ANTH 1910 Ancient Worlds (4 Credits)

This particular course uses the field of archaeology to illustrate the perspectives, methods and results of humanistic inquiry. It investigates human belief, creativity and spirituality in what we'll call deep history: the 50,000 years or so between the appearance of modern Homo sapiens and the rise of the first great civilizations of the Old and New Worlds. These aspects of life are examined through the study of human material culture, including portable objects, representational art, architecture, monuments and culturally-modified landscapes. A key underlying concept of the course is that material culture forms a unique narrative or "text" about the past history of humankind. This text is unique because everyone who has ever lived has helped to write it. Students learn how to interpret this text, recognize its multiple authors, and distill its larger social and cultural meaning. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ANTH 2010 Cultural Anthropology (4 Credits)

This course is an introduction to cultural anthropology. As one of anthropology’s main sub-fields, cultural anthropology provides conceptual and analytical tools for a comprehensive understanding of culture and its manifestations. It is concerned with the ways in which individual experience is inserted in social and historical contexts, providing meanings to everyday life. We will explore ideas and behaviors related to culture in different societies and social groups. Topics include culture, meaning, development, globalization, experience, kinship, identity, social hierarchy, and conflict. Course material combines introductory readings, academic articles and films with the analysis of journalistic pieces addressing currently important issues. It also combines the study of culture in the United States with that of other countries. Class meetings will consist of lectures to introduce topics and concepts and group discussions to apply the concepts and examine them critically. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ANTH 2020 Artifacts, Texts, Meaning (4 Credits)

How is it that anthropologists can look at an object in a museum collection and state with confidence what it once was a part of, how it was used, where it came from, how old it is, and even, perhaps, what it meant to the people who made it? What is an anthropological approach to documentation, an important accompaniment to the objects held in museums? In this course, participants learn about the ways anthropologists have approached researching material items and texts (both written and oral), ranging from time-tested techniques to materials science approaches. Students in the class do original research involving museum objects. The class involves hands-on work with artifacts, lecture, discussion, and laboratory analysis. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ANTH 2323 Global Health (4 Credits)

This course is an introduction to global health. As one of the world’s faster growing fields, global health presents itself with complex opportunities and challenges, which require interdisciplinary conceptual and analytical tools for a comprehensive understanding of health, health care and their manifestations around the world. This course presents an overview of the multiple factors that influence global health and emphasizes the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to respond to global health challenges. Disciplines included in the course include history, philosophy, bioethics, public health, anthropology, visual arts, and performing arts. We will explore ideas and behaviors related to health and health care in different societies and social groups. Topics include the evolution of primary health care and alternative strategies in global health, maternal and child health, nutrition, the rise of non-communicable diseases, water and sanitation, community engagement, global health agencies and funding sources, and human resources development. Course material combines introductory readings, academic articles and films with the analysis of journalistic pieces addressing currently important issues. It also combines the study of global health in the United States with that of other countries. Class meetings will consist of lectures to introduce topics and concepts, and group discussions to apply the concepts and examine them critically. Students will also work on individual and group projects. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ANTH 2420 Science, Technology and Human Values (4 Credits)

This course is designed to examine the nature of science and technology, and their interactions with each other and with society, with a specific focus on how they inform human values. We will examine the society-human-technology relationship as a continuum rather than as distinct, ontological entities in relationship to one another. In examining the grey areas between society-human-technology, it is important to look not only at the environmental and social-justice issues surrounding technology, but also how technologies shape our very humanity, our meaning-making practices, our value-systems, and our imaginations. In other words, how are technologies shaping human becoming? This course will address these types of questions from cultural, ethical, and philosophical perspectives. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARAB 1350 From Iraq to Morocco: Arabic Culture and Society Through Film (4 Credits)

This course examines cultural and societal aspects of the Middle East and North Africa and presents this vast area as a broad and diverse region with diverse history, religion, and culture. Students will learn how to approach films ethnographically by subjecting each movie to a rigorous social analysis. Among topics covered are colonialism and its lasting effects, child trafficking, religion, wars, Arab-Israeli conflict, and women in the Middle East. Screening of Arabic films with English subtitles is a central part of the course. Assigned readings are designed to provide background on the particular historical and cultural contexts in which the films are produced. The course will bring awareness and/or shatter the multiple stereotypes surrounding the Arabs; but additionally, the discussions will transcend national borders and uncover social issues that may be more severe in the Arab world, but are universal and certainly not unique to the Middle East and North Africa. The course is in English and open to all interested. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARAB 1351 Tales from the Arabian Nights: Reading across Time and Space (4 Credits)

No doubt that through their magical transformations and marvelous plots, the stories of the Arabian Nights, also known as One Thousand and One Nights, have a great entertainment value and that the imaginary setting of the tales has fascinated and inspired many authors and artists. However, this collection of stories has also significantly contributed to how the West views the Middle East: an exotic world populated by negative images such as conniving and manipulating harem women and violent and unscrupulous Arab men. The Tales of the Arabian Nights provide a unique platform for the discussion of current issues such as orientalism, stereotyping, and gender discrimination. In this course, we will select a handful of stories to serve as a catalyst for inquiry to show how this shared narrative passed on from generation to generation, has contributed to the creation of an ‘exotic’ East invented by the colonial West. We will show that the Middle East, like the rest of the world, is in a state of flux and the text is not a historical account of the medieval Arab world and cannot be viewed a-historically. We will unveil all the stereotypes that have been subtly, or not so subtly, implanted in the mind of the west through an often-erroneous portrayal of the Arab world. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARTH 1010 Images of Culture (4 Credits)

This course looks at artistic creations as an expression of cultural traditions and beliefs. Instead of viewing art as the result of unique geniuses, the fruit of inspired individuals, we explore how artistic objects reflect the ideas of the times and social values held by the society in which they appear. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARTH 1020 Highlights of Medieval Art (4 Credits)

The era known as the Middle Ages spans over a thousand years and includes many significant works in the history of art. This class endeavors to investigate the ways in which works of medieval art construct and convey meaning. In order to explore these ideas in greater depth, the class focuses on specific works of art that illustrate the rich complexities of the ways in which images convey meaning and the ways of understanding these meanings. As such, it is intended to provide an introduction to ways of reading and interpreting images. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARTH 1030 Highlights of Renaissance Art (4 Credits)

The period known as the Renaissance witnessed the production of a tremendous number of artistic masterpieces, but also the formulation of the study of the history of art and the development of art theory. This class endeavors to investigate the ways in which works of Renaissance art construct and convey meaning. In order to explore these ideas in greater depth, the class focuses on specific works of art that illustrate the rich complexities of the ways in which images convey meaning and the ways of understanding these meanings. As such, it is intended to provide an introduction to ways of reading and interpreting images. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARTH 1040 Sacred Spaces in Asia (4 Credits)

This course explores a variety of natural and man-made "Sacred Spaces" as it introduces the civilizations and major artistic traditions of India, China and Japan. Illustrated lectures consider public and private environments, their philosophical contexts and religious functions as well as the changing nature of their use and perceived meanings over time. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARTH 1050 Highlights of American Art (4 Credits)

This course introduces American art by focusing on a single work of art each week. Through readings, illustrated lectures, discussion and museum visits, we explore the social, political, historical and cultural contexts of each masterwork; learn something about the featured artist's life and artistic processes; and discover related examples of fine and popular art from the seventeenth century to the present. In the process, participants refine their ability to look, describe, analyze and critique the visual. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARTH 1060 Contemporary Art Worlds (4 Credits)

Have you ever wondered how a calf suspended in formaldehyde can sell at an art auction for nearly twenty-four million dollars? This class introduces the contemporary art world and explores how art functions within our society. Topics include the art market, the politics of museums, censorship and public funding, and popular cultural representations of the artist. We also look at how contemporary artists are engaging with some of the most important issues of our day. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARTH 2801 World Art I: Prehistory to c. 1000 (4 Credits)

This is the first quarter in a three-quarter foundation course in world art. Students will become familiar with significant examples of art, architecture and material culture emerging out of Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa from the Paleolithic era to approximately the year 1000. Students will consider the crucial role of these images and objects in the formation of their respective historical and cultural contexts. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARTH 2802 World Art II: c.1000-1700 (4 Credits)

This is the second quarter of the three-quarter foundation course in world art. Students will become familiar with significant examples of art, architecture and material culture emerging out of Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa from approximately the year 1000 to 1700. Students will consider the crucial role of these images and objects in the formation of their respective historical and cultural contexts. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARTH 2814 Medieval Art (4 Credits)

This course examines the art produced in Western Europe and the eastern Mediterranean from the 4th to 14th centuries. From the transition of the Late Roman Empire into new political and artistic climates of the Early Medieval period up through the lavish expanse of Late Gothic art we will explore the religious, political, cultural and artistic forces that shaped the creation of artistic monuments for over an thousand years. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARTH 2840 Survey of Asian Art (4 Credits)

An introduction to major monuments, traditions and civilizations of India, China and Japan. This class may be used to fulfill the non-Western requirement for majors in the School of Art and Art History. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ARTS 1015 Thinking & Making in the Visual Arts (4 Credits)

This course explores the language of the visual arts and how it can be used to communicate ideas about culture, history and the personal. Through hands-on exercises and experimentation in different media students create visual art works that interpret the world around them. This course focuses on different areas of the visual arts that change its focus depending on the area of expertise of the faculty teaching it. (Example: drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, sculpture.) Students leave the course with a broader understanding of the visual arts, past and present. Students also leave with a more in-depth understanding of the creative process that will inform other areas of studies throughout the University and which will enrich their lives long into the future. Lab fee. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

CHIN 1516 Contemporary China in Literature and Films (4 Credits)

This course investigates, through critically examining the representative literary and filmic texts produced by Chinese as well as foreign writers and filmmakers, the many complicated aspects of some much-talked about issues. This includes the diminishing rural life and landscape, urbanization, migration/dislocation, the changing roles of women, social equality, as well as the balancing act of preserving tradition, the environment, and economic development. The in-depth examination and diverse approaches this course applies enables students to gain greater understanding of not only the challenges that contemporary China has raised, but also the complexities of the increasingly globalized world in which we are living. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

CHIN 1616 Asian Ecocinema and Ecoliterature (4 Credits)

Following decades of economic boom, continuing industrial development, and expansion of urbanization, many Asian countries, especially China and India, are now facing unprecedented environmental crises. The list of ecological woes in Asian countries include air, water, and soil pollution; flooding and drought, deforestation and desertification, epidemics of diseases, coal mine accidents, the loss of land to urban expansion, and mass migration. Asian ecoliterature and ecocinema, both in documentary and feature film form, have functioned as responses to, and critical reflection of, the urgent environmental crises, as well as broader cultural, historical, and social issues that caused environmental and ecological problems. Through critically examining the representative literary and filmic works, this course will 1) introduce students to ancient Asian concepts about Nature and critical events that have reshaped the historical course of development of the concerned countries; 2) demonstrate and explain primary themes presented in the ecocinema and literature, such as hydro-politics of air, water, forests and development; bio-ethics and green culture; eco-aesthetics and the representations of Nature; migration and urbanization. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

CHIN 2516 Literary Chinatown: Stories of Chinese in America (4 Credits)

As the oldest diasporic enclave of Chinese in the United States, Chinatown has been both a physical and historical site where Chinese immigrants have built a community and a continually contested symbolic space represented in Chinese American literature. Literary Chinatown explores the intersection of history, geography, and literature through the myriad ways of Chinatown stories by major authors in Chinese American literature across the period from the early 20th century until the contemporary moment. The focus lies on unraveling the intricate relationship between space, place, and identity, tracing the complexities of being Chinese in America at pivotal historical junctures that shed light on the U.S. nation-building process—its rejection, accommodation, and incorporation of Chinese lives. These literary works set the stage for examining the impact of war, imperialism, (neo)colonialism, and globalization on immigration, alongside domestic issues of race, class, gender, and ethnicity. We aim to unravel the Chinese American experience as portrayed in its literary recreations of Chinatown memory, fantasy, narrative, and myth within Chinese American literature. We also brought scholarly discourse on the intersectional and comparative approaches to the study of race, culture, politics, and place in Chinese American literature. The course will entail a class walking tour of the historical Chinatown area in Denver. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

COMN 2008 Stereotyping and Violence in America Today (4 Credits)

This course is cross-listed with PHIL 2008, JUST 2008, RLGS 2008. This course offers students the opportunity to explore key issues relating to diversity and inclusion in the contemporary United States, focusing on the themes of stereotyping and violence, from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students will engage with scholarly and popular culture artifacts to examine the kinds of stereotyping and types of violence, visible and invisible, that characterize and challenge political, social, cultural, economic, religious, and educational life in today’s United States, and will do so by working with the course instructor as well as faculty members from across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Students will work together to connect the given week’s speaker’s assigned readings and insights to readings and insights from previous weeks’ speakers; assignments and classroom discussion will in this way be very interdisciplinary and will compare and contrast multiple diverse points of view and disciplinary lenses on the question of stereotyping and violence. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

COMN 2020 On the Black Panther Party (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to the rhetorical, political, ideological, and cultural practices of the Black Panther Party. Using a variety of communicative texts, which will include texts written about the Party, the Party’s newspaper, and speeches from Party members, students will come to an understanding of the context in which the Party emerged, but also the demands the Party was making of society as a whole. In the process, the students will be given not only an overview of the Party, but a better understanding of the different communicative practices the Party engaged in to critique oppression in the US. In the process, the students will engage in critical conversations about racism, classism, and sexism not only within the Party, but within the larger US society. This course, then, uses the Party as a case study to analyze the politics of oppression in the US, in particular, but the world, in general. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

COMN 2030 Social Movement Rhetoric (4 Credits)

This course explores the principle agency that less powerful groups have used for social change in recent U.S. history--the rhetoric of social movement. More specifically, we consider in concrete detail and theoretical nuance the capacity of ordinary people to persuade others, voice grievances, and thus challenge broader society. Our explorations focus primarily on the rhetoric of dissident (non-majority, non-State, often un-institutionalized and non-normative) voice in our culture--both on the "right" and the "left"-- as they have sought, and continue to seek, social change. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

COMN 2210 Gender, Communication, Culture (4 Credits)

This course considers how gender is created, maintained, repaired, and transformed through communication in particular relational, cultural, social, and historical contexts. This course is designed to help students develop thoughtful answers to the following questions: What is gender, how do we acquire it, how do cultural structures and practices normalize and reproduce it, and how do we change and/or maintain it to better serve ourselves and our communities? Throughout the term, we explore how dynamic communicative interactions create, sustain, and subvert femininities and masculinities "from the ground up." This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with GWST 2212.

COMN 2220 Race and Popular Culture (4 Credits)

This course examines trajectories of representations of race in popular culture (i.e., film, music, television), both produced by the dominant culture, as well as self-produced by various racial and ethnic groups. Through a historical perspective, we trace images in popular culture and how those images are tied to contemporary events of the time. We pay particular attention not only to the specific archetypes that exist, but also how those archetypes are nuanced or colored differently through the lenses of ethnicity, nationality, race, class, gender, and sexuality. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

COMN 2300 Fundamentals of Argumentation (4 Credits)

This class offers a survey of approaches to the study of argumentation. We are going to examine and evaluate how argument is understood from various perspectives within the discipline of communication studies. We will engage theoretical concerns related to argumentation with a commitment to test their applicability to current events and issues. We will also explore how arguments are practiced in areas such as the arts and the media, legal contexts, interpersonal communication, public deliberation, and the sciences. The course will focus on expanding your contextual knowledge of how arguments operate within our culture and on cultivating your ability to read critically and creatively, make cogent arguments, assess opposing arguments charitably, and communicate your judgments effectively. This course counts toward the Applied Communication in Personal & Public Contexts requirement. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

COMN 2400 Landmarks in Rhetorical Theory (4 Credits)

This course is a survey of some of the major conceptual innovations in the history of rhetorical theory. In particular we will investigate the conceptions of rhetoric prevalent in antiquity and how they inform contemporary perspectives on rhetoric. In order to carry this off, we will conceptualize rhetoric as an attempt to answer the following questions: what is the relationship between what is true and what is the good. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

COMN 2450 Between Memory & Imagination (4 Credits)

How do our human memories and imaginations give rise to the stories we tell and to the selves that we are becoming? This course considers the nature of memory and its relationship to imagination, both in the evolving life of the individual and in the development of the larger group or culture. We examine the self, then, as both singular and collective, fixed and in flux, determined inwardly and shaped by external forces. We look at the relationship of identity to power, and address the question of how re-considering memory and identity might open up new imaginative spaces in global contexts. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

COMN 2471 The Social Construction of Travel (4 Credits)

Travel encompasses the myriad ways in which people and ideas become mobile. The goal of this course is to introduce students to various theoretical issues concerning travel. While the study of travel has been pursued in the context of tourism, commerce, and religion, in this course we also consider the effect of travel on the body of the traveler. We examine travel within many contexts having different registers of meaning - "vacation," "pilgrimage," "migration." However, the very nature of travel is that it transports bodies and ideas across multiple frameworks at a time. Therefore, we also consider how travel is understood within and as various cultural contexts. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

EDPX 2710 Critical Game Cultures (4 Credits)

This course is a critical investigation of contemporary ludic cultures. Ludic cultures are environments and practices of play. This course is taught with a teaching model where games are treated as texts, and outcomes are in the form of discussion and synthetic media responses. We co-construct and play a hyper-local canon of games, both in and outside of class. We read from the growing body of literature in game studies. We reflect and respond to these texts through shareable media. This course counts towards the satisfaction of the Cultures requirement for Emergent Digital Practices majors and minors. Lab fee. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

EDPX 2730 Understanding Digital Art (4 Credits)

An exploration of digital art focused on artwork created since 2000. Topics include video art, MMO performances, interactive installations, VR, animation, and much more. Students will actively search for, share, and analyze artworks as a key component of the class. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

EDPX 2740 Animated Satire (4 Credits)

This course will study the use of animated satire and irreverence as a tool to critique issues of our time, including socio-politics, culture, and environmental changes. The history and contemporary practices of this genre will be examined through text and media. Students will explore this field through media, theory, creating media and writings. Throughout history, artists, writers, performers, and activists have used satire as a powerful instrument to question those who abuse authority. Understanding the world through critical humor can position us to react to politics and culture with relevance, and even spark movements. The writing and creative making process open the opportunity for paths of self- discovery and vulnerability, which can contribute to empathy. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

EDPX 2770 Exploring Digital Cultures (4 Credits)

This course introduces fundamental concepts of digital technologies and networks from a cultural perspective. Students will critically examine the broader impact of the internet, search engines, social media platforms, algorithms, surveillance capitalism, technological bias, and online cultural exchange. How can we envision preferable futures for online cultures? What methods can be used to evaluate possible futures? Students will explore the different cultural aspects of critical speculation through theory, literature, speculative/science fiction, art, and making. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

EDPX 2780 Computing Culture (4 Credits)

This course focuses on the history and theory of computing technologies, and their impact on the arts and society. Computing, in this context, ranges from ancient mechanical computers, telecommunication, and colonial infrastructure and contemporary highspeed networks, social networks, and Artificial Intelligence. How do these technologies impact modern societies? What artworks (visual art, literature, music and more) utilize computing in creative and critical ways? How can art and computing create social change? What are the negative legacies of colonialism embedded in both art and computation? What are meaningful decolonial practices stemming from the Global South and North that enable the collective stewardship of new technologies? Students will analyze technologies, art, and human creations through qualitative analysis and creative interpretations. This course fulfills the Cultures requirement for Emergent Digital Practices majors and minors. This course also counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture Common Curriculum requirement.

