A Crash-Course in Cross-Listing
One of my favorite aspects of Tufts is the interdisciplinary nature of our academics. One of the ways Tufts is interdisciplinary is through cross-listed courses. If a course is cross-listed, that means that it fits into multiple departments. Cross-listed courses are a great way to explore different departments, especially ones you might not have known about or been interested in previously. Here are a few of my favorite cross-listed courses I have taken:
1. Creating Children’s Media
This course is cross-listed between Film and Media Studies and Child Studies and Human Development. This course explores popular children’s media, from children’s TV shows like Arthur to children’s books like Magic Treehouse, and explores how these various forms of media use child development theories to create educational and entertaining media for children.
2. Logic
This course is cross-listed between Linguistics and Philosophy (and it counts for a math distribution requirement!). This course explores different types of Logic, from formulating arguments to creating truth trees. As an English major, this course was extremely helpful, and I find myself often using logic principles when reading for my English courses.
3. Surveillance: Data and Power
This course is cross-listed between Computer Science and Science, Technology, and Society. This course explores the origins of surveillance from lantern laws in the nineteenth century up through modern surveillance methods.
4. Contemporary Multi-Ethnic Literature
This course is cross-listed between English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. This course delves into contemporary works of literature, all written within the last 10-15 years, by authors of color. I enjoyed this course because I’d never studied such contemporary, relevant work in an English class before.
5. Art of the Moving Image
This course is cross-listed between THREE departments: Film and Media Studies, International Literary and Visual Studies, AND Theater and Performance Studies. This course goes through film history, beginning with the Lumiére Brothers, up through the present day. It also explores filmmaking techniques as well as popular film theory.
These are just a few of the cross-listed courses I have taken at Tufts. There are many other cross-listed courses that I’ve taken and offered at Tufts in general. I enjoy taking cross-listed courses whenever I can because I love that they allow students to explore new things and find intersections and connections between various academic subjects.