Deep Dive Courses

Dive into the fiction and the facts about alcohol and other substance use and abuse and related physical, social, emotional, and mental effects through documentary films, articles, and first-person testimony. As we explore mental health and neuroplasticity, you'll develop an informed approach to your own relationship to alcohol and other substances.

This course is designed to equip and empower you in laying the groundwork for your future dream careers. Through a comprehensive curriculum, we will explore various aspects of career readiness, including goal setting, professional communication, and strategic planning. With an emphasis on practical skills, you will master resume writing, crafting compelling cover letters, optimizing LinkedIn profiles, and leveraging your MBTI personality type for career alignment. Furthermore, you will gain invaluable insights into effective interview techniques and strategies to secure coveted job and internship opportunities. By the end of the course, you will have a tailored action plan to pursue your career aspirations with confidence and competence. This course serves as a vital springboard for first-year students as they embark on their academic and professional endeavors.

Examine science fiction’s unique place as an art form and in popular culture, from its literary origins in the 19th century through the early days of cinema, 1950s and 1960s television, and the social crisis films of the 1970s to special effects extravaganzas. We'll explore optimistic and pessimistic sci fi and the sub-genres of time travel, dystopian futures, science fiction horror, malevolent/benevolent aliens, and comedy.

Through hands-on experience, build the technology skills and digital literacy essential to your personal and academic success. You'll learn how to engage with generative AI to enhance your learning, use productivity software tools supported by IC, navigate library services to conduct academic research, and critically evaluate digital resources. Explore cybersecurity, digital etiquette, academic integrity, and ethics.

Explore self-publishing as social activism and self-expression, from the invention of the Gutenberg Press to American Revolutionary pamphlets and the ’zines of the 1990s punk feminist movement. You'll gain insight into the more personalized aspects of ’zines and self-publishing, such as expression, community building, and social engagement.

Fit-checks. Gym Bros. Fitness Models. Bro-science. If aliens came to earth, they might think humans need spandex, creatine, and social clout to be healthy. With the vast amount of misinformation online regarding health and movement, it is vital to learn how to develop movement habits that last. As a physical therapist, it is my job to help people to move better after an injury and restore their health; but it’s my mission to empower people to create movement habits that support lifelong health and wellness.

Teaching Methods: In this course, you will be part of a community of first-year college students that will collaborate on developing empowering movement habits while identifying and addressing movement biases and myths in the context of personal health and wellness. By engaging in classroom discussions, analyzing how health information is shared online, and learning foundational movement skills, you will learn how to create sustainable movement habits for a lifetime. After completing this course, you will be able identify health myths, develop a better understanding of how your body moves, and have a framework for developing confidence through movement.

Don't confine your business dreams to your imagination! Develop a visual Business Model Canvas (BMC) as you learn to communicate the elements of a business model, test business assumptions through customer interactions, cultivate valuable management and marketing skills, and gain most of the tools and framework you need to make your business idea a reality!

Manage the stress of transitioning to college by exploring various techniques of sitting and walking meditation. Meditation has been associated with health benefits such as reducing stress, depression, and anxiety and improving cardiovascular and digestive health. It's an effective tool for navigating the uncertainty in our lives. Join us as we cultivate an enhanced sense of balance, inner peace, and well-being. You'll learn transformative techniques for deep relaxation to help you throughout your college career and your entire life.

Become a better advocate as you learn about a wide spectrum of impairments and disabilities, appropriate terminology, best communication practices, and social and environmental barriers. Explore the concepts and realities of meaningful inclusion and representation.

Decolonize your mind as you enter the learning community of Ithaca College. Together we'll draw on decolonial thought to consider the meaning and uses of knowledge and how this idea is linked to power dynamics. We'll think outside the box and question the idea that some knowledge is valuable while other knowledge is not. We will examine work produced by Indigenous thinkers, African philosophers, Global South intellectuals, among others. You'll learn new ways of thinking and strategies for academic success as you build community.

Most people go through their lives believing that they will never need to fight a Dragon. Unfortunately, the truth is that Dragons are real and someday everyone will have to take on a Dragon. Ok, so even if there has never truly been flying, fire-breathing lizards for humans to encounter, what they represent can be found in our everyday lives. Dragons have long been symbols of strength, wisdom, and intelligence but also of fear, envy, and insurmountable adversities. Everyone will face a challenge in their lives that will feel like preparing to fight a Dragon. Thanks to Dungeons and Dragons, I’ve learned how to level up enough to fight, befriend, outwit, and persuade the Dragons in my life. In this course, I will share how DND can help you level up too.

Teaching Methods: In this course, you will embark on an adventure with your fellow party members in a mini campaign that will teach and test your abilities. Your party will gain experience by embarking on quests to learn each other’s backstories, prepare strategies for vanquishing procrastination and loneliness, and develop a bond stronger than plot armor. By the end of this course, you will have a fundamental knowledge of not only how to play the game of DND but also how in-game-skills can help you level up for real while working towards your degree.

Hollywood has its own translations of comic characters—as do publishing, licensing, and other industries—and comic conventions have now become worldwide gateways to this phenomenon. See behind the curtain to discover how it all works, including a historical look at female and black creators who often did not enjoy the spotlight. In this eye-opening course, we'll start with fan passion then explore the inner workings of an entire industry.

Queer Representation on Television focuses on images of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people on American television from the 1950s through the present day. Through lectures, readings, and screenings we will examine the role fiction and non-fiction television programming has played in the “cultural construction” of homosexuality and the formation of the public and private identities of LGBT people. We will investigate television’s dual role in promoting and challenging dominant beliefs, attitudes, and social myths about homosexuality and LGBT people and examine how television programming has reflected the social, legal, and political changes of the LGBT rights movement over the past seven decades.

Let thought-provoking prompts inspire your creative work in any medium, from photography to writing, performance, spoken word, sketching, and TikTok videos! Enhance your understanding of art, engage in critical thinking, and learn how to apply these skills to a wide range of college and professional experiences. (No prior art experience is required.)

Engage timeless philosophical questions and issues through recent films and classical texts! As we pair movies with classic philosophical writings, you'll discover the joy of philosophical conversations and develop your critical and analytic skills. Potential topics include the existence of God, the nature of mind, personal identity, free will, and moral responsibility. *You will be expected to watch assigned films prior to class discussions.