Topics Courses
The following descriptions provide information for courses which are not fully detailed in the departmental section of the Catalogue. These are courses with variable content which may change from year to year, or they are courses which are experimental and may be offered only once or twice before gaining approval to be listed along with other departmental or program courses. B.A. distribution requirements satisfied by these courses are shown at the end of each description.
ANTHROPOLOGY
5-258. Topic: From Village to Factory: Culture Change in Southern Chile (in Chile)
Course looks at the impact of global markets and regional industrialization on rural islanders in southern Chile’s Archipelago of Chiloe. Registration, when the course is taught off-campus, entails additional costs. Prerequisites: ANT 101 or LAS 141, SPA 102, and permission of instructor. (Social Science) DAUGHTERS
8-365. Advanced Topic: Humanity and the Environment
A look at the relationship between society and the environment, emphasizing case studies from around the world written by anthropologists. Prerequisite: ANT 101. (Social Science) DAUGHTERS
ARABIC
4-220. Topic: The Arab Spring (in English)
Students will study the current unrest in North Africa. Where has this region been? Where is it headed? How is it being covered in the media? How do works of fiction published under censorship convey actual social criticism? Students will compare and contrast what is going on in different countries such as Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco in order to analyze current events as they unfold. (Humanities) HOLMAN
ART
5-221. Topic: Sculpture
Studio course focused on making three-dimensional art forms using a variety of materials including clay, plaster, metal, wood, and other mixed media. Same topic offered in block 6. Prerequisite: ART 103, 104, or 105. (Fine Arts) BIONDO
6-274. Topic: Race and Identity in Art History
This course will explore, through a limited number of artworks dealing
with the themes of race and identity, the rich artistic traditions of
Mexico – traditions that are often little known or overlooked in the US
today. The structure of the course will be generally chronological,
beginning with an examination of the art of several pre-Columbian
cultures of Mexico such as the Aztecs and Maya, followed by an
exploration of the art of the colonial period, particularly the "Casta"
paintings, and concluding with the Modernist movement, artists such as
the Mexican muralists, Frida Kahlo, Tina Modotti and others, as well as a
few works of contemporary art. Although the course’s geographical and
historical reach is large, certain recurring themes will be emphasized
in class discussions. Such themes include: uses and abuses of the
pre-Columbian past in colonial and modern art; the effect of European
contact upon existing and emerging art styles in Mexico; and the role of
art in defining a cultural or national identity. (Humanities) HOOBLER
9-353. Advanced Topic: Installation Art
Studio course centered on site-specific, three dimensional art created to investigate space. Students will utilize a variety of materials. Prerequisite: Any 200 level studio art course or ART 311 or 312. (Fine Arts) BIONDO
BIOLOGY
8-108. Topic: Sex and Food: A Feminist Evolutionary Perspective
The course will explore evolutionary biology from feminist, scientific perspectives. The course will focus on the biology of diverse organisms (including humans), address the implications for contemporary humans, and consider how scientists analyze information. (Science) CONDON
3-283. Topic: Case Studies in Tropical Wildlife Conservation (in Costa Rica)
This course will focus on experiential learning with a few wildlife conservation projects at different locations in Costa Rica. In addition to hands-on experience with a diversity of animal species, we will also study the biology of the focal species and discuss primary literature related to the projects we work on and observe. We will also explore the interactions of local residents, tourists, and conservation practitioners with species of conservation interest. Our focus will be on what conservation looks like on the ground, whether by governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, businesses, or private landowners, and on what approaches seem to be succeeding or failing. This course will be offered in Costa Rica. Prerequisites: ENV 101 or BIO 142 and permission of instructor. This course satisfies the Animal requirement in the Biology major. (Laboratory Science) McCOLLUM
1-284. Topic: The Nature of Nature (First Year Seminar)
The course will explore the nature of nature by discussing
the texts of great environmental and natural history writers. We will examine
fundamental questions such as: what is nature, and where do humans fit in the
natural world? Complementing discussions of texts, students will personally
undertake the practices of natural history (e.g., observation, journal writing)
and explore the local natural and human-created landscapes. The course will
also provide an excellent platform to discuss elements of ecology, evolution
and conservation biology. The course will take a required overnight fieldtrip
that will cost approximately $50 per student. (First Year Seminar (FYS)) GANNES
CHEMISTRY
1-108. Topic: Chemistry of Global Health Issues (First Year Seminar)
