MCA to debut new electives in the spring
Financial District, NEW YORK– King's will boost elective offerings for the MCA program with new courses, scheduled to begin this spring.
The new electives will build on entry level courses and include Film Genre, Fiction Writing Workshop, History and Culture of the Ancient Near East and Seventeenth Century English Literature.
Some of these electives will be available every spring, while others will be offered every other year.
Dr. Harry Bleattler, dean of MCA, said King’s hopes to add more courses yearly as the student body continues growing. The new film elective is a 300-level course, and the school plans to offer 400- and 500-level film courses in future years, he explained.
Thatcher Scholar Catherine Ratcliffe said PPE now has the strongest electives, partly because PPE was the first existing major. Although Business Management has only a few electives, Ratcliffe said the major is structured so that it doesn’t need to offer many.
“I hope it doesn’t take too much longer for MCA to catch up [to PPE], but it’s on the right track,” she said.
Bleattler added that the challenge is to balance course additions with the professors’ already-heavy loads.
Ratcliffe agrees that the current professors' teaching schedules are full. “I think it’s really great our limited faculty is willing to go the extra mile, on top of what they already teach,” she said. “It says so much about the characters of our professors.”
Professor Bearden Coleman will teach Film Genre, which will study genres like horror, musical, crime and western by focusing on movies in each. Students must have either the History of Cinema or the Intro to Film prerequisite.
Professor Ethan Campbell will guide students through a hands-on writing course in Fiction Writing Workshop. The nature of the course promotes in-class sharing and peer criticism of written work.
Bleattler said he designed his course, History and Culture of the Ancient Near East, to teach students not only the history, but also the humanities—the art and literature—of ancient nations like Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Professor Tim Windsor will teach Seventeenth Century English Literature, as he is now working on an advanced degree in literature from the John Milton era. Ratcliffe, who will take the class in the spring, said, “It’s great to allow professors to dabble in their expertise.”
Dr. David Innes, co-chair of the PPE program, will soon confirm a full list of PPE electives. Dr. Innes said he plans to teach a new class, Technology & Politics, every other year. The class will focus on the political project of Francis Bacon.