Elective Course Offerings & Potential Sequences

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication

Modality: Hybrid, T/Th, 12:00 PM-1:05 PM
Instructor: Steph Hankinson

Description or Theme:
"Combatting Structural Oppression & Rebalancing Power "
This course explores intercultural communication within the complex dynamics of globalization and global capitalism, with a focus on how culture and identity shapes—and is shaped by—global forces. We will begin by examining the theoretical foundations of globalization by looking at how our own cultural identities as consumers work in a global system. We will discuss how migration, borders, and national identities are culturally constructed and contested. The class will then dive into a focused study on gentrification in the Pacific Northwest highlighting the intersections of race, place, and cultural displacement in our own community. The final unit of the course explores how cultural worldviews and social positions influence environmental relationships and environmental justice movements. Throughout the quarter, we will critically analyze how culture functions as both a site of resistance and adaptation in a rapidly changing world.

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Steph Hankinson

Description or Theme:
"Combatting Structural Oppression & Rebalancing Power "
This course explores intercultural communication within the complex dynamics of globalization and global capitalism, with a focus on how culture and identity shapes—and is shaped by—global forces. We will begin by examining the theoretical foundations of globalization by looking at how our own cultural identities as consumers work in a global system. We will discuss how migration, borders, and national identities are culturally constructed and contested. The class will then dive into a focused study on gentrification in the Pacific Northwest highlighting the intersections of race, place, and cultural displacement in our own community. The final unit of the course explores how cultural worldviews and social positions influence environmental relationships and environmental justice movements. Throughout the quarter, we will critically analyze how culture functions as both a site of resistance and adaptation in a rapidly changing world.

HUM 110: Introduction to US Film 

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Leticia Lopez

This course takes you on a journey through U.S. film history—from the silent film era all the way to today's streaming-dominated landscape. Together, we’ll explore major movements like the Golden Age of Hollywood, the revolutionary spirit of New Hollywood in the '70s, the rise of the blockbuster, and the indie film wave of the '90s and early 2000s.

But this isn’t just about movie history—it’s about seeing film as both art and industry, and as a powerful lens through which we understand American culture. We’ll look at how films reflect and shape conversations around identity, politics, race, gender, and power—and how they’ve helped tell (and sometimes distort) the story of America itself.

This is a fully online, asynchronous course with work due on the same two days each week. You’ll complete film viewings, readings, discussion posts, and creative projects like imagining how a modern Hollywood blockbuster might look if it were made during the silent film era. We use labor-based grading, so your effort counts more than perfection—and there’s no textbook to buy. If you’re curious about how American movies reflect, shape, and challenge culture, this class is a great fit.

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication 

Modality: Hybrid, T/Th 12:00 PM-1:05 PM
Instructor: Steph Hankinson

Description or Theme:
"Combatting Structural Oppression & Rebalancing Power "
This course explores intercultural communication within the complex dynamics of globalization and global capitalism, with a focus on how culture and identity shapes—and is shaped by—global forces. We will begin by examining the theoretical foundations of globalization by looking at how our own cultural identities as consumers work in a global system. We will discuss how migration, borders, and national identities are culturally constructed and contested. The class will then dive into a focused study on gentrification in the Pacific Northwest highlighting the intersections of race, place, and cultural displacement in our own community. The final unit of the course explores how cultural worldviews and social positions influence environmental relationships and environmental justice movements. Throughout the quarter, we will critically analyze how culture functions as both a site of resistance and adaptation in a rapidly changing world.

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication

Modality: Hybrid, M/W 10:45-11:50 PM
Instructor: Nanya Jhingran

Description or Theme: 
What is culture? How does it impact our lives? How is it distinct from but related to and shaped by politics, law, or economics? This course is designed to introduce you to the skills and perspectives you need to understand and feel empowered in your own social and cultural location. Your social “location” is where your many social and cultural “positions”—such as race, age, nationality, gender, sexuality, to name a few—intersect. This course introduces you to key theories, concepts, and practices in the fields of cultural studies, anthropology/sociology, humanities, geography, and history through an exploration of your own personal, cultural, and political positioning. Each course is designed to reflect the interests of the students in the room that quarter and therefore features rotating modules on the impacts of globalization and transnational capitalism(s) on local cultural and political realities through a rotating set of thematic focuses such as food cultures and food justice, environmental justice, Indigenous practices and philosophies, urban development, and social inequality, among others.

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Leticia Lopez

How does your identity shape the way you communicate—and how others see you? This course explores the ways culture, power, and communication intersect in everyday life. From the doctor’s office to the classroom, from the Central District to TikTok, we’ll look at real-world case studies on topics like fat shaming, transgender healthcare, gentrification, redlining, and online activism. Students will reflect on their own identities, analyze how systems of power influence communication, and explore how intercultural understanding can lead to equity, empathy, and change. The course ends with a call to action: how can we use what we’ve learned to make a difference?

