Students rummaging through the course listings to assemble the perfect pre-registration schedule for the spring could find themselves enrolling in the school of rock or studying Bella and Edward’s fated love.

RELIGION IN THE LIMELIGHT

Next semester, some theology electives are branching out into less-charted territory.

“Mormonism: A New World Religion,” taught by Carl Cranney for the first time next semester, examines the formation of religions using the context of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints.

Cranney emphasized the importance of studying Mormonism because of its recent emergence and growing popularity. According to Cranney, the religion is becoming a focal point in the media as the success of the Broadway musical “The Book of Mormon” and Mormon presidential candidates become more prevalent.

“Mormonism is becoming more and more prominent, and it’s just something that more people ought to be informed of, especially because polls seem to indicate … that the likely Republican candidate for president next year will be Mitt Romney, who is a Mormon,” he said.

Elyssa Skeirik (SFS ’15) echoed Cranney’s sentiments.

“Mormonism is often neglected as a faith,” she said. “Many people see it as a kind of fascination, instead of a legitimate religion, because of sensationalist misconceptions that are fostered by negative depictions, such as in ‘South Park’ and ‘Big Love.'”

However, another class intends to study exactly that — pop culture’s depiction of the Bible.

“The Bible Goes to Hollywood,” a new Catholic Studies course, examines the importance of the historical role of the Bible and Catholic imagination through biblical films in popular culture. The class, taught by adjunct professor Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, focuses on the comparison of Biblical passages and film analysis.

Apostolos-Cappadona plans to draw from her background in iconography to emphasize how paintings by Michelangelo and Rembrandt influence the way we understand what’s authentic in a biblical movie.

“Those illustrations have either been reproductions or copies of great works of art, and somehow, that’s how we think Jesus should look,” she said.

The class will differ from other courses taught through the film medium, according to Apostolos-Cappadona, because it will follow the order of biblical scriptures instead of the chronology of the movies.

WE’LL DO IT LIVE

Spring’s course offerings also include a handful of classes that immerse students in performing arts experiences not traditionally offered in the academic arena.

“Guild of Bands,” which is in its fourth semester as a one-credit performance course, provides previously established campus bands the opportunity to compose, rehearse and perform their own music under the guidance of adjunct associate professor Joseph McCarthy.

Created as an alternative to the more formal musical ensembles, the course helps assuage student musicians’ worries of where and when they can perform.

“It is a great opportunity for non-classical musicians to focus on their unique tastes and styles,” music major Jackson Sinnenberg (COL ’15) said.

McCarthy listens to the groups perform every Wednesday, giving them constructive criticism on the content of the music and their performing style. Each group is expected to rehearse throughout the week, and many also do performances outside the classroom. McCarthy believes the less-formal course set-up allows students to improve faster.

“The students can set parameters for the structure of how things will happen, so they can get to a goal a little quicker,” he said.

With another nod to the stage, the class “Comedy” will explore the importance of humor in everyday life and examines the ethics, neurobiology, psychology and politics behind the art form.

The first session, taught by Mame Hunt in Spring 2010, drew 40 students from a variety of majors and departments. Because of this success, the theatre and performance studies department plans to offer the course every other year in the future.

Hunt cited her work with previous playwrights as her motivation to develop the class.

“I’ve often been in the position of shaping a moment for a laugh, but I never knew how comedy actually worked,” she said. “I always wanted to teach it, but couldn’t figure out how to arrange it so it made academic and pedagogical sense.”

Hunt has expanded her curriculum this year to include a section on the “shadow side” of comedy, that which is used to exert power through bullying and teasing. She also plans to discuss the neurobiology of laughter.

While centered on class discussions, the course also features trips to stand-up comedy clubs and comedic plays.

Alex Watson (COL ’15) expressed interest in the course because of the numerous functions of comedy in society.

“Comedy plays an important role in everyday life,” he wrote in an email.  “People use it as a way to bring light to a tough subject, and it spans multiple disciplines.”

A NEW TAKE ON OLD SUBJECTS

Some upcoming classes will also focus on subjects from the past, both recent and colonial.

“Food and the French Empire,” offered through the French department, will explore the production, consumption and circulation of foodstuffs and cuisine in the country’s colonial empire.

Using old recipe books and historical articles, the course will focus on specific brands and follow how they were advertised and consumed in France’s history.

Topics discussed will include the political stigma associated with Halal food, which is prepared according to Islamic law, as well as the racial and historical aspects of advertising, such as the colonial black soldier used to sell Banania, a popular French chocolate drink.

“My hope is that … we can change the ways that [people] think about food by making them aware of the interactions between food, power and politics,” said associate professor Sylvie Durmelat, who will teach the course. “Hopefully, it will make us more active consumers of food but also readers of texts about food in our everyday life.”

Durmelat was inspired to create the course because of her interests in both food and francophonestudies. The class will also be included in the food studies cluster, which is currently being developed.

The class “Young Adult Fiction and Film” will even allow students to rewind time to take a look at the books of their youth. The course, which focuses on literature for teenagers, is itself 30 years old as of this coming semester.

Students in the class analyze power dimensions, popular culture and marketing through novels geared toward 12 to 15-year-olds, including the book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” “The Hunger Games” and excerpts from the “Twilight” series.

“We look at the ways in which certain kinds of books invite youngsters to resist cultural norms, think for themselves and become independent readers,” Fisher said.

The curriculum also features film screenings that instigate discussion about how directors alter the plot of books for visual and perspective purposes.

The course work is not the task of children, however, according to Delia Santos (SFS ’12), who previously took the class sophomore year.

“Everything about [the course] was amazing, but I would caution my friend that it is a lot of work,” she wrote in an email. “People should be warned that it will not be an easy ride if that’s what they are hoping to do by taking the course.”

Although not cross-listed with the minor in education, justice and inquiry, the class helps potential teachers develop a bibliography for lessons, choose novels for their students and determine how to better read and analyze books that have become childhood favorites.

“It’s useful for people who are going to be teachers, parents and citizens of the world,” Fisher said. “It’s the way we socialize the next generation.”