JS 650: Advanced Questioned Death Investigation

Taken: Fall 2008
Instructor: Jay Glass

The course is essentially an intro to forensic pathology for non-medical students. Course is taught through lectures with extensive slides to illustrate material visually. Assigned readings are copious but largely supplemental; no textbook material and only some article material appeared on exams, largely just lecture material. Overall, a good and highly interesting course - if absolutely nothing else students should come out with a few interesting facts to toss around!

JS504: Serial Killers

Taken: Spring 2009

Instructor: James Sparks

This class was fantastic. It counts for absolutely nothing and it's still totally worth it. I audited this class, which means you pay for it, but you don't take any of the tests/quizzes. The class was broken down into categories of serial killers including: male SKs, female SKs, African-American SKs, team SKs etc. Each lecture was about a different topic that was illustrated with videos, pictures and tons of great stories.

Sit in the front, bring snacks. Good times.

JS502: Intro to Computer Forensics

Taken: Fall 2008

Instructor: Gary Warner

This course was interesting, but perhaps a little more suited to criminal justice majors. It doesn't require really any sort of computer knowledge at all going into it. I actually wish it had been at much more of a technical level. I definitely zoned out when it went to things I'd already known for years. Some of the legal principles covered like the Frye and Daubert standards do extend well to forensic science as a whole, though. Overall, it's a good course to fill out a schedule, but for someone already technically inclined, you're not likely to learn much you didn't already know that wasn't pretty much common sense.

JS650: Advanced Questioned Death Investigation

Taken: Fall 2008

Instructor: Jay Glass

Advanced Questioned Death Investigation is a lecture course that goes a little into depth of death investigation. Topics ranging from sudden and unexpected death to toxicology are covered during the course. Numerous pictures are shown throughout the course to give a better understanding of what to look for and how to identify the injuries. Understanding the injuries and how the victim obtained them will help the student in determining cause and manner of death. There are a lot of reading assignments to supplement the class material; however, emphasis will be given to the most important assignments There are two tests throughout the course and a take home assignment. Both tests consist of multiple choice questions and the take-home assignment consists of two actual cases that you will determine manner of death on from what you learn throughout the course.

Personally, I believe this is a great course, but it is not for the squeamish. The pictures that are shown throughout the course are very graphic in nature. I also suggest that both Criminalistics courses be taken prior to taking this course. That will give you an advantage on most of the material that will be covered in AQD. Jay Glass was the instructor for the course when I took it and should be in the future unless the course catalog says otherwise. If you have Mr. Glass, he is going to talk a lot and write very few notes on the board. What he does write on the board is of importance, so take good notes. There are very few questions asked throughout the course when I took it, but Mr. Glass is more than happy to explain anything that you might not get. Overall, I give this course 4.5 bloody thumbprints out of 5.

JS650: Advanced Questioned Death Investigation

Taken: Fall 2008

Instructor: Jay Gass

Advanced Questioned Death Investigation is a great class. It consists of lectures combined with slideshows of pictures from actual cases. Most of the pictures are very graphic, so this class is not for the squeamish. Some of the topics include:

• Medical Examiner’s Office vs. the Coroner
• Jefferson County’s M.E./Coroner system and history
• Manner/Cause/Mechanism of death and other key terms
• Blunt force trauma/sharp force trauma
• Gun shot wounds (fire arms and products of combustion)
• Asphyxia (chemical/physical)
• Sexual assault
• Infant fatalities/child neglect
• Toxicology
• Odontology/anthropology
• Thermal/electrical/explosive injuries

There is a midterm exam and a final exam. The final is cumulative, but mostly covers the second half of the semester along with the most important (and most obvious) material from the first half. A paper is also required. Two real death cases are presented and students write a paper explaining their choice for manner of death (homicide, suicide, accidental, natural or undetermined) in each situation. It is not a difficult paper to write, though there is a minimum length requirement of 1500 words and some research is necessary. This class is not an ‘easy A,’ but it is possible to do well. Mr. Glass is a nice guy and is there to help if necessary.

GRD 708: Writing Successfully

Spring 2009
Instructor: There was not one specific individual for this course

This course was more of a workshop, rather than a course. The class required only one weekend of your time. In the end, it was only worth one credit hour. I ended up taking this course as a way to stay on track with my hours, in the Spring of '09 there were not a lot of choices being offered for electives, so I chose to take this class to soften the blow in the following semesters. I actually enjoyed this course, it was VERY easy but I did learn a little more about writing. Don't expect to walk away from this course knowing a tremendous amount about writing successfully, but do know that you will have to work in groups, come up with a little "story," and present in front of others. I would recommend these kind of classes for anyone interested in making sure they meet their credit hour quota and also for anyone interested in developing their collegiate talents in multiple subjects. The main part: no tests, no quizes, no assignments. All you have to do is show up, participate, and stay through lunch (oh and lunch is provided for you!). Enjoy it!

Tox 711:

Taken Summer 2009
Instructor: Coral Lamartiniere ‎

This course was actually taught by several guest speakers rather than one professor. Topics include poison control information, ethics of animal care, toxicology in the emergency room, regulatory toxicology and cytochrome P450 information. Some weeks and lectures were more interesting than others.

The summer course consisted of only two exams, which were comprised of essay and short answer questions. There was an abundance of material to study for exam one, but questions only covered about 8 topics (20 pts/?). This was a problem because you are not told what specifically to study or that there are so few questions worth so much; however, partial credit is given.

Most people taking the course are IBS or tox grad students so without a tox background, material can be confusing at times. Despite this, the course is not difficult if you just study.

No books are needed for this course, all lectures were provided on powerpoint.