Unsafe drinking water, malnutrition, infectious diseases, industrial pollution – these are all serious global health concerns. What is the chemistry behind these problems? How can an understanding of chemistry help us evaluate possible solutions? This course will begin with a basic introduction to chemistry and move into an examination of the chemistry behind global health challenges such as the provision of clean drinking water, the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, and the production of food to feed the world. Intended for non-science majors; no previous experience in chemistry required. (Science, First Year Seminar (FYS)) STRONG
9-108. Topic: Forensic Science: Real Life CSI
Introductory course intended for non-science majors. Basic scientific principles as applied to the analysis of crime scenes and the presentation of scientific evidence in a court of law. The course will focus on what and how scientists can learn from evidence, and the portrayal of forensic science and forensic scientists in the media will be examined. Possibility of one or more field trips. (Science) TEAGUE
CLASSICS
6-274. Topic: Greek History
This in an introductory course in Greek history that will cover major social, economic, and political developments from the Archaic period in Greece to the age of Alexander the Great. (Humanities) VENTICINQUE
COMPUTER SCIENCE
1-357. Advanced Topic: Web 2.0
A project-oriented course where students will develop applications using core Web 2.0 technologies. AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and Extensible Markup Language – XML), web services including interfacing with social networks, and mobile applications using the Android platform. Prerequisite: CSC 144. deLAUBENFELS
9-360. Advanced Topic: Open Source Projects
Learn how to contribute to an open source project by writing code, testing code, and writing documentation. Students will practice with tools and methods of software engineering and gain experience working on a team. Prerequisites: CSC 144 and 151. TABAK
ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS
9-268. Topic: Applications in Entrepreneurship
This course is the second in the two block Entrepreneurship sequence. This course is project-based and focuses on developing a business plan formulated during the first block course. Prerequisite: ECB 251. BURGESS
9-275. Topic: Leadership and Corporate Governance
An analysis of the current state of leadership, governance, and business ethics. How these topics inter-relate as well as how students will be faced with these issues in their early careers in a corporate setting. Prerequisites: ECB 101, 102 and 151. This course will not count toward the ECB major. STAFF
EDUCATION
6-261. Topic: Masculinity and Education
This course will question what it means to be male in the world today with a particular focus upon adolescent masculinity in the school sphere. Through course readings and discussions, we will seek to reconceptualize masculinity by identifying a masculine ethic that offers new and more liberating ways of being male for men in the world today. We will explore how various constructions of masculinity, as they have surfaced through literature, film and popular culture, have sought to fashion our paradigms of what it means to be male in American culture today. (Social Science) HEINRICH
ENGLISH
2-111-A. Topic: Homer’s Stars to Wright’s Dylan: The Anxiety of Influence
Are there any true "original" works of literature or art? Harold Bloom suggests that criticism is the art of knowing the hidden roads that go from poem to poem; other scholars suggest that because Homer had few literary precursors, he looked to the stars for inspiration and influence. More recently, poet C.D. Wright sites Bob Dylan as a source for her long poem "Deepstep Come Shining". What do these connections mean for our ideas about art? To answer these questions and others like them, one must learn how to read deeply in order to allow for a richer, more thorough understanding of the work and its contexts. In this class we will investigate connections between specific literary texts, films and paintings. We will also consider how certain works in one medium influence those in another. Through writing and class discussions of critical and creative texts, films and paintings, you will sharpen your critical reading and writing skills. You will also be given opportunities to reflect on your own writing process while considering the forces that have influenced it. Not open to students who have previously completed ENG 111. Same topic offered in block 5. (Humanities, Writing Requirement) SCHLEGEL
3-111-A. Topic: Virginia Woolf and London
Virginia Woolf, the brilliant experimental British writer of the early 20th century, has a lot to teach us about sites and about writing; her complex experimental essays and other writings will be our tour guides. This course provides an introduction to college writing through the analysis of an experimental novel and essays by Virginia Woolf that explore the compelling cityscape and mindscape of London in the 1920s. We will read and study Woolf’s modernist novel from 1925, Mrs. Dalloway, and using facsimiles of a 1924 guidebook to London and of the highbrow, high-fashion British Vogue. We will focus on the London of the 1920s, a postwar city haunted by the ghosts of WWI. Throughout the course, students will draft and redraft writings, from in class writing to critical essays to research-informed critical projects with the aid of Peter Elbow’s text, Being a Writer. Students will learn how to search for literary and cultural scholarship using library resources such as search engines and data bases and the Selected Papers of the annual Virginia Woolf conferences. Challenging writing assignments along with rigorous revision will help develop critical thinking and critical writing skills. Not open to students who have previously completed ENG 111. (Humanities, Writing Requirement) HANKINS
