Summer Session courses on the New Brunswick campus meet or exceed the high academic standards set for the regular academic year at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, a top-ranked research institution and public university. Courses are selected for their suitability and approved by the school dean and/or faculty curricular committee.

View All Summer Session Courses


 

Taught by: Milton Achelpol - Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies 

The course comes at an important moment where abolition is a constant and contentious topic in local and national politics. Following the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, calls to defund the police led many to begin exploring abolitionist thought. In this online, asynchronous course, students explore a critical genealogy of the theories of change that abolitionists have offered and challenges students to apply those theories to contemporary events.

This course will provide students with readings, theories, and space to ask more radical questions about how we have chosen to contend with harm in our society and to imagine alternatives to the strictly carceral ways of thinking we are socialized to operate in.

The instructor has taught for over three years in the department and is trained to teach Black studies and Black feminist theory, both of which have been central to the ongoing work of abolitionist thought. In previous courses, the instructor has included topics explicitly and more implicitly linked to abolitionist thinking.

Taught by: Dr. Taylor Ross, Animal Sciences 

In this course, the scientific underpinnings of modern companion animal science are presented, with emphasis on nutrition, reproduction, animal domestication, evolution, and behavior as well as health and disease management. Students will study the biological and economic structure of various companion animal industries (dogs and cats, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and lagomorphs). 

The synchronous, online format of the summer offering will allow students interested in companion animals to access the course without commuting or being a resident on campus. 

This course meets the SEBS Core Curriculum requirement for Natural Sciences [NS]. Upon completion, students will be able to understand and apply basic principles and concepts in the physical or biological sciences, and they will also be able to explain and assess the relationship among assumptions, method, evidence, arguments, and theory in scientific analysis. 

Dr. Taylor Ross has extensive experience working with companion animals. She has a B.S. and M.S. in Animal Sciences and a Ph.D. in Animal Science – Education. She has many different types of pets, both livestock and companion animals. Her style of teaching incorporates real-life examples and encourages student participation. 

Taught by: Christine Altinis-Kiraz, Chemistry and Chemical Biology 

In this course, students learn the core organic concepts and their real-life applications, while also gaining skills in a collaborative learning environment to build mastery. Through the group activities, students will have a chance to work individually and in groups, reflect on common mistakes and find means to master it so they do not repeat the mistake. 

The in-person course is designed using meaningful learning theory and the "heads and hearts" framework focusing on active learning techniques. The "hearts" framework will be utilized to help students address anxieties associated with the course and build the proper mindset to overcome barriers. There will be opportunities through "Exam wrappers" and the "I Do, We Do, You Do" model to develop transferable study skills. 

Students who actively work with the instructor in finding ways to improve their learning have many opportunities to work with the instructor during the lectures and recitations to ensure they understand the concepts. The instructor in addition utilizes Playposit video quizzes and supplemental notes to help students master the challenging but doable organic chemistry. 

This course typically fulfills core requirement for the first semester of Organic Chemistry 1 required by multiple majors and dental/medical schools. 

The instructor has successfully employed this method in Extended General Chemistry 1 and 2. For her efforts, she won the Distinguished Teaching Award from the School of Arts and Sciences due to the demonstrated success of her students. 

Taught by: Hyacinth Miller, Latino and Caribbean Studies 

The Caribbean is more than an exotic tropical paradise, with a long history of multi-cultural and multi-ethnic peoples. Expand your knowledge beyond American borders with the history of the Caribbean.  

This unique, asynchronous course allows students to research the Caribbean, past and present. Students will discuss different topics, such as globalization and inequality; migration and diaspora; the legacies of slavery and colonialism; race and racism; gender and sexuality; and tourism. Leave the course with a greater appreciation of the region that is the crossroads of the world and largely responsible for the riches of many European powers. 

This course satisfies the following SAS Core Learning Goal in Contemporary Challenges: Our Common Future [CCO]: Analyze a contemporary global issue from a multidisciplinary perspective. 

Professor Miller is a political scientist and a Caribbean-ist. As a Caribbean-American, Miller is passionate about this topic and has been teaching this course since 2013.  

Taught by: Ralph Rodriguez, Human Resource Management (HRM)

This in-person course focuses on the effective management of the flow of talent into and through organizations. Students will explore topics such as, human resource planning, recruiting and selection, career transitions and other workforce movement. An important goal of the class will be to provide students with opportunities to develop hands-on skills that are relevant to effectively managing talent flow.

As a core course in the Human Resource Management major, being able to take this course in a smaller group setting allows for students to get more hands-on attention than the typical semester. This will help students to understand the importance of acquiring talent for an organization at a deeper level.

Professor Rodriguez has a wealth of industry experience and has been involved with university DEI groups to better understand how the recruiting and hiring diversity can affect the organization as a whole.