This is a fully online, asynchronous course with work due on the same two days each week. You’ll watch video clips, complete readings and discussion posts, and take on creative projects like observing real-world healthcare settings or walking a local neighborhood. We use labor-based grading, so your effort counts more than perfection—and there’s no textbook to buy. If you’re interested in how culture shapes the way we connect, communicate, and navigate the world around us, this class is a great fit.

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Leticia Lopez

How does your identity shape the way you communicate—and how others see you? This course explores the ways culture, power, and communication intersect in everyday life. From the doctor’s office to the classroom, from the Central District to TikTok, we’ll look at real-world case studies on topics like fat shaming, transgender healthcare, gentrification, redlining, and online activism. Students will reflect on their own identities, analyze how systems of power influence communication, and explore how intercultural understanding can lead to equity, empathy, and change. The course ends with a call to action: how can we use what we’ve learned to make a difference?

This is a fully online, asynchronous course with work due on the same two days each week. You’ll watch video clips, complete readings and discussion posts, and take on creative projects like observing real-world healthcare settings or walking a local neighborhood. We use labor-based grading, so your effort counts more than perfection—and there’s no textbook to buy. If you’re interested in how culture shapes the way we connect, communicate, and navigate the world around us, this class is a great fit.

HUM 151: Introduction to Film

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Leticia Lopez

Every shot, sound, and cut in a film is a choice—and this course will help you see those choices with fresh eyes. You’ll gain tools to watch and think about movies in a deeper, more intentional way. We’ll break down how films are made and how they create meaning through visual storytelling elements like cinematography, editing, sound, acting, mise-en-scène, and more.

Together, we’ll watch a wide range of films and dig into what makes them work (or not!). Why do some scenes stay with us long after the credits roll? How do filmmakers build suspense, create emotion, or push us to see the world differently? By the end of the course, you won’t just watch movies—you’ll know how to break them down, talk about them with purpose, and see things most people miss.

This is a fully online, asynchronous course with work due on the same two days each week. You’ll watch films, complete readings and discussion posts, and take on creative projects like experimenting with camera angles on your phone or choosing music to shift the mood of a movie scene. We use labor-based grading, so your effort counts more than perfection—and there’s no textbook to buy. If you like learning by doing and want a course that’s hands-on, creative, and never boring, this one’s for you!

HUM 107: Introduction to Environmental Humanities

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Steph Hankinson

Description or Theme:
"Climate Justice, Environmental Cultures, and Adaptation" 
This class introduces the vast field of environmental humanities through film, literature, culture, and history. Topics include changing ideas about nature, wilderness, ecology, pollution, climate, and human/animal relations, with particular emphasis on environmental justice and the unequal distribution of environmental crises, both globally and along class, race and gender lines.

Expansive thinking and deep questioning are hallmarks of the Environmental Humanities – an interdisciplinary field that brings together the sciences and humanities to probe at the cultural, ethical, and philosophical roots of environmental challenges.

This course will push you to think critically about narratives of human progress, explore contrasting cultural paradigms around human-nature relationships, and leverage humility and curiosity to make sense of the ways culture and environmental change are entwined. Utilizing different styles of thinking and areas of scholarship, we will challenge one another’s ideas about environmental solutions, possible futures, and what stories of purpose guide our pursuits. How can we understand our place on a changing planet – and imagine a better future?

HUM 130: World Cinema

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Steph Hankinson

Description or Theme:
"Monsters, Environment, and Being Human: Global Storytelling in Film"
International films encourage U.S. audiences to reconsider what cinema is and how new ideas, feelings, and worlds come into being outside the dominant Hollywood tradition. In this class we will watch contemporary films from all over the world (focusing two of our course units on a small selection of Japanese films, Colombian films, and a few other highlighted regions from around the world related to our class themes.) We will explore how filmmakers experiment with themes (visual, narrative, or technical) related to monstrosity and the built/natural environments to tell stories about what it means to be human in our time of climate change and global conflict. 

Films may include:
Pan’s Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno): Spain/Mexico – 2006
Edge of the Knife (SGaawaay K’uuna): Haida/Canada – 2018
Parasite (Gisaengchung): South Korea - 2019
Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi): Japan – 2001
Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku): Japan – 2018
Jellyfish Eyes (Mememe no Kurage): – 2013 
Summer Wars (Samā Wōzu) – 2009
Your Name (Kimi no Na wa) – 2016
Birds of Passage - Pájaros de verano - Columbia 2018
Monos (Columbia 2019)
Embrace of the Serpent - El abrazo de la serpiente – internationally produced: Columbia, Venezuela, Argentina 2015

HUM 201/GEOG 277: Cities and Power

Modality: Hybrid, M/W 9:30-10:35
Instructor: Julian Barr

Description or Theme: 
In this class students will examine the cultural, political, and social organization of urban space. By studying current social issues like homelessness, gentrification, and police violence, students will explore the links between power, oppression in U.S. cities in the context of racial capitalism. We will also explore how social movements have sparked important social changes in the past and present.