EDPX 3770 Cybercultures: The Social Science of Virtual Spaces (4 Credits)

This course encompasses a variety of lenses through which to view, evaluate and critique ideas of ‘community’ and communities in cyberspace (cyberculture). The course covers such issues as identity and race in cyberspace (including ‘identity and racial tourism’); communication technologies and social control; digital censorship; and utopian and dystopian representations of digital technology. The course also engages with social theories involving issues of technological determinism and the popular representation of technology. It explores the views of a diverse set of critics to ask whether digital things are ‘good’ for you and your communities. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with EDPX 4770.

EDPX 3772 Cybercultures: Art, Technology, and the Extended Body (4 Credits)

This course explores the extensions of the body made possible by technology, with a particular focus on how artists have used both analog and digital technologies to extend the body and to influence their creative practices. Beginning with the camera obscura and ending with examples of contemporary computer-mediated and artworks, the course will present for critical analysis a wide range of the various technologies used by artists to shape and alter their creative practice. We will explore the nature of the technological interface with attention to its varied effects on human perception and on creative practice itself. A combination of critical texts, examples of artist works, written assignments and creative projects will foster an in-depth assessment of how technological tools and processes influence, enhance and alter the creative processes and practices used by artists. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 1110 Literary Inquiry (4 Credits)

Literary Inquiry introduces students to the variety of ways that poetry, fiction, and/or drama expand our understanding of what it means to be human. Topics vary to engage students in the rewarding process of interpreting the literary art form as a unique cultural expression. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2104 The Bible as Literature (4 Credits)

The Bible has been one of the most important works in all of Western society. In this course we read the Bible as a masterpiece of literature. Rather than focusing on theological questions about this work as inspired scripture, we instead focus on its rich literary qualities and explore some ways in which these stories have influenced modern society. Reading select passages, we discuss its literary genres, forms, symbols and motifs, many of which are important in literature today. Of the latter, we encounter stories of creation and hero tales, parables, apocalyptic literature, and themes of paradise and the loss of Eden, wilderness, covenant, and the promised land. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with RLGS 2104 and JUST 2104.

ENGL 2110 The African Imagination (4 Credits)

Focusing mainly on Africa, this course explores and connects aspects of the African imagination. These aspects include oral performances, thought systems, literature, art, cinema, and critical discourses in different eras and in various places. Studied together, these existential and intellectual signposts provide an expanded insight into African aesthetics from a continental and an interdisciplinary perspective. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2120 Chaucer-Selected Poetry (4 Credits)

This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2130 World Literature (4 Credits)

A literary journey around the world, the focus of this course includes the study of modern literature from different parts of the world--such as Africa and the Caribbean, Asia and the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Textual analysis as well as cultural and transnational contexts are emphasized. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2221 Shakespeare Seminar (4 Credits)

This course traces Shakespeare's development by looking at representative plays from his early through to his late period and counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2230 Shakespeare and Film (4 Credits)

An examination of film adaptation and staging of Shakespeare's plays. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2300 English Literature III (4 Credits)

A survey of British literary works and contexts from the 19th century onwards. The course will include selected readings of British and Anglophone Romantic, Victorian and Modern writers across multiple genres. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2302 19th Century British Literature and the Empire (4 Credits)

The coronavirus pandemic has intensified our focus on globalization, giving renewed urgency to matters such as human rights, racism, migration, citizenship, hospitality, and cultural difference. This course approaches these questions by looking at various reflections on globalization and “empire.” While reading literary works in the nineteenth century, when the British empire extended its reach and control over literally every time zone, we also put them in dialogue with contemporary reports, databases, and fiction. We ask: How did nineteenth-century British and Anglophone authors react to issues directly relevant to and caused by imperial expansion and globalization? And how have their reflections shaped the way we think about power and inequality today? Apart from writers frequently taught in courses on British literature, we will also read British authors who are, ironically, often not classified under “British” (such as Mary Prince, an abolitionist born a slave in Bermuda, and Mary Seacole, also a woman of color, who traveled widely and served as a military nurse during the Crimean War). This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2350 Early Globalisms (4 Credits)

A study of the commonalities and connections among cultures and texts across the world from the medieval and early modern periods. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2402 Later Romantics (4 Credits)

This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2544 Globalization and Cultural Texts (4 Credits)

The focus of this course is on theory (drawn from the social sciences) of how cultures worldwide may be increasingly internationalized through the powerful effects of globalization and on cultural texts that present the human and aesthetic faces of globalization, as seen through literature and film, with particular reference to India, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Japan. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2700 Foundations of Early American Literature and Culture (4 Credits)

Introduction to foundational narratives and culturally formative ideas in North American literary history from the era of discovery and the beginnings of colonialization to the Civil War. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2710 American Novel-19th & 20th Century (4 Credits)

This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2718 Latina/o Literature (4 Credits)

This course surveys U.S. Latina/Latino literature, with an emphasis on groups of Caribbean, Central American, Mexican, and South American descent. Representative readings will introduce the field's major critical trends, themes, genres, works, and writers. Social, historical, and political topics for investigation may include border theory, experiences of diaspora and im/migration, mestizaje, pan-latinidad, bildungsroman, labor, gender and sexuality, and language. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2722 Asian American Contemporary Literature: Fiction and Nonfiction (4 Credits)

This course surveys contemporary Asian American literature with a focus on fiction and nonfiction. By examining a range of texts from the past fifty years to the present, we will discuss critical concerns such as identity, the politics of representation, gender, class, and immigration and assimilation. A selection of memoirs, essays, short stories, novels, and graphic novels will help us expand our notion of Asian American literature, and our sense of what it is, who it’s for, and its forms and aesthetics. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2741 American Jewish Literature: Immigrant Fiction (4 Credits)

This course surveys over 100 years of American Jewish immigrant narratives beginning with the great exodus of Eastern European and Russian Jewry at the end of the 19th century and ending with recent arrivals from Israel and the former U.S.S.R. Canonical works by central authors reveal the great successes of Jewish immigrants alongside their spiritual failures. A selection of memoir, novels, short stories, and poetry in English and in translation from Hebrew and Yiddish demonstrate the multilingual character of the Jewish experience in America. While helpful, no knowledge of Jewish languages, religious tradition, or cultural practice is necessary to succeed in this course. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with JUST 2741.

ENGL 2742 Modern Hebrew Literature in Translation: Against All Odds (4 Credits)

This course offers a survey of some of the most significant works of modern Hebrew literature available in translation. Students will consider how the development of Hebrew literature has contributed to the formation of contemporary Israeli identity, and how the conflicts that define the turbulent history of Israel are treated in works by canonical authors. The selection of diverse voices and literary materials exposes students to the social, political, and historical changes wrought by the rise of modern day Israel. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with JUST 2742.

ENGL 2743 Jewish Humor: Origins and Meaning (4 Credits)

Writers, scholars, and comedians all claim to locate an identifiable strain of “Jewish humor” running from the Bible through to today’s literary humorists and provocative stand-up comics. This course takes humor seriously in an effort to reveal the development of “Jewish humor” in American from a comparative context. But is there such a things as Jewish humor? And if so, what are its sources and characteristics? Does it exist across cultures and in different linguistic communities? Through lectures, discussion, exercises and papers, students gain a broad understanding of the history, psychology, and philosophy of humor as it relates to Jewish arts and letters in America. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. This course is cross-listed with JUST 2743.

ENGL 2816 Advanced Writing (4 Credits)

This class gives each student the opportunity to explore the humanities in an area of his or her particular interest. A research methods and writing course, this class guides students through the research and writing process from preliminary research to methodology to prospectus to drafting and finally revision. Class sessions operate as directed writing workshops, with students discussing their research and writing strategies. The final product of the course is a 15-page research essay on a subject of the student's choice. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ENGL 2850 Literature of Utopia/Dystopia: Dystopian Fiction (4 Credits)

This course addresses the concurrent and interrelated themes of utopian and dystopian thought and their primary expression through 20th and 21st century literary texts. As such, it critically engages and interrogates relationships between knowledge and power, and freedom and oppression that have long been expressed in world literature. At its core, utopian/dystopian literatures are always in conversation with historical, social, and cultural thought, expressing anxiety towards the relationship between social structures and institutions with the individuals and the imposition of coercive power. Texts addressed in this course include those by a range of diverse writers from Plato and Thomas More, to Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Albert Camus, Ray Bradbury, Margaret Atwood, Philip K. Dick, Octavia Butler, Claire G. Coleman, etc. *In some years this course may count for international literature under the diversity/distribution attribute in the English curriculum. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

FREN 2301 Capitalism vs. Socialism: Emile Zola (4 Credits)

This course analyzes the complex interrelationship between the economic ideologies and practices of capitalism and socialism in the works of the nineteenth-century French novelist Émile Zola. Three novels in which these themes are a major driving force of the action will be studied. In the first, Germinal, the capitalist system is viewed from the outside by poor, oppressed workers who feel victimized by it. In the second novel, Money, the author delves into capitalism at its very heart, the Stock Exchange of Paris. He explores all its machinations but also shows the growing cracks in the system as socialist protestations make inroads at the top. The third work, The Ladies Paradise, proposes a possible reconciliation of capitalism and socialism, inspired in part by the writings of French socialist thinkers earlier in the century. In a new era department store, workers’ rights and commercial profit are seen to be mutually beneficial. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

FREN 2302 The French Shakespeares: From Feudalism to Absolutism in 17th-Century France (4 Credits)

This course studies the works of the three leading French playwrights of the seventeenth century: the tragedians Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine and the comic genius Molière. Each of these authors explores various forms of power play that played an important role in the society of their time. These include competitions for political dominance between the feudal aristocracy and an increasingly absolutist monarchy, between the same aristocracy and an emerging middle class, allied with the monarchy, between women and men in their conflicting assertions of rights and privileges, between traditional religion and modern secularism, between the established church and Protestants, between rival liberal and conservative factions within the established church, and between Christian Western Europe and the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Students will read and analyze two plays by each of the three dramatists. This course counts toward the fulfillment of the Analytical Inquiry- Society and Culture requirement.

FREN 2303 Victor Hugo: Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (4 Credits)

The course deals with two famous novels by Victor Hugo: Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Though written in the nineteenth century, these works explore themes that are relevant in contemporary society, like racism, sexism, injustice, marginalization, and poverty. Les Misérables is the story of a man, Jean Valjean, a victim of social injustice who redeems himself to become a generous humanitarian, saving himself and everyone around him. This novel explores many social issues and calls out for reform. Discrimination against women and their mistreatment by a paternalistic system is a major theme. The inhuman exploitation of the poor, the homeless, and the marginalized is another major subject. This exploitation can lead to extreme suffering for some people and to criminal behavior for others. Hugo emphasizes the influence of the spiritual in human life. Individuals, even emperors like Napoleon, are invited in different ways to respond to divine love, but some are more able to do so than others. Hugo wrote The Hunchback of Notre-Dame to inspire the French public to save the famous cathedral, almost destroyed recently, from demolition back in the 1830s. He tells the story of Esmeralda, a beautiful, kindhearted, and talented young woman, who is a victim of discrimination and persecution because she is a woman and a person of color. She is loved by four men, each of whom contributes, wittingly or unwittingly, to her ultimate destruction. The cathedral itself and the Blessed Lady for whom it is named (Our Lady of Paris) are also major characters. The author shows that the same injustices, inequalities, and prejudices that he tried to combat in his own time already existed in the Middle Ages. Students will refine their critical reading and writing skills as well as substantially develop their argumentative skills. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

FREN 2500 Qu'est-ce que la littérature? (4 Credits)

Introduction to critical analysis and appreciation of French and Francophone literary texts. Critical examination and questioning of the conventionally recognized literary genres of fiction, poetry, and theater. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Prerequisite: FREN 2400 or equivalent.

FREN 2501 La Nature et les animaux (4 Credits)

Nature and animals: as seen, imagined, and understood by humans. Literature has long made plants, landscapes, birds, and other animals into part of a human story. Through readings of French and Francophone literary texts, we will reflect on the various relationships that we construct with animals and nature. Works studied may include fables where animals serve to voice social values (La Fontaine) and poetry in which natural elements are symbolic of human concerns. But other works in this course will take a different approach: confusing or toppling the "normal" places occupied by humans and animals. Our discussions will occasionally touch on contemporary issues of environmental concern. This course many be taken in addition to other courses in the 25-series. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Prerequisite: FREN 2400 or its equivalent.

FREN 2502 La France et ses autres mondes (4 Credits)

IFREN 2502 La France et ses autres mondes (4 Credits) This course reexamines the historical relations and power dynamics between France and its “other” worlds. How and why has France built and maintained its empire in Africa, Asia, and the Americas? How do the leaders of the Francophone world cope with the politics of hegemony put in place by the (ex)rulers? How do the former question and reject the latter in their quest for self-affirmation and nation building before, during and after independence? Our wide range of Pan-Francophone textual and filmic selection from prominent writers and filmmakers will help us answer these questions and classic and newly emerging notions of civilizing mission, Francophonie, Francosphere, postcolonialism, neocolonialism, Afropeanism and Afropolitanism. This course is conducted in French. It counts toward Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture. Courses at the FREN 2400 through 2701 level combine introductory study of a topic in literature and/or culture with grammar review and advancement in French language skills.   Prerequisite: FREN 2003 or equivalent. .

FREN 2503 La Satire (4 Credits)

This course is an introduction to satire in French and Francophone literature. A classical literary technique of denunciation, satire has been recently adopted and adapted in popular televised shows (Les Guignols de l’info in France, Kouthia Show in Senegal, SNL in the US) to recapture important sociopolitical events throughout the world. In our selection of literary texts, films, and sketches such as we will analyze why and how authors make use of satire to denounce the most prevailing problems faced by French and Francophone societies at given times of their historical trajectories. Courses at the FREN 2400 through 2701 level combine introductory study of a topic in literature and/or culture with grammar review and advancement in French language skills.   Prerequisite: FREN 2003 or equivalent. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

FREN 2504 La Culture au Cinema (4 Credits)

We will read and interpret contemporary French feature films and other related journalistic or literary texts. We will analyze the ways in which the directors/authors of such films/texts understand and represent a certain notion of "French" culture, in general, and its diverse and varied expressions, in particular. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Prerequisites: FREN 2400, 2500 or any FREN 26XX course.

FREN 3505 Masques du moi (4 Credits)

Qui suis-je??? The question of self, identity, and discovering "who I am" has preoccupied many writers, filmmakers, or other artists. Identity, or one's sense of self, can be shaped by families, personal experiences, or social and historical forces. Writers might recount the "true" facts of their lived experience or mix in some fictions as they fashion a story of the self. This course will explore the diverse ways that autobiography and others ways of "writing the self" represent the relation of self, world and word. Examples will come from French and Francophone contexts. The class is conducted all in French and emphasizes discussion, writing, and critical thinking. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Prerequisite: Two courses in the 25XX series or their equivalent.

GERM 1022 German Cinema: An Introduction to German Culture, History, and Politics through Film (4 Credits)

This course is taught in English. It is an invitation to German film-making since the end of the First World War. In this class we will explore 20th-century German identity, culture, history, and politics through film analysis and readings. Studying the most famous and influential films in the history of German cinema, we will explore numerous topics (including “The Golden Twenties”, nationalsocialistic propaganda, post-WWII German nation states, terrorism, reunification, multiculturalism, education and youth, the arts, gender, and class) and investigate how a popular culture medium like film can capture the political, social, and economic atmosphere in society at different times in German history. This courses fulfills the Analytical Inquiry-Society and Culture requirement.

GERM 1416 German Civilization: History, Politics, and Culture (4 Credits)

This course is an introduction to intellectual and cultural currents in German civilization from the Enlightenment to the present, emphasizing the arts in the context of history and philosophy from the late 18th century to around the mid-20th century. Readings include excerpts from such thinkers as Kant, Fichte, Marx, Nietzsche, Weber, as well as poetry and short fictional works by Heine, Jünger, Remarque, Borchert, and others. The readings are supplemented by films that students are expected to have watched at the beginning of each week. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

GERM 1417 Recasting German Identity: Germany since the End of the Cold War (4 Credits)

Recasting German Identity: Germany since the end of the Cold War examines how Germany, a once divided nation in the heart of Europe held responsible for two World Wars, has wrestled to overcome forty years of division between a capitalist West- and communist East Germany. Our class will examine both the pains and gains of 30+ years of unity in the ‘Berlin Republic’. We will analyze the so-called “normalization” of Germany’s contemporary internal and international affairs. At the center of our class are various political, historical, but mostly cultural developments (& intellectual debates) that have reshaped German identity in profound ways given the country’s exceptionally violent 20th century history. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

GREK 1416 Myths of Greece & Rome (4 Credits)

Introduction to the goddesses and gods, heroes and heroines, and not a few monstrosities from popular tradition, literature, and visual arts of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Activities include imaginative and creative assignments. No prerequisite. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

GREK 1716 It's Really Epic! The Ancient Heroic Epics of Homer and Virgil in Contemporary Translation (4 Credits)

Foundations of Western values and aspiration, good one and not so good ones, may be found at the beginning of Western/European literature in the "Homeric" epics Iliad and Odyssey. The very notions of "tragedy" and "romance" originate in them. For the past twenty six or seven centuries men and women have wrestled with problems, often moral dilemmas and contradictions, that are first dramatized there. Centuries later, though still two millennia before our time, the Roman poet Virgil confronts the triumphant individualism of the Greek epics in his Aeneid and answers them with compassion and a vision of a very different way to build a person and a community. A better one? We address that question by studying these three timeless texts in award-winning-winning 21st-century English versions. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

GREK 1816 Ancient Tragedy Ever Modern (4 Credits)

Three great Athenian tragedians of the 400s BCE--Aeschylus, Sophocles, and certainly most modernist of all Euripides--offer us of the 2000s CE much to experience, much to ponder, much that still challenges or provokes us. We experience their democratic Athenian community and its political and social, its religious and philosophic innovations as actualized in tragedy. We read and analyze, enact (in parts) and even imitate both widely known "world classics" Antigone and Oedipus Tyrannus , Medea and Bacchae with fresh approaches proper to our turbulent times, but also less familiar, often distressing "problem" plays that include Euripides' Andromache, Hecuba, and Heracles. This course bears the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture attribute in Common Curriculum.

GREK 1916 Comedy Old and New (4 Credits)

Reading and discussion of and experiment with comedies from ancient Rome and even more ancient Greece. We begin, however, with modernizations in American-musical form, and end with our own product in 21st-century emulation. Students' participation, even broad clownish histrionics, required. Students must also be eager to laugh--knowingly and intelligently, of course. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

GWST 2212 Gender, Communication, Culture (4 Credits)

This course considers how gender is created, maintained, repaired, and transformed through communication in particular relational, cultural, social, and historical contexts. This course is designed to help students develop thoughtful answers to the following questions: what is gender, how do we acquire it, how do cultural structures and practices normalize and reproduce it, and how do we change and/or maintain it to better serve ourselves and our communities? Throughout the term, the class explores how dynamic communicative interactions create, sustain, and subvert femininities and masculinities “from the ground up.” This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.This course is cross-listed with COMN 2210.

