AH 3980 Critical Race and Ethnic Studi (1-4 Credits)

ANTH 2004 Anthropology of Jews & Judaism (4 Credits)

This course is cross-listed with JUST 2004 and RLGS 2004. This course pairs anthropological texts about American Jews and Judaism with related film, television, and literary representations. The objective of this course is to teach course participants to use anthropology as an interpretive lens through which to consider American Jewish life and culture. Through the study of texts on Jewish nostalgia and memory, class, race, gender, and heritage tours, course participants will learn the history of the study of Jews within anthropology and the place of Jews in the history of disciplinary anthropology. The ultimate objective of this course is to introduce anthropological theory and method in a way that provides students with a powerful analytical tool for thinking about contemporary Jewish life.

ANTH 2200 Contemporary Issues of Native North America (4 Credits)

This class focuses on Native North America and is intended to provide an approach to understanding events and processes that have shaped and continue to influence the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island. This course explores contemporary issues within Native American communities in order for students to gain a better understanding of legal and social issues between the Federal government, reservations, and urban Indian populations. We will analyze issues facing contemporary Native American nations including, but not limited to Indian gaming and casinos, federal recognition and issues of sovereignty, blood quantum and biological race, religious freedom and sacred sites, mascots, repatriation of human remains and sacred artifacts, and stereotypical views of Native Americans. Additionally, we will also discuss efforts to reclaim traditions such as language, art, and land. This course counts toward the Scientific Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ANTH 3155 Native American Resistance in the Digital Age (4 Credits)

Since Europeans first made contact with the Americas five centuries ago, depictions of indigenous peoples have largely been created by and for the colonizers. Only recently have native activists begun to take back control of their image. The course begins with the premise that indigenous peoples have been active producers of their own cultural heritage both before and after European expansion into the Americas. A postcolonial approach will be used to evaluate resistance from a historical standpoint, starting with the colonial period and into the twenty-first century. Primary attention will be placed on the late twentieth century and twenty-first century to better understand how indigenous filmmakers, curators, scientists, healers, artists, and scholars use indigenous knowledge systems to contest Western conceptions of authority. Specific topics include indigenous film and media; indigenous feminisms; the use of indigenous perspectives in natural resource management; indigenous voices in the decolonization of museums; and the role indigenous communities play in educating the public of long-lived environmental contamination of water and other natural resources. The course will be designed to explore the voice and agency of indigenous peoples in each of the aforementioned fields, and to teach the validity of indigenous perspectives. While students will be introduced to indigenous case studies from around the world, primary attention will be given to Native American tribal groups in the United States. Prerequisite: Any ANTH 1000-level course.

ANTH 3232 Critical Latinidades: Current perspectives and debates on Latinx experience(s) in the U.S (4 Credits)

This course will explore the history of the various Latinxs communities in the United States, as well as examine current debates on Latinidad. The materials for this class include film, podcasts, news articles, poetry, and academic readings. We will begin by examining the historical mass migration/mass displacement of peoples from various Latin American countries, and then dive into current debates about the pan-ethnic identity that is Latinidad. Among the current debates is who is included/excluded in the mainstream representations of Latinidad as well as highlighting voices that are denouncing the limitations of this concept/identity. The materials, class lectures, and discussions will help us to begin to understand the complexities of Latinidad in the U.S.

ANTH 3640 Race and Human Evolution (4 Credits)

Examines the history of thought about the nature and evolution of human racial differences and sexual characteristics, from the mid-19th century to the present day. Considers scientific and poplar models for explaining the evolution of racial differences, male-female reproductive behavior and gender roles. These models are examined in light of comparative primate data, ethnographic data and the material record of human evolution. Prerequisite: ANTH 2010.

ANTH 3850 We are Family: Anthropological Perspectives on Kinship and Relations (4 Credits)

Anthropologists have long been fascinated with defining who is related to whom. In the first half of this course, we will read works by leading historical anthropologists in order to gain an understanding of the various ways kinship has been defined in anthropology and defined in a diversity of cultures. These works will help us understand various kinship systems throughout the world and explore how anthropologists have worked with the concept of relatedness. This course will then turn to contemporary issues and we will devote our time to investigating current kinship studies of relatedness and how this applies to new reproductive technologies (like surrogate mothers, IVF, etc), and adoption.

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 3813 Arts of the American West (4 Credits)

This class covers a wide range of art objects and styles from the 17th century to the present in the West of the United States, from buffalo robe paintings and baskets to cowboy art and contemporary abstract landscapes. Particular attention is paid to the diversity of art traditions--Native American, Spanish and Mexican, European, Asian and Latin American--as they converge in this geographic space.

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 1600 Communication and Popular Culture (4 Credits)

This course uses various landmark theories and perspectives to analyze popular culture, with a particular emphasis on the importance of communication in the production and consumption of culture. We will examine various artifacts of popular culture including music, movies, texts, advertisements, clothing, and other relevant pieces of popular culture. In the course of this exploration, we will study the development of culture by applying different theories or 'lenses' to these artifacts. Students will experience and analyze various aspects of popular culture including production and consumption, in addition to how these processes work within the context of globalization. We will take a critical perspective in which we will challenge our own conceptions and consumption of popular culture. The goal of this course is to combine relevant theories with your own observations and interests in order to develop a careful, critical, and constructive analysis of popular culture.

COMN 1700 Fundamentals of Intercultural Communication (4 Credits)

This course explores the fundamental concepts and issues in intercultural communication. We will examine the complex relationship between culture and communication from different conceptual perspectives and consider the importance of context and power in intercultural interactions. In addition to learning theory and applying different approaches to the study of intercultural communication, this course asks that you consider your own cultural identities, values, beliefs, assumptions, worldviews, etc. through participation in class discussions. Our discussions will enhance self-reflection, critical thinking, and your own awareness to the complexity of intercultural communication. You can expect that your classmates possess varying perspectives about the materials being covered in class. We will work hard to help everyone develop their perspective and voice, embracing such factors as cultural background, race, class, gender, and sexuality.