3-111-B. Topic: Sustainability, Food, and Writing
Where does your food come from? This course will introduce college-level writing, with a focus on writing about food. Topics will include the cultural and historical significance of food in British and American literature, environmental sustainability, and the local food movement. Authors may include Michael Pollin, Barbara Kingsolver, and Novella Carpenter. Students will do informal writing, write several formal papers, and will share their work with peers in revision workshops. Not open to students who have previously completed ENG 111. (Humanities, Writing Requirement) MOUTON
4-111-A. Topic: Science Fiction
Aliens, warp drives, time-travelling phone booths. For all its fantastical elements, most science fiction (and other forms of speculative fiction) actually comments on contemporary society. This course will examine science and speculative fiction as a literary genre engaged in social commentary. We will read some classics, like Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, Phillip K. Dick and Ursula LeGuin, as well as some new stuff (Ted Chiang, Neil Gaiman, Octavia Butler), and we will combine our discussions of the literature with critiques (both serious and playful, like Galaxy Quest) and with theory. This course fulfills the writing requirement and so includes an emphasis on critical reading, writing and revision. Some attention paid to writing style as well. Students will write and revise several papers and complete a research project as well as a science fiction short story. Not open to students who have previously completed ENG 111. (Humanities, Writing Requirement) REED
7-111-A. Topic: Responses to War
Walt Whitman said of the Civil War that the “real war will never get in the books.” What versions of war, then, do get in books? This course will expose students to different artistic responses to war and the critical skills necessary to analyze them. Course discussions will consider the limitations of representation and documentation, the intersections of public and private life, and the uses of art. We will ask such questions as: how can trauma be documented? how do authors represent the unspeakable? what is the purpose of a personal account versus a documentary about the “whole” war? Students will hone their skills in analyzing both primary and secondary sources. They will engage in several different types of academic writing and will conduct their own research projects. Because this is a writing course, significant course time will be spent on the writing process, with a focus on revision. Not open to students who have previously completed ENG 111. (Humanities, Writing Requirement) ENTEL
8-111-A. Topic: Writing In Sites with Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf, the brilliant experimental British writer of the early 20th century, has a lot to teach us about sites and writing; her complex experimental essays and other writings will be our tour guides. With Woolf, we will consider how writing is akin to walking, journeying, trespassing, and traveling as we explore her writings and the cultural context of her day. And we’ll do solo and group field trips to scenic downtown Mount Vernon and the quarry and create our own thoughtful essays and journals about sites and insights. All of this will be part of our intense attention to writing critically and intelligently. Students will draft and redraft papers, from in class writing to critical essays to research-informed critical projects, with the aid of Peter Elbow’s text, Being a Writer. Students will learn how to search for literary and cultural scholarship using library resources such as search engines and data bases. Challenging writing assignments and rigorous revision will help develop critical thinking and critical writing skills. Not open to students who have previously completed ENG 111. (Humanities, Writing Requirement) HANKINS
9-111-A. Topic: Writing the Environment
As Bill McKibben’s 1989 book The End of Nature argues, nature as both a reality and a concept has irreversibly changed in the last century, due primarily to ever-expanding human influence. Human migration, growing human population, globalization, and climate change, among other factors, are radically re-shaping the physical world. This course will be an exploration of our relationships—personal, spiritual, political, commercial, etc.—to the natural world. We will write about our own experiences (we will be taking field trips and hikes throughout the block) and will read and discuss an array of contemporary writers’ responses to changing ecologies in order to better understand our world. We will focus especially on unexpected kinds of nature in recent writing—including the body, farms, political borders, and damaged landscapes—in order to construct our own positions on what constitutes nature today and develop our own ethical and aesthetic responses to the environment. Not open to students who have previously completed ENG 111. (Humanities, Writing Requirement) G. FREEMAN
4-273. Topic: Mapping Bahamian Literature (in the Bahamas)
And when sun meets brother in my skin
Its fire enhances what I am:
Bahamian.
