My Department

Discover opportunities to build your skills and delve deeper into specialty topics with D-Term. Offered between fall and winter terms during the first two weeks of December, you can take brief, intensive courses that are not offered during the academic year.  

Each two-week course includes hands-on projects or travel for experiential learning. Courses count as three units toward a Lawrence degree. Tuition for D-Term is $2,040.

The deadline to register is Wednesday, October 18. Learn more and sign up at lawrence.edu.

Course Offerings

DECM 112 | Food Politics and Culture | William Hixon

This course examines political and cultural forces that shape what we eat as well as implications for public health and the environment. Course material includes academic writing, food writing, and popular commentary, and students will undertake cooking projects based on course themes.

DECM 144 | The Science of Super Heroes | Megan Pickett

A seminar course that examines the good, the bad, and the indifferent approaches to science in popular super hero films (particularly the Marvel and DC Universes). No science background or prerequisites required.

DECM 148 | Intro to Tropes and Stereotype | Austin Rose

Tropes and character types have come down through the advent of western theatre and media to the present day. These characters have represented, and often embarrassed, those they portray from the earliest theatrical performances through international blockbuster films worldwide. Exploring their use and evolution of the good, the bad, and the ugly of various stereotypes will enlighten their perpetuation or suppression in future media.

DECM 150 | World Energy Markets | David Gerard

Amidst the dual threats of war in western Europe and the prospects of catastrophic climate change, energy systems are at the fore of world attention. This course surveys world energy systems and markets, particularly the U.S. electricity system. The focus will be on a quantitative characterization of world energy sources and uses, along with theoretical and qualitative treatments of the economics and politics of world energy integration. Pending availability, classes will feature guests from business, government, and the academy.

DECM 151 | Theatre of the Mind | Aaron Sherkow

Exploring both audio plays and tabletop role-playing games in this workshop course, students will learn how both forms function through immersion. They are called Theatre of the Mind because the audiences’ imagination is an active participant in creating the work. No previous experience in audio drama or role-playing games necessary. Curiosity required.

DECM 152 | Early Literacy in Community | Stephanie Burdick-Shepard

In this course participants will practice reading, writing, and speaking strategies that support early childhood literacy foundations by working with beginning readers (ages 2-6) at community locations in the Fox Valley. Participants will talk to local educators and learn about early literacy theory. Short reflective essays, travel, and discussion required. PREREQUISITES: Students must be able to pass a local background check.

DECM 224 | Introduction to R | Arnold Shober

Careful data analysis has become central to decision-making in areas from politics to sports to medicine. This introduction to collecting, cleaning, and manipulating messy, real-world data with R will emphasize reproducible, documented analysis. The course will also introduce graphing and programming concepts that pertain to data analysis. Familiarity with basic statistics is a plus but not required.

Tuesday, September 19 | 5-6 p.m.
Briggs Hall 420

Deadlines are approaching for jobs and internships in the Business & Entrepreneurship (BE) and the Tech & Data Sciences career communities. Engage with an industry recruiter and the BE & TD career counselor who will share the job and internship landscape for the current hiring season.

See Handshake for details and to sign up!