Taught by: Len Garrison (SMLR)

This course provides students with the knowledge and skills to help others manage their careers while learning how to manage their own careers. Students will explore topics such as self-assessments, motivation theory, professional skill-development, career ladders, labor market/occupational trends, market research, personal branding, job search techniques, resume writing, interviewing skills, negotiating, networking and creating work-life balance.

The in-person delivery is beneficial for students who would like real-time advice on how to interact in the workplace, prepare themselves for interviews and seeing peers going through these processes. This course fulfills the Human Resource Management major requirements.

Professor Garrison has recently been promoted to the position of Assistant Dean of Student Services within the School of Management and Labor Relations. Students can interact with someone who not only has a wealth of industry-related experience but also has the students’ best interests and futures in mind.

Taught by: Lindsey Kwok (SAS-NB Physics & Astronomy)

Would you like to learn about the nature and origin of the earth and the solar system? This course is for you: a predominantly descriptive introduction to our understanding of the solar system from the time of the Greeks to the present day. This online, synchronous course provides students with a scientific foundation for understanding the solar system and its formation.

This course fulfills the natural science requirement for SAS-NB students. There are no prerequisites for this predominantly descriptive course. Great way to satisfy natural science requirements while learning more about the origins of the solar system!

The instructor is a PhD candidate in Astronomy with advanced course work and research in physics and astrophysics.

Taught by: Ralph Rodriguez, Human Resource Management (HRM)

This online, asynchronous course provides an overview of organizational behavior and work. Organizational behavior seeks to understand, explain, and improve human behavior in organizations, both individually and as a group. Students will explore topics related to group and intergroup dynamics; organizational culture, structure, and change; leadership, employee motivation, job performance, and feedback. However, organizational behavior is also concerned with the health and well-being of employees and this course will ask students to consider how each of the above topics can support or harm employee well-being as well as what employees can do to manage their work-related stress.

As a core course in the HRM major, being able to take this course in a smaller group setting allows for students to get more hands-on attention than the typical semester. This will help students to understand the importance of understanding how people behave within an organization affects the employees and the organization at a deeper level. Please note: this course may not be used in conjunction with Special Topics: HRM & Organizational Behavior.

Professor Rodriguez has a wealth of industry experience and has been involved with university DEI groups to better understand how the diversity of the people within a unit can affect the actions of an organization as a whole.

Taught by: Dr. Xenia Morin

This introductory survey course investigates and analyzes agriculture and food systems in the context of public health, the environment and social justice. We primarily focus on the American food systems but will explore some global and food systems as well. The environmental, economic, biological, cultural, social and ethical dimension of our food systems—from farm to fork—are considered. We look critically at some of the challenges faced through the food systems in order to feed a growing world population, anticipated in exceeding 9 billion people by 2050. These challenges include risks from weather events, soil degradation and water shortages, pest and disease pressure, dwindling diversity of genetic resources, increasing energy demands as well as navigating controversies over adopting technologies and balancing the triple-bottom line, social justice and ethical considerations. We will consider whether, and how, farming can be done in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way, and consider whether consumers can play a role through the food choices they make.

The online format of this course provides extended opportunities for students to develop their online writing skills as well as develop their ability to work well with others in an online environment. Online class time is dedicated to short presentations, discussions, and small group work.

This course is part of the Agriculture & Food Systems major and minor, and also can be taken as an elective for most majors.

Taught by: Paulina Barrios

This online, asynchronous course will focus on comics and webcomics about African heroes and heroines. Through textual analysis and creative engagement with these comics this course explores this genre and analyzes how African creators reflect contemporary culture and historical tales in their comics.

Readings will be comics or webcomics, with most available to read online or download for free; written by authors from Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa among other African countries. Students will have the option to create a short comic of their own by the end of the course.

This course fulfills a requirement for the AMESALL majors or minors.

Paulina Barrios is a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature at Rutgers. At Rutgers, her research focuses on feminist theories and methodologies, comparative Latin American and African studies, literature and social movements, translation studies, self-writing, and autonomous publishing. She has taught courses on short fiction, myth, as well as Latin American and African literature.

Taught by: Kristen Springer

This online summer course will be a fun and informative way to explore how history, culture, and society shape health and well-being using lectures, interactive activities, discussions, and a range of media including several films, such as The Whale and Contagion.

This course is perfect for pre-med students that want to get a jump-start on Social and Psychological section of the MCAT, as well as students minoring in Health and Society. This course fulfills two SAS Core Codes: CCD, CCO.

Taught by: Anna Richey

This seminar explores the dynamics of queer relationships, communities, and activism. Thinking as historians, how can we best understand the perspectives of those who sought to challenge the gender/sexual status quo across several centuries? The determination of a male/female binary (and any other sex or gender category) is not fixed or obvious: what is sex? What is gender? How has movement across borders, colonization, and migration affected people's understandings of sex and gender norms and possibilities? This course will examine queer life as it is transformed throughout social and political movements in American history.

