I’m not taking any chances next semester. I want a courseload that is interesting, exciting, fascinating, and all the other -ings. I’m taking courses with professors I like, in things that I’ve heard are good. I want to get back into the academic side in a big way, and this is how I’m going to do it:

• SPAN 10a-1 Beginning Spanish
  For students who have had no previous study of Spanish. A systematic presentation of the basic grammar and vocabulary of the language within the context of Hispanic culture, with focus on all five language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and sociocultural awareness.
  Reasoning: I need a language, I’ve tried German twice and failed, and now it’s time for something new, different, and, since I live in an area where Spanish is a dominant language, practical.
• SOC 181a Quantitative Methods of Social Inquiry
  Introduces students to causal logic and quantitative reasoning and research. Emphasis is on conceptual understanding, not mathematical derivations, with hands-on applications using desktop computers. No statistical or mathematical background is necessary.
  Reasoning: I need to fulfill the quantitative reasoning requirement, I don’t want every class to be reading-intensive, and this one is supposed to be fairly easy and fun.
• PHIL 22a Philosophy of Law
  Examines the nature of criminal responsibility, causation in the law, negligence and liability, omission and the duty to rescue, and the nature and limits of law. Also, is the law more or less like chess or poker, cooking recipes, or the Ten Commandments?
  Reasoning: Teuber rocks and I loved Intro. Philosophy with him, and this class won’t be offered again while I’m at Brandeis.
• LGLS 150a Cyberlaw
  Examines how legal practices expand and restrain the digital revolution, how legal authority itself is challenged by the Internet, forcing new strategies of response, and how social/political forces shape legal policy on copyright, privacy, harassment, libel, and free speech.
  Reasoning: This class’s syllabus is similar to what I did at UCI, in a class that I loved, the guest professor has lots of hands-on experience with internet legal bodies, and this class fulfills like three requirements at once. Score!
• JOUR 125b Journalism of Crisis
  Analyzes the practice of journalism during times of crisis. Topics include the process of news gathering in a breaking news environment, the framing of news as it occurs, and the often conflicting agendas of the journalist and the actor involved in a crisis.
  Reasoning: Socolow cares so much about his subject that his enthusiasm can be contagious, and I like journalism. However, if I end up finding a summer program that fulfills all the rest of my journalism requirements, I might drop this one in favor of finishing another requirement. We’ll see…I’d really like to take another Socolow class, but then again, I’d also like to take Jerry Cohen’s violence class.