– Robert Johnson, “Sun in my Skin”
This course offers the unique experience of studying the literature of the Bahamas in the Bahamas. We will study how Bahamian literature has been conceived since national independence in 1973: what makes someone a Bahamian writer? what do writers from the Bahamas have in common with one another? how does Bahamian literature reflect the environment it arises from and how does it help forge a new national identity? We will study the cultural work of literary anthologies in establishing a collective identity and sense of place; we will also investigate what’s missing from such anthologies. Our time on the island of San Salvador will help us flesh out the connections between literature and the environment, and we will do our own writing to further explore how the environment of the Bahamas influences writers. Our final project will be to create a new anthology of Bahamian literature that reflects the knowledge we’ve gained about the place and its people – and includes some of our own writing as well. This course is an opportunity for students who are: literature enthusiasts, creative writers, interested in Environmental Studies, inspired by new landscapes and historical sites. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W) and instructor’s permission. (Humanities) ENTEL
6-325. Renaissance Non-Dramatic Literature: The Sonnet
“Love is not love,” wrote Shakespeare in his often recited sonnet 116, and proceeded to grapple with the poetic expression of consuming erotic desire. In this course, we will study arguably the most influential poetic form, the Renaissance sonnet. Hardly restricted to the familiar self-contained fourteen-liner in iambic pentameter, Renaissance sonnets were poems about love, which existed in numerous forms and media: as translations, enclosures in letters, in (quasi-) narrative sequences, alongside longer pieces in poetry collections, incorporated in visual art, coupled with theoretical and theological reflections. In this seminar, we will explore the psychological, political, spiritual, and aesthetic complexity of sonnets by English poets of the 16th and early 17th century, such as Sir Thomas Wyatt, Samuel Daniel, Sir Philip Sidney, Lady Mary Wroth, William Shakespeare, John Donne. To understand the role of the sonnet in the circulation of ideas and cultural models during the European Renaissance, we will also study love poems by the English poets’ Italian predecessors – Dante, Boccaccio, Michelangelo, Vittoria Colonna, Gaspara Stampa. Prerequisite: ENG 111, 201, or 215. (Humanities) STAVREVA
6-328. Eighteenth Century English Literature: From Satire to Snark
Is satire dead? Several people have proclaimed the death of satire over the years, but the wild success of John Stewart and South Park would seem to indicate satire is alive and well and still useful as a political and cultural tool. In this class we will trace the art of satire back to the Restoration and eighteenth century, reading satirical works by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, John Dryden, Jonathan Swift, Lady Mary Wortley Montague, as well as a fun little essay that may come in handy, “The Art of Ingeniously Tormenting.” We will spend some time examining other Enlightenment forms of satire (Hogarth’s prints) and contemporary forms (John Stewart, Monty Python, among others). We will even find out when and why people have pronounced satire’s death (when a war criminal won the Nobel Peace Prize, or an actor was elected President, for example.) Course requirements include formal papers, exams, and an original piece of satire. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), ENG 201, 202, or 215. (Humanities) REED
9-336. Early Twentieth Century Literature
The topic for 2011-12 is literature in English of the first half of the twentieth century, focusing on World War I. Writers will include the War poets, and novelists such as Rebecca West, Ernest Hemingway, H. D., Virginia Woolf, D. H. Lawrence. May include film of WWI, such as Charlie Chaplin’s Shoulder Arms and Abel Gance’s J’accuse. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W), ENG 201, 202, or 215. (Humanities) HANKINS
5-372. Film and Film Studies: Hitchcock through Research & Analysis
Hitchcock’s long and varied career began in London, with his immersion in the London Film Society’s programs which screened bizarre and provocative avant-garde and international films. This course will begin with the Film Society, screen films from some of its influential programs, and trace the avant-garde in Hitchcock’s films. We will research and analyze selected films within the context of cultural studies and film history, using the resources of the library and data bases to hone our film studies skills. We will screen at least a dozen Hitchcock films, beginning with The Lodger, Blackmail and 39 Steps, and including Notorious, Spellbound, Psycho, Rebecca, North by Northwest, Vertigo and others. Students who have not taken English 202 should review Corrigan and White’s The Film Experience (2nd edition) before the course. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W) or ENG 201, 202, or 215. (Humanities) HANKINS
3-374. Advanced Topic: Rovers, Rakes, and Loose Women
Restoration comedy (1660-1714) is often sexy and lively, replete with mistaken identity, bedroom scenes, and sword fights—sometimes all three at once. These are plays we can read and study, but also plays we can enjoy and imagine performing. In this course, we will read several Restoration comedies, examining the conventions of the genre as well as its commentary on the politics and culture of the Restoration. We will give equal consideration to the plays’ historical context and to their suitability for performance—both in the Restoration and today. Authors include Aphra Behn, William Wycherly, William Congreve, and Susanna Centlivre. Coursework will include formal papers, exams, and performance workshops. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W) or ENG 201, 202, or 215. (Humanities) REED
7-382. Advanced Topic: Distinguished Visiting Fiction Writer Seminar: Linking Stories, Story Cycles, Making Stories
An individual short story is a fully realized art form that can immerse the reader into the life of a character and vividly depict a particular place and time. Other short stories do more: they "talk" to related stories, creating story cycles, linked story collections, and novels-in-stories. From Sherwood Anderson’s classic book Winesburg, Ohio to Elizabeth Strout’s recent Pulitzer-prize winning collection Olive Kitteridge, writers continue to experiment with ways to create links between stories—thus creating a larger fictional world.
