By definition, TIDES is an interdisciplinary experience, driven by intellectual curiosity, active learning, and experiential education. Discover the exciting topics of this year’s TIDES below. Each class also has an accompanying peer mentor, an upperclass student paired with each section to offer academic and social support as you transition to campus.
Note: Courses for the upcoming Spring are posted in October.
TIDES courses marked with an asterisk (*) are Service Learning courses. Students in these courses must also register for the corresponding Service Learning component.
TIDE 1031 Ideology and Belief in Everyday Life
W 2:00-3:15p
The course looks at the main beliefs and ideologies prevalent in our culture. Ideas like the entrepreneurial self, celebrity, pleasure seeking, economic man, techno-optimism, God, nation, race, and family. These ideas are constantly hammered into us by the media, our friends, family and institutions, motivational speakers, business gurus, films, but also in the actions we take in our everyday lives and even more deeply in the experience of who we are. We will look at the origin of these ideas, their often-adverse societal effects and why they sometimes make us feel disempowered, anxious, and depressed. The course thus attempts to do two things at the same time. First teach students to critically think about their society and culture, and second help them achieve more personal freedom and wellbeing.
The course focuses on several key ideas such as the myth of the great individual and covers its expression from the Renaissance to Elon Musk. I will trace the political uses of individualism from toppling the feudal order to creating a culture of self-blame. I look also to another form of individualism, the utility maximizer. The utility maximizer is a conception of ourselves that is reinforced by our role as consumers and investors. I look at the pleasure seeking self and the way that it is mobilized by the market.
Ari Ofengenden, Professor of Practice, Jewish Studies | BIO
TIDE 1048 AI Unleashed: Mastering ChatGPT for Success
T 2:00-3:15p
This course empowers students to ethically harness Generative AI tools to supercharge their skills in research, creativity, writing, time management, critical thinking, and career exploration. By blending human ingenuity with AI-sourced information and efficiency, students will become early adopters of AI technology and responsible AI citizens.
Julia Lang, Professor of Practice, Taylor Center | BIO
TIDE 1058 Comedy!(Or 19 Ways to Analyze a Joke Until It Isn't Funny Anymore)
W 4:00-5:15p
This 1-credit course fulfills the First-Year Seminar requirement as a Tulane Interdisciplinary Experience Seminar (TIDES). In this course we will discuss how to deconstruct standard comic format, read and discuss five different comic theories, look at 19(+) different comic structures to create a final project.
Jessica Podewell, Senior Professor of Practice, Theatre | BIO
TIDE 1062 Calming the Wave: Discover Being in New Orleans
W 2:00-3:15p
The transition to university life can present challenges, as you juggle less structure, more demands, new roles, and increased pressures. The purpose of this TIDES course is to help you develop social and emotional skills; benefitting you in academic and work contexts, interpersonal relationships, and overall well-being. Explore the tranquil side of New Orleans and discover your best self through mindfulness and self awareness activities.This course is designed to help students develop strengths and assets that promote their social and emotional well-being as they transition to a higher education setting in New Orleans. Along the way, they will be introduced to social and emotional competencies that can help promote their personal and interpersonal awareness and competence which will help students navigate new and challenging academic, social, and emotional terrain. These competencies include: self-awareness; self-management; social awareness; relationship skills; and responsible decision making.
Brooke Grant, Professor of Practice, Teacher Preparation & Certification Program | BIO
Erica Smith, Professor of Practice, Teacher Preparation & Certification Program | BIO
TIDE 1066 Media and Narrative in Modern US Presidential Campaigns**
T 11:00-12:15p
This course explores the development of the modern United States presidential campaign, with an emphasis on mass media. Considering the development of new communications technologies, how has the presidential campaign changed over the last six decades? How has it remained the same? The class will consider the creation of narrative across radio, television and social media outlets.
Various forms of mass communication, including radio, television, and social media networks, will be considered as channels for political campaign development. The development of emerging technologies and media landscapes will be contextualized.