COMN 2000 Identities in Dialogue (4 Credits)

This course will explore the complex dynamics of social identities within U.S. society and globally, inspired by the intergroup dialogue model. We will explore the ways that race, gender, sexuality, class, ability, etc., function historically, socially, and politically, including the ways that social identities affect groups on and off campus. We will practice valuable dialogue skills, including listening, reflecting on personal and others' experiences, and planning and enacting collaboration across difference. This course has no prerequisites, but students may find it helpful to take COMN 1015, 1600, or 1700 before taking this course.

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 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 3005 Diverse Family Communication (4 Credits)

This course explores the communicative experiences of diverse families, focusing on issues surrounding race/ethnicity and sexual orientation. This course aims to further student understandings of the ways diverse families communicate both inside and outside their families.

COMN 3050 Feminism and Intersectionality (4 Credits)

This course offers an overview of feminist theories as they are in dialogue with intersectionality. It offers both a contemporary and historical perspective and is also attentive to the emergence of feminist scholarship in Communication Studies. Cross listed with GWST 3050.

COMN 3140 Advanced Intercultural Communication (4 Credits)

This course is designed to study the intersection of communication and culture. In this course, culture is defined broadly to include a variety of contexts, such as race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, and class. Students gain theoretical and practical understanding of the opportunities and obstacles that exist as individuals and communities communicate within and across cultures.

ECON 2360 Economics, Ecology, and Social Welfare (4 Credits)

This course examines the interaction between economic outcomes, environmental effects, and inequality based on the contribution of alternative economic perspectives. It is divided in three core sections: Section I presents a historical examination of the restructuring of global capitalism under neoliberalism, and its impact on resource distribution and ecosystems. It follows a presentation of the theoretical differences between traditional and critical economics in the interpretation of these developments. Section II applies the concepts learned in Section I to specific case studies. For each of these case studies, the analysis will highlight both social and environmental implications and prospects for ecological sustainability and social welfare. Section III discusses alternative economic recommendations for socio-economic prosperity and ecological conservation. Prerequisite: ECON 1030.

ECON 2450 Race in the Economy (4 Credits)

This course examines economic life through a racial lens by exploring historical and contemporary experiences such as housing, employment, and wealth. A racial perspective challenges us to see economic theory, markets, work, and policy in new ways and highlights the necessity and the challenge of confronting white supremacy within a system of capitalism. Prerequisite: ECON 1020.

ECON 2540 Law and Economics (4 Credits)

This course provides an introduction to the study of law and economics, the objective being to provide a critical examination of the nexus between economics and law. After establishing foundational concepts and definitions the course turns to an investigation of legal history, traditions and movements. For example, this will include examination of common law and civil law (code), the progressive era, legal realism, critical legal studies, the law and economics movement, critical race theory, and law and neoliberalism. An assessment of distinct approaches to law and economics from different economic perspectives will also be undertaken. The latter half of the course covers the economic dimensions to various sources or core areas of law including property, contract, tort, administrative, criminal and constitutional law. Additionally, certain special topics will be introduced and analyzed throughout the course, including the social and legal construction of markets; public finance and the economic role of government; the legal foundations of money; and, environmental, international, family, public, corporate, competition and antitrust law. The course also offers exposure to hands-on and practical factors concerning the profession and practice of law including legal terminology, precedent, reasoning, case review, writing and procedure.

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 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 2730 Borderlands Literature (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to literature and stories about regions and spaces defined by borders, especially the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. The course engages with narratives that map the flows and fortifications of people and commodities, interrogate the politics of immigration, navigate the disputes over natural resources, and/or feature different contact zones or forms of encounter.

ENGL 3826 Latinx Cultural Studies (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to cultural texts and theories by U.S. Latinx subjects and asks students to consider various forms of cultural and critical methodologies.

ETHN 1004 Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (4 Credits)

Critically examines the concept of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity as categories of social, political, historical, and cultural significance, in the United States and internationally, followed by an investigation of colorblindness, diversity ideology, and modern manifestations of racial inequality. Race and ethnicity are examined as they intersect with gender, sexuality, social class, indigeneity, and immigration status. This course counts toward the Scientific Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

ETHN 2004 Quantitative Methods in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (4 Credits)

Students will be introduced to concepts and methodologies for research and writing in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES). Building on what students learned in the Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, this course aims to expose students to the various quantitative ways that knowledge about CRES is formed. Students will practice quantitative techniques using SPSS and empirical writing about race, ethnicity, and inequality. Prerequisite: ETHN 1004.

ETHN 2102 1492: Indigeneity, Settler Colonialism, Race (1-2 Credits)

The year 1492 inaugurated a profoundly destructive phase in the history of humanity, but more so for the Indigenous peoples of this hemisphere as Christopher Columbus arrived at the shores of the “New World.” Within a couple of centuries after his arrival, thriving Indigenous civilizations found themselves in dire straits, if not completely laid to waste, causing untold suffering to the original inhabitants of this continent. The waves of European settlers who followed Columbus not only forcefully settled Indigenous lands by dispossessing Native peoples, but enforced a series of spiritual, cultural, social, political, and economic changes that had devastating effects on Indigenous lifeways. Yet, Indigeneity continues to not only thrive but challenges the ongoing disruption caused by settler-colonial occupation of lands and lives. This course, which is the first of a three-part sequence, takes Indigeneity and its repression by settler-colonialism as a foundational structure that inaugurated other projects of global consequence, including (anti)Black slavery and European colonization of the “Old World.” While Indigeneity is an international concept, our focus in this class will be on New World Indigeneity, especially North America. We will approach settler colonialism not as a thing of the past but as an ongoing incursion into the lives of Indigenous people, who continue to challenge it in new and innovative ways.

ETHN 2202 1619: Slavery and Its Afterlives (1-2 Credits)

The year 1619 marked the arrival of the first slave ship on the shores of what would come to be known as the United States of America. In August of that year, an English ship reached Point Comfort on the Virginia Peninsula where 20 Black people were sold for food and other essentials. This event inaugurated what would soon become a foundational institution of the New World—anti-Black chattel slavery—which undergirded all aspects of life in the U.S. Even though slavery had existed in many forms and in many places across the globe, what the U.S. model of slavery succeeded in doing was linking slavery with Blackness. This made slavery an inescapable part of Blackness, ensuring that whoever was born Black was also born into slavery. The celebrated theorist Toni Morrison has called slavery “America’s original sin.” Although slavery was formally abolished through the Emancipation Proclamation issued on Jan 1, 1863, it has continued to structure contemporary Black life, which the theorist Saidiya Hartman has termed the “aftermaths of slavery.” In other words, for critical Black theorists such as Hartman, slavery never ended but transformed into other structures that continue to render Black lives disposable. This class embraces Hartman’s understanding of slavery as an institution that has survived in (c)overt forms, as critical to understanding contemporary issues faced by Black people.