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication

Modality: TBD
Instructor: Leticia Lopez or Liz Jansenn

Description or Theme:

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Steph Hankinson

Description or Theme:

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Steph Hankinson

Description or Theme:

HUM 110: Introduction to US Film

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Leticia Lopez

This course takes you on a journey through U.S. film history—from the silent film era all the way to today's streaming-dominated landscape. Together, we’ll explore major movements like the Golden Age of Hollywood, the revolutionary spirit of New Hollywood in the '70s, the rise of the blockbuster, and the indie film wave of the '90s and early 2000s.

But this isn’t just about movie history—it’s about seeing film as both art and industry, and as a powerful lens through which we understand American culture. We’ll look at how films reflect and shape conversations around identity, politics, race, gender, and power—and how they’ve helped tell (and sometimes distort) the story of America itself.

This is a fully online, asynchronous course with work due on the same two days each week. You’ll complete film viewings, readings, discussion posts, and creative projects like imagining how a modern Hollywood blockbuster might look if it were made during the silent film era. We use labor-based grading, so your effort counts more than perfection—and there’s no textbook to buy. If you’re curious about how American movies reflect, shape, and challenge culture, this class is a great fit.

HUM 126: Environmental Film 

Modality: Hybrid, T/Th, 12:00 PM-????
Instructor: Steph Hankinson

Description or Theme:

HUM220/ENGL261: Migration and Exile

Modality: HYBRID, T/Th, 10:45 AM-11:50 AM
Instructor: Nanya Jhingran

Description or Theme:
Have you been anxiously following the political debates on the rights of migrants and refugees? Do you and/or your family have experiences with migration and exile? Would you like to learn more about how migrants understand their relationship with culture, political belonging, geography, and history? Would you like to understand what has shaped your experience with migration while also learning about other migrant experiences? Did you know that there is a field of study that methodically asks these questions and more?

This course introduces students to key cultural studies methods while exploring a selection of 20th and 21st cultural texts such as literature, poetry, film, music, and art that represent experiences of migration, diaspora, and exile in US and global contexts. You will analyze cultural texts across genres, situate them within their appropriate historical context, think comparatively across geographic and historical settings, and develop your own critical and creative responses to the course materials and themes. 

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication 

Modality: Hybrid, Th, 10:45 AM-11:50 AM
Instructor: Steph Hankinson

Description or Theme:

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instruction: Steph Hankinson

Description or Theme:

HUM 105: Intercultural Communication

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instruction: Nanya Jhingran

Description or Theme: 
What is culture? How does it impact our lives? What makes it different than politics or economics? This course is designed to empower you with the skills and perspectives you need to understand and empower your own social and cultural location. Your social “location” is where your many social and cultural “positions”—such as race, age, nationality, gender, sexuality, to name a few—intersect. This course introduces you to key theories, concepts, and practices in the fields of cultural studies, anthropology/sociology, humanities, geography, and history through an exploration of your own personal, cultural, and political positioning.

Each course is designed to reflect the interests of the students in the room each quarter and therefore features rotating modules on the impacts of globalization on local cultural and political realities through focused themes such as food cultures and food justice, environmental justice, Indigenous practices and philosophies, urban development, and social inequality, among others. Come have interesting discussions with classmates, explore your history and identity, and develop the skills you need to ethically and creatively navigate differences in a globalized world!

HUM 151: Introduction to Film

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Leticia Lopez

Every shot, sound, and cut in a film is a choice—and this course will help you see those choices with fresh eyes. You’ll gain tools to watch and think about movies in a deeper, more intentional way. We’ll break down how films are made and how they create meaning through visual storytelling elements like cinematography, editing, sound, acting, mise-en-scène, and more.

Together, we’ll watch a wide range of films and dig into what makes them work (or not!). Why do some scenes stay with us long after the credits roll? How do filmmakers build suspense, create emotion, or push us to see the world differently? By the end of the course, you won’t just watch movies—you’ll know how to break them down, talk about them with purpose, and see things most people miss.

This is a fully online, asynchronous course with work due on the same two days each week. You’ll watch films, complete readings and discussion posts, and take on creative projects like experimenting with camera angles on your phone or choosing music to shift the mood of a movie scene. We use labor-based grading, so your effort counts more than perfection—and there’s no textbook to buy. If you like learning by doing and want a course that’s hands-on, creative, and never boring, this one’s for you!

HUM 110: Introduction to US Film

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Steph Hankinson

Description or Theme:

HUM 107: Introduction to Environmental Humanities

Modality: [ONLINE]
Instructor: Nanya Jhingran

Description or Theme: