Session I 6/2 - 7/2 |
LEH300
0704
MTW 9:30 -12:30
|
01A - 0164
|
DeSimone, Janet
|
Ethics and Decision Making in Literature and Film
Through literature and film, this writing-intensive course will examine decision making as a process and the ethical dimensions inherent in making choices that significantly impact the lives of others. Emphasis will be placed on decision-making strategies that embrace integrity, impartiality, authenticity, and respect. Various decision-making theories will also be explored. Some works covered include Sophie’s Choice, The Crucible, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” and 12 Angry Men. |
LEH300
MTWH
12:30-2:35 |
02A - 0165 |
Larimer, Amy |
Yoga and Habitual Thinking
Yoga and Habitual Thinking combines the study of yoga, Buddhist philosophy and recent developments in neuroscience in an effort to learn more about both our personal and cultural habits. The course will include a daily yoga and meditation practice, frequent journal assignments, research and discussion. Yoga and meditation are excellent ways to observe both our physical and mental habits. This observation will continue outside of the classroom in the form of frequent journal assignments designed to make us more aware of habitual patterns. This work will be supported with readings from both the Buddhist perspective and the scientific perspective on how we form habits and how those habits affect the relationship between the mind and the body and ourselves and the world. No prior experience is necessary and the physical aspect of the class will be designed to suit the needs of each student. |
LEH300
MTWH
2:00-4:05 PM |
03A 0166 |
Newman, Zelda |
Love, Lust and in Between: the stories of I.B. Singer
From a conflicted transgender woman, to a scholar (unsuccessfully) fighting off the promise of love, to a beautiful woman unable to overcome the pull of the devil (who feeds on lust), I.B. Singer stories examine the many forms of human desire. In this course, we will read I.B. Singer stories and observe how desire (re)appears each time in a different shape. |
LEH300
MTWH
4:25-6:30 |
03A - 0166 |
Gellens, Sam |
Three Eras of Globalization in Modern World History
This interdisciplinary course will study three eras of globalization in modern world history: the rise of joint-stock companies and their overseas expansion in Holland and England at end of the the 17th C.; the industrializing process and its connection to European imperialism in the mid-late 19th C.; and the period of globalization we know today with its origins in the growth of multinational companies with branches worldwide in the 1980s. While reference will be made to what we might label globalization in previous eras, for example during the Roman and Mongol empires and the importance of the Silk Road, the emphasis here will be on the modern period of world history. |
LEH300
MTWH
8:00-10:05 |
05A |
Madden, Brian |
Suffering and the Human Response
That suffering is a part of human existence, none would deny. There is a sense in which every area of human inquiry conducts itself with an eye to this problem. For the purposes of this course, we will explore how the question of suffering is presented and addressed in the works of artists, poets, philosophers and theologians. We will examine paintings by Grunewald, Gericault, and Picasso; explore tragedies by Sophocles and Shakespeare; and consider the problem of suffering as it is addressed in Buddhist and Epicurean philosophical works and in the Book of Job. The aim of this course, in part, will be to foster a greater understanding of the diverse ways in which the problem of suffering has been described, while also providing an opportunity to explore the breadth of human resources that have been employed in the effort to confront this problem. |
LEH300
MTW
5:45-7:50 |
81A - 0618 |
Sula, Chris |
Global Justice [w/ PHI365]
Over 80% of the world’s wealth belongs to 20% of its population. How do we account for this huge inequality? (How) Should we respond to it morally? This class will survey prospects for global justice and their related problems. In particular, we’ll consider the historical and conceptual foundations of global justice, the roles of nations and global organizations in achieving justice, different models of equality and their possible measurements, the nature and scope of human rights, and applied issues of global justice, including citizenship, war, terrorism, and the environment. Readings will cover the diverse areas of philosophy, political science, economics, and law. Our goal is to tie theories of global justice to actual practice as much as possible, so we’ll also examine public documents United Nations reports and resolutions, as well as psychological work on allocation behavior and judgments of equality and fairness. |
LEH300
FM
6/2, 4:00
LEH300
FM 6/2, 4:00 |
|
Piccolomini, Manfredi |
Birth of the Renaissance in Florence