ETHN 2302 1848: Settler Colonialism to Settler Imperialism (1-2 Credits)

Description: 1848 marked the signing of the Treaty of Guadalope-Hidalgo between the U.S. and Mexico. Apart from ending the U.S.-Mexico war, the treaty forced Mexico to cede about half of its territory, including present-day states of Texas as well as California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, parts of Colorado, and many other states. This makes it one of the largest land grabs in human history. More importantly, this treaty facilitated the westward expansion of settlers, leading to new forms of racial antagonisms while escalating existing ones. This class approaches this moment as also marking the emergence of the U.S. as an imperialist superpower on the world stage as its war making, which was hitherto focused exclusively on Indigenous groups, would now be expanded to new terrains and increasingly outside the New World. We will also pay attention to how colonial expropriation and racialization of Indigenous and Black people would provide the grammar that the U.S. would use as it encountered racial others both within its newly established but unstable borders as well as across the world. In sum, this class will explore different antagonisms that comprise the "cacophony of empire" (Byrd, 2011) and how racialized groups have fought back as well as remained complicit in reinscribing the supremacy of the U.S.

ETHN 3004 Theories of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (4 Credits)

Students will be introduced to concepts and theories for research and writing in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES). Building on what students learned in the Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, this course aims to expose students to the key writings the formed the Critical Race Theory (CRT) movement, CRT’s interdisciplinary uses, the modern American controversies surrounding it, and introduce other critical theories of race and ethnicity. Prerequisite: ETHN 1004.

ETHN 3804 Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Capstone (4 Credits)

Students will learn how to conduct in-depth qualitative analyses for research and writing in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES). Building on what students learned in the Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Research Methods, and Theory, this course aims to enable students to produce their own empirical research. Various qualitative data analysis and research paper writing lessons will be covered throughout the quarter, and it is expected that students will produce a theoretically informed empirical paper centering on CRES topics. Prerequisites: ETHN 1004, ETHN 2004, and ETHN 3004.

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 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 2075 Nazi Art Looting (4 Credits)

This course examines the history and legacy of Nazi art looting, which continues to impact museums and the art world today. We begin with an overview of plundering mechanisms used by the Nazis and their collaborators, and discuss restitution efforts since the end of the Second World War. Students carry out a research project focusing on a case study, working in small groups with other students. The work is interdisciplinary and experiential, with direct relevance to ongoing restitution cases.

HIST 2531 Twentieth Century Native American History (4 Credits)

This class reviews Native history from the late 19th century to the present, focusing on the interplay between large institutions and structures – such as federal and state governments, or the US legal system – and the lived, local experience of tribal communities. The major themes followed throughout the course of the semester include: place, space, and indigeneity (indigenous identity).

HIST 2570 Civil War & Reconstruction (4 Credits)

This course covers the causes and consequences of the most important conflict in American history. We will investigate the problem of slavery, the question of states' rights, the sectional crisis, the experience of war, the role of Lincoln, the struggle over reconstruction, and the meaning and memory of the war in American life.

HIST 2640 Race and Ethnicity in Twentieth Century America (4 Credits)

This course will examine America through its cultural and racial diversity, comparing and contrasting the historical experiences of African Americans, Latina/os, European Americans, and Asian Americans over the "long" twentieth century. Together we will investigate the ways in which major events and episodes in the century affected a variety of racialized populations, and how these groups responded to their social and political environment. Attention will also be paid to changes in "American" national identity and citizenship over time, helping students think about such questions as: who is an "American"? And how did that definition change over time? How did debates over citizenship reflect Americans' ideas of race, class, ethnicity, and gender? How were racial and ethnic minorities, women, and immigrants defined at various times in opposition to Americanness?.

HIST 2645 Immigration in Twentieth Century America (4 Credits)

Immigration holds a peculiar place in our national narrative. At the same time that the United States celebrates its identity as a self-proclaimed "nation of immigrants," immigration policy and the presence of diverse peoples from around the world have historically generated intense battles over identity, national security, and civic belonging. This service-learning history course examines major topics in 20th century U.S. immigration history. Utilizing a thematic and comparative approach, we will explore how immigration and immigrants have shaped the social, political, and economic contours of American life, and how discourses of race, gender, sex and class have determined how Americans conceive of immigrants and of the nation. As part of their service-learning curriculum, students will examine salient issues in political discourse today—including xenophobia, detention and deportation policy, border policing, and the human side of the immigration debate—by volunteering with Casa de Paz, an Aurora, Colorado non-profit organization that offers support to migrants recently released from detention.

HIST 2930 From Tenochtitlan to A Global City: Urban Landscapes in the Making of Modern Mexico (4 Credits)

This course is an intensive examination of the past and present of one of the most fascinating cities in the world, Mexico City. Paying particular attention to space and place, we will examine the historical processes (political, intellectual, ecological, social, and cultural) that are manifest in the urban development of the megacity. By taking this class in Mexico City, students will be able to visit each of these locations, as well as several other significant museums and archaeological sites. Similarly, by engaging in an in-depth reflection structured along textual, visual, and in-sight materials and experiences, students will be invited to reflect about matters of change and continuity as well as how national socio-political trends are reflected in local contexts, thus also learning to reflect about the interpretive relationship between the micro-macro levels of analysis.

