Dozens of new offerings fill the Annenberg-laden 1996-97 course catalog. But students shopping for courses next week may be disappointed--many of them have limited enrollments.

Civil war historian/baseball guru William E. Gienapp's seminar on the American pastime? Maximum enrollment: 20. Newly-recruited North-western University professor Jane Mansbridge's class on race, gender and politics? Just 15.

Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney's two creative writing classes? You guessed it--15. And you have to submit a writing sample.

Still, students seeking the perfect course this semester have plenty of options--despite U.S. News & World Report's recent dissing of America's oldest college.

There are 44 new courses in the Department of English and American Literature and Language, including English 177s: "The Literature of California" and English 90uy: "Asian American Literature."

Their enrollment is limited, but three new introductory offerings in the English Department are open to all comers. English 11a, 11b and 11c all focus on American literature, forsaking English 10a and 10b's emphasis on British writers.

Future corporate lawyers can flock to Economics 1660: "Law and Economics," taught by Steven M. Shavell, professor of law and economics. Barring a shortage of teaching fellows, Shavell says he'll take all comers.

The course will analyze property, contract, tort and criminal law, as well as the decision to sue, from an economic perspective that examines how legal rules affect behavior, Shavell said.

"After all, the legal system is omnipresent. You can't look at the newspaper or watch TV without hearing about some legal action, whether it's a dramatic case like the one involving O.J. Simpson, or an insider trading infraction, or a class action against the cigarette industry, or an oil spill," he said.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., DuBois professor of the humanities, is teaching a new course that focuses on the autobiography within the African-American literary tradition.

Just in time for the presidential election, Assistant Professor of Government and Social Studies Pratap Mehta and Dillon Professor of the Civilization of France Stanley H. Hoffmann are reviving Historical Study A-17: "Modern Political Ideologies" after a four-year hiatus.

This course, which drew 250 students in 1992, covers major political philosophy concepts in a historical context, examining the effects of those ideas on political movements.

With 300-page weekly reading assignments, Mehta said the course is a good introduction for concentrators in government, social studies or history.

Public policy wonks should also check out Social Analysis 54: "American Society and Public Policy," taught by past Clinton advisor Theda Skocpol, professor of government and sociology, and Mary C. Waters, professor of government.

Mansbridge said her seminar, "Representing Gender, Race and Class" will consider "Why we think, as we sometimes do, that women ought to represent women and men should represent men and a member of the middle class should represent the middle class."