This course examines the revival of all aspects of classical learning, both humanistic and scientific, that took place in Florence at the beginning of the Renaissance. It will concentrate both on the literary and political revolutions of the time, as well as on the influence of the rediscovered principles of Euclidean geometry in the development of perspective in painting and the creation of the maps that led to great geographical discoveries. The goal of the course is to show how the Renaissance, especially as it developed in Florence, was at the basis of the modern world |
LEH300
FM
6/2-6:00
|
0A3Wa -0415 |
Quarrell, Susan |
Widows and Maids: Medieval Images of Women in Chaucer’s "The Canterbury Tales"
Conceived as an embodiment of European progress, St. Petersburg nonetheless witnessed barbaric cruelty. This course will investigate the city’s two sides: dark and cruel, bright and inspiring. We will study the works of literature (Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Akhmatova, Brodsky and others), art (Zubov, Patterson, Dobuzhinsky) and film (“October”, “Autumn Marathon”, etc.), connected with the city, as well as some of its historical and architectural features. The course will reveal the relatedness of these different subjects, examine how they reflect reality, and analyze the development of the image of a modern city. |
LEH300
FM:
6/4, 4:00 |
OA1WA - 0169 |
Piccolomini, Manfredi |
Birth of the Renaissance in Florence
This course examines the revival of all aspects of classical learning, both humanistic and scientific, that took place in Florence at the beginning of the Renaissance. It will concentrate both on the literary and political revolutions of the time, as well as on the influence of the rediscovered principles of Euclidean geometry in the development of perspective in painting and the creation of the maps that led to great geographical discoveries. The goal of the course is to show how the Renaissance, especially as it developed in Florence, was at the basis of the modern world. |
LEH300
FM
6/2 5:00 |
OA4WA - 0833 |
McCarl, Clayton |
Poets, Priests, Painters, Punkers: Voices of Dissent in Latin America
This course will consider how official narratives have been questioned during 500 years of Latin American history. In doing so, we will examine a panorama of materials, including poetry, narrative literature, essays, visual art, music, political manifestos, historical and critical studies. We will consider how these documents challenge political and economic structures, class and gender dynamics, and conventional notions of racial, ethnic, and national identity. No knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is required. This is a writing-intensive course, and students will be required to conduct complete numerous informal and formal writing assignments. |
LEH301 Courses |
LEH301
MTWH
8:00-10:05
|
OA4WA
|
Boone, Ralph W 5
|
"Common Sense" vs Tyranny and Superstition
“These are the times that try men’s souls.” With these lines from his pamphlet Common Sense, Thomas Paine rallied not only Washington’s defeated troops but also a dispirited nation. That year Common Sense sold more copies than the bible. Thomas Paine is the first person to use the term, “The United States of America,” and it is often said that had Common Sense not been published the “Declaration of Independence” would not have come to pass. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams all considered Thomas Paine the Founding Father of the Republic. “Why then is the name Thomas Paine not a household name? Why is there no national holiday celebrating his birthday? Why did Theodore Roosevelt angrily dismiss Thomas Paine as “a dirty little atheist?” In our search for answers we will read selections from Paine’s writings: Common Sense, The Crisis, and Rights of Man. We will then examine Age of Reason, the work that caused his name to be vilified and virtually stricken from the annals of American history. |
LEH301
MTWH
10:15-12:20
|
03A - 0181 |
Zierler, David |
"War and the American Image"
This course examines American history through the perspective of war films. Our classes will offer a combination of film viewing, history-based lectures, and class discussion. Topics will be organized around each of the major wars the United States has been involved in from revolutionary times to the Gulf War. The basic premise of this course is that the war film offers students of American history a keen insight into how we choose to represent, and therefore remember, our past. |
LEH301
MTWH
2:00-4:05 |
03WA - 0182 |
Ricourt, Milagros |
The Gendering of Human Rights In Latin America
This course explores the role of women in the struggle for human rights in Latin America. Argentina’s Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, Chile’s Arpilleras, El Salvador’s COMADRES, Guatemala’s CONAVIGUA illustrate the actions of women confronting vicious dictatorships and searching for their disappeared loved ones. The course will introduce the causes of human rights violations in the region and the involvement of the United States in the context of the Cold War (1945-1991). |
