Six new classes approved to meet Dietrich general education requirements

From goddesses and gladiators to Guillermo del Toro, six new classes are approved to meet Dietrich general education requirements for the spring 2024 semester.

“By providing such a diverse catalog of courses students learn valuable skills that can be applied to their own majors and broader life experiences in enriching ways,” student government board member Braydan Issermoyer said about the new additions. 

Issermoyer and Dietrich Undergraduate Council member Aleks Bearden are working to add more classes that meet Dietrich general education requirements. The goal of this initiative according to Issermoyer is to add more “interesting,” classes that can count towards credit for graduation.

“The idea behind the approval of new general education courses is to give students more opportunities to discover interests they never knew they had, all while earning credits toward graduation and allowing them to become more aware of our increasingly diverse and interconnected world,” Bearden said. 

Toni Jackson, a sophomore public and professional writing major, feels that general education requirements make students more well rounded and courses being added can benefit students after graduation.

“I think we all need to be more well rounded,” Jackson said. “I hate science but I do think taking three science classes was worth my time and helped my general understanding of the world even though I do not plan on being a scientist.”

Bearden explained the rationale behind how courses qualify as “general education.” 

“Our rationale behind approving courses for certain general education requirements is based on the syllabi provided by the department requesting the course to meet the requested requirement,” Bearden said. “We match the course syllabi description to the description of each general education requirement.”

Issermoyer said the upcoming course offerings are “cool” and wishes he could take some of them. 

“There is so much value in having a diversity of education, especially when it comes to general education requirements,” Issermoyer said. “It is one thing to require students to take classes in areas that they have no interest in, but entirely different when there are so many courses offered that everyone will find something of interest.”

Jackson feels that the concept of general education classes can be beneficial to those who are not sure of their career path, and that the humanities general education requirements are applicable to real world situations.

“I love the idea of adding new gen eds,” Jackson said. “No one minds taking them if they’re classes they are actually interested in. I think the natural science requirement is necessary, but there is not much application with the sciences outside of their specific field. Things like arts and literature can be used in many different ways in real life.”

The new courses students can take to meet a variety of general education requirements are listed below:

1. Archeology of Ancient Egypt (ANTH 1576)

This course is pending approval, but will count for the geographic region requirement. According to PeopleSoft, students will “survey the contributions of archaeology and archaeological sciences to our understanding of the history of Ancient Egypt.”

2. Paleokitchen (ANTH 1511) 

This course will count for cross cultural awareness and social science. Students will “see how the subject of ancient eating can provide important insights into some of the most fundamental issues in anthropology,” according to Peopleoft. 

3. Asian America Reckoning (ANTH 1670)

This course will count for diversity and global issues requirements and is “a deep analysis of the historical and cultural elements of the Asian American experience,” according to PeopleSoft.

4. Goddesses and Gladiators (CLASS 1180)

This course is pending department approval, but will count for geographic region and historical analysis. This course “investigates representations of ancient Mediterranean history and culture in modern media, considering a wide variety of historical topics.” 

5. Plagues and Pandemics: Public Health in the Francophone World (FR 1074)

This course is pending department approval, but will count for Diversity, Geographic Region, and Literature. It will be taught in English, and no French knowledge is necessary. In this course, students will “have an overview of the principles and practice of public health in the Francophone context.” 

6. Guillermo del Toro (ENGFLM 1475/FMST 1364)

This course will meet the arts requirement. It “aims to discover the extent to which Guillermo del Toro’s films and other media texts are unified in style and theme”

Issermoyer encourages students to take a course that may be out of their comfort zone.

“I am always very excited to see what courses we will consider for our biweekly meetings, just because I think a lot of them are so cool,” Issermoyer said.  “I really encourage everyone to look at all the gen eds offered by Pitt and not to settle for simply ‘the easiest.’ I have taken gen eds that already interested me, and when you enjoy showing up to class, the whole course becomes so much easier.”