GWST 2215 Selling Sex, Gender and the American Dream: 1950 - Present (4 Credits)

This introductory course analyzes how commercial culture has evolved into the defining cornerstone of American life over the last sixty years. The first half of the quarter well will examine the key historical movements including the Cold War, the Civil Rights/Women's and Gay Liberation movements and investigate how women, ethnic minorities, and members of the LGBTQ community evolved into important "consumer citizens" in the United States. The second half of the quarter will examine these same social groups from a contemporary perspective, and the degree that globalization, "multiculturalism" and "going green" have emerged as dominant tropes in contemporary culture. By moving from past to present, students will gain an understanding of the complex connections between consumption and U.S. nation-building, as well as the consequences "shopping" and the accumulation of "stuff" has had in both the shaping and reconfiguring understandings of what it means to live the "American Dream." This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

GWST 2710 Introduction to Queer Studies (4 Credits)

This course provides an introduction to the discipline of Gender and Women’s Studies by focusing on mostly queer theory. Queer theory is a comparatively new approach to understanding gender, sexuality, and the world around us, and it has created controversy and disagreement regarding its aims and approaches. What does it mean to queer something? Why is language — the words that we use and that are used on us — so important to queer theory, and what does it mean for how we approach ourselves and those around us? The world in general? How is queer theory different from, and complementary to, women’s and gender studies broadly speaking? This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

GWST 2720 International Perspectives on Gender (4 Credits)

Gender studies is not only an American phenomenon, but has also developed and changed as it has developed around the world. This course examines gender studies in various countries and societies worldwide through critical works and novels in order to raise new and unexpected questions about our place in the world. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

GWST 2790 Gender and Sexuality - International Perspectives (4 Credits)

This course examines international perspectives on gender and sexualities, particularly queer sexualities and queer gender identities. How are they different from US-based views? Globally, any discussion about gender and sex are in reference to what are, effectively, US perspectives — often in (often violent) disagreement, often in a spirit of recognition. Given that much original research in gender and sexuality studies originated in the United States and the United Kingdom, understanding how other societies and cultures have engaged with these fields is a crucial way to understanding ourselves. This course examines these perspectives with reference to literary works and humanist approaches, and to current events, films, news clips, and more.

HEBR 2370 Multicultural Israel: Food, Film and Beyond (4 Credits)

In this course participants will examine Israeli culture and identity using a broad array of materials and topics, including popular music, film, sports, and food. Topics include Israel’s society, ethnic relations, and the Arab minorities in the Jewish state. Students also discuss whether there is a unique Israeli culture and the struggle for Israel’s identity. Emphasis is on interdisciplinary approaches to exploring how cultural processes and artifacts are produced, shaped, distributed, consumed, and responded to in diverse ways. Through discussion, research, writing and various media resources, class members investigate these varied dimensions of culture; learn to understand them in their broader social, aesthetic, ethical, and political contexts. This course fulfills the Analytical Inquiry - Society & Culture common curriculum requirement.

HEBR 2380 Multicultural Israel through Popular Music (4 Credits)

The music of Israel is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions that have come together over the course of a century to create a distinctive musical culture. This course presents a brief cultural history of Israel through popular music. To examine the central and lively role that songs have played in the shaping of Israeli identity, this class examines a range of diverse lyrics, including selections from folk music, pop and rock music, Levant influenced music, and more. Topics covered include Shirei Eretz Israel (the songs of the land of Israel), military ensembles, song festivals and competitions, the rise of minorities, outstanding performers and songwriters, international influences, and media’s impact on audience preferences. This course fulfills the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture common curriculum requirement.

HIST 1110 Ancient Rome (4 Credits)

This course examines the history and culture of Rome from earliest times to the death of Augustus in A.D. 14. We look at political and military developments of Rome as it went from a monarchy, a republic, and an empire. We also study social and cultural aspects of the Romans, who originally were simple pastoralists living along the Tiber but in time became rulers of the entire Mediterranean region. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1240 Comparative History of Medicine (4 Credits)

This class examines the development of different traditions of medicine, comparing the history of modern scientific medicine with the histories of various forms of what today is called "alternative medicine." It requires no previous background in science, medicine, or history, but is meant to engage students interested in any one of those fields. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1250 Food in East Asian History (4 Credits)

This class examines the relationship between food and health in East Asian history. We focus on how that relationship, and the way people understood it, changed over the past century and a half. In other words, we focus not only on how (and what) people in East Asia have eaten, but also on how they have thought about eating. This course asks how western dietary ideas and practices have interacted with traditional East Asian ideas and practices over the past century and a half. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1260 Modern South Asian History (4 Credits)

This course will explore the modern history of the subcontinent, through the colonial experience to the postcolonial construction and division of nations, with a particular focus on India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh (although students are also welcome to take on optional readings on Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Nepal, among others). The course will consider the legacy of colonialism in India, and debates over whether postcoloniality is really “post.” We will explore the history of nationalisms – state, ethnic, religious, and linguistic – and the ramifications of Partition and the wars over Bangladesh and Kashmir. This course will also explore the history of South Asia in the rest of the world, through the migration of its diaspora and its role in the Bandung moments of Afro-Asian solidarity in the global struggle against oppression. We will take into account discourses regarding tradition and modernity, democracy and secularity, and the terms “freedom” and “terror” – and what this means for the lived experiences of South Asians in today’s world. Readings will include historical accounts, theoretical texts, films and literature, as well as primary sources. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1320 European Culture in the World Wars (4 Credits)

This course covers the history of Europe in the first half of the twentieth century--a time of crisis, extreme violence, and fascinating cultural production. Within the context of war, economic crisis and political extremism, we study the ways in which artists, writers, composers and film makers responded to the dramatic events they witnessed. We also examine European governments’ attempts to shape public opinion through propaganda and mass media. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1330 History of Ireland (4 Credits)

We examine the creation of modern Ireland from the 16th-Century to the present, including a brief discussion of the Celtic and Medieval periods. Major themes of analysis and discussion include changing definitions and representations of 'Irishness', competing questions of identity and national membership and how these debates influenced the development of various nationalist movements in both the past and the present. The role of women, gender, violence, emigration, and other social and geographical factors within Irish society are used to examine Ireland’s evolution into a modern state and its relationship with the United States, Britain, and the rest of Europe. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1340 The British Monarchy (4 Credits)

This course explores the role of the monarchy in British society from Elizabeth I in the Sixteenth Century to Elizabeth II, the current Queen. We discuss how monarchs adapted to changing political situations and how they attempted to shape public perceptions. We also explore the ways in which expectations of the monarch have changed, from an almost absolute ruler to a constitutional monarch whose role has become largely ceremonial. Over the course of the nearly five hundred years covered in this period, Britain experienced a regicide, the forcible overthrow of a king, and a voluntary abdication, yet the institution of monarchy has proven remarkably resilient. In the twentieth century, as the royal family struggled with a series of scandals, some came to believe that the institution had run its course and was due for abolition, but today public fascination with royalty remains strong. We focus on the relationship between the public image of the monarchy and its political role as a way of understanding broader changes in British society in the modern era. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1350 History of the British Empire (4 Credits)

This course explores the rise and fall of the British Empire from its origins during the English conquests of Wales, Scotland and Ireland; explorations of the world, through commercial expansion under the British East India Company; the rise of Britain as the preeminent world imperial power during the 19th century and its eventual decline and legacy during the late 20th century. Using a variety of secondary articles, primary sources, films and monographs, this course analyzes highly debated issues including the interconnected nature of British society and developments out in the Empire, both cultural and political; the important role that women, gender, and racial ideologies placed in British dominance of one quarter of the globe; how the empire and representations of Empire changed over the century; and finally, the impact of that empire upon issues of identity and population in a post-colonial Britain. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1360 World War One (4 Credits)

Historians have argued that the First World War definitively shaped the twentieth century. It set the stage for World War II; it redefined the role of government in citizens’ lives; it brought technology full-force into power struggles between nations; it simultaneously birthed communism and fascism; and it desensitized entire generations to violence and brutality. In this class, students explore this very dramatic and influential war. Students unfamiliar with the war will more firmly grasp the historical significance of the event while students who may be familiar with the war will gain new insights and interpretation of how the war was conducted and why the war mattered. Students read the words and thoughts of those who participated in the war, as well as interpretations of the war by military, social, and political historians. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. There are no prerequisites for this class.

HIST 1370 Monks, Merchants, and Monsters: Medieval Travelers (4 Credits)

When we think of the Middle Ages we tend to think a static and isolated world, one without the benefits of fast travel or the convenience of easy communication via cell phones and e-mail, a world where much of the map was blank or contained the ominous words 'Here There Be Dragons.' And yet even in this period enterprising and intrepid men and women were on the move, exploring new places and meeting new peoples. In this course we will examine a number of different medieval travelers, from missionaries and religious pilgrims to merchants and diplomats, to explore how and why medieval people left home, and how these voyages shaped not just the travelers themselves but the lands they came from and those they entered. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1380 Barbarians at the Gates: Civilization and the Other in the Pre Modern World (4 Credits)

From the birth of the first cities in Mesopotamia in c. 7000 BCE writers and thinkers have been concerned with the peoples who lived beyond their walls. The Ancient Greeks coined the term "Barbarian" and this word continues to have incredible resonance even today. This course will look at a variety of pre-modern primary sources, from the very first written epic all the way to the discovery of America to examine how ideas of civilization and barbarism are created and used by pre-modern authors to understand both the world around them and their own identities. As we engage with these sources we will also work to see how these pre-modern events and ideas continue to impact our own conception of the past and our present. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1510 War and the Presidency (4 Credits)

This course examines four wars in American history and the relationship of those wars to the sitting presidents. Together we explore the reciprocal influence of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, Woodrow Wilson and World War I, Franklin Roosevelt and World War II, and Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1520 Immigrant Voices in Modern America (4 Credits)

This United States has aptly been called "a nation of immigrants." In this course, we explore the immigrant experience of the last century by examining different forms of personal testimony--autobiographies, diaries, novels, personal correspondence, and oral histories. Listening to these various immigrant voices helps us to understand the processes at work as newcomers and their children (first- and second-generation immigrants) struggled to achieve economic stability and to define their identity as Americans. The course readings as well as the student projects are intended as instruments with which to assess the influence of old world customs, religion, education, work, gender and anti-immigrant prejudice in shaping the process of adaptation to American society. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1530 History of the United States since 1865 (4 Credits)

From the devastation left by slavery and the Civil War to the dizzying changes brought by globalization in our own time, this course sweeps through the last 150 years of the American experience. We wrestle with questions like the following: How did the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, two world wars and the Cold War change America, and ordinary Americans' everyday lives, and what legacies did these events leave for our own day? How have Americans defined and divided themselves--by race, gender, class, or otherwise--and how have such categories shifted over time? Where did we get our political parties and ideologies? Our work habits and habits of play? Our ideas about "big business," "big government," "American exceptionalism," or the "American dream"? As we consider these and other big questions, we also explore how historians make sense of U.S. history, and how we can make it relevant to our own times and our own lives. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1550 America in the Sixties (4 Credits)

This course examines one of the most tumultuous eras in U.S. history, its role in the reshaping of American life after World War II, and its legacies for the present. What constitutes "the sixties"? Was it an era of discord, dissolution, and decline, or of empowerment and democratization? Together we sort through conflicting perceptions of the period and closely examine some of the most salient issues of the decade - including the war in Vietnam, ethnic and race relations, youth culture, feminism and gay liberation, and the rise of conservatism. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1560 Seeing Red: Native Americans and Photography (4 Credits)

The struggle over whether the photographic record would include only representations of the savage (dead savage, noble savage, the disappearing savage, Indian chief, Indian warrior, Indian shaman, Indian maiden), or would expand to include Native realities (the threat of violence, bureaucratic control, family relationships, traditional culture, engagement with modernity, humor/irony, and aesthetic sovereignty) has been fought throughout photography’s 200-year history. This course introduces students to photographic visual analysis and an abbreviated history of Native Americans and photography. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1570 Pioneering in Colorado: Land, Bodies, & Violences in the Sand Creek Massacre (4 Credits)

This course uses critical analysis of primary sources to understand Sand Creek as a crucial site necessary to understand the history of Colorado and Denver University. Students will critically read and analyze primary source documents including newspaper articles, testimonies from massacre participants and survivors, artwork, material culture, letters, oral history, music, and proclamations to understand Sand Creek as a place and a history related to the creation of Colorado and Denver University. Additionally, the class will visit specific sites associated with Sand Creek to understand place-making and memorialization as a function of historical meaning-making and analysis. These sites include the Sand Creek Massacre site, History Colorado, the Silas Soule memorial plaque, and Riverside Cemetery (where Silas Soule and Joseph Cramer are buried). This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1600 Jews in the Islamic World, 632 C.E. - 1948 C.E. (4 Credits)

This course deals with Jewish history in the Islamic world from the death of Muhammad to the establishment of the state of Israel. Students are exposed to the political, social, and economic histories of various Jewish communities, many of which no longer exist, in numerous Islamic empires and/or political units. While studying these communities we also compare the treatment of Jews under Islamic rule to the treatment of Jews under Christian rule and the treatment of Christians under Islamic rule. Cross listed with JUST 1600. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1610 The History of the Crusades: 1095-1300 (4 Credits)

This course traces the origins and development of the Crusading movement as well as its impact on Christian, Muslim, and Jewish society in Europe and the Middle East from the 11th through the 14th centuries C.E. This course also examines ideas of Christian/Muslim/Jewish difference in this period. We pay special attention to primary source material. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1705 Modern African History (4 Credits)

This course is a survey and introduction to modern African history from the late 19th century to the present. We will explore the period of European colonialism and its postcolonial legacy, focusing on the experiences of Africans at this time. Themes addressed in this class will include gender, age, class, race and ethnicity, and the historical legacies of both the precolonial and colonial eras to the construction of the postcolonial nation-state. Assignments will be geared towards teaching students to think and write like historians, and understand the basic tenets of historical inquiry, such as how to use primary and secondary sources and differentiate between them, and construct a basic historical argument that advances historiographical understandings of the topic in question. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 1715 Middle Passages: Atlantic World Migrations (4 Credits)

Middle Passages examines first-hand accounts by enslaved people and enslavers, modern depictions, and analyses by historians in order to trace the origins, expansion, and decline of traffic in captive Africans in addition to its impact on four continents. The course seeks to answer, among others, the following questions: Why were Europeans in Africa? Why were Africans enslaved? What did African experience on the journey to slavery in the Americas? Which came first, racism or slavery? What is the middle passage? If we want to understand how the US (and not only the South), Western Europe, parts of Latin America, and much of Africa got to be how they are now, we need to know something of the human commerce that profoundly shaped them. In this course, students consider individual, national, and institutional experiences of the Middle Passage by exploring a textbook that overviews the histories of the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and accounts from a series of primary sources.

HIST 1850 20th Century LGBTQ History in the United States (4 Credits)

This course uses a cultural history approach to explore the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer peoples in the “long twentieth century” (1880s-2010s) United States. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 2022 The Roman Empire (4 Credits)

This course examines the history and culture of ancient Rome during the height of the empire. We look at political and military developments of Rome as it transformed from a republic into an imperial power. We also study social and cultural aspects of the Romans, who originally were simple pastoralists living along the Tiber but in time became the rulers of the entire Mediterranean region. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 2320 US Foreign Policy in the Middle East (4 Credits)

This course aims to introduce students to both Middle Eastern history and American Foreign Policy by exploring the politics and culture of U.S. involvement in the Middle East in the post-WWII period. In doing so this course pays special attention to the impact of the Cold War in the Middle East, American policy towards the Arab-Israeli conflict, the role of oil in American foreign policy, American responses to the rise of Islamist movements, the impact of media and culture on the formulation of America’s Middle Eastern policies, and U.S. relations with dictatorial governments in the Middle East. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with JUST 2320.

HIST 2710 From Sea to Shining Sea: Nature in American History to 1900 (4 Credits)

In ways often hidden or ill understood, natural and environmental factors powerfully shaped the history of America from colonial times to the nineteenth century. In this course, we consider how natural resources like fish and forests became the basis for European empire-building; how colonists, Indians, slaves, settlers, and industrialists all acted to transform the landscapes and ecosystems of North America; and how ideas about nature helped mold the market economy and an emerging sense of American national identity. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 2910 Colonial Latin America (4 Credits)

This course explores the encounters, struggles and realignments of Europeans and Native Americans in the process of conquest and colonization, the development of political, economic, and religious institutions, the racial and gender hierarchies that emerged in colonial society, the strategies of resistance and accommodation to Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule, and the origins, process and outcomes of the wars of independence. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 2920 The Making of Modern Latin America (4 Credits)

This is a general and introductory course of the history of Latin America that pays special attention to the modern period (19th and 20th centuries). The course is structured around themes dealing with the region's colonial legacy, economy, social life, politics, processes of modernization, urbanization, revolution, the quest for democracy and national development, and contemporary achievements and challenges. While much of Latin America's history has been a tale of violence and suffering, it has also been a story of great perseverance and self-affirmation. Using a historical perspective, the course seeks to understand how and why the struggle for independence, nation-building, economic growth, and social justice in the region has raged on for so long, and where it stands today. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HIST 2955 Latin America at the Movies (4 Credits)

This is an introduction to the experiences of Latin America primarily aimed at reflecting about the process of formation of present-day Latin American societies, and secondly at motivating students to reflect about the historical evolution of multi-racial, multicultural societies in general. The activities for the course are structured around themes dealing with the region’s historical evolution and the present-day challenges of building a modern, developed and egalitarian society. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ITAL 2201 Italy: Modern History, Culture (4 Credits)

This course provides a historical and cultural approach to modern Italy. Students refine their critical thinking skills as well as substantially develop their argumentative skills. This course centers on selected authors, literary movements, genres and historical and contemporary cultural phenomena in Italy. Topics may include film, TV, poetry, short stories, fascism and the resistance movement, Italian women, etc. Each week a new decade is discussed in a historical context and supplemented with cultural artifacts that are either centered on the decade in question or produced during the period. This course is taught in English. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ITAL 2355 Images of Rome in Literature & Film (4 Credits)

The city of Rome has been a major protagonist on the stage of history for several millennia. In 2,500 years of existence, Rome has seen more of the world’s history unfold at its doorsteps than any other capital in the western world. It has been the site of the building and the expansion of a vast and powerful Empire, the center of a major world religion, and a magnet for the arts throughout the centuries. This course focuses on late 19th- and 20th-Century Rome from the point of view of selected works of Italian literature (poetry, short stories, and novels or selections from novels) and films in which the city of Rome plays a prominent role. Students demonstrate the ability to identify, interpret, and analyze the connections between the texts and films. This course is taught in English. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ITAL 2750 Italian Jewish Literature and Cinema (4 Credits)

This course is cross-listed with JUST 2750 and offers an overview of Italian Jewish literature and cinema from the Middle Ages to the present. Students will read and discuss prose and poetry, essays and articles, as well as watch and discuss films that address issues such as religious and cultural identity, the right to difference, anti-Semitism and the Shoah. The course will also give students an overview of the formation and transformation of the Jewish community in Italian society. In addition to well-known Jewish Italian writers like Primo Levi and Giorgio Bassani, students will read pertinent works by non-Jewish writers like Rosetta Loy. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

JAPN 1216 Popular Culture of Japan (4 Credits)

In this course we examine and analyze the emergence of particular forms of mass-produced culture, or culture for mass consumption, in Japan from the early modern period to the present. Using a variety of cultural materials enjoyed from the early modern period (1600-1868,) during which Japanese society underwent extensive urbanization, secularization, and cultural commodification, through to the present, the course focuses on overarching themes: media and information technology (woodblock printing, newspapers, and the internet); entertainment and gender (the all-male kabuki theatre and all-female Takarazuka revue); commodified romance; fiction (illustrated fiction, manga, and novels); anime and television fandom; healer-bots and cyborgs. No knowledge of Japanese required. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

JAPN 1616 Samurai and Merchants: Cultures of Tokugawa Japan (4 Credits)

Introduction to the cultures of Tokugawa, Japan, focusing on the tension between the samurai and merchant classes, the images they construct of self and other, and the morals and mores of their respective worlds. As well as examining Tokugawa fiction, drama, and other cultural artifacts, this course also considers later representation of the period and of its people in twenty- and twenty-first-century text, cinema, and television to understand the importance of contemporary influences on historical representation. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

JAPN 2400 Hey, Girl, Hey: Japanese Girlhood from the Moga to Shôjo (4 Credits)

This course explores the figure of Japanese girlhood from the Moga "modern girl" of the early twentieth century to the contemporary figure of the shôjo . Japanese cultural production has had a significant impact on East Asian girl's media in the pre-war period and again in the post-war to contemporary period. The course will explore the "modern girl" in all her iterations, from European modernism to East Asia, Africa, and the Americas, especially in the contexts of colonialism and nationalism. The course also considers the roles of girls and women in the formation of the modern state(s) and contemporary societies across East Asia, and juxtapose those roles to how girls and women are depicted in fiction and media. Students will trace the transition from the comparative modernisms legible in the figure of the moga to the transnationally circulated figure of the shôjo.

