Just as numerous Golden Bears will be stepping foot on campus and into lecture halls for the first time this fall, many courses will be unveiling themselves this semester. Here we’ve outlined a few new course offerings.

Architecture 112: The Social Life of Buildings 

This class will explore how buildings and people interact with each other. Specifically, the course will answer the question of how buildings inform and form the ways different individuals from various communities live. Arch 112 is designed to prepare students for advanced architectural humanities courses and will be centered around three themes that spotlight ways of thinking about race, class, gender, individual actions and “cultural associations of the built environment.”

English 90: Practices of Literary Study

This will be a small, in-person, faculty-led seminar that focuses on literary analysis and is designed for students looking to enroll in an introductory literature class. The seminar closely examines a few works over the semester to help students learn about different strategies for literary interpretation. There are several seminars within the English 90 course series, such as “Love and Sex,” which analyzes how literature shaped norms for sex, love, marriage and reproduction.

Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures 10: Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia

No prior coursework is needed to enroll in this introductory class to the ancient Middle Eastern world. Students will use techniques such as archaeology and philology to study topics including kingship and urbanism. The course will also provide students with the opportunity to engage with primary sources in Bay Area museums, as well as on campus. 

Mechanical Engineering 139: Robotic Locomotion

Professor of mechanical engineering and roboticist Homayoon Kazerooni will be teaching students the basics of robotic locomotion to design types of artificial legs, such as exoskeletons and prosthetics. While no application is required for the class, students must have completed a preliminary course in the control and design of mechanical systems to enroll.

Music 172: Popular Music Theory 

San Francisco Bay Area-based composer and music theorist Matthew Hough will be teaching this new course. The course, which requires students to have taken Music 52b, will analyze the techniques and materials used in global and historical styles of popular music, including those that are current and new. Students will also record, perform, compose and share an original piece of popular music in Music 172.

Native American Studies 179: Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Change in the North American West

Campus lecturer John Dougherty will examine the relationships “between indigenous communities and the continuously changing environmental landscapes of the North American West from before European contact to the present,” according to Keith Feldman, associate professor and interim chair in ethnic studies. The course will also analyze how indigenous communities adapt cultural traditions to the changing environment. 

Southeast Asian Studies 175: Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia 

Associate professor Penelope Edwards will examine the political, social, religious, economic and cultural history of the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia from the 19th to 21st century. This course will primarily study Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Burma, as well as analyze nationalist and colonial projects in China and Southeast Asia. 

Undergraduate Business Administration 195B: Startup and Small-Business Consulting 

This course focuses on providing students with the principles and concepts needed for consulting small businesses and startups. Students will work in groups of three or four to work on projects that allow for real-world experiences in working with an outside clientele. Furthermore, time during classes will be allocated toward both consulting workshops and guest lectures. 

Though the seats in many of these classes have already been filled, it’s always a good idea to be aware of the changes in campus course offerings. You never know — if these classes are a success, you could be taking them in future semesters!