6 Classes that Ignite Discovery
Here’s a sampling of classes at St. Edward’s that emphasize learning by doing across campus. We asked students to share what blew their minds the most. Documentary film-making? Child’s pose? Advocating for a humane immigration policy? How do we sign up?!
Be a Marketing Director
"So much thought and coordinating went into marketing a single successful campaign ─ it was the closest I’ve gotten to a real-world marketing experience." ─ Kirsten DeFrance MBA ’19
Class: Marketing Management in a Digital Environment
Instructor: Assistant Professor of Marketing Juli James
Learning: Traditional marketing techniques combined with social- and web-based digital strategies, with primers in ethics and corporate social responsibility
Reading: "The Content Code: Six Essential Strategies to Ignite Your Content, Your Marketing, and Your Business" by Mark W. Schaefer
Doing: Assume the role of marketing director for a camera company. Compete with classmates as you create digital marketing campaigns to maximize clickthroughs and conversions. Analyze metrics, build landing pages and interact with customers.
Tell an Interactive Story
"Completing the class projects solidified that I want to do documentary journalism. I want to be able to tell people’s stories. You never know what you can learn about a person until you just listen to them." ─ Bre Westry ’19
Class: Digital Media Production and Design
Instructor: Associate Professor of Journalism and Digital Media Jena Heath and Visiting Instructor Curt Yowell
Learning: Digital storytelling through multimedia techniques that lead to a deeper understanding of the world
Reading: “NSA Files: Decoded” by The Guardian and other multimedia articles by news outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, ProPublica and Reuters
Doing: Identify an issue or trend, go out into the community and report on it, and then produce an interactive story that incorporates photos, videos, audio and graphics.
Balance Mind and Body
"I have learned how to decrease my stress and anxiety levels through meditating. It’s definitely a class I look forward to to break up the chaos in my week." ─ Kaylee Lile ’21
Class: Seeking Life Balance Through Yoga, Meditation and Chocolate
Instructor: Professor of Biology Trish Baynham
Learning: The history, use and scientifically documented benefits of yoga, meditation and chocolate and how they help improve life balance and resilience
Reading/Writing: “The Guest House” by Rumi, “Dear You” by Kaveri Patel and “What to Do if You Meet a Thought” adapted from a pamphlet on bears by the Colorado Division of Wildlife
Doing: Learning and practicing integrative restoration meditation based on yoga nidra methods and used by veterans coping with PTSD and sampling antioxidant-rich chocolates from around the world, including 70% Cacao chocolate from Kokoa Kamili, Tanzania.
Debunk a Social Myth
"This class puts you in other people’s shoes and helps you understand how welfare is on the inside, instead of theorizing about it." ─ Bryana Iglesias ’22
Class: Social Welfare: The Historical Response to Need in the U.S.
Instructor: Assistant Professor of Social Work Laurie Cook Heffron
Learning: American Social problems ─ and how federal and state governments have responded to them ─ from the Colonial Period to today
Reading: “Mexican and Central American Asylum and Credible Fear Claims: Background and Context” by Sara Campos and Joan Friedland
Doing: Try living on a food-stamp budget for two weeks. Then create an elevator pitch (and more) to convince your classmates to support or oppose a certain social welfare bill or policy.
Make a 3-Minute Blockbuster
"I felt like I could finally be myself and express who I am though the literature I analyzed and the films I made." ─ Milton Mattison ’22
Class: The Printed Page and the Silver Screen
Instructor: Professor of English Barbara Filippidis
Learning: Literature and film as both art and entertainment coupled with hands-on video production, from script to screen
Reading: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves" (Faulkner Award for Fiction winner) and "Exit West" (Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction winner)
Watching: Psycho, The Big Sick and El Norte
Doing: Write film, edit, produce and present an original three-minute film that tells a connected story, uses a variety of camera shots, includes music or dialogue and conveys a style or mood.
Test the Water
Class: Chemistry in the Environment
Instructor: Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Policy Amy Concilio
Learning: Concepts and approaches from chemistry that can help solve real environmental problems caused by climate change, fossil fuels, mining, nuclear energy, heavy metals and more
Reading/Writing: Architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart’s concept of cradle-to-cradle production and manufacturing, which eliminates waste altogether
Doing: Test Travis County tap water samples and collect survey data on lead contamination.