JAPN 2500 Cultures of the Floating World (4 Credits)

During the Edo period (1600-1868), the literature and visual culture of Japan flourished after centuries of devastating warfare. The floating world of kabuki theaters, woodblock print culture, and the pleasure quarters arrested the imagination of the populace and attracted the unwanted attention of governmental authorities. Over the course of the Edo period, the shogunal government expelled Christians from Japan, the city of Edo became the largest in the world, and woodblock print culture spread throughout the Japanese archipelago. Through reading various genres of literary and cultural production, students will explore how society shapes culture and culture shapes societies. Topics include: premodern literary representations of love and eros, the emergence of the “floating world print” (ukiyo-e), Christians as Others, representing landscapes and the past in haikai poetry and prose, early modern comic books, and vendetta stories. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

JAPN 2700 Classical Japanese Women Writers: The Poets, Priestesses & Princesses in their Literary Golden Age (4 Credits)

The course explores the extraordinary female-centered belles-lettres of classical Japanese literature, including a myth-history detailing the origins of Japan, the development of the rich poetic tradition, female diaries, zuihitsu and personal essays, the classic Tale of Genji, and literature of religious hermetic and travel diaries. The course will critically consider how women writers were able to flourish in this period and interpret their literary output through a consideration of the cultural and historical context for the texts. This course will also deploy principles of literary analysis and interpretation.

JUST 1600 Jews in the Islamic World, 632 C.E. - 1948 C.E. (4 Credits)

This course deals with Jewish history in the Islamic world from the death of Muhammad to the establishment of the state of Israel. Students are exposed to the political, social, and economic histories of various Jewish communities, many of which no longer exist, in numerous Islamic empires and/or political units. While studying these communities we also compare the treatment of Jews under Islamic rule to the treatment of Jews under Christian rule and the treatment of Christians under Islamic rule. Cross listed with HIST 1600. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

JUST 1610 The History of the Crusades: 1095-1300 (4 Credits)

This course traces the origins and development of the Crusading movement as well as its impact on Christian, Muslim, and Jewish society in Europe and the Middle East from the 11th through the 14th centuries C.E. This course also examines ideas of Christian/Muslim/Jewish difference in this period. We pay special attention to primary source material. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with HIST 1610.

JUST 2008 Stereotyping and Violence in America Today (4 Credits)

This course is cross-listed with PHIL 2008, COMN 2008, RLGS 2008. This course offers students the opportunity to explore key issues relating to diversity and inclusion in the contemporary United States, focusing on the themes of stereotyping and violence, from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students will engage with scholarly and popular culture artifacts to examine the kinds of stereotyping and types of violence, visible and invisible, that characterize and challenge political, social, cultural, economic, religious, and educational life in today’s United States, and will do so by working with the course instructor as well as faculty members from across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Students will work together to connect the given week’s speaker’s assigned readings and insights to readings and insights from previous weeks’ speakers; assignments and classroom discussion will in this way be very interdisciplinary and will compare and contrast multiple diverse points of view and disciplinary lenses on the question of stereotyping and violence. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

JUST 2012 Jewish Politics and Political Jews in the United States (4 Credits)

Milton Himmelfarb famously quipped that “Jews earn like Episcopalians, and vote like Puerto Ricans.” This statement captures the surprising loyalty of American Jews to liberalism and the Democratic party despite the group’s significant socioeconomic achievement in the post-World War II era. This course considers Jewish political behavior in the United States through a variety of disciplinary lenses. Our study will be enriched through archival research in the Beck archives (held at DU) and through conversations with local political figures. The course will also track and analyze relevant developments for Jews and politics related to the 2020 Presidential election. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society requirement for the Undergraduate Core Curriculum. Cross-listed with RLGS 2012.

JUST 2014 Religious Existentialism: Christian and Jewish (4 Credits)

Existentialism focuses on the human experience of living, often with a focus on the sheer freedom of the human condition. Religious existentialism subtly modifies this picture through its own vision of human freedom as the ultimate encounter between the human subject and God (with 'God' understood in various ways). The religious existentialist in this sense philosophically explores that which is most-fully-human as a moment of relation and encounter between self and that which is beyond self. Starting with Sartre's non-religious statement of existentialism in Existentialism is a Humanism (1946), we go on to examine the Christian and Jewish existentialisms of Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Tillich (1886-1965), Buber (1878-1965), and Heschel (1907-1972). In the course of our reflections, we compare non-religious with religious approaches to basic questions about self, God and world, and we consider the relationship between Christian and Jewish existentialist approaches to these questions. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.Cross-listed with PHIL 2014 and RLGS 2014.

JUST 2025 Coexistence (4 Credits)

Building skills for ethical, emotionally-intelligent, and equity-minded encounter, this course is about facing neighbors responsively, responsibly, and non-violently—even when our values clash, and even as we work to defeat each other in the voting booth. Exploring new civic modes of “dialogue across difference” and serving as an antidote to polarization and rising tides of hate, the course invites students to consider new ways of holding onto their own views, values, and identities without erasing others—but also without necessarily embracing or being embraced by them. And it does so while helping them understand and utilize “phenomenology,” a philosophical method for assessing “lived feels” in complex relation to human meaning-making in a range of personal, professional, and political contexts. Focused in particular on interhuman coexistence, the course attends to the three-fold human cord of “our structures, our neighbors, and our selves.” It invites students to navigate between structural equity, interpersonal ethics, and personal authenticity. And it equips students to consider the “feels,” “flavors,” and “temperatures” of different coexistence strategies: from the lukewarm framework of tolerance to the warm embrace of friendship to the complicated contours of responsibility-without-friendship in such thinkers as BIPOC thought-leader Martin Luther King, Jr, philosopher and Holocaust Survivor Emmanuel Levinas, and political theorist Karl Marx. Helping students consider what sorts of coexistence goals are most and least appropriate for different contexts and why, the course asks questions like: When it comes to opponents, should we be aiming to befriend them or is it sometimes OK to set the bar lower? Should we try to “find common ground” or is it sometimes OK to “agree to disagree”? Is bridge-building always the best goal, or do we sometimes need to learn to live alongside one another without violence but also without bridges? Drawing on an inclusive reading list of BIPOC, Jewish, Islamic, Christian, African, Indigenous, and Japanese traditions, the course delves into Ubuntu principles of coexistence alongside Aztec principles of selfhood, BIPOC principles of justice alongside spiritual and atheist existentialisms, Queer Chicana feminism alongside the practice of Kintsugi, spiritual calls to love alongside political calls to respect, multicultural calls to recognition alongside social justice critiques of such calls, philosophical traditions of friendship alongside critiques of civility, and ancient wisdom traditions hand-in-hand with popular contemporary insights from Brené Brown’s work on vulnerability and Harvard’s near-century-long study of happiness. The course also explores the dangers of Islamophobia and Antisemitism; includes a visit to the campus’ Holocaust Memorial Social Action Site inspired by “radical ethics”; considers new modes of activism; and invites participants into a “Belonging and Expression” framework for navigating possibilities and tensions in important joint calls to social justice and freedom of expression. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. This course is crosslisted with PHIL and JUST.

JUST 2026 Race: Black, Jew, Other (4 Credits)

This course is cross-listed with PHIL 2026 and RLGS 2026. In its investigation of philosophical writings on race and racism, this course explores a range of existential and phenomenological lenses for interrogating race and racism, with a focus on the shared theoretical and practical intersections of anti-Black and anti-Jew discourse. The course aims to help participants read and understand difficult primary philosophical (and some theological) texts—many of which are cited and engaged by contemporary writings across a number of disciplines. In this respect, we work through philosophical writings related to race, exile, “negritude,” “the wandering Jew,” and “otherness” by engaging such authors as: Sartre, Wright, De Bois, Levinas, Senghor, Fanon, Freud, Appiah, Jankelevitch, and Cone, alongside Gilman’s work on the “Jew’s Body” and “Jewish Self-Hatred,” Bernasconi’s work on the phenomenology of race, and discourses of “Other-as-disease” in American and Nazi eugenics. In all of its content, the course aims to engage participants with key issues and questions around race and racism, including extending the implications of anti-Black and anti-Jew discourses / practices to a range of other anti-Other discourses / practices at play in the world around us. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

JUST 2050 Jewish Philosophy (4 Credits)

This course sets out to explore the self and the sacred in Jewish tradition by exploring the nature of faith and reason, the call to ethical response, and the meaning of divine revelation in multiple Jewish philosophical voices across the ages, including Philo, Saadya, Halevi, Maimonides, Soloveitchik, Buber, Rosenzweig, and Levinas. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with PHIL 2050.

JUST 2104 The Bible as Literature (4 Credits)

The Bible has been one of the most important works in all of Western society. In this course we read the Bible as a masterpiece of literature. Rather than focusing on theological questions about this work as inspired scripture, we instead focus on its rich literary qualities and explore some ways in which these stories have influenced modern society. Reading select passages, we discuss its literary genres, forms, symbols and motifs, many of which are important in literature today. Of the latter, we encounter stories of creation and hero tales, parables, apocalyptic literature, and themes of paradise and the loss of Eden, wilderness, covenant, and the promised land. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with ENGL 2104 and RLGS 2104.

JUST 2202 New Testament (4 Credits)

This course takes a multifaceted approach (historical, literary, and critical) to the writings that comprise the Christian New Testament. The New Testament are read as a collection of primary documents that chronicle the primitive Church's slow and often painful process of self-definition. In these writings it is possible to discern the tension that arose because of the strong religious and cultural ties early Christianity maintained with Palestinian Judaism, from which it emerged as a sectarian or reform movement. The careful reader also finds evidence of the new religion's encounter with the Greco-Roman world from whose variegated ethos and culture it borrowed considerably on the way to becoming an important religious force in the first century. In exploring the New Testament, then, we attempt to recover something of the sense of what it meant to be a Christian in New Testament times. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with RLGS 2202.

JUST 2320 US Foreign Policy in the Middle East (4 Credits)

This course aims to introduce students to both Middle Eastern history and American Foreign Policy by exploring the politics and culture of U.S. involvement in the Middle East in the post-WWII period. In doing so this course pays special attention to the impact of the Cold War in the Middle East, American policy towards the Arab-Israeli conflict, the role of oil in American foreign policy, American responses to the rise of Islamist movements, the impact of media and culture on the formulation of America’s Middle Eastern policies, and U.S. relations with dictatorial governments in the Middle East. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with HIST 2320.

JUST 2350 Israeli Culture Through Film: Society, Ethnicity, and Inter-Cultural Discourse (4 Credits)

This course presents Israeli society and culture development as reflected in Israeli films from the 1950s to present day Israel. Topics include history and collective memory, ethnicities and the experiences of immigration, Israelis in their spatial Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern context and Judaism in its old and new representations. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

JUST 2360 Israeli Society Through Film: Narratives of the Holocaust, War and Terror in Israeli Life (4 Credits)

This course analyzes fundamental aspects of Israeli-Jewish collective identity through a consideration of the trauma of the Holocaust, and explores the representation of these issues in Israeli film from the 1960s to today. The course presents and analyzes narratives of human experience in traumatic times and their after-effects via cinematic perceptions of Holocaust survivors and their offspring, the relationship between the Israeli native Sabra and the Holocaust survivor, the impact of war on soldiers and their families, and the Israeli experience of terror. Screenings of Israeli film is a central part of the course. All films are in Hebrew with English subtitles. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. No prerequisites.

JUST 2370 Multicultural Israel: Food, Film and Beyond (4 Credits)

In this course participants will examine Israeli culture and identity using a broad array of materials and topics, including popular music, film, sports, and food. Topics include Israel’s society, ethnic relations, and the Arab minorities in the Jewish state. Students also discuss whether there is a unique Israeli culture and the struggle for Israel’s identity. Emphasis is on interdisciplinary approaches to exploring how cultural processes and artifacts are produced, shaped, distributed, consumed, and responded to in diverse ways. Through discussion, research, writing and various media resources, class members investigate these varied dimensions of culture; learn to understand them in their broader social, aesthetic, ethical, and political contexts. This course counts toward the common curriculum requirement of Analytical Inquiry: Society & Culture.

JUST 2380 Multicultural Israel through Popular Music (4 Credits)

The music of Israel is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions that have come together over the course of a century to create a distinctive musical culture. This course presents a brief cultural history of Israel through popular music. To examine the central and lively role that songs have played in the shaping of Israeli identity, this class examines a range of diverse lyrics, including selections from folk music, pop and rock music, Levant influenced music, and more. Topics covered include Shirei Eretz Israel (the songs of the land of Israel), military ensembles, song festivals and competitions, the rise of minorities, outstanding performers and songwriters, international influences, and media’s impact on audience preferences. This course counts toward the common curriculum requirement of Analytical Inquiry: Society & Culture.

JUST 2741 American Jewish Literature (4 Credits)

This course surveys over 100 years of American Jewish immigrant narratives beginning with the great exodus of Eastern European and Russian Jewry at the end of the 19th century and ending with recent arrivals from Israel and the former U.S.S.R. Canonical works by central authors reveal the great successes of Jewish immigrants alongside their spiritual failures. A selection of memoir, novels, short stories, and poetry in English and in translation from Hebrew and Yiddish demonstrate the multilingual character of the Jewish experience in America. While helpful, no knowledge of Jewish languages, religious tradition, or cultural practice is necessary to succeed in this course. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with ENGL 2741.

JUST 2742 Modern Hebrew Literature (4 Credits)

This course offers a survey of some of the most significant works of modern Hebrew literature available in translation. Students consider how the development of Hebrew literature has contributed to the formation of contemporary Israeli identity, and how the conflicts that define the turbulent history of Israel are treated in works by canonical authors. The selection of diverse voices and literary materials exposes students to the soil political, and historically changes wrought by the rise of modern day Israel. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with ENGL 2742.

JUST 2743 Jewish Humor: Origins and Meaning (4 Credits)

Writers, scholars, and comedians all claim to locate an identifiable strain of “Jewish humor” running from the Bible through to today’s literary humorists and provocative stand-up comics. This course takes humor seriously in an effort to reveal the development of “Jewish humor” in America from a comparative context. But is there such a thing as Jewish humor? And if so, what are its sources and characteristics? Does it exist across cultures and in different linguistic communities? Through lectures, discussion, exercises and papers, students gain a broad understanding of the history, psychology, and philosophy of humor as it relates to Jewish arts and letters in America. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. This course is cross-listed with ENGL 2743.

JUST 2750 Italian Jewish Literature and Cinema (4 Credits)

This course is cross-listed with ITAL 2750. It offers an overview of Italian Jewish literature and cinema from the Middle Ages to the present. Students will read and discuss prose and poetry, essays and articles, as well as watch and discuss films that address issues such as religious and cultural identity, the right to difference, anti-Semitism and the Shoah. The course will also give students an overview of the formation and transformation of the Jewish community in Italian society. In addition to well-known Jewish Italian writers like Primo Levi and Giorgio Bassani, students will read pertinent works by non-Jewish writers like Rosetta Loy. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MFJS 2000 Introduction to Film Criticism (4 Credits)

Theories and methods of social, cultural and aesthetic criticism of film; emphasis on critical writing. Laboratory fee required. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MFJS 2170 Globalization and Film (4 Credits)

MFJS 2170 (Globalization and Film) explores the varying ways that globalization impacts cinema on a national and transnational level. This course is broken down into three units: theories on globalization; implications of globalization behind-the-scenes; and representations of globalization onscreen. Through a selection of assigned readings and filmic texts, you will be encouraged to think critically about what “globalization” means and how it influences films, both behind-the-scenes and onscreen. In addition to several in-class screenings, you will be required to view a few films on your own. Finally, you will have the opportunity to research and write original scholarship on one of two angles to engage further and apply course material: 1) the impact of globalization on the film industry of your choice, or 2) the impact of globalization on representational issues in the film of your choice. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MFJS 2290 Innovations in Media, Artificial Intelligence, & Communication (4 Credits)

This course considers information and communication technologies in relation to “the new,” exploring the ways that technological, historical, legal, economic, and social contexts combine to enable the changes that we think of as innovations in media and communication. Taking a critical/cultural historical perspective, we explore questions such as where technologies come from, who controls them, who profits from them, how they are used, and with what potential implications? We also consider how today’s artificial intelligence technologies are similar to and different from the new technologies of previous ages, how bias and misinformation are (re)produced, and countermovements such as “slow” technology, with an eye toward imagining what the future might hold. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUAC 1000 Fundamentals of Music Theory (4 Credits)

Meant for students with little to no experience with music notation, Fundamentals of Music Theory introduces pitch, rhythm, scales, chords, and other elements of Western notation. Students will develop facility in reading and hearing music, as well as an understanding of the syntax of tonal music, ranging from the music of Mozart to film music to Miles Davis. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUAC 1012 Music, Society, and Culture (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to the music of a variety of world areas. For each unit, students examine a diverse array of genres, analyzing music's relationship to religious life, aesthetics, politics, social organization, and identity. We also discuss the impact of globalization, transnationalism and immigration on the shaping and transformation of musical practice and meaning in each region. Reading materials, listening assignments, and discussion topics are supplemented by in-class performance workshops, designed to give students firsthand experience in non-Western performance traditions. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUAC 1016 History of Jazz (4 Credits)

This course examines the short history of jazz and all its sub-styles (swing, bop, cool, etc.) from its roots to the early eighties. Students have access to the entire course online, including all the fantastic listening. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Note: Music majors do not receive Common Curriculum credit for this course.

MUAC 1017 History of Rock and Roll (4 Credits)

The "birth of rock" occurred in the mid 1950's as a result of the convergence of pop, country and western, and rhythm and blues. This course traces that evolution by way of examining a broad picture of the general flow of those styles and their artists. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Note: Music majors do not receive Common Curriculum credit for this course.