**This course includes a service learning component**
Aidan Smith, Administrative Assistant Professor, Newcomb Institute | BIO
TIDE 1084 New Orleans in Literature and Film
R 11:00-12:15p
In this class we will consider which concepts and representations are associated with the idea of New Orleans as a city and Louisiana as a larger territory. We will examine theoretical texts of space and urban organization in conjunction with film (and other forms of visual representation), prose, and social commentaries to consider how the city as a modern and postmodern construct has come to be imagined as a site of utopian progress and a space of internal contradiction. We will analyze how texts represented varying and blurred notions of exclusion and inclusion, experiences of longing and belonging. At times the city and its residents are depicted as the most decadent, cosmopolitan, or spectacular and at other times as the most lawless, diseased, and corrupt. The course will interrogate how social spaces, in particular New Orleans (and the larger Louisiana area) have been mapped by literature, film, and culture in paradoxical and interconnected ways and served as projections of social and cultural ideologies. Furthermore, the class will explore how historical and social processes –such as colonialism, increased industrialization, national and political ideologies, and consumer culture—have both informed and been shaped by the culture and literature.
Isa Murdock-Hinrichs, Professor of Practice, English | BIO
TIDE 1087 Science, Technology, & Society
T 12:30-1:45p
Those interested in and pursuing STEM fields have often felt like they were exempt from the conversation on society. They have often been excluded from discussions regarding the ethical implications of the progress that they pay a key role in. In this class, we will use various lenses to view the technical advancements in big data, science and engineering, including those that you may be working on in the coming four years. We will examine the global, societal, economic, and environmental implications of subjects such as ethics of big data, AI, social media, digital media, large scale engineering projects, scientific research , medicine and big pharma, and more, focusing on examples found in the NOLA area. The topics will be brought to life by local guest speakers from local organizations such as Glass Half Full or Green Light NOLA as well as trips to one or more of the following: NASA Michoud, Mardi Gras World, the Superdome, and a Flood Abatement Pumping Station.
Khaled Adjerid, Professor of Practice, Biomedical Engineering | BIO
TIDE 1089 New Orleans Through a Paranormal Lens
M 2:00-3:15p
New Orleans is a city rich in history, culture, and spirits. Some of that history and culture has been responsible for events associated with hauntings and other paranormal/supernatural occurrences (and vice versa). Using the haunted history of the city as a touchstone or lens, we will explore the non-paranormal history and cultural make-up of New Orleans from before its founding to modern times.
Tim McLean, Senior Professor of Practice, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | BIO
TIDE 1117 New Orleans Performance Culture
M 12:00-1:15p
There will be two primary goals in this course. The first will involve introducing students to New Orleans history, culture, and literature. The second will entail an interdisciplinary introduction to a wide array of influences with the effort of showing how New Orleans's turbulent history of changing possession, immigration, and migration have contributed to a "performance" of various versions of "New Orleansness." The course will focus specifically on the presence of French, Spanish, African and a brief overview of the various immigrant communities in the city's history and the various ways in which these groups have performed their own version of New Orleans for the city itself, the United States, and the world. In addition, the students will use the maps found in Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas to look at how maps are constructions of authenticity.
Brittany Kennedy, Senior Professor of Practice, Spanish & Portuguese;| BIO
TIDE 1405 New Orleans on Stage and Screen
W 10:00-11:15a
We will explore how the legend of New Orleans was created and reinforced by popular representation in theatre and film works from the 19th century through today. Students will investigate various signifiers of New Orleans through time, watching their rise (and sometimes fall) through performance pieces. We will explore home-grown myth-making as well as visions provided by outsiders, and also get out into the city itself, seeing what truth might lie within the narrative reductions of New Orleans that occupied audiences for the last two centuries.
