Courses

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.

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This online, synchronous course provides a predominantly descriptive introduction to the current ideas concerning the nature and origin of astronomy and cosmology. The topics covered in this course include the nature and origin of the earth, the solar system, the galaxy, and the universe; neutron stars and black holes; the “big-bang”; the possibility of life outside earth. This course focuses on our current understanding of the stars, galaxies and the universe.

This course fulfills the SAS Core Curriculum requirement for Natural Science (NS).

Dr. Andres Jerez has been teaching this course for many years with positive feedback for all his students. He has a Ph.D. in Physics from Rutgers and teaches at NJIT and Rutgers. 

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This online course explores feminist practices articulated from theory to a perspective of embodied situated lived experience. Students will be introduced to key discussions on feminist theory and activism: from knowledge production, embodied lives experience, intersectional analysis, and decolonial ways of being. Students will develop critical thinking skills and creativity.

This course is 100% online asynchronous, students will interact with peers and participate in weekly discussions based on readings and audiovisual material. Assignments are designed to promote writing, critical thinking as well as creative skills.

By taking this class, students will meet the SAS core Social and Cultural Analysis (SCL-1) requirement: "understand different theories about human culture, social identity, economic entities, political systems, and other forms of social organization."

For any questions, contact camila.belliardq@rutgers.edu.

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This 6-week asynchronous course introduces works ranging academic fields and artistic mediums that introduce students to the conundrum of representing bodies and porn/ography. Stretching across the 19th century antebellum South, the feminist sex wars of the 1970s and 80s, and into our contemporary moment, this course is intended to grapple with how gender, sexuality, and race are represented in porn/ography and the larger political and sexual economy these representations are contained in. We will read and engage a chorus of academic texts, albums, artwork, and short essays that illuminate theorizations of representation and porn/orgraphy from varying intellectual and artistic perspectives.

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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.

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. 

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! 

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. 

Come analyze your favorite scary movie! In this online, asynchronous course, students watch classic and new horror films to unpack what they tell us about race, gender, sexuality, disability, and body size. Then, students take what they know to create a project that does its own deep dive into a horror movie of their choice!

This course offers a fun and informative look at the relationship between pop culture, social justice, and what scares us.

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