MUAC 1018 Understanding Music (4 Credits)

In this course, students acquire a greater appreciation of musical history, context, composers, and genres. Through listening activities, texts, movies, and live concerts, students become educated listeners, able to describe intelligently musical experiences using appropriate vocabulary. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Note: Music majors do not receive Common Curriculum credit for this course.

MUAC 1019 American Popular Music (4 Credits)

American Popular Music combines the study of social and cultural history on the one hand with the analytical study of music styles on the other. Basically, it serves as an introduction to the wealth of American popular music from minstrelsy to hip hop. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. This class is not available to music or performance majors.

MUAC 1023 Mathematics in Music after 1970 (4 Credits)

This course examines the interaction of mathematics and music composition since 1970, an interaction that has grown more vibrant with the advent of electronic music and modern computation. In this course, we will use mathematical concepts and methods to address basic questions about music, mathematics, and musical works. The questions include, (a) how do pieces by contemporary composers reflect an affinity for mathematical concepts?, (b) are the intervals preferred by cultures as diverse as ancient Greece and the contemporary Levant inherently beautiful?, (c) what is the relationship between complexity and chance on the listening experience?, and several others. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUAC 1024 Black Sacred Music: A Survey (4 Credits)

This course is an experiential exploration of the spirituality of African-American sacred song. Participants will sing, consider the history of the music and explore their own connection to the songs, as well as the inspiration and challenge these songs may offer to present and future communities. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Note: Music majors do not receive Common Curriculum credit for this course and thus it will not fulfill AI: Society requirements for music majors.

MUAC 1025 Hip-Hop and Rap Music (4 Credits)

From its origins in dance parties in the Bronx in the late 1970s to its identification as the soundtrack of social movements around the globe, rap music has become perhaps the most prominent genre of popular music. This course, primarily, analyzes the musical features of rap music as a specific manifestation of the wider aesthetic of hip-hop. To set the stage for later musical analysis, the course includes brief introductions to technologies of hip-hop (e.g., sampling, drum machines, Autotune, streaming, etc.), earlier Afro-diasporic expressive forms and aesthetics (e.g., the dozens, toasts, double-dutch, etc.), and rap music’s relation with gender, race, identity, and politics. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUAC 1026 American Musical Mavericks (4 Credits)

This course examines music history in the United States through the figure of the "maverick," a rugged individualist who operates outside the mainstream of society. Using Michael Broyles’s Mavericks and Other Traditions in American Music as a primary textbook, this course surveys American music from the 18th to the 21st centuries, introducing students to a variety of musical traditions, pieces, composers, performers, and artistic strategies. Central themes include: the impact of Puritanism on U.S. arts and culture, the dilemma of art music in a democratic society, and the struggle to develop a uniquely American musical voice in a nation of immigrants. Assignments are designed to promote achievement of the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture learning outcomes of the Common Curriculum: Apply the methods or techniques appropriate to disciplines in the arts or humanities in order to interpret texts, ideas or artifacts, or engage in creative activity (performance, composition, etc.). Analyze the relationship between texts, ideas, or creative works and a broader context (intellectual, political, artistic, etc.) in ways appropriate to disciplines in the arts or humanities. No prior musical experience is required. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUAC 1027 Global Pop (4 Credits)

This survey of global pop explores musical thought and processes through an examination of the development of “world music” and “world beat,” including its meaning and importance to contemporary culture as well as its history and impact. Intended to provide students with a basic understanding of the international popular music scene from its explosion at the close of the 20th century through the present day, this course questions the meaning and importance of this trend in contemporary culture. It explores the complex relationships of music and mass media while addressing themes of nationalism, popular resistance and subversion, censorship, transnational identity, gender representation, and cultural hegemony. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUAC 1028 Hearing the Movies (4 Credits)

Although we usually say that we watch movies, we might more accurately say that we “see-hear” or “audioview” them. Film sound tracks feature speech, sound effects, and music that fulfill practical storytelling roles, and that combine with imagery and narrative to create powerful emotional resonance in viewers. This interdisciplinary course explores the sonic elements of film history from 1895 to the present. Course activities include weekly film viewings and reading assignments set against lecture/discussions offering a topical survey of developments in film sound as both a technical practice and an art. Graded assignments include weekly online responses, a film introduction, a midterm exam, and a final project in which each student will re-score a film clip and compose an essay reflecting on that process. Assignments are designed to promote achievement of the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture learning outcomes of the Common Curriculum: • Apply the methods or techniques appropriate to disciplines in the arts or humanities in order to interpret texts, ideas or artifacts, or engage in creative activity. • Analyze the relationship between texts, ideas, or creative works and a broader context in ways appropriate to disciplines in the arts or humanities. No prior formal experience in music or film studies is required. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUAC 1029 Methods of Mastery (4 Credits)

Musicians, athletes, artists, software engineers, actors, financial managers, dancers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, game designers, and even social media influencers spend their days in radically different ways, but top performers share habits and approaches that contribute to success. “Methods for Mastery” offers students an opportunity to explore the habits and mindsets of great achievers in different disciplines, ranging from classical music to creative writing to sports, finance, and more. What do writer Isabel Allende, dancer Twyla Tharp, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, Apple inventor Steve Jobs, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and the artist formerly known as Prince have in common? What is required to do life-changing work? Inspiration or Perspiration? The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People? Can everyone be a virtuoso, genius, or prodigy? Through shared assignments, the class will discuss performances and research in four different areas: “Practice and Work Habits”; “Mindfulness Techniques”; “Performance Anxiety, Stage Fright, and other Mental Blocks”; and “Flow”. Videos, podcasts, live performances, trade paperbacks, websites, and academic research will inform our understanding of these topics. In addition, each student will develop two personal projects—one on cultural attitudes towards mastery, and one on a specific technique for creating better work routines, overcoming stage fright, or maintaining focus. Students from different disciplines will share their ideas with peers. Throughout, each class member will keep a daily journal, culminating in a final reflection that charts progress over the quarter. By the end of the quarter, students will integrate their research with new skills and greater awareness of their own path towards achievement. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUAC 2052 Musicology: Medieval And Renaissance Music (3 Credits)

Through the study of selected vocal and instrumental works, this course explores the musical style, performance practice issues and the historical context of Western European music from c. 800 to c. 1600. Scores, recordings, primary sources and secondary sources accompany the textbook. Because students interpret the musical works as they represent the ideas and artifacts of human culture and analyze the connections between these and varied human experiences and perceptions of the world, this course may be used to partially fulfill the general education requirement Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture. Prerequisite for music majors: MUAC 2051.

MUAC 2053 Musicology: Baroque Music (3 Credits)

Through the study of selected vocal, instrumental and operatic works, this course explores the musical style, performance practice issues and the historical context of Western European music from c. 1600 to c. 1750. Scores, recordings, primary sources and secondary sources accompany the textbook. Because students interpret the musical works as they represent the ideas and artifacts of human culture and analyze the connections between these and varied human experiences and perceptions of the world, this course may be used to partially fulfill the general education requirement Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture. Prerequisite for music majors: MUAC 2051.

MUAC 2054 Musicology: Classical Music (3 Credits)

Through the study of selected vocal, instrumental and operatic works, this course explores the musical style, performance practice issues and the historical context of Western European music from c. 1750 to c. 1820. Scores, recordings, primary sources and secondary sources accompany the textbook. Because students interpret the musical works as they represent the ideas and artifacts of human culture and analyze the connections between these and varied human experiences and perceptions of the world, this course may be used to partially fulfill the general education requirement Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture. Prerequisite for music majors: MUAC 2051.

MUAC 2055 Musicology: Romantic Music (3 Credits)

Through the study of selected vocal and instrumental works, this course explores the musical style, performance practice issues and the historical context of Western European music from c. 1830 to c. 1890. Scores, recordings, primary sources and secondary sources accompany the textbook. Because students interpret the musical works as they represent the ideas and artifacts of human culture and analyze the connections between these and varied human experiences and perceptions of the world, this course may be used to partially fulfill the general education requirement Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture. Prerequisite for music majors: MUAC 2051.

MUAC 2056 Musicology: Modern Music (3 Credits)

Through the study of selected vocal and instrumental works, this course explores the musical style, performance practice issues and the historical context of Western European music from c. 1890 to the present. Scores, recordings, primary sources and secondary sources accompany the textbook. Because students interpret the musical works as they represent the ideas and artifacts of human culture and analyze the connections between these and varied human experiences and perceptions of the world, this course may be used to partially fulfill the general education requirement Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture. Prerequisite for music majors: MUAC 2051.

MUAC 2057 Musicology: Introduction to World Musics (3 Credits)

This course is designed as an introduction to select world music traditions and to ethnomusicology, a discipline many define as the study of music in culture. We focus on three world areas: North India, Brazil, and Senegal. For each of these units, we examine various genres and musical systems and explore music's connection to ritual, belief, aesthetic ideals, politics, and social organization, asking what makes music meaningful for practitioners and audiences. Lectures and discussions are supplemented by regular guest lecture-demonstrations, films and hands-on workshops. Because students interpret the musical works as they represent the ideas and artifacts of human culture and analyze the connections between these and varied human experiences and perceptions of the world, this course may be used to partially fulfill the general education requirement Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture. Prerequisite for music majors: MUAC 2051.

MUAC 2058 Jazz and Commercial Music History and Repertoire I (1900-1955) (3 Credits)

This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUAC 2059 Jazz and Commercial Music History and Repertoire II (1955-Present) (3 Credits)

This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUAC 2251 Contemporary Gospel Music: Religion, Culture, and the Black Church (4 Credits)

This course seeks to examine the ways in which gospel music, and contemporary black gospel music in particular, has impacted not only black church culture but broader society in general. Through audio and video media, readings, and class discussion, we will discover how gospel music has influenced black church culture and popular culture. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with RLGS 2251.

MUAC 2260 Music, Race, and Ethnicity in Latin America (4 Credits)

In this class, music-culture is a medium to understand how people in Latin America maintain religions, strengthen social relations, and negotiate their racial and ethnic identities in the context of social inequality, racial discrimination, and land disposition. Concepts such as mestizaje, creolization, and “blackness” will be examined in the context of nation formation, the inheritance of colonialism, and the spread of neoliberalism while students will engage critically in readings coming from ethnomusicology, anthropology, ethnic and racial studies, as well as history, and geography. The lectures are multimedia, including visiting performers and speakers. As such, this class is a great introduction to explore music-culture, race, and ethnicity in Latin America. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUEN 3046 Indonesian Music Ensemble (0-1 Credits)

This class provides a practical and theoretical introduction to Indonesian performance traditions from the islands of Bali and Java. Through hands-on instruction and oral transmission, students will learn a variety of gamelan (gong/chime ensemble) traditions. While learning this sophisticated cyclic music, class discussions, assigned readings, films, and guided listening will further familiarize students with the social and cultural meanings of the musics performed in class. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to learn basic hand, foot, and eye movements for Balinese and Javanese dance, as well as to study kecak, a Balinese vocal music that imitates the sound of the gamelan. The course will culminate in an end of the quarter concert. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUEN 3047 Xperimental Jazz Ensemble (0-1 Credits)

The Xperimental Jazz Ensemble is a pan-genre ensemble with a focus on creativity expressed through improvisation, transcription, arrangement, and composition. XJE will have variable instrumentation that may include vocalists, all “classical” and “jazz” instruments, and emergent electronic instruments and software. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUEN 3048 Bluegrass Ensemble (0-1 Credits)

In this class, students will receive instruction on proper bluegrass performance fundamentals with traditional bluegrass instruments, the harmony and rhythm of bluegrass music, the art of simultaneous playing and singing, the proper interpretation of the chosen repertoire per the composers' style, and the social and cultural influences that inspired the music. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUEN 3710 Opera (0-1 Credits)

Practical experience in operatic performance. One production each quarter; major production in winter quarter. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUEN 3712 Lamont Chorale (0-1 Credits)

The Lamont Chorale is a select mixed voice choir that performs choral literature from the Renaissance to present and strives for a high level of artistry. The choir performs works from the great masters of music, as well as living composers, world music, and spirituals. The Lamont Chorale is open to undergraduate and graduate students, music majors, non-music majors, and community members. Credits from this course can fulfill the AI-Society credit requirement for undergraduate students.

MUEN 3730 American Heritage Chorale (1 Credit)

This ensemble will explore through choral music the various ways in which music written by American composers has been influenced and has its roots in music from other cultures and regions of the globe. Special attention shall be given to music by African American composers. American Heritage Chorale is open to all students interested in singing. Prior choral experience is not required. A brief vocal interview will determine appropriate placement within the ensemble. The course will conclude with a performance at the end of the quarter. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUEN 3731 The Spirituals Project Choir (0-1 Credits)

This ensemble will explore African American spirituals as an art form, tradition, and tool for social change through performance, reading, and listening. Because the core of this ensemble is a multi-ethnic, multi-generational community choir, students will have the unique opportunity to join with and learn from a group of singers immersed in this musical tradition. Students will participate in 2-3 performances over the course of the term, the majority of which will be outside of Lamont. Through performance and study of spirituals and related music, students will gain a musical and cultural understanding of this dynamic music and gift from African Americans to the world. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUEN 3740 Voces Fortes (0-1 Credits)

Voces Fortis is a low voice choir that performs a wide variety of choral literature, including masterworks, a cappella works, spirituals, new music, and world music. The choir is open to undergraduate and graduate students, music majors, non-music majors, and community members. Credits from this course can fulfill the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture credit requirement for undergraduate students.

MUEN 3751 Lamont Jazz Orchestra (0-1 Credits)

This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUEN 3752 Lamont Wind Ensemble (0-1 Credits)

Open to all students by audition and approval of conductor; regularly scheduled concerts. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUEN 3753 Lamont Jazz Ensemble (0-1 Credits)

Open to all students by audition and approval of director of jazz studies; regularly scheduled concerts. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUEN 3760 Lamont Symphony Orchestra (0-1 Credits)

The LSO generally performs six symphonic concerts and one opera each year. Students are exposed to orchestral repertoire from all periods and styles of music as well as appropriate performance practices associated with each period and style. The LSO is open to all university students by audition. However, because the course objective is to prepare students for successful professional orchestra careers, all participants are held to a very high standard and level of expectation. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

MUEN 3900 Voces Aureas (0-1 Credits)

Voces Aureas is a treble voice choir that performs a wide variety of choral literature, including masterworks, a cappella works, spirituals, new music, and world music. The choir is open to undergraduate and graduate students, music majors, non-music majors, and community members. Credits from this course can fulfill the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture credit requirement for undergraduate students.

PHIL 1610 Discovering Philosophy (4 Credits)

In this course we explore a range of philosophical questions and examine the replies that have been made by historical figures.  We also think through the methods and strategies that have been used for thinking through those replies and explore these questions further on our own.  Topics may include how do we know what actions are moral?  What is knowledge?  What is the basic structure of the world? What is justice? What assumptions are made by the disciplines that take themselves to study the natural world? This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2001 Philosophy and Fiction (4 Credits)

Examination of diverse aspects of the relationship between philosophy and fiction. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2003 Philosophy and Popular Culture (4 Credits)

This course critically explores philosophical questions and issues in the context of contemporary popular culture. On the one hand, it considers more general questions about the nature and function of popular culture, including how popular culture has been defined and "theorized"; the connections between popular culture and the traditional and new media; the economic bases and functions of popular culture; and the political implications of popular culture. On the other, it explores particular philosophical issues--historical, ethical, political, aesthetic, and metaphysical--as they appear in selected areas or examples of popular culture: literature, film, the visual arts, digital media, graphic novels, music, television, etc. The aims are both to enhance students' critical understanding of the ways in which philosophical assumptions and ideas underlie popular culture and to present traditional and contemporary philosophical arguments, movements, and ideas using examples drawn from popular culture as reference points. As examples, we might explore ethical dilemmas posed in the "Sopranos" or "Mad Men"; mind-body problems in the "Matrix" or "Avatar"; or metaphysical issues in "Donny Darko" or "Run, Lola, Run." This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2004 Philosophy of Race (4 Credits)

This course is a systematic study of the scientific, metaphysical, ethical, and political issues surrounding the notion of race. We undertake a critical study of the following questions: Is race a scientifically legitimate concept, or is it a social construct? Is race a legitimate census category? How should questions of race be decided, and by whom? Why do we think of humans in terms of race--for evolutionary or psychological reasons? Religious reasons? What is racism? Why is racism morally wrong? What do psychological studies show about our racist tendencies? Does affirmative action provide a morally acceptable way of achieving racial justice? What race is a mixed race person? This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2005 Philosophy of Religion (4 Credits)

What is God? Can God be known or is faith precisely a relationship to something that cannot be known in the ordinary sense? What is the relationship between God and morality? Between God and science? Is it more reasonable to believe that your religion is the only path to God or more reasonable to believe that God is manifest in many ways across different cultures? Is it reasonable to believe in God at all? If it is reasonable to believe in God, what are the reasons? And if believing in God is not based on reasons in the ordinary sense, are there philosophical grounds for believing in God anyway? This course takes a "God friendly" approach to philosophical questions about religion, setting out to investigate ontological and epistemological questions about belief-in-God toward the goal of understanding different ways that philosophers over the years have philosophically gone about developing, upholding, and talking about relationship with God. The course includes consideration of philosophers from analytic and continental traditions, from American and European schools of thought, from ancient, medieval, modern and post-modern traditions, and from Greek, Islamic, Jewish, and Christian traditions. Thinkers to be addressed include Pascal, Anselm, Plantinga, Van Inwagen, Hick, Hume, Descartes, Spinoza, Plato, Aristotle, Ibn Tufayl, Averroes, Maimonides, James, Levinas, Marion, Badiou, Rosenzweig, Aquinas, Buber, Cohen, Mill, Lycan, Kant, Wittgenstein, Kierkegaard, and Kafka. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with RLGS 2005.

PHIL 2007 Philosophy and Video Games (4 Credits)

Traditional and novel metaphysical, ethical, political, and aesthetic issues both arising within video games and posed by this still developing medium. No prerequisites. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2008 Stereotyping and Violence in America Today (4 Credits)

This course is cross-listed with JUST 2008, COMN 2008, RLGS 2008. This course offers students the opportunity to explore key issues relating to diversity and inclusion in the contemporary United States, focusing on the themes of stereotyping and violence, from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students will engage with scholarly and popular culture artifacts to examine the kinds of stereotyping and types of violence, visible and invisible, that characterize and challenge political, social, cultural, economic, religious, and educational life in today’s United States, and will do so by working with the course instructor as well as faculty members from across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Students will work together to connect the given week’s speaker’s assigned readings and insights to readings and insights from previous weeks’ speakers; assignments and classroom discussion will in this way be very interdisciplinary and will compare and contrast multiple diverse points of view and disciplinary lenses on the question of stereotyping and violence. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2010 Existentialism (4 Credits)

Philosophical, religious, literary and psychological views of the existentialists including Kierkegaard, Sartre, and Camus. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2014 Religious Existentialism: Christian and Jewish (4 Credits)

Existentialism focuses on the human experience of living, often with a focus on the sheer freedom of the human condition. Religious existentialism subtly modifies this picture through its own vision of human freedom as the ultimate encounter between the human subject and God (with 'God' understood in various ways). The religious existentialist in this sense philosophically explores that which is most-fully-human as a moment of relation and encounter between self and that which is beyond self. Starting with Sartre's non-religious statement of existentialism in Existentialism is a Humanism (1946), we go on to examine the Christian and Jewish existentialisms of Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Tillich (1886-1965), Buber (1878-1965), and Heschel (1907-1972). In the course of our reflections, we compare non-religious with religious approaches to basic questions about self, God and world, and we consider the relationship between Christian and Jewish existentialist approaches to these questions. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross-listed with RLGS 2014 and JUST 2014.

