{"id":172812,"date":"2026-05-01T10:13:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T14:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=172812"},"modified":"2026-05-07T15:23:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:23:29","slug":"a-short-term-full-of-big-ideas-explore-courses-in-cooking-business-test-prep-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/01\/a-short-term-full-of-big-ideas-explore-courses-in-cooking-business-test-prep-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"A Short Term long on learning: Explore wide-ranging course offerings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Short Term, a Bates \u201cminimester\u201d of three-and-a-half weeks during which students take only one course, is here. Course offerings run the gamut, touching on everything from pop culture, to business to test preparation, and give students the opportunity to deeply engage with a single topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Short Term (which starts May 4 and ends May 27) students get the chance to extend their learning beyond what they usually find on campus. Through Bates\u2019 practitioner-taught courses, which invite professionals across disciplines to share their work and career pathways with students as visiting instructors, students explore subjects outside of the core liberal arts curriculum. During off-campus Short Term courses, students conduct fieldwork, research, and culture in places like Arizona, Zambia, Hungary, Poland, Italy and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, explore 10 of the 100-plus Short Term courses offered this spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
During the 2025 Short Term course \u201cLayers of Rome,\u201d Bates students had the good fortune to be in the Eternal City for a historic moment: the selection of Leo XIV as the Catholic Church’s next pope. They joined people from around the world in celebrating the announcement in Vatican City. (Carly Philpott \u201927 for Bates College)
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Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Brecia Despard is teaching \u201cBiological Skills: Field Ecology,\u201d <\/strong>a course specifically designed for students interested in pursuing internships and careers in the biological sciences. This course will introduce ecological principles and research methods across major coastal marine biomes, and help students develop field skills specifically geared toward these kinds of ecosystems. Additionally, students will learn how to analyze and create visualizations using data they collect in the programming language R.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor of French and Francophone Studies Mary T. Rice-DeFosse will teach students about the representation of French culinary traditions in her course \u201cCooking Up French Culture.\u201d<\/strong> By observing how French food is prepared and eaten in film and literature, students will come to understand how the French identity has changed in the modern era. Plus, students will get the opportunity to prepare and serve dishes of their own creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three
During the 2025 Short Term course \u201cEarth Science Methods: Data to Discovery,\u201d taught by Assistant Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences Shreya Arora, Will Morris \u201927 (left) of Wayland, Mass., and Caroline Friedman \u201925 (right) search for an underground passage between Lane and Pettengill Halls with a ground penetrating radar machine. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With her course \u201cFeminist Political Theory (Taylor\u2019s Version)<\/strong>,\u201d Assistant Professor of Politics Lucy Britt will merge pop culture with political theory. The course examines Taylor Swift, the moment\u2019s most popular female musical artist, and her larger-than-life persona and cultural impact in terms of how they interact with or expand upon feminist theory. Covering everything from celebrity politics to intersectionality and queer counter-readings to norms of motherhood, this course dives beyond online discourse to offer students vocabulary and knowledge for discussing \u201cMiss Americana\u201d and pop culture feminism more broadly. Students will end the course with their very own \u2014 or, as Swift would say, \u201cTaylor\u2019s Version\u201d \u2014 research product comprising original data collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visiting Assistant Professor of History Frances Bell will be teaching \u201cLewiston: A History of a Place,\u201d<\/strong> a course that combines in-class learning and site visits to gain a more comprehensive understanding of Lewiston \u2014 the beloved home of Bates College \u2014 and its rich history. Through in-class learning, field trips, and creative projects, students will gain a holistic understanding of how the spatial history of Lewiston has changed from the times of Indigenous settlement to the post-industrial period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