LEH301
MTWH 4:25-6:30 |
04A - 0183 |
Johnson, Geoff |
Hip Hop and the Urban Crisis
The course will be focused on post-WWII urban history -- American cities in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s -- and will also include the disciplines of music and sociology. Historians, sociologists, anthropologists and other scholars interested in urban phenomena often make reference to an "urban crisis" in the United States which begins in the mid-late 1960s and arguably continues down to the present day. In this course we will investigate the highly complex nature of the "urban crisis" and problematize the term in order to see how the very definition of "urban crisis" is multifaceted and contested. The course will begin by constructing a broad overview of post-WWII U.S. urban history, then turn to various aspects of the "urban crisis" during the last few decades. The class will draw on a wide variety of readings from week to week including work by academic historians and sociologists, cultural criticism, and primary sources such as newspaper articles (there will be several required texts, but much of the reading will come in the form of handouts). |
LEH301
MTWH
5:45-7:50 |
81A - 0416 |
Kaczinsky, Charles |
Real to Reel”: New York Immigration in Film
This course will examine the history of immigration to New York City and its depiction in popular films. By examining the historical record within the framework of cinematic representations of immigration, students will confront issues of historical accuracy versus creative license. Along with comparing “real” immigration to “reel” immigration, students will analyze the films as historical artifacts of the time in which they were produced, recognizing how the films exhibit the attitudes and assumptions commonly held about immigration at particular points in American history. |
LEH301
FM
6/2 5:00 |
OA1WA - 0184 |
Hall, Polly |
American Environmental Policy
American Environmental Politics captures the major issues and stakeholders in the shaping of environmental policy. We will examine how environmental problems are identified and how solutions are formulated and implemented. By addressing the historical roots of environmentalism, milestones in the development of key policies, and current problems and conflicts, we will explore the inter-complexity and importance of the field. In addition to understanding the domestic dimensions of environmental policy, we will also integrate an international perspective on environmental law and issues that require a global response. |
LEH301
FM
6/2 6:00 |
OA2WA - 0173 |
Driver, John |
Globalization and American Media
From humble origins in the late 1700’s, United States media evolved during the early twentieth century and became the foremost world exporter of content, both of a serious nature as well as entertainment. The trend continues, although global dominance of American media may be in question. As we examine the significant highlights in the evolution of American media -- from the newspaper to radio to television to the Internet -- we will take a parallel journey and examine the effects these innovations have had on the world and probe the influence, acceptance and lack of acceptance of US media on a global level. The course seeks to stimulate a better understanding of US and world culture through a study of American media in relation to their influence (both positive and negative) on the world. The course aims to provoke thought and an understanding of US media’s impact on the world and attempts to create an environment where students from diverse backgrounds can engage in discussion about the contemporary responsibilities and challenges that face American media. The course will also pose valuable questions about the future of media in the US and the world. |
LEH301
FM
6/4 6:00 |
OA4WA - 0179 |
Carney, Jim |
Big Media: Profits vs. Public Interest
How America reacted to the “threat of Communism” and how this fear was reflected in literature, art, film and mass culture (including TV and political propaganda). The historical focus will be on the immediate post-War era of the 1950s and early 1960s. |
Session II 7/7 - 8/5
|
LEH300
MTWH
8:00-10:05 |
01B |
Madden, Brian |
Suffering and the Human Response
That suffering is a part of human existence, none would deny. There is a sense in which every area of human inquiry conducts itself with an eye to this problem. For the purposes of this course, we will explore how the question of suffering is presented and addressed in the works of artists, poets, philosophers and theologians. We will examine paintings by Grunewald, Gericault, and Picasso; explore tragedies by Sophocles and Shakespeare; and consider the problem of suffering as it is addressed in Buddhist and Epicurean philosophical works and in the Book of Job. The aim of this course, in part, will be to foster a greater understanding of the diverse ways in which the problem of suffering has been described, while also providing an opportunity to explore the breadth of human resources that have been employed in the effort to confront this problem. |