In this course we will be reading like writers, discussing examples of linked stories to see what makes them tick: How do writers use classic elements of fictional craft such as character, dialogue, setting, plot, and structure to put stories in conversation with one another? What goes into a link, and what can be left out? Just what is a “short story,” and how do linked stories defy some expectations? We’ll put our analysis into practice through creative exercises, which will allow you to generate your own set of linked stories. You will discuss your stories in the workshop component of the seminar and in individual meetings with the instructor. After revision, you will have created your own linked story cycle suitable for submission to student literary journals. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W). (Fine Arts) SANOW
2-383. Advanced Topic: Distinguished Visiting Creative Non-Fiction Writer Seminar: Literary Nonfiction: Legend and Lyric in Linn County
To begin, we will learn the basics of “immersion reporting” as we delve deeply into the places, people and parables of Linn County. Whether it’s the storefront you pass by every day or a back road you have never before traveled, you will find a story there. Using all our senses, along with notebooks, laptops, audio recorders and cameras, we’ll carry as much of Linn County as we can back to the classroom.
After we immerse ourselves in someone else’s world, we will render those worlds on the page. We’ll borrow tools from the world of journalism to gather our stories, but we will work in the world of lyric nonfiction to tell those stories. The personal essay, collage essay, and prose poem are the containers that will hold our experiences. Through it all, we will read, read, read from masters of these nonfiction subgenres.
Once we’re satisfied with the legend and lyric we have created on the page, we’ll recast our work as oral stories (presented at a reading), digital stories (published on the web with images and sound) and/or recorded audio essays (for podcast or radio distribution). Class time will be devoted, in roughly equal portions, to discussion of reading, in-class writing exercises, and peer review. Expect to read (and reread) a lot, to write (and rewrite) even more, and to experience (and re-experience) Linn County in new and surprising ways. Students from all fields of study are most welcome. Prerequisite: writing-designated course (W). (Fine Arts) CALL
1-411. Senior Seminar: Narratives of Transformation
Advanced, theoretically informed engagement with literary studies, broadly defined, including reflection on what the English major brings to intellectual and creative life beyond the undergraduate years. The scholarly focus will be on narrative in fiction and film. We will read narrative theory in addition to fictions such as Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, Erica Eisdorfer’s The Wet Nurse’s Tale (2009) and various films. Students will tell of their own journeys and transformations as English majors through essay, narrative, and/or e-portfolios, and will initiate research projects. Prerequisites: English major and senior standing. (Humanities) HANKINS
FRENCH
3-205. Topics in French and Francophone Cultures
In this course, students will learn how to express increasingly complex thoughts and ideas in French through the acquisition of new vocabulary and grammar review. Each lesson will focus on a theme which we will study, discuss, and investigate within a French and/or Francophone cultural context. The primary themes of the course include the following: education, immigration, and pop culture. Class time activities will be conducted entirely in French and will include role plays, pair and group work, presentations, grammar-review exercises, films, and group discussion. In addition to the main textbook for the course, there will be supplementary texts, videos, songs, and films which we will study in order to learn more about the French and Francophone world. Same topic offered in block 9. Prerequisite: FRE 103. (Language requirement) BATY
6-265. Topic: Libertines and Femmes Fatales
From the free-thinking libertines, Madame de Merteuil and Valmont of Dangerous
Liaisons, to the murderess mistress and wife who plot the death of the man
in their lives in the 1955 thriller, Diabolique, men and women who break the rules fill the pages and screens of French literature and cinema. In this discussion-based course, we will read and write about scandalous texts and films peopled by characters whose transgressive behavior, mobility, and power challenged the moral and social codes of their time and place. The “femme fatale,” defined as “a seductive woman who lures men into dangerous or compromising situations,” made its debut in French letters in short, moralistic stories published in the 16th century. Her emergence paved the way for gender-bending representations of both men and women in the French tradition, representations which would call into question not only sexual roles, but also religious and political orthodoxies and the moral exemplarity of literature itself. From the text to the screen, the spectacle of defiant men and women and the articulation of their desire will be the focus of this course. This will be a writing-intensive course taught in English. No knowledge of French is required. Through informal and formal writing assignments and library research
