As a KU student, you’re no stranger to cardio between classes. But even with those killer calves you could probably benefit from a refresher. These courses will help you better understand your body, mind and modern health care to enhance your well-being and that of those around you.
1. BIOL 420 Chemical Cues: Sex, Food & Fight
If Joey is your spirit animal, this class is a perfect fit. Take a look at human instinct from a biological perspective. Sex, food and fight – it’s all in the title.
Students will prepare and present oral reports on selected topics from the recent research literature.
2. PSYC 410 Intimate Relationships
Who’s your person? This course covers a broad range of adult relationships from besties to new baes and exes that haunt you.
This class is a social psychological perspective on adult intimate relationships, examining friendship, dating, committed relationships, and the dissolution of committed relationships. Topics include romance, jealousy, self-disclosure, power, loneliness, and social support. Students discuss heterosexual and homosexual relationships, traditional forms (e.g., marriage) of relationships as well as alternative lifestyles (e.g. cohabitation) and gender-linked differences in relationships. Prerequisite: PSYC 104.
3. ABSC 360 Drugs, Addiction and Behavior
Solid joke, Stephen. Many of us are guilty of binge-watching the Walter White drama. But drugs and addiction are a real problem for 22 million Americans.
This course offers an overview of the basic and applied research in behavioral pharmacology and addictions, as well as interventions. Among the topics it covers are a history of drugs, addiction, and behavior; basic principles of drug action (e.g., pharmacodynamics); behavioral pharmacology testing paradigms (e.g., self-administration); drug action and effects (e.g., alcohol, nicotine, designer drugs, anti-depressants); behavioral deficits associated with addictions (e.g., memory); addiction treatment and recovery (e.g., maturing out, contingency management); and drugs and society. Prerequisite: ABSC 100. PSYC 104 is also recommended.
4. PHIL 370 Moral Issues in Medicine
In medicine, things are often incredibly complicated and move at a rapid pace. In this class, you’ll learn techniques, analyze arguments and be better prepared to handle tough moral issues that are thrown your way.
After a brief survey of techniques of moral argument and analysis, particular moral issues related to medicine will be discussed. The justification and limits of some rules of professional conduct that deal with such matters as confidentiality, truth-telling, and protection of medical research subjects will be considered. Issues relating to death and dying in medicine such as abortion, euthanasia, and the refusal of life-saving medical therapy also will be discussed.
Satisfies KU Core: Goal 5 Outcome 1
5. CLSX 332 Medical Terminology: Greek & Latin Roots
Where do we get words like neuroblastoma, hyperglycaemia, and circumoral pallor? Much of the medical terminology used by professionals in fields today have roots in Latin and Greek.
Students will learn word roots and how to combine them, as well as become acquainted with their relationship to mythology and the influence of ancient ideas about health and the body on modern healthcare.
Satisfies Goal 3 Arts and Humanities in the KU Core.
6. AMS 696 Healthcare: The American Model
Healthcare is currently a hot-button issue in politics. This class will help you better understand the American healthcare system, Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act – and why that’s hilariously redundant.
This course is an interdisciplinary study of aspects of the American experience, specifically healthcare.
7. ANTH 150 Becoming Human
As Dr. Ross Geller knows, your human ancestors had different problems. But learning more about where our species came from can help you understand more about present-day challenges.
This course examines the biological evolution and archaeological record of humanity from the earliest human origins to the origins of civilization, and asks: Where did we come from? What makes us human? Where are we going? By unraveling the fundamental connections between biological evolution and culture, students will appreciate how knowledge of the human past is relevant to our modern lives.
Satisfies Goal 1 Outcome 1 and Goal 3 Social Sciences in the KU Core.
8. SPLH 261 Survey of Communication Disorders
Chances are, you know or have met someone with a communication disorder. This class will help you better understand their behavior, communication and interactions.
Students will gain a general understanding of normal and deviant speech, language, and hearing in adults and children. This course considers the normal development of communication behavior, the nature of communication disorders, and the interaction of speech pathology and audiology with allied fields (e.g., education, medicine, psychology, special education).
Satisfies KU Core: Goal 3 Social Sciences
Search all course listings on classes.ku.edu
Note: These classes are offered across all semesters. Check out the schedule of classes to see what’s available in upcoming semesters.