consciousness, language, agency, morality, and so on if they seem to have implausible implications about animals?

Animal Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2023)

ANST-UA 410-000 (23049)09/05/2023 – 12/15/2023 Wed4:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Franks, Becca

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Societies & the Social Sciences Undergraduate
Fall 2021

Literature and the Environment (ANST-UA 475)

This class explores the role of literature in creating empathy – how can it help us imagine the lives of “others” & that of animals? By querying the politics of meat mainly through contemporary literature, we put three similar (yet often disconnected) disciplines in conversation with each other: food studies, environmental studies, and animal studies. Two key questions we will address are: 1. What relationship – if any – is there between what we eat and who we are? 2. How are the intimate spaces of both human and nonhuman bodies – and their cultivation – related to notions of ecological violence?

Animal Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2021)

ANST-UA 475-000 (21118)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Tue11:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Athanassakis, Yanoula

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate
Spring 2019

Assessing Epidemiological Literature Public Health: What AELs you?” (AHSEM-UA 247)

In this age of ‘non-facts’ sufficing as the basis for populist resistance to scientific ‘facts’, the ‘citizen skills’ needed to be able to read, understand and make reasonable ‘action decisions’—both for personal health as well as community health issues—are ever more important to acquire within a liberal arts education. The overall goal of this course is to provide the student with fundamental ‘citizen skills’ in assessing epidemiologic original research articles. The fundamental concepts which underpin the range of epidemiologic research designs will be presented first, followed by skill-building exercises that culminates in assessing published epidemiologic original research articles. Both lecture and seminar-of-the whole formats will be utilized. At the end of the course the students should be able to: understand the basic concepts of epidemiologic research design; critically evaluate published epidemiology research article using the Literature Analysis Form-for Epidemiologic Research (LAF-fER); contribute to their future communities as an informed member; and savor and reflect upon the description of epidemiologic outbreaks in literature, esp. in short story and ‘novel-like’ formats.

Advanced Honors Seminars (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate
Spring 2019

History and the Novel (AHSEM-UA 235)

What can novels based on historic events tell us? What sorts of insights can they provide that journalism and works of pure history cannot? How much imaginative leeway should the author of a historic novel be allowed – and how closely should she stick to “true” events? In this course we’ll read a wide range of novels-looking at them both as literature and as keys to history-on topics that include slavery in the U.S., post-apartheid South Africa, McCarthyism, the 9/11 terror attacks, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Advanced Honors Seminars (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2019)

AHSEM-UA 235-000 (24462)01/28/2019 – 05/13/2019 Wed3:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Disability Studies (CAM-UY 2204)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates:
Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates:

This course dynamically engages students in the world of disability. As a member of a team including a guest consultant with a disability, students will discover that person’s interests, abilities, and desires and portray them with digital storytelling. This active learning approach, carefully guided by the instructor, is enhanced with readings, guest lectures, videos and field trips. Students will learn about disability history, assistive technology and universal design. The end-of-semester is celebrated with a formal presentation of the person-centered projects. The aim is to show the individual, making the “invisible visible.” Satisfies a HuSS Elective.

Culture, Arts, and Media (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Fall 2025 Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate
Fall 2021

Food Management Theory (NUTR-UE 91)

Organization and management of commercial and institutional food service facilities in hotels, restaurants, and educational and community program sites.

Nutrition & Dietetics (Undergraduate)
3 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2021)

NUTR-UE 91-000 (13048)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Tue,Thu9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Zagor, Stephen

NUTR-UE 91-000 (13196)09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Tue4:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Zagor, Stephen

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Jazz History (MPAJZ-UE 1121)

Credits: 2
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Tue
Credits: 2
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Tue,Thu

This course surveys the history and development of jazz music in America from the mid 1800s to current trends in popular music. Through a historical timeline, student will study jazz music’s range of styles as informed by social, regional, cultural, technological, and political trends. Realizing that all music is a reflection of historical events and the cultures they are informed by, students will analyze the close connection between jazz music and why it is known as America’s true original artform.

Music Instrumental: Jazz (Undergraduate)
2 credits – 15 Weeks

Fall 2025 Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Dance as an Art Form (MPADE-UE 1278)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Tue,Thu
Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Tue,Thu,Mon,Wed

Dance is an integral & defining component of cultures throughout the world & throughout history. This course introduces students to dance as a live & performing art through a variety of experiences including attendance at live performances, examination of videos & theoretical texts, & physical participation in the practice & performance of dance. Through discussions, written assignments, & the creation of original dance compositions, students will explore the history & cultural relevance of a variety of forms of dance within their own lives, larger society, & the global community beyond. Liberal Arts Core/CORE-MAP Equivalent – satisfies the requirement for Expressive Cultures for Steinhardt students.

