If you’re looking ahead to your winter break and wondering how you might spend your time productively, we’ve got an idea for you. Check out Temple’s selection of Early Term Start classes held from Dec. 17 through Jan. 17. They’re a great way to get a Gen Ed requirement out of the way or just to take a class you’re interested in. There are more than 30 Early Term Start courses to choose from, and this year a whole bunch are being taught online from Rome!

The best part? The classes can be covered as part of your spring full-time tuition. 

To view the course offerings, go to TUportal and click on Register for Classes. Select 2021 Spring and choose Advanced Search. Then, in the Part of Term field, select Early Term Start Classes.

The registration deadline is Dec. 16, but the courses are filling up fast, so don’t wait too long to sign up.

Here are our six faves:

1. Binge worthy 
Nowadays we can basically watch anything we want, any time we want, from anywhere we want. Blogs, podcasts, YouTube, Netflix and new digital technologies are furthering television into a medium where consumers drive content. TV is not going away but how, where and when we interact with it changes constantly. In this course, you’ll learn about these changes and then take the driver's seat as a critic and creator of content.
Course: The Future of Your TV (MSP 0821)
Fulfills: GenEd Arts
Credits: 3

2. You are what you eat 
Eating is an activity common to all human beings, but how do the cultural meanings assigned to it vary across different times and places? Using literature, visual media, cookbooks, food-based art and advertisements as our starting point, this course taught online from Rome will examine how food is perceived, produced, prepared, consumed, exchanged around the globe. 
Course: Eating Cultures (ENG 0837)
Fulfills: GenEd Individual and Society
Credits: 3

3. Trees of life
Urban trees have to deal with a lot. We’re talking about pollution, weather extremes, neglect, traffic accidents, construction and vandalism. In this course, Center City and its surrounding areas will serve as a laboratory for field walks, tree identification exercises, and an exploration of urban forestry practices and policies.
Course: Trees in the Urban Landscape (HORT 2552)
Credits: 2

4. Make a speech
The ability to make a professional presentation is a skill important in nearly every career. In this course, you will prepare, present and evaluate speeches on significant topics of public concern. You will also study more advanced principles of public speaking including critical thinking, the discovery and evaluation of arguments and evidence, audience analysis and adaptation, peer evaluation, speech composition and persuasion. 
Course: Introduction to Public Speaking (CSI 1111)
Credits: 3

5. Digital disruptions
Innovations in digital technology are happening at a breakneck pace with dazzling new products entering the marketplace and baffling buzz words becoming part of our daily conversations at the blink of an eye. This course for non-engineers demystifies terms like big data, augmented reality, the Internet of Things and more. For final projects, students can develop a business plan for selling an innovative idea to investors, create a cell phone app or use Raspberry Pi, a credit card sized computer to build a gadget.
Course: Digital World 2020 (ECE 0832)
Fulfills: GenEd Science and Technology
Credits: 3

6. Turn the beat around
Music exists in nearly every society, but what is its purpose and why do we enjoy it? Explore the role of music in cultures throughout history while you participate in listening exercises and view video recordings of concerts, operas, ballets, films and staged productions. 
Course: Exploring Music (MUST 0812)
Fulfills: GenEd Arts
Credits: 3

Be sure to check with your academic advisor if you have any questions.