Your first year doesn't have to be jam-packed with basics. Take new courses that will entertain, stimulate and motivate you! Courses offered for the fall 2010 semester include:

And You Don’t Stop! Hip Hop: A Historical and Cultural Overview
UGST 181, 523 / Tuesdays 4:00 - 4:50 pm / Evans Library Annex, Room 417C
Instructor:  LaVerne Gray
This course is an exploration of Hip Hop Culture.  Participants will examine music, dance, poetry, and visual art of Hip Hop.  Historical origins, prominent figures, and cultural debates will be discussed.

Avatars and Second Life: Exploring A New World of Discovery
UGST 181, Section 513 / Monday 4:10 - 5:00 / Evans 204F
Instructor: Margaret Anderson and Rob McGeachin
Join in the virtual Aggieland and 12thman islands in Second Life with your own personally designed avatar.  Virtual worlds are 3D real time environments, providing educational and entertainment opportunities.  In this course you will interact with others, build items, and explore.    Must be at least 18 years old.

From Gutenberg to Harry Potter: Books and the History of Ideas
UGST 181, Section 509 / Monday 3:00 - 3:50 / Cushing Library, 1st Floor, Mayo/Thomas Room
Instructor: Todd Samuelson
Students will examine and handle material from Texas A&M’s special collections library – from Mesopotamian clay tablets to illuminated manuscripts, from fifteenth-century scientific manuals to contemporary science fiction manuscripts – to explore the ways that books have acted as a technology for exchanging information, and the ways that society has changed and grown along with that technology.  We will finalize our hands-on experience by making a collaborative pamphlet (containing a short statement from each of us) by setting type, printing, and binding our work together in the manner of eighteenth-century printers.

Got a Little Story to Tell Ya, Aggies: A History of Texas A&M
UGST 181, Section 517 / Tuesday 2:45 - 3:35 / Cushing Library, 1st Floor, Mayo/Thomas Room
Instructor: David Chapman, Mary Manning, Glenn Phillips
This course will introduce you to academic discourse (the kinds of language used in academic settings) by using primary and secondary resources to explore the University’s history and separate its history from myth. Enjoy a hands-on experience and learn to safely handle unique and fragile materials from the TAMU archives and special collections, such as historic newspapers, photographs, and rare books. Traditions will be discussed throughout the course, and activities will include a walking tour of central campus and its historic buildings and a viewing of Aggies: The True Story of Texas A&M, which was narrated by Lyle Lovett and made extensive use of historical film and photographs from Cushing Memorial Library.

Origins of Cuisine: Defining our Cultures
UGST 181, Section 525 / Tuesdays 4:00 - 4:50 / Medical Sciences Library, 2nd Floor, Special Collections Room 202
Instructor: Norma Funkhouser and Edward Funkhouser
This course will emphasis the use of critical thinking to help us understand the cultures that set us apart and appreciate the values that bring us together. Food will be used as a venue to provide a teaching, learning, and social environment in which you will gain the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in your academic, professional, and personal lives. Discover the origins of foods associated with special meals/foods that are connected with family, social, geographic, and ethnic groups.

This is a Great Book for Teens! Says Who? Exploring the 2009 ALA Best Books for Young Adults
UGST 181, Section 507 / Monday 3:00 - 3:50 / Library Annex, Room 417B
Instructor: Elaine Thornton
Participants will read selected fiction from the American Library Association's 2009 Best Books for Young Adults book list while exploring issues like merit, perspective, and content. They will also explore the development, promotion, and marketing of young adult literature.

Twilighters & Moonlighters: Fan Studies and the New American Vampire
UGST 181, Section 522 / Tuesday 4:00 - 4:50 / Evans Library, Room 204F
Instructor: Candace Benefiel and Cait Coker
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to academic discourse through the realm of "Fan Studies." Students will read critical essays on works such as Twilight, Moonlight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and more. Students will also view segments of media to learn how to critically discuss multimedia.