HIST 2940 Sports and Empire (4 Credits)

This course will look at the history of sports and colonialism over the past two centuries, considering the ways in which imperialism led to the dissemination of Western sporting traditions and culture to the global south, focusing in particular on British and French colonies in Africa and Asia (although we also take a few trips to the Caribbean, too). Each week, we will look at the history of a different sport, including cricket, tennis, soccer, golf, rugby, and hockey, and explore the intersection of race, class, and gender in how these sports were played and transformed in the imperial world. We will consider the ways in which sport was used not only as an element of the racialized “civilizing” mission of imperial ventures, but also how sport was coopted by indigenous populations to resist colonial structures of segregation and oppression. This class will ask us to reconsider the intersections and divergences in the way sports are both played and viewed by national sporting teams, local leagues and schools, and transmitted to audiences through live viewing, television, radio, and other forms of media. We will also look at the representations of sports and colonialism through films, fiction, and television shows. Finally, we will analyze the postcolonial legacies of colonial sporting cultures after decolonization, looking at the ways in which countries in the global south have taken over transnational leagues and institutions to make what were once colonial and European-dominated sporting cultures their own.

HIST 2945 Slavery and Samba: Race and Ethnicity in the Making of Modern Brazil (4 Credits)

This is a survey history course focused on how race and ethnic relations helped shape the historical formation of the Brazilian society. The course offers students an opportunity to study the historical evolution of Brazil, from the colonial period to the present day, as a way to understand how the historical exclusionary economic, political, and social structures of the country were shaped by racial elements, as well as how traditionally excluded groups have historically coped with and reacted to this reality.

HIST 3275 The Past and Afterlives of Apartheid (4 Credits)

In 1948, after a close election, a government founded on the platform of apartheid, or a radical form of racial segregation, came into power in South Africa. Apartheid as a system remained in place until 1994. This seminar delves into the roots and trajectory of apartheid, and considers its effects on the lives of South Africans. As a 3000-level topics course, the readings for this course will be interdisciplinary, but will be founded in historical methodology and process, while also considering representations of apartheid and the history of South Africa through mediums such as literature, film, music, and sports. While the origins and institutions of apartheid will be studied, as well as the history of South African nationalist and resistance movements, one of the goals of this course will be to look at the lives of ordinary South Africans, and how they resisted the apartheid state in more quotidian ways. This course will also focus on the moment of 1994 and the legacy of apartheid in South Africa’s postcolonial future, one in which the ideal of a rainbow nation was disrupted by the persistence of structural inequality and the memories of violence brought up by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We will also explore the comparative literature between apartheid South Africa and Jim Crow in the United States, considering the transnational implications of institutions of white supremacy and the legacy of British colonialism and white nationalism across the globe, as well as the fight against apartheid led by the independent nations of the global south in the United Nations.

HIST 3375 Empire: Revolt and Repression (4 Credits)

This seminar examines imperialism through case studies of European powers' repression of anti-colonial revolts. We study, for example, the case of Algeria, which gained independence from France in 1962 after a brutal war of independence. We discuss the establishment and nature of the empire in the mid-nineteenth century, the moderate decolonization movement beginning in the early twentieth century, and the radical revolt of the 1950s that prompted the French to use torture in counter-terrorism operations. This case study also is relevant to post-9/11 U.S. foreign policy, when the George W. Bush administration was widely condemned for its use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" at Guantanamo Bay and other detention sites. Facing criticism from around the world, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld studied the history of French operations in Algeria and the French response to allegations of human rights abuses. In light of this recent history, we examine the lessons that the history of French Algeria teaches us about war, terrorism and counter-terrorism in our own times.

HIST 3650 Native Crude: Indigenous Oil Politics and Activism (4 Credits)

The extraction and development of oil resources is one of the central issues driving U.S. geopolitical policy in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. As the U.S. government engages in covert and overt overseas incursions in order to secure oil supply, we have also reevaluated our domestic supply priorities. Both these dynamics-- as well as the work by multinational oil companies to continually explore and develop/exploit new oil resources-- have led to fraught negotiations between states, multinational corporations, and indigenous populations across the globe. This course explores the history of such past and present negotiations using books, articles, and documentary films.

INTS 2160 Labor in the Global Political Economy (4 Credits)

This course explores and examines the role of labor in different parts of the global economy. According to world systems theory (Wallerstein et al.), there is a global division of labor into three zones: (1) core (essentially the wealthier, high-tech, highly industrialized economies), (2) periphery (generally, but not always those that provide basic food stuffs and unprocessed raw materials to the richer countries), and (3) what is referred to the 'semi-periphery' (countries that have elements of both the core and the periphery, which tend to be 'in the middle' economically, so to speak). In each of these three zones of the global economy, labor tends to function in quite different ways in terms of wages and working conditions, technical pre-conditions (education of the work force), etc. In a similar light, many manufactured products today are not made in one place, but are the products of this global division of labor. Often one part of the manufacturing process begins in one zone, but the refining and final manufacture takes place somewhere else - making the process truly global. The global division of labor is made possible by increasingly cheap transportation costs and cheap sources of energy. Consequently, the course examines the processes of the global division of labor, how it seems to influence global production and its fundamental dynamism (but also instability), as production moves from one part of the world to another.

INTS 2235 Gender and International Relations (4 Credits)

How does gender shape international relations (IR)? How do ideas about masculinity and femininity affect war and peace? The global economy? Migration? Foreign policy? What do feminist perspectives contribute to the study of IR? These questions have relevance for the academic study of IR as well as the lived experiences of people around the world. Answering them requires attending to the ways in which gender and aspects of sexuality are constructed through social and political relations, and the hierarchies of power they reflect and maintain. Overall, this course encourages students to grapple with the issue of if and how gender matters in international relations. We will begin by introducing the concepts and theories necessary to investigate, research, analyze, and understand the gendered nature of international relations. Next, we will use this knowledge to compare gendered and feminist perspectives on IR to mainstream IR and explore why they have not been fully integrated. Then we will engage in gendered analyses of a variety of topics in IR, focusing especially on security and the economy. We will finish by carrying out research on a topic of our choosing, using the lenses and tools we have developed. In the end, students should consider whether this sort of perspective provides a more nuanced and holistic way of understanding IR.

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 1416 Postwar Japan: Changing Perspectives in Literature and Culture (4 Credits)

This course explores a range of Japanese cultural perspectives from the end of the Second World War to the present. The main focus is on the analysis and interpretation of Japanese literary texts, but during the course students also examine film, visual art, and other cultural products within a historical framework, to lead to a deeper understanding of the influences and events that have shaped both contemporary Japan and the wider world. Prerequisites: JAPN 1001.

JUST 2004 Anthropology of Jews & Judaism (4 Credits)

This course is cross-listed with ANTH 2004 and RLGS 2004. This course pairs anthropological texts about American Jews and Judaism with related film, television, and literary representations. The objective of this course is to teach course participants to use anthropology as an interpretive lens through which to consider American Jewish life and culture. Through the study of texts on Jewish nostalgia and memory, class, race, gender, and heritage tours, course participants will learn the history of the study of Jews within anthropology and the place of Jews in the history of disciplinary anthropology. The ultimate objective of this course is to introduce anthropological theory and method in a way that provides students with a powerful analytical tool for thinking about contemporary Jewish life.

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 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 2300 A History of Israel-Palestine, 1800-Present (4 Credits)

This course surveys the histories of the peoples in Israel/Palestine from the early 19th century to the present. Key topics that will be covered include, but will not be limited to, the rise of Zionism and Palestinian nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the impact of the British Mandate, the impact of the 1948 War, the experiences of Palestinian citizens and residents of Israel, Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank under Egyptian and Jordanian rule, shifts in Israeli and Palestinian politics in the mid to late 20th century, Israel’s military occupation and settlement project, and economic and social developments in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. While this course does not ignore the central role of conflict in Israeli and Palestinian histories, it seeks to move beyond the conflict paradigm and instead focus more on political, social, and economic developments in Israel/Palestine. Cross-listed with HIST 2300.

MFJS 2220 Popular Music and Social Justice (4 Credits)

What makes popular music a powerful medium for us to “fight the power” and motivate social change, and what hinders it from achieving its full potential? This course examines a range of 20th and 21st century popular music (blues, folk, rock, hip-hop, musicals, etc.) to better understand the complex relationships between music and social (in)justices. Sitting at the intersection of critical media studies, critical race & ethnic studies, popular music studies, and project-based learning, this course examines an array of 20th and 21st century popular music (blues, folk, rock, hip-hop, pop, indie, etc.) to understand the complex relationships between music and social (in)justices.

MFJS 3202 Horror Films (4 Credits)

Horror films serve as tales of morality and, as such, their themes tend to fluctuate in accordance with cultural zeitgeists. They offer commentary on socio-cultural,-political aspects, and they also have an ongoing market. Since they are inexpensive to make but have the potential to bring in profit, horror films are popular among producers. Due to their construction of fear aspect, they tend to create a lot of intrigue and dedicated fan bases. From their production to their ideological messaging to their reception, horror films offer spaces rich for cultural understanding and critical dialogue. In fact, it is these aspects that make horror films a wonderful jumping off point for discussion—students tend to love them and they are usually very accessible. With this in mind, this course will use the platform of horror films to discuss cultural differences, including anxieties and fears, the impact of globalization on horror films, the implication of franchises on horror cinema, and the representation of intersecting identity markers (both on and off-screen). Prerequisite: MFJS 2000.

MFJS 3207 Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion in Health Communication (4 Credits)

The course will begin with an overview of Health Communication in the United States and the ways in which health and illness are defined through communication, including media. We will discuss existing health disparities and social determinants of health as we examine health communication in multicultural settings in the U.S. We will further examine multicultural audiences and perspectives about health and illness, including diverse meaning systems and their influences on health attitudes and behaviors. Students will learn about cross-cultural conceptions of health and disease and how those conceptions are represented in communication about health and illness. As students learn about what it means to develop culturally grounded health communication campaigns, they will examine culture centric messaging in health promotion. We will also discuss the ways in which health care systems are promoting patient-centered health care that takes intersectionality and identity into consideration.

MFJS 3214 Representational Issues in U.S. Film (4 Credits)

This course explores the varying ways that race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, physical and mental (dis)ability, and age are represented in and by film—both historically and culturally. In addition to class discussions regarding mainstream and independent film production, students will employ close readings of filmic texts to better understand how off-screen factors greatly impact what is seen onscreen. This course will encourage students to think critically about the filmic images that they are consuming on a regular basis, as means to interrogate what is at stake when it comes to representational issues such as dominant ideologies, visual style, and assigned character roles. Finally, students will engage the texts critically as a way to understand how these onscreen identities impact the way that individuals treat others but also how they are treated themselves. Prerequisite: MFJS 2000.

MFJS 3242 Reel Women (4 Credits)

Reel Women explores films from the U.S., England, Senegal, India, Canada, Colombia, and Saudi Arabia that are made for, about, and/or by women with the aim of better understanding and centralizing issues pertinent to women’s daily lives across the world.

MFJS 3655 JEDII (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, & Internationalization) Storytelling (4 Credits)

This course focuses on multiperspectival approaches to journalism and media, with an emphasis on representations and news coverage related to gender, race/ethnicity, class, (dis)ability, religious, and national identities. The class explores journalistic writing as a creative process and craft that emphasizes social justice. Prerequisite: MFJS 2140: Storytelling & Reporting or MFJS 3410: Strategied Messaging. Cross-listed with MFJS 4655.

MFJS 4242 Reel Women (4 Credits)

Reel Women explores films from the U.S., England, Senegal, India, Canada, Colombia, and Saudi Arabia that are made for, about, and/or by women with the aim of better understanding and centralizing issues pertinent to women’s daily lives across the world.

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 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.

MUAC 3847 Hip-Hop: Theory and Practice (4 Credits)

Students in this class will examine the socio-cultural, economic, and political significance of hip-hop as a medium of expression for youth around the world. Through analysis of poplar writing and media, as well as academic texts, we critically explore issues of race, social justice, masculinity, misogyny, censorship, technology, and intellectual property, as they relate to mainstream and underground hip-hip in America. Having discussed hip-hop's roots in the U.S., the remainder of the quarter will be devoted to tracing hip-hop's global routes.

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 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 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.