PHIL 2025 Coexistence (4 Credits)

Building skills for ethical, emotionally-intelligent, and equity-minded encounter, this course is about facing neighbors responsively, responsibly, and non-violently—even when our values clash, and even as we work to defeat each other in the voting booth. Exploring new civic modes of “dialogue across difference” and serving as an antidote to polarization and rising tides of hate, the course invites students to consider new ways of holding onto their own views, values, and identities without erasing others—but also without necessarily embracing or being embraced by them. And it does so while helping them understand and utilize “phenomenology,” a philosophical method for assessing “lived feels” in complex relation to human meaning-making in a range of personal, professional, and political contexts. Focused in particular on interhuman coexistence, the course attends to the three-fold human cord of “our structures, our neighbors, and our selves.” It invites students to navigate between structural equity, interpersonal ethics, and personal authenticity. And it equips students to consider the “feels,” “flavors,” and “temperatures” of different coexistence strategies: from the lukewarm framework of tolerance to the warm embrace of friendship to the complicated contours of responsibility-without-friendship in such thinkers as BIPOC thought-leader Martin Luther King, Jr, philosopher and Holocaust Survivor Emmanuel Levinas, and political theorist Karl Marx. Helping students consider what sorts of coexistence goals are most and least appropriate for different contexts and why, the course asks questions like: When it comes to opponents, should we be aiming to befriend them or is it sometimes OK to set the bar lower? Should we try to “find common ground” or is it sometimes OK to “agree to disagree”? Is bridge-building always the best goal, or do we sometimes need to learn to live alongside one another without violence but also without bridges? Drawing on an inclusive reading list of BIPOC, Jewish, Islamic, Christian, African, Indigenous, and Japanese traditions, the course delves into Ubuntu principles of coexistence alongside Aztec principles of selfhood, BIPOC principles of justice alongside spiritual and atheist existentialisms, Queer Chicana feminism alongside the practice of Kintsugi, spiritual calls to love alongside political calls to respect, multicultural calls to recognition alongside social justice critiques of such calls, philosophical traditions of friendship alongside critiques of civility, and ancient wisdom traditions hand-in-hand with popular contemporary insights from Brené Brown’s work on vulnerability and Harvard’s near-century-long study of happiness. The course also explores the dangers of Islamophobia and Antisemitism; includes a visit to the campus’ Holocaust Memorial Social Action Site inspired by “radical ethics”; considers new modes of activism; and invites participants into a “Belonging and Expression” framework for navigating possibilities and tensions in important joint calls to social justice and freedom of expression.This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. This course is crosslisted with PHIL and JUST.

PHIL 2026 Race: Black, Jew, Other (4 Credits)

In its investigation of philosophical writings on race and racism, this course explores a range of existential and phenomenological lenses for interrogating race and racism, with a focus on the shared theoretical and practical intersections of anti-Black and anti-Jew discourse. The course aims to help participants read and understand difficult primary philosophical (and some theological) texts—many of which are cited and engaged by contemporary writings across a number of disciplines. In this respect, we work through philosophical writings related to race, exile, “negritude,” “the wandering Jew,” and “otherness” by engaging such authors as: Sartre, Wright, De Bois, Levinas, Senghor, Fanon, Freud, Appiah, Jankelevitch, and Cone, alongside Gilman’s work on the “Jew’s Body” and “Jewish Self-Hatred,” Bernasconi’s work on the phenomenology of race, and discourses of “Other-as-disease” in American and Nazi eugenics. In all of its content, the course aims to engage participants with key issues and questions around race and racism, including extending the implications of anti-Black and anti-Jew discourses / practices to a range of other anti-Other discourses / practices at play in the world around us. This course is cross-listed with JUST 2026 and RLGS 2026. This course counts for the AI:Society requirement.

PHIL 2050 Jewish Philosophy (4 Credits)

This course sets out to explore the self and the sacred in Jewish tradition by exploring the nature of faith and reason, the call to ethical response, and the meaning of divine revelation in multiple Jewish philosophical voices across the ages, including Philo, Saadya, Halevi, Maimonides, Soloveitchik, Buber, Rosenzweig, and Levinas. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with JUST 2050.

PHIL 2100 Philosophy of Mind (4 Credits)

Topics include nature of persons, consciousness, criteria of personal identity, the relation between mental and physical, and the role of neuroscience in the study of the mind--epistemological and ethical. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2101 Philosophy of Language (4 Credits)

What do linguistic expressions mean, and how do we use them to communicate? What value judgments are embedded in linguistic practice? In our study of it? How can logical tools illuminate language? What are the limitations of formalism for modeling meaning and language? How might tools in philosophy of language need to be revised in light of investigating oppression and injustice in linguistic communication? This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2110 Classical Greek Philosophy (4 Credits)

The philosophical thought of classical Greece that developed between about 500 and 300 BCE is the basis of all subsequent European philosophy and, arguably, of European culture itself. Besides its indisputable historical importance, it is also rich in ideas and insights that are as striking and relevant today as they were over 2000 years ago. This course serves as an introduction to this seminal period of philosophy, its historical and cultural context, and in fact, to philosophy itself. In the course, we focus primarily on the teachings of Socrates, the dialogues of his student Plato, and the writings of Plato's student Aristotle. In addition, we begin by considering the cultural and intellectual context, including the Homeric epics and the tragedies, that enabled such thinkers to arise and concludes with a brief look at the paths Greek philosophy took after the "Golden Age of Greece' has passed. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2111 Greek Moral Philosophy (4 Credits)

In this course we examine the "Good Life" in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus and Lucretius and in selected Greek drama. Questions to be explored are as follows: What is justice? Why should I lead a just life? What is friendship? What is happiness? This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2120 Nature & Limits of Human Knowledge (4 Credits)

A study of both traditional and contemporary answers to the following questions: What is knowledge? How do we acquire it? What is the extent of our knowledge? This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2130 Philosophy of Early Modern Age (4 Credits)

Problems of reason and experience, mechanistic view of human beings, new interpretations of mind from Descartes, Spinoza, Leibinz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2140 Kant to Nietzsche (4 Credits)

German idealism; human beings as self-consciousness; counter-concept of alienated existence; Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2144 20th-Century Philosophy (4 Credits)

A general overview of prominent 20th-century philosophers and philosophical movements. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2145 Between Deleuze and Foucault (4 Credits)

Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault are widely accepted to be central figures of post-war French philosophy. Philosophers, cultural theorists, and others have devoted considerable effort to the critical examination of the work of each of these thinkers, but despite the strong biographical and philosophical connection between Foucault and Deleuze, very little has been done to explore the relationship between them. This course addresses the critical deficit by providing rigorous comparative discussions of the work of these two philosophers. The relationship between Foucault and Deleuze, however, is as strong as it is disparate: it is perhaps best described as a parallelism. As Deleuze says, “I never worked with Foucault. But I do think there are a lot of parallels between our work (with Guattari) and his, although they are, as it were, held at a distance because of our widely differing methods and even our objectives.” While the two were drawn together through their novel readings of Nietzsche, their commitment to a non-teleological theory of history, their activism in contemporary politics (with prisons, ’68, Palestine, etc.), their return to the stoics, and a theory of the event, Deleuze and Foucault were often decisively divided in their methods and motivations. Through primary and secondary readings, this course focuses on the similarities and differences in between these two thinkers. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2150 Philosophy of Law (4 Credits)

Principles, aims and methods of legal reasoning (judicial decision making); relationship between legal and moral reasoning. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2180 Ethics (4 Credits)

Alternative theories of morals and values, ethical problems and solutions offered by classical and contemporary thinkers. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2181 Aesthetics & Philosophy of Art (4 Credits)

Although critical reflection about art goes back at least to Plato, developments both in modern philosophy and in the arts themselves have produced an unprecedented, intense, and ongoing dialogue between artists and philosophers that has deeply affected the practices of both. Just as modern philosophers have come to view the arts as vitally important ways of experiencing and knowing, so modern artists have drawn heavily on philosophical ideas and views in creating their own works. The focus of this course is on some of the major ways in which new developments in the arts have influenced philosophical thought and have, in turn, been influenced by it. In particular, we consider some of the most representative artworks (many contemporary) that have raised the question, "Why is this art?," together with the major philosophical and critical theories that have attempted to respond to this question. Besides discussing specific works of art, we read and discuss some of the major statements and theories about them by both classical and contemporary philosophers, art historians and critics, and the artists themselves. This course is of interest both to students of philosophy wishing to explore contemporary developments in the arts as well as to art and art history students interested in a deeper understanding of the philosophical views that underlie so much modern and contemporary art. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2182 The Making of the Modern World: Science, Art, and Philosophy (4 Credits)

A combined on-campus/travel course exploring the ways in which the complex interactions among science, the arts, and philosophy served to create and define the 'modern world.' This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2186 Feminist Ethics: Justice and Care (4 Credits)

In the late 1950’s psychologists began to theorize a notion of human moral development and they created instruments with which to measure such development. By the 1970’s there were claims that even well-educated women were—on average—stunted in their moral competence according to these measures. Once a sufficient number of women were engaged in moral theory in both psychology and philosophy, they began to diagnose these theories and instruments as prejudiced by what we would today call ‘while, cisgender, male privilege.’ The scales were centering a detached notion of justice and equality for all, whereas researchers found that women centered notions of care and engaged in relational (rather than detached) thinking when asked ethical questions. Thus, was born the discipline of Feminist Ethics. While many women (and some men) celebrated the alternative ‘ethics of care’ over an ‘ethics of justice,’ others worried that these women had been harmed by their male dominated society and were showing signs of a ‘slave mentality’ in their moral reasoning that was to be overcome and not celebrated. Predictably (in hindsight), women of color complained that their perspective was not taken into account by these ‘caring’ white female professors. In this class we will look at this conversation as it unfolded. In the process we will evaluate these theories from a philosophical perspective and see which parts seem most helpful for thinking about current ethical issues. Many or all of the readings were probably written before you were born. In fact, there is very little philosophical literature that labels itself ‘feminist ethics’ or ‘ethics of care’ that was written in the 21st century. We will ponder why this is the case. Are these ideas outdated, or have they been sufficiently incorporated into mainstream academic thinking that they no longer wear the label of marginalization? This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2200 Social & Political Philosophy (4 Credits)

Topics covered include the relation of the "social" to the "political," the nature and role of political ideology, issues in democracy and globalization. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2260 Philosophical Perspectives on Perception and Reality (4 Credits)

An examination of the theoretical hypothesis that our perceptions match up with, and therefore give us information about, an external and independent reality (what we call "the physical world"). In order to engage this issue, we look at the philosophical explorations of a number of historical figures in the Western philosophical tradition. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2401 Social Justice in a Global Context: Theory and Practice (4 Credits)

Theories of social justice, beginning with the ancient Hebrews and Greeks and running up through the modern era. The religious sources of these ideas, drawn primarily from the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are profiled. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2402 London and Paris: Medieval to Postmodern (4 Credits)

This is a 3-week summer session course involving one week on campus and two weeks travel to London and Paris. It traces the development of philosophical ideas, politics, social institutions, architecture, and the visual arts from the Middle Ages to the present as they occurred in these two major capitals. Its approach is both historical and comparative and emphasizes understanding and interpreting the contemporary experience of these cities in light of their shared as well as divergent historical paths. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2555 The Philosophy of Technology (4 Credits)

Serious thought about technology commences with the beginnings of philosophy itself, although it becomes an urgent theme and explicit field of philosophical inquiry only in the 20th century. This course will approach the theme of technology from five perspectives: (1) Historical: How did technology arise as a philosophical concern and how did the development of technology influence thought about it? (2) Metaphysical: What role does technology play in our understanding of ‘reality’? Is technology one element among others in what we take to be ‘real,’ or does it determine our views of ‘reality’? (3) Epistemological: What is the relation between science and technology? Is technology a result or application of ‘scientific knowledge,’ or does technology govern or drive science itself? (4) Ethical/Political: In what ways does technology influence and/or challenge our views about what is ‘valuable’ about our individual and collective ways of living? Is the development of technology something to be embraced or rejected/limited with respect to human values and aspirations? (5) ‘Futurist’: Can the ‘digital revolution’ be understood as continuous with the history of technology itself or does it represent some new metamorphosis of both what it means to be ‘human’ and of ‘reality’ itself? This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2700 Biomedical Ethics (4 Credits)

Discussion of some of the most pressing ethical issues engaged by contemporary developments in biology and medicine. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

PHIL 2770 Philosophy of Science (4 Credits)

This course provides an introduction to some major topics in the philosophy of science focusing on issues concerning what science is and how it works, the scientific method, the objectivity of science and the goal of science. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2005 Philosophy of Religion (4 Credits)

What is God? Can God be known or is faith precisely a relationship to something that cannot be known in the ordinary sense? What is the relationship between God and morality? Between God and science? Is it more reasonable to believe that your religion is the only path to God or more reasonable to believe that God is manifest in many ways across different cultures? Is it reasonable to believe in God at all? If it is reasonable to believe in God, what are the reasons? And if believing in God is not based on reasons in the ordinary sense, are there philosophical grounds for believing in God anyway? This course takes a "God friendly" approach to philosophical questions about religion, setting out to investigate ontological and epistemological questions about belief-in-God toward the goal of understanding different ways that philosophers over the years have philosophically gone about developing, upholding, and talking about relationship with God. The course includes consideration of philosophers from analytic and continental traditions, from American and European schools of thought, from ancient, medieval, modern and post-modern traditions, and from Greek, Islamic, Jewish, and Christian traditions. Thinkers to be addressed include Pascal, Anselm, Plantinga, Van Inwagen, Hick, Hume, Descartes, Spinoza, Plato, Aristotle, Ibn Tufayl, Averroes, Maimonides, James, Levinas, Marion, Badiou, Rosenzweig, Aquinas, Buber, Cohen, Mill, Lycan, Kant, Wittgenstein, Kierkegaard, and Kafka. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with PHIL 2005.

RLGS 2008 Stereotyping and Violence in America Today (4 Credits)

This course is cross-listed with PHIL 2008, COMN 2008, JUST 2008. This course offers students the opportunity to explore key issues relating to diversity and inclusion in the contemporary United States, focusing on the themes of stereotyping and violence, from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students will engage with scholarly and popular culture artifacts to examine the kinds of stereotyping and types of violence, visible and invisible, that characterize and challenge political, social, cultural, economic, religious, and educational life in today’s United States, and will do so by working with the course instructor as well as faculty members from across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Students will work together to connect the given week’s speaker’s assigned readings and insights to readings and insights from previous weeks’ speakers; assignments and classroom discussion will in this way be very interdisciplinary and will compare and contrast multiple diverse points of view and disciplinary lenses on the question of stereotyping and violence. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2012 Jewish Politics and Political Jews in the United States (4 Credits)

Milton Himmelfarb famously quipped that “Jews earn like Episcopalians, and vote like Puerto Ricans.” This statement captures the surprising loyalty of American Jews to liberalism and the Democratic party despite the group’s significant socioeconomic achievement in the post-World War II era. This course considers Jewish political behavior in the United States through a variety of disciplinary lenses. Our study will be enriched through archival research in the Beck archives (held at DU) and through conversations with local political figures. The course will also track and analyze relevant developments for Jews and politics related to the 2020 Presidential election. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society requirement for the Undergraduate Core Curriculum. Cross-listed with JUST 2012.

RLGS 2014 Religious Existentialism: Christian and Jewish (4 Credits)

Existentialism focuses on the human experience of living, often with a focus on the sheer freedom of the human condition. Religious existentialism subtly modifies this picture through its own vision of human freedom as the ultimate encounter between the human subject and God (with 'God' understood in various ways). The religious existentialist in this sense philosophically explores that which is most-fully-human as a moment of relation and encounter between self and that which is beyond self. Starting with Sartre's non-religious statement of existentialism in Existentialism is a Humanism (1946), we go on to examine the Christian and Jewish existentialisms of Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Tillich (1886-1965), Buber (1878-1965), and Heschel (1907-1972). In the course of our reflections, we compare non-religious with religious approaches to basic questions about self, God and world, and we consider the relationship between Christian and Jewish existentialist approaches to these questions. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross-listed with PHIL 2014 and JUST 2014.

RLGS 2022 Religion and Empire (4 Credits)

The course will explore in both a past and present context how religious forms, traditions, and practices are integrally bound up with the rise and fall of empires. It will also explore from a theoretical standpoint certain social, political, and economic factors that explain the development and historical persistence of imperial governance as well as the role of religion in both preserving and undermining empire. It will also touch on the phenomenon of “religious nationalism” in these processes. Specific empires to be studied include the Roman empire, the “Holy Roman empire”, Islamic empires, the British and American empires (including what has come to be known as “neoliberalism”). This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2025 Race, Social Justice, and Religion in the US Public Square (4 Credits)

The US public square is a fundamental aspect of civic engagement and identity construction. This course uses the lenses of race and social justice to explore how religious expression impacts the cultural, social, political, and personal narratives/discourses that comprise the modern public square. We will consider public spaces in the context of anti-Asian and anti-Black racism as well as Islamophobia and the intersectional privileges and prejudices these communities negotiate. Issues such as immigration, borders, racialization, entrenched beliefs and traditions dovetailing with structural racism in the American context will be discussed each through video modules from the Interfaith Youth Core along with supplemental readings. By centering the lived practices and discourses through which access and agency is forged within public spaces (material and virtual), I want students to learn how they are both participants in and makers of these spaces. This course asks students to interrogate the ways in which their personal identities intersectionally determine how public spaces are constructed, which public spaces we enter, and how we participate in those spaces. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2026 Race: Black, Jew, Other (4 Credits)

In its investigation of philosophical writings on race and racism, this course explores a range of existential and phenomenological lenses for interrogating race and racism, with a focus on the shared theoretical and practical intersections of anti-Black and anti-Jew discourse. The course aims to help participants read and understand difficult primary philosophical (and some theological) texts—many of which are cited and engaged by contemporary writings across a number of disciplines. In this respect, we work through philosophical writings related to race, exile, “negritude,” “the wandering Jew,” and “otherness” by engaging such authors as: Sartre, Wright, De Bois, Levinas, Senghor, Fanon, Freud, Appiah, Jankelevitch, and Cone, alongside Gilman’s work on the “Jew’s Body” and “Jewish Self-Hatred,” Bernasconi’s work on the phenomenology of race, and discourses of “Other-as-disease” in American and Nazi eugenics. In all of its content, the course aims to engage participants with key issues and questions around race and racism, including extending the implications of anti-Black and anti-Jew discourses / practices to a range of other anti-Other discourses / practices at play in the world around us. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross-listed with JUST-2026 and PHIL-2026.

