New & Topics
Course Descriptions for Spring 2006
Last updated 01/26/06
For course descriptions of regularly offered courses, see the College Bulletin.
NOTE: You can search this page for keywords by using the "Find in Page" feature of the Edit menu on your browser.
AMST 200D
American Capitalism
Prof. C. Barone
Who rules America? Economically? Politically? Culturally? Drawing on critical
perspectives from Political Economy, American Studies and Sociology, this interdisciplinary
course examines how power is structured in American capitalism across institutions,
including the social relations of production and distribution, corporations
and markets. Special attention is given to the ways in which powerful economic
groups and organizations are able to exert economic control, influence government
and dominate American institutions such as the media.
AMST 200F
Mass Media
Prof. A. Farrell
This course will examine the connections between mass media and American
culture, focusing in particular on ideological constructions, commercialism,
and audience reception. We will examine the origins of U.S. mass media, emphasizing
the utopian hopes that American citizens brought to the media and the competing
demands of commercial interests. Then we will turn our attention to analysis
of the media itself, in particular television situation comedies, television
advertisements, and television news. We will explore how meanings are constructed
within media, the ways that different audiences interpret these meanings in
multiple and often conflicting ways, and the ways that commercial constraints
shape what we see and hear on television.
AMST 200J
Gay in America
Prof. L. Malmsheimer
Through books, articles and film, Gay In America examines the historical and
contemporary conditions of life in the United States for sexual minorities.
The class will also study the evolving culture and politics of GLBT identity
groups and the representation of gays in popular culture.
AMST 301AA
The Family in America
Prof. K. Rogers
This course traces the history of the American family from the colonial period
through the present, using an interdisciplinary approach that combines readings
in demography, social history, psychology, literature, and anthropology. Topics
explored include family formation and gender creation, marriage and divorce,
family violence and the social impact of changing patterns of mortality and
fertility.
AMST 301AD
Caribbean American Identities
Prof. J. Philogene
This introductory course will provide an interdisciplinary perspective on the
development of Caribbean American identities during the 20th century. Drawing
on a wide range of materials including: art, films, videos, documentaries and
novels, this course will contextualize the social, cultural and political processes
that have shaped Caribbean American peoples. Geared towards students who are
interested in immigration and ethnicity; race, culture and visual arts, this
introductory course opens up perspectives to explore the transformative experience
of immigration and the "making" of Caribbean American identities.
More broadly, the course will utilize popular and visual arts, including music
and carnival, as critical lenses to examine the formation of Caribbean American
identities. Classes will consist of a combination of lectures and discussions.
Short slide lectures and film and video excerpts will also be part of the course.
Film/video screenings will be viewed outside of class time. All film/video viewings
are mandatory.
AMST 301AE
American Lives
Prof. S. O'Brien
In this course, we will explore the ways in which Americans have narrated life
stories (both individual and communal). We will be encountering a variety of
genres (autobiography, memoir, personal essay, documentary film, poetry, performance,
and radio narrative) and a diverse range of voices. Our texts will include Benjamin
Franklin's autobiography, Jane Kenyon and Donald Hall's poetry, Audre Lorde's
Cancer Journals, Anna Deveare Smith's Fire in the Mirror, Gloria Anzaldua
and Cheri Moraga's anthology, This Bridge Called My Back, David Sedaris'
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Lucy Grealy's Autobiography of
a Face, Mark Doty's Firebird and the oral narratives from National
Public Radio's This American Life. Throughout the course we will be
exploring the interconnection between life stories and social and historical
contexts, as well as the literary and aesthetic issues raised by the genres
we are considering.
AMST 301AF
Hollywood Renaissance
Prof. N. Mellerski
What is the nature of the "New Wave" in Hollywood cinema of the late
60s and early 70s? Was a new vision of American society being proposed, or are
these films superficially radical, yet internally conservative? In what ways
did the cinema of this period translate its audience's ambivalent relationship
to social and political change? We will try to answer these questions as we
study how competing voices on the Left and the Right in Hollywood cinema mediated
social and political change underway in the context of the Vietnam War and the
Civil Rights movement. Films by Coppola, Altman, Scorsese, Eastwood and others.