Taught by: Keri Sansevere

Introduction to Archaeology with Prof. Keri Sansevere is 4-credit course designed to orient students with archaeological techniques, concepts, and principles. Course learning materials include access to the instructor’s podcast episodes which explain how archaeologists think and look at the past and the kinds of conclusions they draw from material evidence. Examples of archaeological work will be presented from a local and global perspective throughout time. The course also offers a point of entry into the specialties of artifact conservation, ethnoarchaeology, experimental archaeology, floral and faunal analysis, bioarchaeology, historical archaeology, and heritage management. 

Class operates asynchronously, meaning there are no live meeting times. This affords students the flexibility to get their work done throughout the week. I release weekly learning guides that outline your learning path for the week. Many students find this learning format enables them to work through and reflect on class material bit-by-bit throughout the week, instead of rushing to turn-in an assignment at the end of a class period. 

This course is recommended for anyone with an interest in archaeology or the study of the past! It may be particularly useful to students planning careers in anthropology, historic preservation, cultural resource management, museum work, or earth sciences. No prerequisite is required! 

 

Instructor Bio:

Keri Sansevere hold a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Temple University. Her research operates at the intellectual borderland between cultural anthropology and archaeology. Her dissertation examined colonoware, a kind of pottery traditionally found on archaeological sites in the American Southeast and Caribbean associated with enslaved laborers. Through ethnographic interviewing, oral history, and participant-observation, her research discovered that the pottery is present in the American Northeast, but knowledge of it resides in places that are difficult to access: the memories of archaeologists, inaccessible storage facilities, and obscure literature. Though the field of anthropology traditionally uses analytics like class, gender, and race to reveal hidden structures of power among so-called “ethnographic others,” her research discovered there is much to learn when the same analytics are applied to the industry of North American archaeology 

In addition to her teaching history and anthropological expertise, she bring to the table real world-industry experience.She has worked a variety of roles in museums and in the industry of cultural resource management. Dr. Keri Sansevere gets excited about sharing my enthusiasm for the field and my work as a public archaeologist for George Washington’s boyhood home, directing several archaeology summer camps, and delivering talks geared toward the general public have been gratifying highlights of my career. 

Taught by: Keri Sansevere

Introduction to Anthropology provides a general overview of a fascinating branch of Social Sciences dedicated to understanding the diversity of human experience across the world. Over the years, the field has integrated both STEM and humanistic approaches to not just the study of humanity, but to solving real-world problems, making Anthropology among the most unique and relevant disciplines offered in academia today.  

The way this course is organized mirrors the traditional “four-field” structure of the discipline. Students will be introduced to what Anthropology is, followed by an overview of the four main specialties of the discipline: Biological/Physical Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, Archaeology, and Cultural Anthropology.  Each specialty is a “facet”—a facet of what it means to be human. Together, they form a “whole”— a whole story about humanity—that uncovers our biological origins and development, the complexities of human language, what ancient societies were like, and how people all over the planet understand the world around them.  

The learning format is asynchronous, affording the flexibility to complete course work from anywhere around the world. Each week will address a different topic specially-formatted for an enriching and self-guided online learning experience. Each module contains an expert-curated mini digital library of resources that convey the scope and depth of each topic. Learning materials include the instructor’s original audiovisuals, key textbook readings, professional readings, relevant news, ethnographic films, inspiring Ted Talks, provoking documentaries, and interviews with real anthropologists. Students will also be given space for individual reflection and peer interaction.

About the Instructor

Keri Sansevere hold a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Temple University. Her research operates at the intellectual borderland between cultural anthropology and archaeology. Her dissertation examined colonoware, a kind of pottery traditionally found on archaeological sites in the American Southeast and Caribbean associated with enslaved laborers. Through ethnographic interviewing, oral history, and participant-observation, her research discovered that the pottery is present in the American Northeast, but knowledge of it resides in places that are difficult to access: the memories of archaeologists, inaccessible storage facilities, and obscure literature. Though the field of anthropology traditionally uses analytics like class, gender, and race to reveal hidden structures of power among so-called “ethnographic others,” her research discovered there is much to learn when the same analytics are applied to the industry of North American archaeology 

In addition to her teaching history and anthropological expertise, she bring to the table real world-industry experience.She has worked a variety of roles in museums and in the industry of cultural resource management. Dr. Keri Sansevere gets excited about sharing my enthusiasm for the field and my work as a public archaeologist for George Washington’s boyhood home, directing several archaeology summer camps, and delivering talks geared toward the general public have been gratifying highlights of my career.