LEH300
MTWH
12:30-2:35
LEH300
FM
7/7 4:00 |
|
Brownson, Carl |
The Problem of Evil
This course will be an in-depth investigation of the argument that the existence of the evil in the world provides a reason to doubt the existence of an all-powerful, perfectly good God. We will address several of the many different versions of the argument, and several of the many different responses to the argument, and, in so doing, we will address a broad set of related questions about good and evil, free will and moral responsibility, divine intervention, better and worse possible worlds, the nature of God, and the various ways that we can put answers to all of these questions together. Course materials will be drawn primarily from philosophical sources, but we will also draw upon literary sources and religious texts. Readings will include the book of Job, Dostoevsky, Milton, Hume, Leibniz, Voltaire, and a number of recent and contemporary philosophers. |
LEH300
FM
7/7 4:00 |
04B |
Viano, Bernado |
Mexican Muralism: Revolution and Other Universal Themes
This course explores the interaction of a national, public art (mural painting) and a social event (the Mexican Revolution 1910). Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Josй Clemente Orozco, among others, created world-famous murals; their themes are universal, but two dominate: the experience of the Mexican Revolution and the concern of the place of human kind within the 20th century. The Revolution left its indelible mark on Mexican narrative as well; thus, we will read two novels that have something in common with the structure and thematic of muralismo mexicano. |
LEH300
FM
7/7 6:00
|
OA2WB - 0163 |
Carroll, Mary |
Monsters: Ancient and Modern
From the Golem to Godzilla, form gargoyles to Frankenstein, we seem to have an eternal fascination with the monstrous. When you read certain books or see certain films, do you secretly root for the monster? Are you willing to see to see his/her/its point of view? If so, this course ie one that you will enjoy. We will be investigating why certain monsters hold such a special place in our cultural and literary lives. Their existence is not based simply on being the NOT HERO; they touch deep wells within us that may hold clues to our own selves and, on a broader level, to man's inhumanity to man. Various genres, from novels to cartoons to poetry, art and film will form our course work. In addition, you will go to a museum to find an appropriate painting or sculpture that exemplifies the monstrous in a particular genre we have examined and write a major paper on that work. |
LEH300
FM
7/7 5:00 |
OA2WB - 0163 |
Quarrell, Susan |
Widows and Maids: Medieval Images of Women in Chaucer’s "The Canterbury Tales"
The Middle Ages, despite the pervasive presence of a gloomy repressive church, was a period of immense social change and lively discourse. At the center of this discourse is Geoffrey Chaucer—considered by many to be the father of English Literature. In this course we will examine the Middle Ages and the images of medieval women that emerge as portrayed by Chaucer in his work The Canterbury Tales. We will explore elements of history, economics, sociology, and psychology represented by such figures as the Prioress, Griselda (the Clerk’s Tale), and the Wife of Bath, discovering the tensions inherent in the progress of women in medieval society. Discussions of women in the Tales will touch upon the question of whether women are good or bad—modeled on either the Virgin Mary or Eve. Students will gain an understanding of the influence of gender on individual behavior, as well as on contemporary institutions of marriage, workplace, and church. |
LEH300
FM
7/7 6:00 |
OA2WB - 0163 |
Carroll, Mary |
Monsters: Ancient and Modern
From the Golem to Godzilla, form gargoyles to Frankenstein, we seem to have an eternal fascination with the monstrous. When you read certain books or see certain films, do you secretly root for the monster? Are you willing to see to see his/her/its point of view? If so, this course ie one that you will enjoy. We will be investigating why certain monsters hold such a special place in our cultural and literary lives. Their existence is not based simply on being the NOT HERO; they touch deep wells within us that may hold clues to our own selves and, on a broader level, to man's inhumanity to man. Various genres, from novels to cartoons to poetry, art and film will form our course work. In addition, you will go to a museum to find an appropriate painting or sculpture that exemplifies the monstrous in a particular genre we have examined and write a major paper on that work. |