AMST 402B-01
Writing in American Studies
Prof. J. Cotten Seiler
Topics chosen annually on the basis of student interest and scholarly concerns
in the field. Such topics, explored through reading, discussion, field work,
and research, include: American Lives; The Twenties; Social Criticism in America;
Male and Female in America; Metaphors of American Experience; Myths, Fiction
and American Life; America Through Foreign Eyes; The American Artist and Society;
Photographs and American Culture. Students should refer to the class schedule
for the topic being offered in any given semester.
AMST 402B-02
Writing in American Studies
Prof. S. O'Brien
Topics chosen annually on the basis of student interest and scholarly concerns
in the field. Such topics, explored through reading, discussion, field work
and research, include: American Lives; The Twenties; Social Criticism in America;
Male and Female in America; Metaphors of American Experience; Myths, Fiction
and American Life; America Through Foreign Eyes; The American Artist and Society;
Photographs and American Culture. Students should refer to the class schedule
for the topic being offered in any given semester.
ANTHR 255
Global Eastern Africa
Prof. J. Ellison
This course examines global connections in the intersections of culture
and power that underlie contemporary issues in eastern Africa. The globally
marketed indigenous cultures and exotic landscapes of eastern Africa, like current
dilemmas of disease and economic development, are products of complex local
and transnational processes (gendered, cultural, social, economic, and political)
that developed over time. To understand ethnicity, the success or failure of
development projects, the social and economic contexts of tourism, responses
to the AIDS crisis, the increasing presence of multinational corporations, and
other contemporary issues, we will develop an ethnographic perspective that
situates cultural knowledge and practice in colonial and postcolonial contexts.
While our focus is on eastern Africa, the course will offer students ways to
think about research and processes in other contexts.
ANTHR 345D
Soc/Cult Effects of Globalization
Prof. H. Merrill
Course offered on an occasional basis that covers special topics such as African
women in development, theories of civilization, anthropology and demography
or anthropological genetics.
BIOL 401C
Virology
Prof. D. Kushner
An introduction to viruses. This course will examine the life cycle of viruses
in general and their relationships with their hosts, including the processes
of attachment to, entry into, genomic replication within, and exit from, cells.
The specific molecular and cellular biology and biochemistry of, and pathogenesis/disease
caused by, several viruses will also be studied. Related topics (such as prions,
RNA interference, and public health issues) may be discussed. Weekly reading
and discussion of primary literature will complement the lectures. Prerequisite:
Two Biology courses numbered between 120-129 or permission of the instructor;
some background in cell and/or molecular biology highly recommended.
BIOL 401E
Genomics/Proteomics/Bioinformatics
Prof. M. Roberts
Students will explore new approaches to the study of gene expression at the
genome and proteome levels. Analyzing the expression of the entire genome and
the resultant proteome have recently become possible due to the development
of novel molecular techniques. These techniques generate large data sets that
can only be adequately studied using sophisticated computer tools. The methods
of genomics, proteomics and the use of bioinformatic tools to find meaning in
the results will be the focus of this course. Special attention will be given
to the application of these methods and computer tools to the practice of medicine.
BIOL 401F
The Biology of Consciousness
Prof. T. Pires
For nearly all of the last century, neuroscience was dominated by schools
of thought that considered consciousness and self-awareness to be outside the
realm of serious scientific inquiry. In the last 10-15 years that has all changed,
and the biology of conscious mental experience has become a dynamic field of
exploration. How could the physical processes of the brain generate our sense
of experiential awareness? We will traverse this intellectual frontier with
Christof Koch's highly accessible book, The Quest for Consciousness, supplemented
by readings from the recent primary research literature.
CHEM 490G
Materials Chemistry
Prof. B. Chan
Topics may be drawn from areas such as heterocycles, natural products, medicinal
chemistry, food and nutrition, industrial chemistry, organic synthesis, inorganic
synthesis, nuclear magnetic resonance, measurement including computer applications,
spectroscopy, statistical thermodynamics and catalysis.
CMST 225
Community & Environment
Prof. J. Ellison and L. Imgrund
This course is intended to provide
students with knowledge and skills to be active participants in solving environmental
problems. Students in this course will learn an array of social science fieldwork
methods, an appreciation of how such methods are applied to ascertain community
knowledge and needs, and the means to negotiate the interests and needs of local
communities and local government to produce a positive environmental outcome.