projects, students will be introduced to the processes of college-level writing
and research. (Humanities, Writing Requirement) BATY
1-365. Advanced Topic: Sporting Identities
How do sports affect—or how are they affected by—gender, class, and race? How do sports and sports narratives change over time and how does this affect the meanings and messages they propagate or are made to carry? Do the same sports mean the same things for different cultures, or even for different people? Through various literary and cultural texts—photographs, films, short stories, non-fiction, etc.—we will examine the role of sports and sports narratives in creating, resisting, shifting, or maintaining elements of cultures and identities. We will focus our attention on representations of sports in twentieth century French and Francophone contexts, keeping questions such as these in mind. Prerequisite: FRE 205; FRE 301 is strongly recommended. (Humanities) WINES
GERMAN
2-205. Intermediate German: Topics in German-Speaking Cultures
Continuing development of linguistic and cultural competence through a study of the literature and society of Weimar Germany (1919-1933). Also a review of German grammar. Same topic offered in block 9. (Language requirement) CONNELL
HISTORY
1-116. Introductory Seminar: The Holocaust (First Year Seminar)
An introduction not only to what happened to the Jews, Gypsies and other "undesirables" under Adolf Hitler, but also a survey of the various responses and reactions to these events in the post-war period. A number of films will be shown. Several writing assignments. (Humanities, First Year Seminar (FYS)) CONNELL
4-260. Topic: Slavery, Cotton, and the Environment in a Comparative Context: San Salvador and the Southern U.S., 1783-1838 (in the Bahamas)
This course will explore the impact of two environmental contexts upon the development of the plantation system and the evolution of slavery as an agricultural and societal system. We will examine the attempt by Loyalists to establish cotton production in the Bahamas, using slave labor, and the ways in which the environmental context of the Bahamas led to significant differences in the evolving relationships between enslaved peoples and the plantation owners from that fostered in the Carolinas and Georgia. A significant portion of the course will be conducted at the Gerace Research Center, College of the Bahamas on the island of San Salvador; this will enable us to explore the extensive ruins of several slave plantations, including the site of the Farquharson Plantation, which was established by a British loyalist, Charles Farquharson, who left the American colonies after the Revolutionary War. The journal he kept of the plantation from 1831-1832 is the only known surviving journal which documents a Bahamian slave plantation, and will be one of the central course texts. Prerequisite: instructor permission. (Humanities) STEWART
3-261. Topic: Introduction to Modern Middle Eastern History
This course examines the history of the modern Middle East from the post-WWI era to the present. The course explores the historical processes which resulted in the emergence of the Middle East as one of the most conflicted regions of the world. Topics include modernization, state-building, the politics of gender and Islam, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the Kurdish question. Today, citizens are exposed to stereotypical images, information, opinion, and commentary about the contemporary ethno-religious conflicts in the Middle East through public media. The ultimate aim of the course is to provide students with an informed understanding of the historical forces that produced the contemporary Middle East. Same topic offered in block 6. (Humanities) OZOK-GUNDOGAN
7-333. Advanced Topic: Monks and Nuns, Malcontents and Saints: Medieval Monasticism
This course examines the ideal and reality of the Christian monastic life in Europe until the start of the Protestant Reformation. It will explore the spiritual values inspiring monks and nuns—the desire to retreat from the world and the quest for spiritual fulfillment through self-discipline. These high ideals bred their share of discontents, and we’ll explore issues of disorder and rebellion within the monastery. We will also deal with the tension between those ideals and the wealth and power that monasteries acquired in medieval Europe, examining reformers and critics of monastic institutions from Bernard of Clairvaux to Martin Luther. Prerequisites: HIS 101 or 102 and junior standing. (Humanities) HERDER
2-335. Advanced Topic: Persecution, Tolerance, and Violence: Minorities in the Middle Ages
One of the central tasks of this course will be to explore the question of whether a “persecuting society” developed in medieval Europe. Why was persecution a common reaction to minority groups in the period? How did some groups coexist? Can such coexistence be described as tolerance? What laws and customs shaped interactions between majority and minorities? To explore these questions, we will examine primary sources from the European Middle Ages in translation, but will also explore diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives on the study of marginalized groups, focusing on people set apart by their religion, sexuality, or health from “normal” Christian society. Prerequisite: HIS 101 or 102. (Humanities) HERDER
9-366. Advanced Topic: Social Movements and Political Mobilization in the Modern Middle East
