General Interest Courses | Summer 2025
Electives without prerequisites
Looking for an interesting elective to take this Summer? The following general interest courses are open to all students and do not require prerequisites. All four of these courses are eligible to help fulfill your Breadth Requirements, such as for Social Sciences (B-Soc) and Science (B-Sci). (Note that if you're a Linguistics Major, you cannot count these courses as part of your B-Soc/Sci requirements.)
Explores the foundations of human language from a variety of perspectives. Young children acquire language effortlessly. How is this possible, and why is it so much more challenging to learn a new language later in life? How does the human brain use complex grammatical systems to communicate? Students will learn new ways to think critically about language and communication. Open to all students. Breadth-Social Sciences.
Examines the relationship between language use and social structure. Considers how social factors such as gender, class, age, and ethnicity may be reflected in language use, as well as "big picture" topics that include multilingualism, dialect variation, language policy and linguistic stereotypes. Encourages students to think critically about the social dimensions of language. Open to all students. Breadth-Social Sciences.
Introduces the scientific study of speech, focusing on the mechanisms of speech production and perception, the ways in which speech is described and analyzed, the relationship between speech and technology, and the practical applications of phonetic science. Open to all students. Breadth-Social Sci/Science.
Explores how language works. Introduces students to the systematic nature of language by exploring the patterns of sounds, words, sentences and meanings in English and other languages. Develops problem-solving and critical thinking skills through hands-on training in pattern recognition and language data analysis. Open to all students. Breadth-Social Sciences.