So it's February, and you still haven't picked your new classes. You spent night after night compiling list after list of classes to shop. You trudged through the snow, albeit only a dusting, from Sever to Emerson to William James to Science Center E and back to Sever three days straight. You're knee-deep in Chick-Fil-A, thanks to quick lunches grabbed at the Greenhouse, and you've seen more syllabi in a week than most people see in a lifetime.

But what if, after your first three days of searching, you have room for an elective and can't find anything you want to take? What's a student in desperate need of a fourth class to do?

What you need is one of the following 11 electives--offerings that are interesting, enjoyable and compatible with three intense reading classes or pre-med pressure-cookers--offerings you might have missed in the more obscure sections of the 788-page Courses of Instruction.

It's English to Me

In the wake of the national debate over whether Ebonics is a language of its own accord or merely a dialect, what class could be more timely than Linguistics 80: "Dialects of English"?

A new offering by language guru and Lecturer on Linguistics Bert R. Vaux, Linguistics 80 is a survey of varieties of ancient and modern English--from Australian to "Valley Girl," Creole to Yiddish English.

The class requires three books: The Language Instinct, Stephen Pinker's bestseller on language called "A brilliant, witty and altogether satisfying book" by the New York Times; "The Story of English," a comprehensive survey of the history of English and a text on dialects.

Vaux will also show films of various dialects and even bring in native speakers. And there are no papers and no exams--just a midterm project on your own dialect and a final project on your own dialect and a final project on a native Bostonian's speaking style.

Linguistics 80 meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 2 p.m. in Sever 310.

Another World

Unless you're of Slavic descent or adept in Russian, you probably haven't closely examined the Slavic Languages and Literatures section of the course catalog--and you probably don't know about a gem of a course, Slavic 131: "Slavic Science Fiction."

Before you ask, no knowledge of Slavic languages is required. The reading is in translation, and the reading is worth reading. The ten books include Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov, a novel about a scroungy Moscow mongrel transformed into a lecherous, vulgar man who spouts the philosophy of Friedrich Engels.

The class, taught by John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities Alfred Thomas, examines the social, political and philosophical ramifications of Slavic fiction, and shows several films of related works.

Slavic 131 meets Mondays from 1 to 3 p.m. in Sever 101.

Students curious about Slavic literature may also want to check out Slavic 231e: "Modern Polish Prose," taught by Visiting Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures Jerzy Jarzebski.

Jarzebski, visiting from Jegiellonian University, will discuss Polish fiction and essays from 1939 to the present. Reading of Polish, though desirable, is not required.