The history of the modern Middle East has long been narrated as one of colonialism, imperialism, and state-making. How did the peoples of the Middle East experience these processes? How did they adopt, reinterpret, or resist the forces of modernization? This course will answer these questions by exploring the history of social movements and political mobilization in the modern Middle East. Chronologically, the course starts with the early modern political mobilization in the Ottoman Empire and continues with the nineteenth-century peasant and labor movements and constitutional revolutions. Anti-colonial movements during the interwar period, the Iranian Revolution, and the Intifada will be analyzed as recent examples of grassroots political mobilization in the Middle East. Overall, the course aims to present a bottom-up approach to the histories of colonialism, imperialism, and state-making in the region. Prerequisite: junior standing. (Humanities) OZOK-GUNDOGAN
MUSIC
1-109. First Year Seminar in Music: Explorations of Love as seen through the Tristan Legend
The course will attend to the all-college goals for First Year Student Seminars through reading, writing, and discussion. An interdisciplinary approach will be applied to Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan, a literary masterpiece from the 13th century, to Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, an operatic masterpiece of the 19th century, and to a couple of 20th century films. Explorations of ideas about “Love” will be our focus. (Humanities, First Year Seminar (FYS)) MARTIN
4-270. Topic: Aesthetics of Rock
This course will
explore a variety of topics relating to the understanding of rock music.
Topics will include what "rock music" means, how and why we respond to
it intellectually and emotionally, and how this style of music relates
to traditional ideas of music aesthetics. (Writing Requirement)
CHAMBERLAIN
5-274. Topic: Beginning Jazz Improvisation
Introduction to jazz improvisation. Topics will include basic jazz harmony, chord-scale relationships, and swing feel. There will be daily performance experiences in a variety of jazz styles. Prerequisites: The ability to read music and instructor's permission. (Fine Arts) CHAMBERLAIN
PHILOSOPHY
9-362. Advanced Topics: Nietzsche
This course will be an in-depth study of one of the most interesting, most controversial, and most influential philosophers of the nineteenth century. We will read and discuss at least eight of his books in an attempt to do justice to his rich philosophy and to get a sense of the development of his thought. Prerequisite: PHI major or minor, and junior standing. (Humanities) GRAY
PHYSICS
8-356. Advanced Topic: Computational Physics
We will use computers to both model and understand systems drawn from diverse areas of physics. Although students will need to learn several numerical and programming techniques, the emphasis of this course will be on gaining a greater understanding of the physical processes occurring in the systems. Specific topics will be chosen from both classical and modern areas of physics, including: mechanics, chaos, quantum mechanics, astrophysics, waves, statistical mechanics, molecular dynamics, and the physics of sports. Prerequisites: PHY 303 and CSC 140. LICHTY
POLITICS
4-255. Topic: The War to End War
HG Wells called the First World War "the war to end war," but it turned
out to be a war that started nearly a century of bloody conflict,
tearing apart Europe at the height of its imperial power, introducing
savage new weapons such as poison gas and mechanized tanks, disrupting
social life for a generation, and sowing the seeds of Germany's renewed
aggression under Hitler two decades later. We will explore the First
World War through political science, history, film, memoir, poetry, and a
day trip visit to the National World War I Museum (there will be no
extra fee for the trip, but class will extend beyond normal class hours
on that day). Our writing assignments will include informal journals and
in-class assignments, a staged research project involving the use of
primary and secondary literature, and peer review workshops. (Social
Science, Writing Requirement) YAMANISHI
1-353. Advanced Topic: Baby Boomers vs. Babies? Contemporary Demographic Issues
This class will provide an introduction to key concepts in demography
and will explore specific policy challenges generated by recent
demographic phenomena. Central to this discussion will be an examination
of potential intergenerational conflict over policy among aging
populations in the United States and Western Europe. We will also
explore unique demographic situations of other types, such as the
demographic and political implications of China's one child policy and
population aging in Eastern Europe and Japan. Class discussions will be
facilitated by a combination of traditional texts (books and journal
articles) and online resources. Prerequisite: POL 282. (Social Science) POULETTE
PSYCHOLOGY
3-255. Topic: Environmental Psychology (in Costa Rica)
An investigation of the various psychological and other social science factors that facilitate or impede decision-making regarding environmental issues. Taught in Costa Rica in tandem with BIO 283 (separate courses). Prerequisites: instructor permission and PSY 161, ANT 101, or SOC 101. (Social Science) GANZEL/SIEBERT
3-265. Topic: Human Aggression and Violence