Dance Education (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Expressive Culture Fall 2025 Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate
Fall 2021 Fall 2023 Fall 2024 Spring 2023 Spring 2024

From Polenta to Marinara: History of Italian Food (FOOD-UE 1052)

In this course we will cover the varieties of Italian food in their past and present forms. First, we will explore the history of food from past civilizations, leading up to World War I, just after the great immigration to the New World. Time periods examined will be ancient Rome, Medieval, Renaissance, Risorgimento, leading to the modern era. This course includes topics ranging from Pellegrino Artusi’s famous cookbook in the contest of Italian unification to the relationship between Italian Futurism and food. The second part of the course will introduce students to the regional diversity of Italian food using mediums such as TV, art, and film. We will examine the ways in which food shapes contemporary Italian society, from the more intimate family kitchen to the most elegant Italian restaurant in New York City.

Food Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2024)

FOOD-UE 1052-000 (10587)09/03/2024 – 12/12/2024 Tue,Thu11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Scarcella Perino, Roberto

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Fashion in Context (ARCS-UE 1088)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates:
Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates:
Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Fri

Why do fashion designers and brands exert such influence in contemporary society? What explains the trajectory from The House of Worth to Chanel to this season’s hottest label? This course investigates the interlocking forces shaping fashion: the designer system, celebrities, technology, politics, the arts and media. Through lectures and film viewings, readings, discussions, and individual research, students explore fashion as a crucial aspect of culture and how the fashion system evolved from roots in Parisian couture to become a global phenomenon. Liberal Arts Core/MAP Equivalent – satisfies the requirement for Expressive Cultures for Steinhardt students.

Art and Costume Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Expressive Culture Fall 2025 Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate
Spring 2021 Spring 2023

Race and Inequality: Advancing Equity through Policy and Practice (APSY-UE 1273)

This course shines a bright light on racial inequality in the United States by focusing on structural disparities in key areas of American life: Income, wealth and employment; the right to vote, health and wellbeing, education and juvenile justice. Vanguard leaders from across NYU and across fields of Law, Public Health and Allied Health fields, Education, Social Work, and Public Policy provide insights on key scholarly and community-based frameworks they use to confront problems of inequality in the United States. They share their expertise in designing and implementing policy solutions that offer the promise of a more equitable future.

Applied Psychology (Undergraduate)
2 credits – 15 Weeks

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Societies & the Social Sciences Undergraduate
Fall 2021

Mindfulness (UNDSW-US 54)

Social justice and wellbeing are one and the same”- Dr. Sará Yafa King. How can you care for yourself while shaping change in a world that is overwhelmed with narratives, systems, and structures of oppression? In order to care for our communities, we must care for ourselves, self-regulating with the wisdom of the body. This course is designed to help you deepen your practice and share mindfulness with your community and with the world. We’ll begin with an introduction to mindfulness, examining the theory and science from its origins in wisdom traditions to the modern mindfulness movement, and move toward a meaningful practice that will allow you to better heal and serve.

Undergrad Social Work (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Societies & the Social Sciences Undergraduate
Spring 2022 Spring 2023

Writing the Visual (WRTNG-UG 1531)

How does language make us see? From petroglyphs to internet memes, there are many points of intersection between written and visual modes of communication. This multigenre creative writing workshop begins with a close examination of literary images. Through a mix of creative writing assignments and readings, students identify and practice techniques by which writers have rendered the visual in language; explore ekphrasis (that is, literary descriptions of and responses to works of art); experiment with the wide array of traditions in which text and image are combined (e.g. concrete poetry, collaged text, and the comic panel); respond to visual arts that use language as a primary medium; and consider description as deception. At the heart of this course are fundamental questions of representation. What besides visual content do literary images offer? What are the mechanics of description, and what aesthetic and ethical questions can it pose for writers? Readings include works by Virginia Woolf, John Keene, Marjane Satrapi, Anne Carson, and Robin Coste Lewis, among others.

Advanced Writing Courses (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2023)

WRTNG-UG 1531-000 (13431)01/23/2023 – 05/08/2023 Mon,Wed12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Paty, Allyson

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Writing the Portrait: Depicting Artists in Fiction (WRTNG-UG 1529)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Mon

How do fiction writers imagine the creative process, life and world of an artist? How do we write about the artistic process? What, if any, parallels may exist between writing and the creative process of a painter, composer, musician, dancer or actor? This course will explore these questions as students read and write fiction focused on artists working in different artistic mediums. We will read fictional portraits of artists both real and imagined, paying attention to the particulars of language associated with each art form and how the writers have incorporated elements of the art form into their work. Writing workshop will include a critique of the writing and story development as well as a critique of how well the world of the artist has been built within the bounds of the fictional realm. We will also delve into research—artist interviews, online performances and exhibitions—using the art and performance worlds of New York City as a resource, culminating in a final research portfolio and presentation to be submitted alongside the final work of fiction. Readings may include works by Baldwin, Bernhard, Bolaño, Hustvedt, Maugham, McCann, Ondaatje, Rushdie and Woolf. Readings will also include essays by artists, artist interviews and profiles, and art and performance criticism.

Advanced Writing Courses (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate