Faculty: Kerri-Anne Mitchell Description: This course will introduce students to the concept of “community changemaking” with an emphasis on: 1) recognizing social, economic, political, and environmental challenges that threaten the quality of life in American communities, 2) learning about the actions being taken by community agents to improve the quality of life in these communities,… [Read More]

Faculty: Ruchan Kaya Description: Movies and politics are intertwined in many respects. This class will bring movies from across the world and will talk about the content in relation to actual politics. We will watch movies like All President’s Men on Nixon, the Cold War from Poland, Der Lieben Der Anderen from Eastern Germany (GDPR),… [Read More]

Instructor: Marlene Teresa Llopiz Aviles Description: Do you know how many epidemics and pandemics have occurred in mankind’s history? This course reviews outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics dating back to the 1500s by an internationally renowned public health expert, an AC alum, who graduated from Harvard University and is currently involved in vaccine development and clinical… [Read More]

Instructor: Margie Norman Description: “You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.” Friedrich Nietzsche Parents and relatives: “What are you going to major in at Austin College?” Me: “I don’t know yet!” .strange looks. There is an inherent desire in most individuals to have a set plan in place to… [Read More]

Faculty: Michael Fairley Description: Beyond the functional purpose of food as sustenance for our bodies, food has evolved with us to play a vital role in family and other relationships, personal, social, and cultural expression, entertainment and art, and cultural exchange. This course will explore critical issues in food production, marketing, and the multifaceted ways… [Read More]

Faculty: Ryan Felix Description: Science fiction can be not only entertaining, but also a thought experiment that explores interesting ideas in current and future technology and across a breadth of intellectual fields. In this course we will read novels and watch movies that explore concepts and possibilities concerning scientific subjects such as time dilation, the… [Read More]

Faculty: Kelli Carroll Description: All of us know that current recommendations for best health suggest 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week. But why? Why is exercise beneficial? How does exercise change the body and mind in ways that can have life-long benefits? This course will explore the biology of exercise, looking… [Read More]

Faculty: Martin Wells Description: Memorials and the spaces around them are charged zones, time portals where the past and present coexist. Messages and meaning from the time of commission and construction mingle with, inform and complicate those that modern audiences might experience. For example, in recent years, monuments from the Civil War era have been… [Read More]

Faculty: Peter Schulze Description: Why did people come to central Texas? Native Americans followed the bison who came here for the grass. After the bison were slaughtered, longhorn cattle briefly thrived on that grass. Then, in the late 1800s, Western settlers discovered the prairie had built some of the richest soil west of the Mississippi… [Read More]

Faculty: Claire Wolnisty Description: This beginning ballet class explores the world of ballet through history, practice, film, performance, music, gender, race, popular culture, language, and fashion. In this course, we will learn ballet fundamentals such as dance positions and beginner barre exercises, as well as engage in wide-ranging conversations about the history, cultural contexts, stereotypes,… [Read More]