Deciding on Spring Classes? See a Dozen Great Choices

From the economics of immigration to reality television, Pitzer College’s upcoming classes delve into modern social issues through diverse disciplines. Many courses also include community engagement, internships, and hands-on research opportunities with professors. 

Thanks to students’ evolving interests and faculty’s interdisciplinary innovation, Pitzer regularly offers a breadth of new courses every semester. Students can ignite their curiosity in almost any field they can think of. 

Pre-registration for spring 2027 is open from November 17 to 20. Here is a sampling of classes to choose from: 

Dungeons, Dragons, & Race in the USA 

Amanda Louise Johnson 
ENGL163 
English & World Literature 

Students will explore how readers and writers in the U.S. used their re-imaginings of the medieval world to think through race and racism in America. After spending the semester surveying how Americans of different backgrounds appropriated the medieval to discuss U.S. racial politics, students will also select a contemporary topic related to medieval fantasy and U.S. race relations. They will compile an annotated bibliography of popular media commentaries and scholarly sources relevant to that subject. 

The Ceramic Object and Food   

Tim Berg 
ART 119 
Art 

Students will learn traditions and rituals around tea, coffee, and cacao in Vietnam, Nepal, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and California through connections with farmers, artisans, sellers, and potters. Simultaneously, they will make objects (cups, saucers, tea­ pots, coffee pots, etc.) that allow them to taste, share, and develop their own rituals. This class is paired with the Pitzer Institute for Global/Local Action & Study (IGLAS). 

Risk and Resilience 

Mita Banerjee 
PSYC116 
Psychology 

This course is part of Pitzer’s Inside-Out program, where “inside” students from local carceral facilities and “outside” students from The Claremont Colleges learn together. Students will focus on how developmental risk factors and interventions can impact children’s educational aspirations, sense of self, and well-being in local and global urban settings. 

Integrated Biology & Chemistry  

Mihoko Kato, Jason Tor, and Ethan Van Arnam 
BIOL042L KS-01 & CHEM042L 
Natural Sciences 

Designed for first-year students, these two courses provide students an integrated understanding of biology and chemistry. The laboratory portion combines these disciplines and focuses on student learning in community-engaged problems. Chemistry topics range from free energy to kinetics to electrochemistry. Biology topics include cell biology, biochemistry, and genetics.  

Fascism: Politics and Histories   

Will Barndt and Carina Johnson 
POST/HIST153 
Political Studies and History 

This seminar considers fascism's rise and fall in twentieth-century Europe. In doing so, it also considers fascism’s reception in the United States during that time. The class will treat Italy as a case study and connect to Parma as the site of anti-fascist resistance during the interwar era. Students will prepare for independent research focusing on Parma, where Pitzer hosts an immersive study abroad program. This class is paired with Pitzer IGLAS. 

Environmental Health and Generational Knowledge in Southern Africa  

Harmony O’Rourke  
HIST070 
History 

How have Southern African peoples made sense of their environments and their health? This course explores this topic as well as changes from intercultural contact, colonization, urbanization, climate change, and more. Students will be able to apply to an in-country, community-engaged research project in Botswana during summer 2027. This class is paired with Pitzer IGLAS. 

Participatory Action Research 

Barbara Junisbai 
ORST151 
Organizational Studies 

The class will follow a community-driven model of inquiry aimed at social change. Teams of students will partner with local organizations to support their fundraising and co-create funding resources. Students will also engage with Pitzer’s community partners in Ecuador and experts on the political and economic challenges facing global grassroots organizations. This class is paired with Pitzer IGLAS. 

Afrolatinidades 

Fély Catan 
SPAN163   
Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures  

This Spanish course examines Afro-descendant histories, identities, and cultural production across Latin America and the Caribbean. The class will learn about quilombos (enslaved Africans who resisted Brazil’s slavery regime) and beauty standards and racial hierarchies in Brazilian pop culture. Students will also connect with Afro-Ecuadorian and Afro-Panamanian students, learning firsthand about their experiences and perspectives. This class is paired with Pitzer IGLAS. 

Reality TV  

Elizabeth Affuso 
MS 141 
Media Studies  

Students will critically examine reality television in the global media industries from the early 2000s to the present. Using reality TV history as a frame, this course will examine the changing role of labor, media conglomerates and platforms, new media technologies, and globalization within media industries.  

Internship: Sociology of Health and Medicine  

Alicia Bonaparte 
SOC 170 
Sociology 

This class creates experiential knowledge of various arenas within the U.S. healthcare systems. Students will work at least 4 hours a week in an internship of interest. The class will discuss poignant readings related to the healthcare system that focus on the lives of health consumers/patients and critically examines the social relationships that exist between practitioners and current pressing health concerns. 

Economics of Immigration 

Deepti Goel 
ECON165 
Economics 

This course applies an economic lens to the controversial and much-debated topic of immigration. Issues covered include the decision to migrate, the effects of immigration on markets, public finance, and income inequality, and the implications of immigration policies in a global context. 

Portuguese Virtual Learning Community   

Mara Barbosa 
PORT035 
Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures  

This course facilitates a virtual learning community for linguistic and cultural exchange in Portuguese and English. Students pair up with a conversation partner at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco and the Steve Biko Cultural Institute, a racial justice grassroots organization and Pitzer in Brazil’s community partner. The course is designed to prepare to study abroad through Pitzer in Brazil but is open to all. This class is paired with Pitzer IGLAS.