The spring 2019 semester is right around the corner. For students still searching for an interesting course to fill out their schedule, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has some great choices. 

UA Little Rock courses offer students the chance to learn how archaeologists uncover history, the history of the drug trade, electronic commerce, data information science, as well as poverty, immigration, the politics of developing nations, and many other great topics.

Classes begin Jan. 22. Check out the following guide for courses that explore interesting and unique topics:

ANTH 2316: Cultural Anthropology

10:50 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday

This course is a worldwide examination of other societies and their cultures including politics, gender, religion, and families. Students enjoy learning activities including dancing.

ANTH 331: Archaeology

1:40-2:55 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday

In this course, students get their hands dirty while learning the basic methods and goals of archaeology, as well as what can be learned from what has been left behind.

ARHA 3309: History of Design

1-1:50 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

Most art history courses focus on painting and sculpture. This course examines media like ceramics, furniture, metalwork, fabrics, and graphic design. The emphasis is on European and American work from the 18th century to the present.

CPSC 4399/5399-01: Special Topics: Monte-Carlo Simulation

1:40-2:55 p.m. Monday and Wednesday

The course is an opportunity to explore situations in which a particular probabilistic process might be so complicated that an exact mathematical analysis is unfeasible or impossible. In those cases, simulation serves as a highly useful alternative, maybe the only alternative. To that end, students will talk about modeling various physical, chemical and mechanical processes, study the mechanics of random-number generation, and use simulation as a tool to analyze models.

CPSC 4399/5399: Special Topics: Enterprise Computer and Information Systems

3:05-4:20 p.m. Monday and Wednesday

Developing, deploying, and maintaining enterprise-level IT systems requires methodologies and architectures not typically covered in computer science curricula. This special topics course covers tools and techniques currently utilized for IT systems in large organizations.

ECON 3318: History and Globalization of the Drug Trade

10:50 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday

This course examines the ways that different disciplines answer the question, “What is a drug?” Students explore the history and economics related to three specific classes of drugs: coca, opium, and cannabis. They also analyze public policy related to drugs from economic and historical viewpoints and end with a look at the history and globalization of drugs in Little Rock and Arkansas. The class can be taken for upper-level economics, geography, or history credit.

ENGL 4354/5354: Postcolonial Literature

3:05-4:20 p.m. Monday and Wednesday

This seminar focuses on the study of postcolonial literature from Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Students will explore how writers from the colonies write back against the British empire, exposing the impact of colonialism, revising historical accounts, and creating “new” literary traditions.

IFSC 4301: Information, Computing and the Future

6-8:30 p.m. Thursday

This interdisciplinary course is ultimately about technology foresight and society. Assignments will be customized as appropriate to the background preparation and interests of each student. It is intended to be both unique and mind-expanding.

IFSC 4350: Electronic Commerce

305-4:20 p.m. Monday and Wednesday

What makes this course unique is that students look at the intersection of business, marketing, and information technology to sell products on the internet. The course and textbook are updated every year to include the latest marketing data and techniques. Students will learn about search engines, enroll in an Introduction to Google Analytics online tutorial, and create a small demonstration E-Commerce website.

IFSC 7370 Data Science and Technologies (Graduate course)  

This course provides a survey of the skills and concepts needed for executing a data science investigation, including locating, managing, processing, and analyzing massive amounts of data. Topics covered include data sourcing, choosing a big data infrastructure, extracting, transforming, loading, and mining large amounts of unstructured data as well as other important skills like communication, data ethics, and emerging data services. This course will also include some hands-on experience working with sample technologies selected from a complex ecosystem of tools and platforms. While some knowledge about programming, databases, and statistics is helpful, background/review materials for all of the prerequisite topics will be provided to help students from any discipline get started with data science.

MUAP 1150: Piano for Non-Majors

11:15 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday

This course is specifically for non-music majors. Students will learn foundational skills of piano playing in a group setting. Topics addressed include basic piano technique, music reading, and elemental repertoire. The classroom is equipped with keyboards/headphones so each student will be able to learn at his/her own pace.  

POLS 3301: Seminar: Nonviolent Conflict

12:15-1:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday

The seminar explores the use of methods of nonviolent conflict to overthrow dictatorships, oppose occupying forces, resist oppressive governments, and defend against external aggression. Students will investigate the theories of Gene Sharp, studies of nonviolent action from World War II to the present, as well as the teachings of Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Thich Nhat Hahn.

POL 3370: Politics of Developing Areas

This course will explore major themes and practical problems central to the study of the contemporary politics of global development. Variously called the Global South or the Third World among others, there is actually relatively little that unites these countries other than that, in various ways, their historical trajectory has differed from the West. This course provides an overview of three intersecting domestic institutions that shape development, namely the State, the market, and civil society.

In addition, students will examine the interventions of Northern States, from imperialism to globalization, assessing the efforts of multilateral institutions and non-governmental organizations as they attempt to solve the challenges of poverty, disease, conflict, famine, and gender inequality in the Global South. In sum, the course seeks to understand why some countries in the Global South have become wealthy, vibrant democracies that are arguably part of the developed world, while others have suffered persistent violence and repression and remain mired in abject poverty.

RACE 2301: Introduction to Race and Ethnicity (online)

The course provides an introduction to race and ethnicity in the United States, equipping students with a thorough grounding in the main issues and debates. The course is one of two core classes on the Anderson Institute’s Race and Ethnicity minor program, the only program at UA Little Rock with a direct focus on issues of race and ethnicity over a sustained rotation of classes.

SOCI 3334: Social Problems

9-9:50 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

This course examines the issues society faces and tries to explain the root causes, perpetuation, and possibly how to combat them.

SOCI 4353: Sociology of Developing Nations (online)

This course focuses on the socioeconomic conditions of third world countries. This is an important class for anyone studying international affairs.

SOCI 4395: Seminar: Immigrant Experiences

12:15-1:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday

Immigration is and has always been a hot topic in the United States. This course will examine the past and present of immigration. What is it like to immigrate to the U.S.? How does this affect a person in terms of education, health, social interactions, and culture? How do you assimilate without losing your identity?

SOCI 4395: Seminar: Poverty and Place

10:50 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday

The course will examine the individual concepts of poverty and place, their theoretical roots, and their theoretical and empirical intersections. The course will focus on class discussions and projects. Students will also be reading the Pulitzer Prize winning book, “Evicted,” which was featured last semester when the author, Matthew Desmond, spoke on campus.