LEH300
FM
7/7 3:00 |
OA4WB - 0833 |
Honey, Larisa |
Everyday Moscow: Past and Present
This course examines the cultural aspects of British imperialism during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Ireland, and post-imperial Britain, drawing upon the academic disciplines of history, literature, and anthropology. The major aim of the course will be to study how the identities of colonizers and colonized peoples were shaped through the “colonial encounter” with particular attention being paid to the roles of race, class, and gender. In addition to providing students with a basic historical and theoretical understanding of British imperialism, the course will consist of reading several colonial novels as well as recent scholarship by historians, literary critics, and anthropologists. |
LEH 301 Courses |
LEH301
MWH
4:25-7:15
|
01B - 0834 |
Ruiz, Philip |
Film and Society: The American Image
This American Experience course will use film as a source of cross-cultural study. Students will learn how social forces can shape and reflect the concerns and events of contemporary film. American film will be viewed from a historical perspective, as an institutional phenomenon, as well as a form of communication. Also, American film genre’s importance, meaning and popularity will be discussed, and audience receptivity to genre films in terms of social and cultural terms will be highlighted. In addition, examples of how films can challenge and shape American society will be considered. |
LEH301
MTWH 10:15-2:20
|
O2B |
Marinez, Sophie
|
Dis-Identity in Dominican American Writing |
LEH301
MTWH
5:45-7:50 PM |
81B - 0417 |
Kaczinsky, Charles |
Real to Reel”: New York Immigration in Film
This course will examine the history of immigration to New York City and its depiction in popular films. By examining the historical record within the framework of cinematic representations of immigration, students will confront issues of historical accuracy versus creative license. Along with comparing “real” immigration to “reel” immigration, students will analyze the films as historical artifacts of the time in which they were produced, recognizing how the films exhibit the attitudes and assumptions commonly held about immigration at particular points in American history. |
LEH301
FM
7/7 3:00 PM |
OA1WB - 0174 |
Carney, Jim |
Big Media: Profits vs. Public Interest
From the days of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst to Rupert Murdock - From the propagandistic Yellow Journalism to the Fox News Channel. Business interest has always been the engine that has driven American Media. The First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees free expression, but the original assumptions of the Founding Fathers, take on different meanings in a world where hundreds of billions of dollars are controlled by a few mega media corporations. To what degree does the concept of making money balance with serving “in the public interest”? This course will – with the assistance of case studies - look at the dichotomy of a free and independent press, and corporate interests. We will examine how the drive to earn a profit, has shaped modern American society, and how the commercial interests will drastically shape the brave new world by |
LEH301
FM
7/7 4:00 PM |
81B - 0417 |
Hall, Polly |
American Environmental Policy
American Environmental Politics captures the major issues and stakeholders in the shaping of environmental policy. We will examine how environmental problems are identified and how solutions are formulated and implemented. By addressing the historical roots of environmentalism, milestones in the development of key policies, and current problems and conflicts, we will explore the inter-complexity and importance of the field. In addition to understanding the domestic dimensions of environmental policy, we will also integrate an international perspective on environmental law and issues that require a global response. |
LEH301
FM
7/7 5:00 PM |
81B - 0417 |
Sanford, Victoria |
Human Rights in Latin America
This course provides an interdisciplinary overview of human rights (e.g., political, social, cultural and economic rights) and their abuses in Latin America. Child soldiers, urban gangs, street children, indigenous rights movements, coca grower movements, drug trafficking, human trafficking, government corruption, illegal land grabs, free trade zones, and rural to urban migration are among the issues affecting, challenging and shaping human rights in Latin America today. What happens when rights collide? Who decides which rights are valid? These questions and issues will be considered in the course as we examine rights issues from Mexico to Central America and the Caribbean,through the Andes and down to the Southern Cone. |