This course will examine recent efforts to integrate explanations of human aggression and violence across several disciplines. Students will consider the interplay between social learning, neural, endocrine, and evolutionary explanations of aggression by individuals in their social environment. Topics are likely to include interpersonal and online aggression, workplace violence, aggression within competitive situations, video/computer game violence, and war. In addition to analyzing both primary and secondary sources, special attention will be given the depiction of violence across several different forms of mass media. Because this is a writing course, a significant amount of time will be spent on the writing process, with a focus on revision. Not open to students who have previously completed a writing course (W). (Social Science, Writing Requirement) DRAGON
SOCIOLOGY
9-354. Advanced Topic: Social Control and Deviance
Explores the idea that social boundaries separate “normal” or “acceptable” behavior/groups from those deemed “deviant” or “abnormal.” Examines various theoretical perspectives on deviance and investigates the social organization of specific deviant behaviors. Examines societal efforts to maintain social order and encourage conformity through an investigation of a variety of formal (coercion) and informal (ridicule) social control methods. Formal institutions of social control such as the criminal system/prisons, the mental/medical health system, and the education system may be considered. Prerequisite: SOC 101. (Social Science) BARNES-BRUS [Institutions]
SPANISH
1-109. Topic: Revolution!: Portrayals of the Mexican Insurrection of 1910 in Murals, Music, Movies, News Stories, and Novels (in English) (First Year Seminar)
The revolution in Mexico was the first of the twentieth century revolutions, followed by Russia (1917), China (1949), Cuba (1959), and Nicaragua (1979). Recently, uprisings in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, and other Arab countries have dominated our world news reports and analyses to the point where the diversity of perspectives becomes difficult to comprehend as a meaningful whole.
Taking the Mexican Revolution as a case study, students will examine equally diverse perspectives expressed in paintings, photographs, eye-witness accounts, newsreel footage, historical ballads, novels, and movies made both in Mexico and in Hollywood. Students will evaluate these sources and determine which goals inspired the revolutionaries, to what extent they succeeded or failed to achieve their objectives, and how a new national identity emerged as a consequence. We will reflect upon the relevance of the Mexican Revolution to current events in the Arab world and in Mexico. A major goal of this course is to empower students to understand modern Mexico at a deeper level and, more broadly speaking, to assess multiple interpretations of the complex realities we face today.
All materials, lectures, and discussions will be in English. (Humanities, First Year Seminar (FYS)) FARRINGTON-CLUTE
THEATRE
4-263. Topic: Modern/Jazz Dance
Exploration of expressing story and emotion through movement. Special focus given to noted practitioners including Bob Fosse and Martha Graham. (Fine Arts) STAFF
6-373. Advanced Topic: History of Theatre Design
Examination of the emergence and recognition of the theatre designer as a distinct artist in the theatrical production process. Special focus given to nineteenth and twentieth century American Theatre, as well as the development of sound design, video design and other "new" areas of specialization. Prerequisites: writing-designated course (W) and one adjunct course in Theatre (THE 715, 751, 752, 753, or 754). (Humanities) OLINGER
WOMEN’S STUDIES
8-263. Topic: Utopian Visions of Sex
Fiction depicting utopian societies with alternative sexualities, including feminist, gay, lesbian, and other social categories. Examination of the premises underlying writers’ visions of different positive (utopian) and negative (dystopian) worlds. Function of utopias for social movements. CROWDER
9-264. Topic: Feminist Movements 1960-2000
Feminism or the "F-word" is often misunderstood in popular culture as a uniform and narrow ideology. This class seeks to address this confusion by tracing the diversity of the feminisms from the second to the third wave as well as intersections with other movements confronting interlocking oppressions in the United States and on an international stage. Along with feminist approaches, the course will address Queer and Post-colonial theories. CROWDER
7-363. Advanced Topic: Gender, Islam and Social Change
The course explores the rights and status of women in contemporary Muslim societies, as well as recent and past initiatives to advance them. The course will consider multiple perspectives and explore various issues facing Muslim women today. How do the rights and status of Muslim women vary by ethnicity, social class, age, and education? What are the implications for campaigns to enhance women’s eights in general? Special attention will be given to the diverse perspectives and strategies of action which have been adopted by Muslim women themselves. The history of gender in Islamic societies will be discussed. The course will also focus on a comparison between theory and practice regarding issues such as the treatment of women, gender relations, concepts of women’s liberation, and equality. Prerequisite: WST 171 or 271. (Social Science) THOMAS