PLSC 2235 Politicized "Ethnicity": Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to the Study of Identity Politics (4 Credits)

What are racial and ethnic identities? Are they more likely to influence political outcomes than other types of identity (e.g., gender, profession, class), and if so, why? This course introduces competing concepts of ethnic identity and connects them to the historical construction of race and national identities. By studying these issues in cases outside of the United States, you will gain unique comparative perspective about the idiosyncrasies of U.S. politics and history. Course materials include readings, podcasts, videos and documentary footage from political science, sociology, legal studies, and other disciplines. Why take this course? Gaining insight into the construction of ethnic, racial, and national identities will help you better understand yourself, your relationships, political campaigns, activist tactics, and episodes of political violence, among other things. The course satisfies the departmental sub-field requirement for majors in comparative/international politics. Recommended before taking this course: one introductory level course in political science.

PLSC 2360 Settler Colonialism and Indigenous Resistance in Three Continents (4 Credits)

This course explores historical and contemporary aspects of racialized power structures as they have specifically impacted indigenous peoples in Australia, the United States, and Latin America. How did the dynamics of imperialism, capitalism, liberal state-building, and racialist (and racist) ideology combine to devastate indigenous communities around the world? How did distinct perspectives on time, space, property, and community allow colonizing populations to conquer native populations even while advocating the most egalitarian political structures ever attempted? Satisfies department distribution requirement in comparative/international politics. Sophomore standing required.

PLSC 2450 Latinx Politics in the United States (4 Credits)

Examines the history and contemporary role of the Hispanic/Latinx population in the U.S. political system, exploring themes including identity, racialization, immigration, social movements, public opinion, political behavior, and public policy.

PLSC 2530 Race & Ethnicity in US Politic (4 Credits)

This course addresses the issues of race and ethnicity in American politics through two lenses: the crafting and implementation of domestic policies (such as welfare, education, and the criminal justice system) and the framing of political decisions. After an introduction to historical, sociological, and psychological approaches to the study of race and ethnicity, we apply these approaches to studies of American public policy. The course then transitions, examining the explicit and implicit racialization of political decisions. Throughout the course, students consider the role of institutional design, policy development, representation, and racial attitudes among the general public in shaping the American political environment.

PLSC 2850 Politics of Criminal Justice in the US (4 Credits)

Problems and reforms in American criminal justice system; causes and extent of crime, excessive use of force by police, systemic racism, bail reform, probation and parole; prisons and police/community relations. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

PSYC 2620 Psychology of Diversity (4 Credits)

This course provides a deep investigation into issues of diversity from a psychological perspective, including how we can understand both the value of and the threats to diversity in regards to gender, race, age, weight, and more. Prerequisite: PSYC 1001.

PSYC 3350 Cultural Psychology (4 Credits)

This seminar examines how people's sociocultural context shapes their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. To approach this question, we read and discuss classic as well as recent theoretical and empirical articles from the field of cultural psychology. Topics include defining culture; dimensions of cultural variation; culture-biology interactions; methodological considerations; cultural influences on cognition, emotion, the self, moral judgment, and health; cultural neuroscience; cultural approaches to race and ethnicity; and mechanisms of cultural influence. Throughout, this course emphasizes sociocultural diversity in psychological processes. Students are encouraged to develop empirically tractable ways of asking and answering questions relating to cultural psychology and to apply concepts of cultural psychology to their own research. Prerequisite: PSYC 2740 and PSYC 3050; must be a major or minor in psychology, must have junior standing.

RLGS 2004 Anthropology of Jews & Judaism (4 Credits)

This course is cross-listed with ANTH 2004 and JUST 2004. This course pairs anthropological texts about American Jews and Judaism with related film, television, and literary representations. The objective of this course is to teach course participants to use anthropology as an interpretive lens through which to consider American Jewish life and culture. Through the study of texts on Jewish nostalgia and memory, class, race, gender, and heritage tours, course participants will learn the history of the study of Jews within anthropology and the place of Jews in the history of disciplinary anthropology. The ultimate objective of this course is to introduce anthropological theory and method in a way that provides students with a powerful analytical tool for thinking about contemporary Jewish life.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 3205 Native Americans and Christianity in USA (4 Credits)

This class will help students explore the forms of Christianity that have emerged among the indigenous peoples of North America. In their struggles against and adaptation to Euro-American cultural forms, indigenous peoples have developed “contextualized” forms of Christian religiosity. Students will develop a careful understanding of the multiplicity and historical contingency of Christianity as it has spread throughout the world.

RLGS 3453 Is God a Racist Sexist?: Black Liberation and Womanist Theology (4 Credits)

What is God's race? Does God have a gender? Is God on the side of the oppressed? Black liberation and Womanist theologies have asked these questions based on experience of black oppression in the context of the United States. African Americans have compelled to make sense of God in light of chattel slavery, Jim Crow laws, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Black Power Movement. This questioning continues in light of today's social enviroment. This seminar course will discuss the many strands of liberation theology in the United States, including Womanist theology. In addition to black liberation theology’s methodologies and its challenges to the theological discipline, we will explore the origins and development of theological discourse in the late 1960s during the later part of the Civil Rights Movement and the emergence of the Black Power Movement. Black Theology is a theological perspective which draws on the diverse sources, including religious experience, art, literature, music, and lived narratives. These sources will inform our study. Students will engage critical voices that have shaped the movement such as James Cone, but also engage critiques of Cone and Black Theology. The course will also explore how liberation theologies attempt to deal with the problems of race, class, and gender. Student will be introduced to theological construction in African American communities and analyze the similarities and differences between these theological constructions.

RLGS 3642 Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and Civil Rights (4 Credits)

In this course, students will explore the lives and religious thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, two of the most prominent black religious leaders during the height of the US Civil Rights Movement, often perceived as ideological opposites. Through engaging with their autobiographies, speeches, students will compare and contrast their thoughts on religion, race, and politics in the United States. During the course, students will be able to identify religious and political similarities and differences between the two leaders. We will also explore the development of their religious and ideological shifts in the context of the struggle for civil rights. Ultimately, we explore how their vision for racial justice developed into a call for social and economic equality and human rights.