Victor Holtcamp, Associate Professor, Theatre| BIO
TIDE 1455 Sports and Culture in Spain: A Sociological Approach
M 4:00-5:15p
The syllabus of this course has been programmed from a sociological approach to sport, so that the students can gain an overall view of Spanish culture, of the Spanish way of life, throughout the analysis of geographical, historical, cultural and literary factors in the make-up of the nation in the present-day, and in its diverse manifestations. Additionally, it will examine various aspects of the relationship between sport and Spanish society. The importance of sports goes beyond its obvious political significance. Indeed, sociologists and anthropologists have recently studied the interaction between sports and social and cultural dimensions. Nowadays, there is no doubt about the integrative and unifying strength which sports exhibit. It is a phenomenon that carries out an enormous social impact, interests the majority of the population and is practiced by a large part of the population.
The course begins with a consideration of general theoretical questions on the idiosyncrasy of every culture by comparing U.S. and Spanish cultural trends and stereotypes. After that, it will examine the different cultures within Spain: Castilian, Catalan, Basque and Galician; focusing mainly on language, nationality, and political implications. Following the midterm, we will focus on the analysis of specific sports such as soccer, traditional sports of Spain, basque pelota, the controversial bullfighting and all their different social and political implications.
Carlos Juan Lozano, Professor of Practice, Spanish and Portuguese | BIO
R 12:30-1:45p
Compelling storytelling lies at the heart of success across fields. From a business person pitching a new product to a research scientist vying for a competitive grant, the ability to tell a captivating story gives you an advantage. Storytelling skills serve you when interviewing for internships or jobs, networking, or even just making new friends in college. Whether your ultimate goal is a TED Talk with a million views or just a kick ass toast at your best friend’s wedding one day, this class will give you concrete tools to improve your public speaking and storytelling skills. In this experiential class, we will create a supportive environment where you will discover your personal communication style and how to leverage your strengths to gain more confidence in your ability to tell a great story. Our class will culminate in a story-telling event where each student tells a personal story from their lives in front of an invited audience.
Jenny Mercein, Associate Professor, Theatre & Dance | BIO
TIDE 1555 The Entrepreneurial Landscape of NOLA**
R 2:00-3:15p
In this course, students will be given a behind the scenes look at the entrepreneurial ecosystem in New Orleans – the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts and what needs to happen to have a vibrant startup community that is equitable, accessible, and collaborative. From local entrepreneurs to community partners to support organizations to investors and more, this course will bring together some of the most important stakeholders in the New Orleans entrepreneurial ecosystem. We will also leverage our data from the Greater New Orleans Startup Report, hearing from our very own Lepage Center to present an in-depth overview of the current state of the early stage business economy in New Orleans.
Optional Service Learning: This course offers an optional service-learning component, to be completed in the spring semester 2023. Students participating in service learning will compile into teams. In partnership with The Idea Village, these student teams will be paired with companies participating in their VILLAGEx Accelerator program during the spring semester. Students will provide support to these ventures based on their respective backgrounds and company needs, utilizing the business model canvas to identify, analyze, and implement respective strategies. Students are expected to meet in person with their companies at least 4 times a year, completing company point of contact reports and self-reflections in this process. In addition, students are expected to volunteer for New Orleans Restaurant Week.
Rob Lalka, Professor of Practice, Albert Lepage Center | BIO
Evan Nicoll, Senior Development Officer, A.B. Freeman School of Business | BIO
TIDE 1700 The Myths & Realities of New Orleans Food & Drink
T 5:00-6:15p
As the concept of local foodways becomes entrenched in the growing “foodie” culture of the United States, local food and local dishes become an ever more important marker of place. Whether justified or not, Creole and Cajun food and, of course, the ubiquitous Cocktail, are perceived by many as synonymous with New Orleans. In this course, we will explore the myths and realities of these three key concepts as they apply to food and drink in New Orleans.
Amy George, Senior Professor of Practice, Spanish & Portuguese | BIO
TIDE 1925 Natural History of Louisiana**
M 4:00-5:15p
This course examines the origin and evolution of Louisiana’s ecosystems. Students will learn about living and prehistoric plants and animals and their physical surroundings while exploring Louisiana’s coastal marshes, bottomland hardwood forests, longleaf pine savannahs, and tallgrass prairies. Course includes multiple field trips.
**This course includes a service learning component**
Jeff Agnew, Professor of Practice, Earth and Environmental Sciences | BIO