RLGS 2102 Judaism, Christianity & Islam (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to the three major monotheistic religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In the process of tracing the long and rich histories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, we examine the beliefs and practices that became central and definitive for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. We begin with the ancient heritage of each religion (scriptures, founders, early institutions). Then we explore how these foundational traditions were preserved and re-invigorated in response to centuries of social change and critical moments of political upheaval. Most significant, in this regard, is the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim encounter with their respective holy Scriptures--as generation after generation of adherents have attempted to understand the revealed words of God, to proclaim their continual relevance for all places and all times and to inscribe them upon their bodies and hearts through prayer, worship, and daily life. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2103 Religions of China & Japan (4 Credits)

This is an introduction of some of the major East Asian religious and ethical traditions, focusing on Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto. By examining both translations of sacred texts as well as scholarly analyses, we explore the basic ideas, practices, and historical development of these varied and interconnected traditions. Special attention is paid to how people incorporate East Asian religious and ethical ideas and beliefs into contemporary life and how gender shapes the experience of religion. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2104 The Bible as Literature (4 Credits)

The Bible has been one of the most important works in all of Western society. In this course we read the Bible as a masterpiece of literature. Rather than focusing on theological questions about this work as inspired scripture, we instead focus on its rich literary qualities and explore some ways in which these stories have influenced modern society. Reading select passages, we discuss its literary genres, forms, symbols and motifs, many of which are important in literature today. Of the latter, we encounter stories of creation and hero tales, parables, apocalyptic literature, and themes of paradise and the loss of Eden, wilderness, covenant, and the promised land. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with ENGL 2104 and JUST 2104.

RLGS 2106 Religious and Social Justice in Vienna (4 Credits)

This special travel course provides an opportunity for students to learn how certain major religions are globally engaged in the promotion of social justice through humanitarian relief work and cultural exchanges. In addition to a brief survey of the historical relationship between the beliefs, teachings, and social practices of the major Western traditions, the course offers hands-on experience and interaction with Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant relief agencies as well as other non-governmental organizations in Vienna, Austria, which has become the international center for UN-directed human services and humanitarian relief efforts as well as global headquarters for leading NGOs. Students discover how the culture, history, and geography of Vienna have nurtured the vast global human services "economy" to which these religious organizations contribute and which are built around the work of the United Nations. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2108 Islam in the United States (4 Credits)

A historical introduction to the presence of Islam and Muslims in the United States, from an examination of the first Muslims in North America, to the substantive influence of the minority Indian evangelical Ahmadiyya movement, to Islam in African American communities. Also examines contemporary Muslim communities in the U.S. and the ways in which ritual and faith are today developing with "American" accents. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2109 Religions of Tibet (4 Credits)

This course explores the religious terrain of Tibet by looking at the historical and cultural development of the four main Tibetan Buddhist traditions: Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu and Geluk, as well as the indigenous religion called Bon. Topics include the sacred landscape of Tibet; key doctrinal features; cultural artifacts like sacred biographies, art, and poetry; the 20th-century spread of Tibetan Buddhism from the Himalayas to North American communities; the future of Tibetan Buddhism in exile; and China and the West. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2110 Buddhism in the U.S.A. (4 Credits)

Exploration of different viewpoints on complex issues related to the assimilation, acculturation and reinvention of Asian Buddhist traditions both locally and globally in the past 150 years. Students consider the "two-way traffic" between recent developments in various traditions of newly Americanized Buddhism and their respective cultures of origin through the processes of globalization and transnationalism. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2111 Islam and United States Politics (4 Credits)

This course offers students a historically grounded introduction to the relationship(s) between Islam and United States politics. Students consider the role played by Islam and Muslims in early American political thought, Americans’ relationships with Muslims abroad and at home, as well as evangelization efforts. It examines the impacts of the Nation of Islam, the Cold War, Iranian Revolution and Gulf War I, as well as of the September 11 terror attacks, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the 2006 and 2008 elections, and concludes by reflecting on the 2012 election and suggesting how Islam might impact U.S. politics over the next decade. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2112 Major Islamic Thinkers 1900s-2000s (4 Credits)

This course offers students a substantive introduction to major Islamic thinkers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Starting with Abu `Ala Maududi, whose work on Qur'anic interpretation and the meaning of jihad laid the groundwork for new waves of radical activism in the modern Muslim world, this course exposes students to the works of "movers and shakers" like Sayyid Qutb and Ayotollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Students engage these thinkers through a mix of primary and secondary sources, developing a sense of context as they work through their arguments. The course continues with some of the major later 20th-century Islamic thinkers active in Muslim-minority spaces, focusing on Bosnian Grand Mufti Mustafa Ceric and the Moroccan-French scholar Mohammed Arkoun. It concludes by looking at two major figures of the early 21st century, noting how they blend intellectual and political activism: Iranian cleric Mohsen Kadivar and American scholar Amina Wadud. Throughout the course, student groups present on various contemporary issues, helping them develop presentation and writing skills while allowing them to apply course knowledge to real-world issues. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2114 Roots of Yoga and Tantra: Methodologies and Modern Practice (4 Credits)

This class will explore the pluralistic origins of yoga and tantra both within South Asia and a global context, the relationship between yoga (union, control) and tantra (ritual/material technologies), how they function as a ritual/spiritual practices, and conclude by examining how yoga and tantra have become popular, transnational phenomena The first half of the class focuses on the history of yogic/tantric traditions, texts, and communities while the second is devoted to study of the the guru/śiṣya (teacher/student) relationship as the foundation of modern yoga. Some of the issues we will engage include different conceptions of the human self, how and why particular cultural and religious practices cross geographical and cultural boundaries, the role of the guru, and secularization. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2115 Common Figures in the Bible and Qur’an (4 Credits)

This course offers students a thematic introduction to the key common figures in the Bible and Qur’an, focusing on the major prophets, from Adam to Jesus, as well as Eve and Mary. Grounded in the primary source texts while exposing students to classic and contemporary scholarly work on these figures, it concludes with a look at the figure of God in the two scriptures. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2116 American Mythology (4 Credits)

Myths convey social and moral values. Myths, moreover, serve as conceptual models for society and furnish "symbolic articulation of the social patterns" of a given society. In this class, students will establish clear connections between social order and the myths that sustain it, against the view that myths are merely imaginary, misguided perceptions of reality with little social value. In this course, you will need to ask yourself, "How do each of these myths translate into social behavior? In other words, how have these myths been acted out historically and how are they "performed" today? The United States of America has always had a strong, mythic sense of identity, mission, and destiny. It is worthwhile to reflect for a semester on how the "idea of America" has taken shape and is continuing to evolve and diversify. Robert Bellah introduced the influential concept of an American "civil religion"--a secular myth of America. In addition, we must understand that America is the result of contact between at least three different groups of people: Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans. The functional equivalents of creed, scripture, prophets and religious mission are seen in the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers and Manifest Destiny. Concepts of freedom, the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness, democracy, and the right to bear arms flow from these myths. Beyond the notion of a master myth of America, we will discover that there are other myths of America that are themselves proper objects of study. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2117 Religions of India (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to the religions of India, which include Jainism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. These religious traditions are distinct but always in dialogue and often in competition with one another. Students will explore how different religious communities intersect and overlap in different contexts and historical periods, including in religious spaces: temples, monasteries, pilgrimages sites, and sacred spaces. Students will learn about histories, rituals, and literature, with a focus on lived religions, past and present. This course counts toward the Analytic Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2118 "Women as the Gateway to Hell": Gender and Identity in South Asia (4 Credits)

This course explores the role of women in public and private spaces in South Asia through the lens of religious praxis and belief. We will explore the ways in which Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Sikh, Muslim, Christian, and Adivasi (indigenous) traditions have portrayed the role of women in scripture and consider these textual proscriptions and descriptions in the context of the lived experience of these belief systems. The primary aim of the course is to expose students to the complex relationship between the deified “feminine” and the construction of gender within modern South Asia. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2119 Caste, Race and Colonialism (4 Credits)

This course explores intersections of social, political, and personal structures that shape the various identities we hold. We have chosen three categories: caste, race, and colonialism, to showcase how identities emerge as unique intersectional sites of contestation and negotiation between individual difference, historical context for how to understand that difference, and the ways social/political structures valorize difference. To foreground lived experience in the construction of identity, our course will draw on a number of resources including: blogs, opinion pieces, podcasts, peer-reviewed articles, selections from books, documentaries and film, and social media both within and outside the US. The goal of this course is to encourage students to consider how “identity” and “privilege” are contingent terms that operate on multiple levels (e.g. personal, social, and political) and help uncover the networks of vulnerability, power, and access/accessibility that inform identity. Furthermore, we invite students to engage with these terms through practical assessments (e.g. producing a podcast) in order for them to “see” how they both produce and are “produced” by the various public squares in which they participate. Students will deconstruct the categories of caste, race, and colonialism in the context of socio-political and cultural structures (e.g. religion, gender identity, ability, political beliefs, etc.) We ask students to consider the following questions: In what ways, do these categories shape our personal and public identities? How do these categories work within contemporary public and private spaces? This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2202 New Testament (4 Credits)

This course takes a multifaceted approach (historical, literary, and critical) to the writings that comprise the Christian New Testament. The New Testament are read as a collection of primary documents that chronicle the primitive Church’s slow and often painful process of self-definition. In these writings it is possible to discern the tension that arose because of the strong religious and cultural ties early Christianity maintained with Palestinian Judaism, from which it emerged as a sectarian or reform movement. The careful reader also finds evidence of the new religion’s encounter with the Greco-Roman world from whose variegated ethos and culture it borrowed considerably on the way to becoming an important religious force in the first century. In exploring the New Testament, then, we attempt to recover something of the sense of what it meant to be a Christian in New Testament times. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross listed with JUST 2202.

RLGS 2205 Women, Gender, and the Bible (4 Credits)

From Eve to Mary Magdalene, women play essential roles in biblical texts. While many courses, books, and Bible studies focus primarily on men, this course will focus women included in biblical and apocryphal texts as well as the way the Bible has been used to regulate gender in society, leadership, churches, and homes. Feminist and womanist biblical criticism will be used throughout this course, as will a focus on gender critical readings. Through critical reading and reflection on both primary texts and secondary texts, students will form their own views of the representations of female characters, named and unnamed, in the Bible. Additionally, students will ponder the ways that these texts still affect women today. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2250 Introduction to African American Religions (4 Credits)

This course will explore the nature and the meaning of black religion. We will examine the historical development of African American religion in the United States and explore diverse African American religious groups, such as the Nation of Islam, the Moorish Science Temple of America, Black Jews of Harlem, and others. Specific attention is given to the ways in which African American religious groups have developed in North America, especially the United States and the Caribbean, during slavery and beyond. The course will have three sections. First, we will attempt to define religion in the larger context of religious studies. Second, we will investigate how black religions and black religious scholars deploy Africa as a deep symbol. Finally, we will survey the historical and theological development of a variety of black religions that have been influential in North America. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2251 Contemporary Gospel Music: Religion, Culture, and the Black Church (4 Credits)

This course seeks to examine the ways in which gospel music, and contemporary black gospel music in particular, has impacted not only black church culture but broader society in general. Through audio and video media, readings, and class discussion, we will discover how gospel music has influenced black church culture and popular culture. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Cross-listed with MUAC 2251.

RLGS 2301 American Indian Religion (4 Credits)

This course will provide an overview of the religious beliefs and practices, histories, cultures, and contemporary lives of the Native American communities in the Rocky Mountains (Ute) as well as those commonly referred to as the “Great Plains Indians” (primarily the Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Sioux, and Crow). Made up of thirty different tribes with seven different language groups, Plains Indians constitute a diverse range of languages, customs, social structures, and religious beliefs. As we learn about the various worldviews and lifeways of Rocky Mountain and Plains Indians peoples, we will also explore the relationships between religion and culture, religion and society, religion and land, and religion and conflict. We will watch several films covering a variety of Native American issues. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2303 Lived Religions (4 Credits)

The concept of “lived religions” has become prominent in religious studies since the 2000’s. While people may think of religions as sets of sacred writings, rules, and rituals, the “lived religions” approach focuses on the ways that people incorporate religion into their activities. The approach is new enough that scholars have not yet come to full agreement on what the term “lived religions” should include and what it implies about religions and how to study them. The course will make room, therefore, to debate the advantages and drawbacks of studying religions through the ways people use religion to shape their life. Students will examine examples of how people live their religion and trace the relationships of these practices to religious teachings and ideas. This effort will involve asking a variety of questions. How closely are religious practices related to teachings and ideas? Does a specific religion put greater emphasis on engaging in specific activities or on agreeing with particular teachings? If people’s behavior does not fit with a religion’s teachings but the people still consider it to be related to key aspects of religion, does it count as religious? Or have these people moved away from religion into a practice that is spiritually meaningful but not religious? Or is spirituality something even more sharply different from religion? Or is spirituality also part of religion? If we look closely at how people in a religious tradition live, what do we see that we would not notice if we were looking at the religion as only a system of beliefs? For instance, does the sense of time of people who adhere to the religion’s calendar of remembrances differ from the sense of time of people who do not? And what specifically would we do to learn about religion, if we concentrate on people’s actions? In opening up such inquiries students will learn both about studying religions and about major facets of religious traditions. The course will require reading and successful completion of tests. Visits to off-campus sites and completion of reports on site visits will facilitate learning through encounter and participation. Students will also undertake a project using concepts from the course to imagine and interpret lived religion in behaviors or in aspects of the physical or social world. The religions, practices, and sites for study, observation, and interpretation—as well as the assignments—may vary each time the course is offered. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2310 World Christianities (4 Credits)

This class will be an exploration of the variety of Christian expressions that have developed around the globe. As Christianity has spread through conquest, missionary work, immigration, trade, and other means, new converts and their offspring have had to reconcile Christian doctrines, rituals, and ethics with the beliefs and practices of their own cultures. This has led to what some scholars have referred to variously as mixing, syncretism, hybridity, creolization, contextualization and/or enculturation. This class, while considering the value of these terms, will, however, take the following as it’s foundational perspective: from the early Christian community to contemporary denominational specificity, all forms of Christianity have emerged as a result of cultural contextualization. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2401 Social Justice in a Global Context: Theory and Practice (4 Credits)

Theories of social justice, beginning with the ancient Hebrews and Greeks and running up through the modern era. The religious sources of these ideas, drawn primarily from the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are profiled. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2501 Islam on Film (4 Credits)

This course uses the medium of film to introduce students to the history, faith, practice, culture(s), and politics of Islam. Focusing on feature films and documentaries, it employs film to open up a broad spectrum of questions relating to personal piety, gender equity, generational conflicts, social class, governmental repression, and ritual practice. Proceeding thematically along a broad historical frame, the course focuses on the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, presenting a balanced picture of life in Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries and highlighting the complex picture of Muslim life today. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RLGS 2600 Religion and Popular Culture (4 Credits)

Although religion and popular culture are often seen as separate conceptual spheres—the former dealing with the “sacred” and the latter with the “profane”—these two spheres are deeply intertwined and shape one another. Religion often expresses itself in popular culture through the arts and various forms of media, while popular religion frequently expresses itself through religious memes and other representations. This course will explore the complex relationship between religion and popular culture. By studying film, comics, music, tattooing, and other cultural products, we will discover how beliefs, ideals, practices, institutions from various religious traditions shape popular culture and how symbols that are embedded in popular culture shape religious traditions. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RUSS 1416 Introduction to Russian Culture: The Wondrous and the Supernatural (4 Credits)

How do we explain the enchanting and mysterious world of Russian Culture? How have Russians imagined their world and themselves? To answer these questions, we will examine the various manifestations of the wondrous and the supernatural in Russian art. We will begin by reading Russian fairy tales to learn about the people’s folk beliefs and their Eastern Orthodox faith. We will then trace the Russian fantastic tradition by studying the works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century writers who wrestled to explain the marvelous and the demonic myths at the foundation of Russian culture. We will focus our attention on Russia’s cultural capitals St. Petersburg and Moscow and discuss how supernatural themes reflected social and historical realities. Authors may include Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Bely, and Bulgakov. No knowledge of Russian is necessary; all class discussions, readings, and writing are in English. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RUSS 1613 Introduction to Russian Culture and Civilization (4 Credits)

This course surveys Russia's cultural past and present—from the beginnings of the Russian state over a thousand years ago through the Soviet Union and, after its disintegration in 1991, to the Russian Federation. The course surveys the various attitudes of Russian thinkers and authors towards the question of national identity and national destiny. Examples of Russian high culture (literature, art, music, ballet, film) and Russian religious faith (Orthodoxy) are discussed alongisde daily life and folkloric beliefs. By working across disciplines, students will discover the fascinating cultural interconnectedness of Russian politics, art, faith, and national identity. Knowledge of Russian language and history is not required. The course format consists of lectures, slides, video and audio presentations, as well as whole-class and small-group discussions. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RUSS 1860 The Russian Short Story (4 Credits)

This course will introduce students to Russian literature through some of its shorter “masterpieces” of fiction. Students will explore the lives and ideas of some of Russia’s greatest writers, the literary movements of which they were a part, and the broader cultural and historical periods in which they wrote. Students will read and analyze works from the end of the 18th century to the Post-Soviet era, including stories by Pushkin, Gogol, Chekhov, and others. All course materials in English translation. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. No prerequisites.

RUSS 1922 The Soviet Experiment in Literature and Film (4 Credits)

Architects of the Soviet experiment claimed to create a radically new type of society and person, superior to all that came before. What were the defining features and founding myths of the Soviet identity, as propagandized by the government? How did this imagined identity clash with realities of life in the USSR? What cultural figures opposed the official discourse, and what artistic modes of resistance did they develop? To explore these questions, we read fiction and poetry by authors central to defining and contesting the Soviet experiment, including Maiakovski, Gladkov, Ginzburg, Pelevin, Dovlatov, and Petrushevskaya, and watch ground-breaking films by Vertov, Tarkovsky, Daneliya and others. All materials are in English. No prior knowledge of Russian literature or culture is required. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RUSS 2111 Linguistic Politeness and Intercultural Communication (4 Credits)

In this course, students will explore how American and Russian speakers perceive politeness, and how sociocultural values underlying both cultures affect the speakers’ communicative styles, their performance and perception of speech acts, and expression of emotions. Although this course focuses on Russian, other cultures will also be analyzed, such as German and Polish, and those of students’ heritage. This course will help students to improve their communicative competence and deepen their understanding of some European cultures. The course will be conducted in English. Highly recommended for students planning on studying in Russia, Germany, or Poland. The course format consists of lectures, presentations, as well as class and group discussions. Students who major in Russian may get credit by providing coursework in Russian. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

RUSS 2116 Russian 19th-Century Novel: Society, Identity, and the Rise of Prose Fiction (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to classical Russian novels by world-famous authors, including Pushkin, Lermontov, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy. Students develop an ability to interpret each work with a dual focus on text and context. Students deepen their appreciation of literary texts as works of art through learning to read closely and focusing on literary devices such as the narrator's voice, plot, structure, and figurative language. Students also learn to relate novels to their historical and cultural context, the better to understand how Russian writers responded to their country's intractable problems that included a crisis of cultural identity, the injustices of serfdom, and debates about women's place in society. All readings in English translation. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. No prerequisites.

