The following listing contains course descriptions for all special topics courses offered in Summer Session 2025. The public course schedule provides complete course details.
Undergraduate
1 CREDIT HOUR COURSES
There are currently no 1 credit courses at the undergraduate level for Summer 2025.
3 CREDIT HOUR COURSES
CAP/GRY 329: Data Visualization
Offered ONLINE in Session I: May 21 – June 26, CRN 61143 and 61150
Enables students to effectively tell stories with data. Skill with graphing is a core element of a strong foundation in making effective arguments with evidence in the workplace. This course focuses on developing a strong understanding of data attributes and how to display data effectively and persuasively using data visualization software tools. Course content is related to careers in science, technology, social sciences, and business. For more information related to course content, contact Dr. Christopher Badurek at christopher.badurek@cortland.edu.
CIN/COM 329: Cinematic Cyborgs: Human & Technology on Screen
Offered ONLINE in Session I: May 21 – June 26, CRN 61144 and 61145
This course takes a closer look at the many ways film has predicted and prophesied the intersection of human culture and AI technologies by examining the various portrayals across The Matrix, Her, Bicentennial Man, Blade Runner, Ex Machina and more! During the course, students will critically analyze how "new" technology has been positioned in society - for good, for evil - and explore themes of identity, agency, embodiment, and the blurring boundaries between human and machine. For more information related to course content, contact Dr. Samuel Avery at samuel.avery@cortland.edu.
CIN/COM 329: Documentary Film Analysis
Offered ONLINE in Session I: May 21 – June 26, CRN 61215 and 61214
This course provides an in-depth exploration of documentary filmmaking, examining its artistic, ethical, and rhetorical dimensions. Screenings will include works such as Don't Look Back, Tongues Untied, Grizzly Man, Super Size Me, Bowling for Columbine, and even excerpts from Tiger King - offering case studies in direct cinema, personal narrative, investigative journalism, and ethical storytelling. Students will critically assess the role of the filmmaker, the impact of subjectivity, and the evolving boundaries between truth and manipulation in nonfiction cinema. For more information related to course content, contact Dr. Samuel Avery at samuel.avery@cortland.edu.
EDU 329: Early Childhood Approaches, Practices and Methods
Offered ONLINE in Session I: May 21 – June 26, CRN 61148
An exploration of key approaches, practices, and methods in early childhood education, emphasizing the integration of play, social-emotional learning, and developmentally appropriate practices. Students will examine how to create engaging, culturally responsive learning environments that foster young children’s holistic development. For more information related to course content, contact Dr. Kathleen McCormick at Kathleen.mccormick@cortland.edu.
SOC 329: The Sociology of Sports
Offered ONLINE in Session II: June 30 – August 4, CRN 60902
This course provides an introduction to the purposes, theories, methods, and central ideas of the sociology of sports. Through readings, class discussions, videos, and assignments, students in this course are encouraged to view sport and physical activity from a sociological perspective, and to develop new insights into the structural realities and social forces that shape-and are simultaneously shaped by-the institution of sports. For more information related to course content, contact Dr. Marcus Bell at marcus.bell@cortland.edu.
SPM 329: AI in the Sport Industry
Offered ONLINE in Session II: June 30 – August 4, CRN 61190
This course explores the historical reference and cultural implications concerning artificial intelligence in our sport culture. It is designed to identify, study, and address issues surrounding artificial intelligence sport. For more information related to course content, contact Dr. Geroge Vazenios at george.vazenios@cortland.edu.
Graduate
1 CREDIT HOUR COURSES
HLH 529: Health Coaching
Offered ONLINE in Term B: June 10 – 26, CRN 61186
Health coaches provide support and guidance to individuals seeking to improve their health and well-being. This course is designed to provide general knowledge and practical skills necessary for helping others achieve their health and wellness goals. Topics include effective communication strategies, motivational interviewing, and approaches to health behavioral change. Course participants will also learn goal setting and evaluation, problem identification/barriers to change, professional standards and scope of practice, and legal and ethical responsibilities. For more information related to course content, contact Dr. Yolanda Clarke at yolanda.clarke@cortland.edu.
3 CREDIT HOUR COURSES
ENG 529: The Gothic
Offered ONLINE in Session II: June 30 – August 4, CRN 60889
A survey of 18th- and early 19th-century Gothic and Gothic-inspired texts. Students will explore how stories of vampires and zombies and other supernatural creatures express ideas about what it means to be human; transmit social, cultural and political anxieties and critiques; and forge communities of readers and fans. Works to be studied include the novel Frankenstein; poems by Coleridge, Keats, and Wordsworth; tales by Poe; and Stoker's novel Dracula). For more information related to course content, contact Dr. John Leffel at john.leffel@cortland.edu.
ICC 529: Co-Teaching for Multilingual Learner Inclusion
Offered ONLINE in Session II: June 30 – August 4, CRN 61222
Methods of co-teaching in the K12 setting for multilingual learner inclusion, with an emphasis on developing oral language, academic vocabulary, listening and reading comprehension, and writing skills. For more information related to course content, contact Dr. Chloe Walters at chloe.walter@cortland.edu.
HIS 529: Worlds Collide: Empire and Environment in the Modern Era
Offered ONLINE in Session II: June 30 – August 4, CRN 61199
This course examines the intersections among environmental knowledge, ecological change, and imperial expansion in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Utilizing a global-comparative approach, students will examine the bilateral relationship between imperialism and environment, drawing on case studies across the British, French, and Russian empires. Topics of comparative analysis will include environmental knowledge, agriculture, resource extraction, public health & disease, conservation, and anticolonial resistance. Through assigned readings and discussion, students will engage with relevant historiographies on imperialism and environmental history, tracing the evolution and increasing overlap of these thematic lenses. Students will also consider the place of these lenses in broader “conventional” history narratives and curricula. The course will conclude with an analysis of the ecological legacy of imperialism and how these forces have contributed to environmental knowledge and practice in the postcolonial era. For more information related to course content, contact Dr. Tyson Luneau at tyson.luneau@cortland.edu.