From left, Jonah Yaffe \u201926 of Dallas, Lizzy Jack \u201925, Abby Marriott \u201925, and Stella Gould \u201925 work as student gardening assistants for Facility Services during Short Term. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In \u201cMaine\u2019s Marine Resources,\u201d <\/strong>Assistant Professor of Economics Amanda Lindsay will be teaching students about the health and management of marine resources in Maine. On day trips along the Maine coast, students will be able to see firsthand the challenges marine management systems face. This course is aimed at students who are interested in natural resource economics, a field that Lindsay specializes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Bates ceramics students usually use a gas reduction kiln to fire their clay projects, this Short Term, Lecturer in Art and Visual Culture Susan Dewsnap is teaching \u201cPit Firing Ceramics: Contemporary Approaches to an Ancient Process of Firing Ceramic Objects.\u201d<\/strong> Pit firing is an ancient approach to firing ceramic objects that uses an actual fire pit to transform raw clay pots into finished work. In this course, students will use organic materials that they gather to decorate their work and see how firing in a pit results in surprising outcomes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
From left, Roan Hopkins \u201927, Hope Seketa \u201925, Jack Kingsley \u201928, and Willa Laski \u201926 huddle in Chase Hall on the day of final presentations for the \u201cTuck Business Essentials\u201d course. Hopkins, Kingsley, and Laski are practicing their presentation, while Seketa, having already presented, is hanging out for moral support and to learn about her classmates\u2019 work. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Faculty members and alumni from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College are coming to Bates this Short Term to teach \u201cPracticum in Business Consulting: Bates-Tuck Business Consulting Essentials\u201d <\/strong>\u2014 a course that teaches foundational business skills through a client-focused project management framework. Students will learn through a case study that simulates real-world business challenges and gain confidence in decision-making processes. This is the second year that Bates has offered a business course led by Tuck alumni and faculty<\/a> as part of its Short Term practitioner-taught courses. Peter Friedman \u201992, P \u201924, P \u201926, who earned an MBA from Tuck in 2003, and is a Bates trustee, will serve as practitioner-in-residence for this course, with additional Tuck-associated instructors Aram Donigian, Amy Florentino, Patroklos Karantinos, and Conwell Worthington III.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPracticum in Mediation and Restorative Practices\u201d<\/strong> is a practitioner-taught course that functions as a conflict resolution skills workshop. Through techniques used by restorative justice practitioners such as circle facilitation and restorative language and problem-solving approaches to resolving disputes used by meditators, students will acquire tools to improve communication and facilitate cooperation and collaboration. Practitioners-in-residence for this course are Margaret Micolichek, Jamar Williams, Karen Groat, and Leah Boyd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
During the 2025 Short Term Showcase, students present the projects they’ve worked on throughout the Short Term. At center is Assistant Professor of Digital and Computational Studies is Andy Ricci showing off the robot their students built during the course \u201cHuman-Robot Interaction Design Workshop.\u201d (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPracticum in Public Health\u201d<\/strong> is a practitioner-taught course taught by Leah Elsmore \u201912, a senior healthcare consultant with consultancy firm North Highland, that teaches students how to apply qualitative methods to public health challenges in a mix of traditional and experiential academic settings. In the classroom, students will learn about public health foundations and various qualitative research techniques. In the community, students will have a chance to apply what they learned in the classroom, working to solve a concrete health challenge in Lewiston. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For juniors and seniors planning to attend law school, the course \u201cShort Term 2026 LSAT Prep\u201d<\/strong> is an opportunity to get ready for a crucial part of the application process. Ben Paris, who holds a JD and has for 30 years worked in test prep and education design, will lead the three-week practitioner-taught course. This course is made possible by a generous Bates donor, meaning there is no cost to Bates students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reporting by Charlotte Comrack \u201927 of Washington, D.C., and Ramona McNish \u201928 of Palo Alto, Calif.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Short Term, a Bates \u201cminimester\u201d of three-and-a-half weeks during which students take only one course, is here. Course offerings run the gamut and give students the opportunity to deeply engage with a single topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":172818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":["brecia-a-despard","mary-t-rice-defosse","shreya-arora","lucy-c-britt","frances-r-bell","amanda-r-lindsay","susan-a-dewsnap"],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[10403,10845],"class_list":["post-172812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","category-batesnews","tag-practitioner-taught-courses","tag-short-term"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172812"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172969,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172812\/revisions\/172969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}