RLGS 3645 Religious Nationalisms: A Comparative Approach to White Christian Nationalism and Hindu Nationalism (4 Credits)

This course examines the religious nationalism in the context of South Asia and the US. We investigate the religion, identity, politics, and power with readings/materials that explore historical memory, religious symbols/rituals/canon, political upheavals, and violent actions in both of these regions. In the context of South Asia, we will examine the British colonial period and post-independence India. In the US, we will focus our attention on post-Civil War politics and the development of the modern US polity. We necessarily interrogate the history and dynamism of important terms such as “religion”, “nationalism”, and “secular” in the context of Hindu Nationalism and white Christian Nationalism in South Asia and the US respectively. At the core of our inquiry is how specific religious traditions have been invoked in political contexts (and vice-versa), public displays of religiosity, and the complex dynamics of religion and the state.

RLGS 3694 Religion in the Virtual Space: A Critical Theory Approach (4 Credits)

This course uses a critical theory lens to consider religious praxis, traditions, beliefs, canons, and rituals within virtual/digital spaces (e.g. websites, apps, social media, digital platforms for gaming, etc.). Students will be introduced to several scholars of virtual religious spaces and practices who use both netnography techniques and critical theory approaches (e.g. Wendy Chun, Lisa Nakamura, Michelle Zappavigna, Oliver Roy, etc.) as well classical scholars of semiotics and language (Judith Butler, Jacque Derrida, Walter Benjamin, Julia Kristeva, and others). Theoretical works are paired with ethnographic, historical and/or public scholarship/experiential to offer students a "lived perspective" critical approach to the topic of digital or virtual religion.

RLGS 3708 First Americans in Film: Religion, Land, and Identity (4 Credits)

This course will explore, using a chronological approach, the history of Indigenous portrayal in the US Western Cinematic tradition. Students will be exposed to a variety of interweaving historical processes; including colonial history (with particular interest in Indigenous experience), the history of the film industry, the history of Indigenous representation in film, and the history of the 20 Century United States (with particular interest in Indigenous experience). The first two weeks of the course will be dedicated to the development of a theoretical toolbox. This toolbox – consisting of a series of theoretical concepts and analytical approaches – will function as the bedrock of the class and empower students, supplying the necessary lenses through which to analyze the films that will be screened throughout the quarter.

RLGS 3814 Modern Hinduism (4 Credits)

Doctrines, practices and history of South Asian Hinduism; conceptions of Gods and gods; image worship and temples; and the influences of caste and gender on the experience of Hinduism.

RLGS 3890 Religion and Diaspora (4 Credits)

When forced to leave a homeland, displaced communities frequently turn to religion to maintain identity and adapt to--or resist--new surrounding culture(s). This course examines the role of religion and identity in three Jewish and Christian communities living in diaspora and poses questions such as the following: What is the relationship between religion and (home)land? How have the biblical themes of exodus, diaspora, promise and restoration been applied to contemporary experiences? And how have our American stories been interpreted through the lens of the Bible? As part of the service learning component, students have the opportunity to work with religious and immigrant aid organizations in the Denver community. Cross listed with JUST 3890.

RLGS 3893 Buddhism and Social Justice (4 Credits)

This course examines Buddhist theories and practices of social justice, with a focus on the contemporary global movements known as "Humanistic Buddhism" and "Socially Engaged Buddhism." The course covers topics such as: the roots of engaged Buddhism in social and political movements of 19th and 20-century Asia, the role of meditation and other Buddhist practices as both a support for and a means of social engagement, and Buddhist approaches to contemporary issues of racial justice, equality, economic development, and the environment. In the final analysis, the course asks whether the concept of justice makes sense within a Buddhist worldview, or if Buddhist concerns for social welfare hinge on an entirely different paradigm. This course is a community-engaged service learning course. As part of the course, students work with a local community partner to further their own community engagement work.

SOCI 2160 Racism and Anti-Racism through Film (4 Credits)

This course is an examination of the socio-historical and political evolution of racism and anti-racism through documentary film. We will trace the origins and continued significance of race, racism, and anti-racism from the pre-colonial era to the present. While our primary focus will be on the United States, we will also pay attention to race, racism and anti-racism in a global context. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2320 Race and Ethnic Relations (4 Credits)

Relationship of racial and ethnic minority groups to systems of social stratification; emphasis on United States. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2370 Micropolitics of Race (4 Credits)

This class explores racialized experiences and controversies that affect daily life in the United States. We use insights from sociology to analyze racial identity and public behavior. For example, why do many people of color often “code-switch” as they move from interacting with family and friends and into their workplace? Why are some Black people accustomed to giving “the nod” to other Black people they encounter in majority-white spaces? Why are many native-born Asian-Americans told that they “speak really good English” (what sociologists would call a microaggression)? We also explore controversies, including interracial dating, gentrification, “transracial” individuals, and Elizabeth Warren’s Native American identity claims. We will situate our analyses of the everyday politics of race within institutional and structural racism. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810.

SOCI 2622 Deportation Nation (4 Credits)

This service-learning course examines the nexus of the criminal justice and immigration—or, crimmigration—system. Through a scholarly analysis situated of the historical, social, and political processes that have informed contemporary immigration law and policy, the course focuses on the shift to enhanced enforcement, detention, and mass deportation. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810.

SOCI 2650 Sociology of Immigration (4 Credits)

This course applies a sociological approach to the study of international migration. Students examine early and contemporary waves of migration to the U.S.; theories of migration; processes of settlement and incorporation; the construction of immigration and citizenship; and institutional responses to immigration across and within immigrant groups. The course also examines variation in immigrant experiences along the lines of race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual and age identities. The course culminates in an examination of the impact of migration on the U.S. and on immigrants' sending communities. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2655 Latina/os in American Society (4 Credits)

Latinas and Latinos constitute one of the largest and fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States. This course uses a sociological lens to understand Latina/os' experiences in the U.S. Specifically, we address Latinas' and Latinos' historical experiences and migration trajectories; assimilation, incorporation and racial/ethnic identity formation; the family, schools and labor markets; and political participation. In so doing, we discuss and challenge stereotypes about Latina/os, present alternative perspectives about Latina/o experiences in the U.S. and most importantly, understand their contributions to their families, their communities, and to the nation as a whole. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2710 Crime and Inequality (4 Credits)

