Take out your shopping gear

What's on your list this shopping season? Check out these six new courses for the intellectually adventurous.

English 125, “Shakespeare and Modern Culture”

Remember when Leonardo DiCaprio fired guns called “Longswords” in that film version of Romeo and Juliet? Let Professor Marjorie Garber take your understanding of past and present one step further with a course that explores the interaction of Shakespeare’s plays with “Freud and Marx, Brecht and Beckett, film, contemporary politics, and American popular culture.” And you thought Henry V had nothing to do with the war in Iraq.

History 1490, “Max Weber in His Time: Conference Course”

Historian David Blackbourn introduces you to Max Weber, the German founder of sociology. Learn what your “life chances” are (and be grateful that a Harvard diploma boosts your “social status”). Even if you aren’t fascinated by the three-component theory of social stratification, you might feel like a genius throughout the semester if you manage to interpret Weber’s work; and that just might be worth the effort.

Philosophy 19, “Introduction to Philosophy of Religion”

Are you upset that “Reason and Faith” won’t be required in Harvard’s new General Education requirements? Don’t let that stop you; go ahead and enroll in Jeffrey K. McDonough’s new course. You will study “divine activity” and “miracles” and, if it’s meant to be, maybe you’ll turn into a Philosophy concentrator.

Psychology 1003, “Psychology of Sport”

If a college room is like a team, then every students needs to understand sports. After taking this course with visiting professor Amy L. Baltzell, you’ll be giving motivational speeches like an expert quarterback throws the ball. It’s about mindset, it’s about winning­—it’s all about the game.

Religion 1009, “Introduction to Women’s Studies in Religion”

If you’re like most Harvard students, you probably don’t click on “Religion” in the online course catalog many times when searching for classes on women’s issues. Maybe that’s why this class is worth a look. The Divinity School’s Leila N. Ahmed and Ann D. Braude explain how gender can be used to analyze religion. Escape the old Faculty of Arts and Sciences and take Religion 1009 at the Div School.

Sociology 263, “Globalization and Comparative Inequality”

Didn’t get to take a globalization class from Lawrence H. Summers? You can learn about the flat world from Jason Beckfield, a visiting from the University of Chicago. A great excuse to read Thomas L. Friedman’s books—or to pick up The New York Times—this spring.