RUSS 2461 Russian Science Fiction (4 Credits)

This course studies the fascinating world of Russian science fiction in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Throughout the term, students will examine how Russian and Soviet writers and film-makers reimagined society, science, technology, and space. We will discuss Soviet futuristic utopias, interplanetary voyages, and post-apocalyptic visions. Students will further probe the figure of the alien as a dissident or cultural Other, as Soviet authors grappled with questions of cultural and ideological difference. We will examine how sci-fi writers glorify or critique Soviet society in their visions of space flight, technologically advanced societies, alien worlds, or post-nuclear disasters. Ultimately, we will reflect on the philosophical quandaries that Russian science fiction explores. Works include pre-revolutionary sci-fi texts by Bryusov and Kuprin; Soviet dystopias by Zamiatin and Bulgakov; sci-fi classics by the Strugatsky Brothers; Tarkovsky’s filmic masterpieces; and post-Soviet science fiction by Viktor Pelevin and Sergei Lukyanenko. All readings are in English translation. No prior knowledge of Russian is required. This course fulfills part of the Common Curriculum’s “Ways of Knowing:  Analytical Inquiry:  Society and Culture” requirement. In this class, students will 1) demonstrate the ability to create or interpret the texts, ideas, or artifacts of human culture; 2) identify and analyze the connections between the texts, ideas or cultural artifacts and the human experience and/or perception of the world.

RUSS 2917 Russian Revolution in Literature and History (4 Credits)

The course introduces students to the literature, history, and art of the Russian revolution of 1917. Students examine how Russian literature helped pave the way for the revolution and how literature and film helped Russians make sense of the radical transformation of their society. Students gain insight into the reciprocal relationship of art and politics, learning how literature shaped the revolutionary movement and how the revolution inspired new forms of artistic expression. All readings in English translation. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. No prerequisites.

RUSS 3232 Russian Avant-Garde (4 Credits)

This interdisciplinary course addresses various manifestations of Russian Modernism and the Russian avant-garde in art, literature, poetry, music, theatre, and film in the late 19th – early 20th century. Its objective is to provide an understanding of the time's rapid, drastic, and often conflicting cultural and artistic transformations by examining in depth major Russian Modernist works. Students will explore such artistic and literary movements as Symbolism, Cubo-Futurism, Neo-Primitivism, Suprematism, Rayonism, and Constructivism in the context of Russian late Imperial, revolutionary, and early Soviet social, political, and philosophical developments. We will pay special attention to the cultural dialogues between Russia and the West and investigate the aesthetic, erotic, and social utopias of Russian Modernism. The course examines philosophical essays, films, plays, poems, short stories, music, and art created during the period, beginning with the first modernist experimentation of the Silver Age (turn of the century) through the imposition of Socialist Realism in the 1930s. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

SPAN 2300 Iberian Culture & Civilization (4 Credits)

Intensive study of culture of Spain; manifestations of culture found in history, art, architecture, music, literature, and politics of early and modern Spain. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Prerequisite: SPAN 2100 or 2200 or 2250 or equivalent.

SPAN 2350 Latin American Culture and Societies (4 Credits)

An introductory and interdisciplinary course on the political, historical, and cultural dynamics that have shaped Latin America, the Caribbean and U.S. Latinos. An examination of the political and intellectual movements and economic forces embedded in relations of power from pre-Colombian civilizations, colonialism, independence, nation building, and imperialism to the struggle for democracy. Analysis of diverse cultural practices such as literature, music, film, and visual art within a national and transnational context. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Prerequisite: SPAN 2100 or 2200 or 2250 or equivalent.

SPAN 2400 Latino Cultures in the United States (4 Credits)

Interdisciplinary study of Latino contemporary issues in the United States incorporating aspects of the distinct socio-historical, political, economic, and cultural dynamics that have contributed to the shaping, development and increasing prominence of Latino communities. Includes an examination of how Latino cultural forms and practices intersect with socio-historical, economic, and political forces as a framework for understanding the Mexicano/Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican and other Latino communities embedded in the very fabric of what constitutes the United States. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Prerequisite: SPAN 2100 or 2200 or 2250 or equivalent.

SPAN 2801 Writing, Memory & Terror: Post-Dictatorship Literature of the Southern Cone (4 Credits)

This course explores the representation of violence, repression and disappearance in the post-dictatorship literature of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay in literature and memorialization projects. Students will examine literary testimony in a variety of genres: narrative, poetry, theatre, and critical essays in their social, political and historical contexts, as well as its manifestations in music and film. We will discuss the role of memory in reconstructing discourses; testimonial literature and the modern and postmodern views of representation and memorialization; and points of convergence between this literature and other survivor testimonial narratives, particularly those of the Shoah. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. No knowledge of Spanish is required or expected. This class will be conducted in English and will not count toward the minor in Spanish. A total of only 4 credits from any SPAN28XX course may count toward the major in Spanish.

SPAN 2802 Afro-Latinos in the US (4 Credits)

Afro-Latin@s (Afro-Latinos and Afro-Latinas) is a group designation for a community that, until recently, had not tended to call itself, or to have been called, in that way. The group’s past, however, demonstrates a sense of tradition and shared social and cultural realities, and the term is increasingly being used in the twenty-first century. Particular to the USA context, as opposed to Latin American countries, is that here the Afro-Latin@ experience has to do with the cross-cultural relation between the Afro and the Latin@, which means most conspicuously the relation between Latin@s and African Americans. It is important, however, not to limit the concept to that connection and recognize the presence of a group that embodies both at once. This class explores the history of Afro-Latin@s in the USA, as well as examples of unique lived experiences of Afro-Latin@ individuals navigating their social identities as they intersect with other Blacks and Latin@s. The identity field linking Black Latin Americans and Latin@s across national and regional lines will remain within focus. The class will be grounded in the analysis and discussion of a variety of texts and artifacts including essays, poetry, narrative, and film. This class will be conducted in English and will not count toward the major or minor in Spanish. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

SPAN 2803 Religion and Violence in Latin America (4 Credits)

The Spanish and Portuguese imposed Catholicism in the Americas during the conquest and colonization, brutally repressing indigenous religious expression through persecution and forced conversions. While Catholic doctrine officially replaced the polytheism, animism and ancestor worship of indigenous religions, in actuality, the Colonial period saw great diversity in religious practice, as indigenous populations and African slaves developed systems of religious syncretism adapting the Catholic dogma to their beliefs and practices. However, although Latin America is currently home to more than 425 million Catholics –an estimated 40% of the Catholic population worldwide– and the Roman Catholic Church now has a Latin American pope for the first time in its history, the region is far from being religiously homogeneous. Since independence, immigration, politics, and economics have played an important role in effectively changing the religious demography of Latin America. This course will examine religion and violence in Latin America, from pre-Columbian times until 1983, focusing on the relationship between religion and political power. We will explore pre-Columbian religions; the role of religion in the conquest and colonization of the Americas; African religion and slave religious ritual; religious syncretism; religious art; immigration and religion; revolution and religion; and the political implications of Protestantism and Liberation Theology. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. This class will be conducted in English and will not count toward the major or minor in Spanish.

SPAN 2804 Latin American Popular Culture (4 Credits)

This course is an introduction to the study of Latin American popular culture. Basic theoretical notions about the subject will be introduced but the emphasis of the class will be on the discussion of literature analyzing specific situations, events or expressions drawn from various Latin American countries during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as well as the United States in the twentieth century. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. No knowledge of Spanish is required or expected. This class will be conducted in English and will not count toward the minor in Spanish. A total of only 4 credits from any SPAN28XX course may count toward the major in Spanish.

SPAN 2805 The Sociopolitics of a Majority-Minority Language in the U.S. (4 Credits)

This course is an introduction and critical exploration of the sociohistorical, sociopolitical and sociolinguistic implications of Spanish as a language of use in local communities across the United States. Because the primary focus of exploration, in this case, is the social and political issues related to Spanish in the U.S., we will focus on its use and representation, rather than on its linguistic representation. Similarly, we will conceive of language—any language—as social action, particularly the ways in which people use language to convey social and political meanings. To achieve such an undertaking, students will be exposed to an interdisciplinary, sociopolitical approach to a language spoken by more than 40 million people in the United States today (American Community Survey, 2020), exploring the complex historical context that makes Spanish the de facto second language spoken locally as well as nationally. Key to this analysis will be the introduction of social constructionism and other critical sociolinguistic notions that explain social categories such as race, language, gender and class as not fixed but rather, socially constructed. In all, this course will explore how Spanish, as a minority-majority language, presents fertile ground for recognizing the social and political implications of language use. Students will engage with the material through course lectures, active discussions, and analyses of real-life examples of Spanish use on the ground. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. No knowledge of Spanish is required or expected. This class will be conducted in English and will not count toward the minor in Spanish. A total of only 4 credits from any SPAN28XX course may count toward the major in Spanish.

SPAN 2806 Latin American Food Landscapes (4 Credits)

This course focuses on the ways in which Latin American food landscapes —alimentary cultivation, production, purveyance, preparation, and consumption— reveal the complexities of various political, socioeconomic, ecological, and cultural contexts. Students will be challenged to consider the ways in which, throughout the Américas and since the pre-conquest era, diverse food landscapes have often provided marginalized individuals and communities with opportunities to creatively resist policies or prejudices aimed at erasing local food and agricultural practices and preferences. Course lectures and readings are informed by key tenets of global and interdisciplinary food studies and offer students with the opportunity to explore a variety of genres and areas of knowledge. Course topics include the intersections of Latin American Food Landscapes and: notions of freedom, identity, and nationality; gastro-imperialism; culinary arts and seduction; food-related religious and spiritual practices; agroecology & Indigenous epistemologies; agrarian reform & food security activism; urban agriculture; breastfeeding practices and polemics; gastrotourism; cross-cultural food & mountain studies. No knowledge of Spanish is required or expected, although interested students may choose to complete select course readings or assignments in Spanish, Portuguese, and/or Quechua. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. This class will be conducted in English and will not count toward the minor in Spanish. A total of only 4 credits from any SPAN28XX course may count toward the major in Spanish.

SPAN 2807 Salvador Dalí and His Surrealist Friends (4 Credits)

This interdisciplinary course is an exploration of Salvador Dalí´s Surrealist art and life, focusing particularly on the influence that his early friendships had on his work. Students will analyze surrealist art while also learning about Dalí´s fertile artistic collaborations and personal relationships with a select group of artists such as filmmaker Luis Buñuel, writer Federico García Lorca (both intimate friends of Dalí); poets André Breton and Paul Éluard (leading voices in the Surrealist group); Éluard’s wife, the enigmatic Gala (who will ultimately become Dalí´s wife, muse and business manager); and Sigmund Freud who personally met Dalí and whose ideas about the subconscious became the ideological foundation for this experimental movement. Students will also learn about other Avant-Garde movements such as Dadaism, Ultraism and futurism.

SPAN 2808 Inventing Latin America (4 Credits)

In this course we will explore the Idea of Latin America in a broader context of social constructs and social formations using theoretical frameworks from History, Anthropology, Geography and Semiotics. Students in this course will learn and assimilate theoretical tools to identify what a social construct is, how it is built, used, and how it changes. Based on readings focused on specific examples in the history of the mass of land called first new world, first America, west indies and later, Latin America, we will analyze the ways in which temporal and spatial dimensions are enforced to build these and other concepts that are part of the global process of cultural negotiations. Modernity, traditional, underdeveloped, exotic, “western” or “not western” are part of the vocabulary that informs what has been called “politics of time and politics of space”. We will focus specially on the ways the binominal Latino/a and Latin America is used in the context of the multicultural idea of the USA, underlaying the difference in meaning when the term has been employed in the context of national discourses in Latin America. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. No knowledge of Spanish is required or expected. This class will be conducted in English and will not count toward the minor in Spanish. A total of only 4 credits from any SPAN28XX course may count toward the major in Spanish.

SPAN 2900 Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies (4 Credits)

Intended as a transition between 2000-level advanced language and cultural courses and 3000-level cultural and literature analysis courses, SPAN 2600 presents students with the opportunity to refine their analytical and interpretive skills, by examining a wide variety of Spanish language texts drawn from the literary cultural milieux of Latin America, Spain, and the United States. Throughout this course, students will acquire and utilize fundamental tools and strategies for contemporary literary and cultural studies in Spanish, including: gender and sexuality studies; race and ethnicity; decolonial thinking; pop culture; nationalism; ideology; and formal elements of interpreting texts. At the end of this course, students should be able to demonstrate relationships between distinct texts of varied media and genre (journalism, essay, short story, autobiography/memoir, historiography, oral tradition, film, photography, the plastic arts, etc.) in the interdisciplinary perspective that characterizes literary and cultural studies in the 21st century. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Prerequisites: SPAN 2100 and SPAN 2300 or SPAN 2350.

THEA 1600 Stagecraft for Theatre (4 Credits)

Stagecraft introduces students to the basic skills that allow us to realize the art of Theatre. Students will have the chance to learn construction, craft and design skills in the scenic and costume areas that can be applied in advanced Theatre classes, and in everyday life. Theatre technicians and artisans need breadth and problem-solving skills with a wide range of techniques and materials, and an awareness of the performance from all aspects. Having technical awareness makes all students better at what they do. 1. Learn through doing: experience the work of the theatre technician through complex hands-on projects in which the students have opportunities to work as craftsman and artist. 2. Learn and use the fundamental vocabulary and tools of design, as they apply to theatre production 3. Learn about -and experience creating- following the process that theatre technicians use to create multi-phase artistic projects. 4. Be introduced to the intersection of theatre design and theatre production as we practice it today in the profession- personnel, practices, the collaborative nature of the art form and our industry. 5. Students will learn safety practices, including personal protection equipment, fire code, safe tool handling, and environmental health and safety practices for the beginning artist. 6. Students will learn to use power tools, including saws, sanders, pneumatic tools and hand tools. 7. Students will learn techniques for hand and machine sewing. 8. Students will learn to select materials and techniques to build projects. 9. Students will plan a project from idea to scaled drawing to realizing the project using power and hand tools. 10. Students will learn painting techniques, and plan and execute a multi-step painted surface. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 1810 The Process of Theatre: Page to Stage (4 Credits)

Exploration of the process playwrights, directors, actors, and designers use in creating a theatrical production. Individual sections may focus on single areas only—please see department for current offerings. In this course, students will demonstrate the ability to create or interpret the texts, ideas or artifacts of human culture. They will also identify and analyze the connections between these things and the human experience/perception of the world. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 1861 Theatre Imagination (4 Credits)

Beginning exploration of nature of theatricality through exercises and study of specific plays; explore acting, directing, designing and writing. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 1862 How to Read a Play (4 Credits)

Close analysis of selected dramatic texts from Aeschylus to Caryl Churchill. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 1880 Fundamentals of Theatre Design (4 Credits)

The work of the theatre designer is to transform a text into visual and aural expression, by planning and creating the physical environment of a live performance. Students will learn about -- and learn appreciation for -- theatre design in order to be better theatre artists (and audience members) themselves, through the applied practice of designing a "paper" production, collaboratively with a small team. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 2200 Voice for the Actor (4 Credits)

In this course we learn the art and craft of compelling communication. All speakers are nervous; in this course we develop skills for managing the nerves associated with public speaking as well as learn analytical skills for unearthing and sharing complicated, and uncomplicated, text. We spend a good amount of time and effort diving into vocal training to harness the power of your voice, cultivating clarity and resonance. We explore and play with rhetorical analysis, learning to decode and employ persuasive techniques. We study and embody the intricacies of meaning-making, learning how to craft messages that resonate with authenticity and impact. All public speaking is storytelling and in this class we discover the nuances that captivate audiences and breathe life into narratives. Whether you're stepping onto the stage or addressing a crowd, this course equips you with tools to communicate clearly. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 2230 Movement and Voice for Actors (4 Credits)

Actors often learn movement and vocal training separately, despite the fact that speaking is a physical act and that an actor’s voice and body are constantly working in relationship to each other. This course has two main objectives: 1) to train your actor instrument through rigorous physical and vocal training, and 2) to help you understand the essential and dynamic relationship between an actor’s breath, body, and voice. You’ll explore how physical actor training strengthens and improves the ability to speak while ultimately allowing you to embody a character more successfully. Drawing from many areas of study in movement and voice, you will connect physical and vocal action through a series of exercises and explorations. Specifically, we’ll investigate 1) how to prepare your body for performance circumstances and to successfully support your vocal needs, and 2) how your body and voice can work symbiotically during performance to deliver a more powerful, precise, engaging performance. The course will begin with extensive physical and vocal actor training; then we’ll apply this training to specific theatrical texts; it will culminate in a collaborative performance that will provide opportunities for both individual and group performances. This work will strengthen stage presence and characterization and will heighten your emotional and physical power and commitment to each moment onstage. By the end of the quarter, if you do the work, you will be vocally and physically transformed, armed with a new approach to moving and speaking onstage. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 2870 Acting I (4 Credits)

Exploration of acting through physical and vocal exercises, followed by scene study. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 2880 Scene Design I (4 Credits)

Exploration of methods, techniques and procedures involved in transforming scenic concepts into actual practice. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 2881 Lighting Design I (4 Credits)

Exploration of methods, techniques and procedures involved in transforming lighting concepts into actual practice. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 2890 Theatre History I (4 Credits)

This course examines the development of Western theatre and drama from the Ancient Greeks to the 19th-Century, concentrating on the intellectual, social and artistic foundations of theatre and drama. The course is designed to engage theatre from its theatrical, social, cultural, and historical contexts. The lecture-discussion format of this course is intended to foster an active engagement among the students with the theatre and drama of the past. Through in-class readings, discussions of the readings, written assignments, and presentations, students are encouraged to consider the material under investigation from sociohistorical and theatrical perspectives, as well as from the material's relation and relevance to the present. The focus is on theatre and drama representative of the major styles, authors, and genres from Fifth-Century B.C.E. into the early 19th-Century. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 2891 Theatre History II (4 Credits)

This course examines the development of Western theatre and drama from the 19th-Century to the present. Concentrating on the intellectual, social and artistic foundations of theatre and drama, this course is designed to engage theatre from its theatrical, social, cultural, and historical contexts. The lecture-discussion format of this course is intended to foster an active engagement among students with the theatre and drama of the past. Through in-class readings, discussions of the readings, written assignments, and presentations, students are encouraged to consider the material under investigation from sociohistorical and theatrical perspectives, as well as from the material's relation and relevance to the present. The focus is on theatre and drama representative of the major styles, authors, and genres from the 19th-Century to the present. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

THEA 2893 History of Global Fashion Trends (4 Credits)

In this course, students will study global fashion trends throughout human history. We will delve into how and why humans choose to cover their bodies, investigate how our contemporary fashion marketplace is affecting the planet at large, and analyze how contemporary artists influence our perceptions of global fashion.

WRIT 2555 Diverse Rhetorics (4 Credits)

Rhetoric’s origins in classical texts, in the western canon, developed to serve early forms of democracy and civic participation. Despite classical rhetoric’s formative impact, plenty of languages and cultures have their own means of persuasion and civic participation. This course introduces ways that rhetoric is practiced in diverse contexts, not as a stable idea, but as an adaptive practice situated in cultures, identities, and languages, bridging writer, audience and purpose. This course starts with classical Western rhetoric, but then explores the varied practices and theories of, for example, African American, Asian, Latinx, Indigenous, and queer rhetorics, to name a few. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

WRIT 2650 Digital Rhetorics (4 Credits)

Digital media and online spaces have both introduced and challenged how we write and interact. This course covers contemporary theories and genres of rhetorical practice including network literacies, remix and re-appropriation, theories of social media, sonic, visual, procedural and algorithmic rhetorics. This course emphasizes through theory and practice new rhetorical skills including design thinking, multimedia production, iterative composing, and social media engagement. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement. Prerequisite: WRIT 1122 or permission of instructor.