This course conducts a systematic investigation of the nature of inequality as it is related to crime and criminal justice in America. Racial, gender and class disparities are explored at critical stages of the criminal justice process, including crime commission, law-making, policing, court actions, and sentencing. This course considers the effects of inequality - particularly on system functions, employment opportunities, family stability and offenders' communities. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2719 Social Movements (4 Credits)

Studies in range of perspectives and research issues pertinent to understanding of social movements (groups operating without clear-cut direction from established social structure and culture). Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

SOCI 2726 Hate Crimes and Hate Groups (4 Credits)

This course will examine how hate crimes and hate groups in the United States have been studied by social scientists and how their findings can inform the public good. Over the quarter this course will explore how hate crimes are defined relative to other forms of bias and crime, how the criminal justice system addresses hate crime and bias, how social movement mobilization influences hate crime trends, and how hate groups influence bias and hate incidents in the United States. The course will begin by asking how we all view hate in the United States, Colorado, and Denver as lay people. Then we will explore the political determinants and forces as play in how hate crime laws came to fruition and their argued effects. Next we will explore trends and patterns in hate crime victimization and offending. Next we will explore research on hate group ideologies, formation, and relations to hate crime offending. Finally, we will conclude with broader look at how hate relates to long term trends in violence and the state and what seems to be the next best steps for addressing hate in the United States. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810.

SOCI 2820 Drugs and Society (4 Credits)

Relationship between drug use, drug control and social contexts; various sociological themes relating to use and control of drugs in American society. Prerequisite: SOCI 1810 or permission of instructor.

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 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 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 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 2930 From Tenochtitlan to A Global City: Urban Landscapes in the Making of Modern Mexico (4 Credits)

This course is an intensive examination of the past and present of one of the most fascinating cities in the world, Mexico City. Paying particular attention to space and place, we will examine the historical processes (political, intellectual, ecological, social, and cultural) that are manifest in the urban development of the megacity. By taking this class in Mexico City, students will be able to visit some of the landmarks of Mexican History, as well as several other significant museums and archaeological sites. Similarly, by engaging in an in-depth reflection structured along textual, visual, and in-sight materials and experiences, students will be invited to reflect about matters of change and continuity as well as how national socio-political trends are reflected in local contexts, thus also learning to reflect about the interpretive relationship between the micro-macro levels of analysis. Prerequisite: SPAN 2350.

SPAN 3500 Interrogating 'convivencia': Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Iberia (4 Credits)

This course proposes to critically interrogate the complex relationship between the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula, and the lasting impact of the historical relationship between these communities on the culture, literature, art, politics, and economy of Spain, with particular emphasis on the period 711-1700. Special attention is paid to problematizing the notion of ‘convivencia’ and to considering how diverse representations of the ‘three cultures’ are appropriated in the construction of national(ist) ideals that are overtly reflected in literature and art, both in Medieval and Early Modern Iberia and in contemporary Spain. Enforced Prerequisites and Restrictions: SPAN 2300, 2350, 2400, or equivalent.

SPAN 3510 Sex, Bodies, and Power in Imperial Spain (4 Credits)

This course considers the body a key locus of social and political struggle in the 16th and 17th Centuries in Spain and in the Indies. Contemplating the role of a variety of discourses from diverse fields (medicine, law, philosophy, theology, politics), we will ask such questions as: What is the body and how does it work in physical terms? How is the body used to perform or problematize legal, moral, and social identities? How is the body used as a mechanism to marginalize, control, or exclude individuals or groups, or to legitimize the authority and power of other individuals or groups? We will contemplate representations of the body in diverse media and genres (painting, sculpture, engravings, theater, novels, poetry, autobiography, medical treatises, moralizing tracts) in order to reconstruct the complex epistemology through which the body, and especially problems of race, gender, and sexuality, was conceptualized in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Particular attention will be paid to the representation of the materiality of the body (physiology as a key to moral and cultural difference), eroticism, homosexuality, cross-dressing, ‘monsters,’ sickness, and reproduction, considering the representation of such corporeal phenomena to be a privileged space for interrogating the ideologies and structures upon which Power is built. Enforced Prerequisites and Restrictions: SPAN 2300, 2350, 2400 or equivalent.

SPAN 3600 Caribbean Blackness: Conflictive Identity (4 Credits)

Introduces the student to the Caribbean region, particularly examining cultural characteristics of the Spanish speaking Caribbean, with an emphasis on race relations and the contributions of peoples of African descent. The focus is interdisciplinary and includes readings on anthropology, religion, and history among other subjects, together with close readings of literary texts. Prerequisite: SPAN 2350 or equivalent.

SPAN 3650 The Andean World: Artistic Representations of Power, Resistance and Social Change (4 Credits)

Survey of Andean literature and art created during the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries; artists' portrayals of strategies for resistance and the struggle for social justice in modern Andean society. Study of a wide variety of genres including short stories, novels, testimonials, poetry, essays, songs, visual art and film. Class discussions, theoretical texts and student analyses focus on the central theme of representations of power, resistance and social change in the Andes. Prerequisite: SPAN 2350 or equivalent.

SPAN 3670 Exploring the Amazon: A Literary, Filmic and Ethnographic Journey (4 Credits)

Introduces the student to the Amazonian region of South America and the ways in which this fascinating landscape and the diverse peoples who inhabit it have been portrayed and exploited by "outsider" novelists, filmmakers, explorers, anthropologists, businessmen, and scientists beginning in the sixteenth century. This course also includes a survey of texts selected from the oral traditions of indigenous Amazonian groups such as the Ashanika, Machiguenga, Cashinahua and Ese'eja. Assigned readings underscore the course's interdisciplinary focus and encourage students to hone their course reading and analytical writing skills through the study of anthropological, historical, literary and filmic texts. Prerequisite: SPAN 2350 or equivalent.

SPAN 3800 Central American Blackness: Forgotten Roots (4 Credits)

Introduces the student to the Central American region, with an emphasis on race relations and the cultural contributions of peoples of African descent. The focus is interdisciplinary and includes readings in history and demography among other subjects, together with close readings of literary texts. Prerequisite: SPAN 2350 or equivalent.

SS 3980 Critical Race and Ethnic Studi (1-4 Credits)