Students will examine the intersections of community lived experience, appropriate
environmental practice, and the interests, abilities, and constraints of local
government. In the 2005-2006 academic year the course will focus on the issue
of stormwater management. If proposed again in the future, the course may address
other community environmental concerns.
COCIV 102C
Films of British RAJ in India
Prof. T. Scott Smith
British rule in India from 1757 - 1947 and its consequences is a theme recently
revisited by a number of films from India. Films from India such as 1942
A Love Story, the Oscar nominated Lagaan, and the very recent,
The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey, will be analyzed as well as classics
from the west such as Heat and Dust, Passage to India, and
Gunga Din. Notions of exercise of power in a distant foreign land will
be critically explored.
COCIV 200D
BOLLY-KOLLY-TOLLYWOOD TWICE
Prof. T. Scott Smith
Hindi cinema is viewed nationwide in India but vibrant regional cultures produce
more films in other languages. National cinema is in dialogue with regional
cinemas and language borders are crossed by literary inspiration, actors, directors,
and musical artists. Bollywood as influenced by Kollywood-Tamil cinema, Tollywood-Telegu
cinema and Tollywood-Bengali cinema, is the theme of this course. Some knowledge
of cinema studies and India or the strong willingness to fill in necessary background
is presumed.
EASIA 203C
Modern Japan Depicted in Lit
Prof. L. Winston
This course is designed to analyze and discuss how Japan developed into a world
power between the Meiji Restoration and the end of World War II, and how that
is presented in literature and film. The class will not only include the well-known
aspects of modern Japan which were in the shadow of its rapid and vast development.
EASIA 205O
Chinese Cinema
Prof. P. Fu
The course introduces students to a sampling of films made in Mainland China,
Hong Kong and Taiwan, and examines the cinematic representation of greater China
considering both local contexts and global connections. The course will analyze
visual-aural spectacles and their aesthetic merits against a backdrop of materials
that deal with political assertions, ideological underpinnings, historical conditions,
social transformations and cultural practices as represented in these visual
texts. By studying the international and domestic award-winning films of noted
filmmakers from different regions of China such as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige,
John Woo, etc., students will become familiar with different and shared perspectives.
EASIA 206H
Law, Politics, Society-E. Asia
Prof. N. Diamant
This course examines how people in East Asia use institutions to obtain justice
and how these efforts help illustrate the 'overlap' between law, politics, and
society in countries like China and Japan. Instead of assuming a single conception
of how law works and what law means, we will focus on the wide variation found
among Asian countries, social classes, and urban and rural areas as people seek
to remedy what they regard as travesties of justice. Unlike the West where such
remedial action is usually pursued through courts, in Asia we must also focus
on the ways certain social relationships, like landlord and peasant, and certain
institutions like village mediation committees and roles like mediator, serve
as a framework for seeking or thwarting justice. Such considerations are crucial
in determining where Asian judicial systems converge with and diverge from Western
models like that of the United States.
EASIA 206I
Chinese Politics
Prof. N. Diamant
An introduction to the contours of contemporary politics as shaped by traditional
and revolutionary legacies, the institutions of state socialism, China's underdevelopment
and struggles over power and policy.
EASIA 206S
Japan Since 1868
Prof. S. Kim
This course reviews Japanese history from the fall of the Tokugawa bakufu to
the recent upsurge of popular interest in Japan's security in East Asia. Topics
include Japan's emergence as a major empire before 1945 and its remarkable economic
revival in the wake of the Pacific War.
EASIA 306E
US Relations with Japan
Prof. S. Kim
This colloquium explores several contentious issues in the history of U.S.-Japan
relations from Commodore Perry's arrival in Japan to the present. Emphasis is
on the political and cultural backlash against America before and after the
Pacific War.
ECON 314G
Game Theory: the Microeconomics of Competition, Coordination, Cooperation and
Conflict
Prof. E. McPhail
Using the tools of modern evolutionary game theory we explore issues of strategic
interaction. We examine fundamental microeconomic concepts relevant to the generic
problem of coordinating social interactions among autonomous actors, with particular
attention paid to conflict, competition, collective action, coordination failures,
and the evolution of institutions and norms in capitalist economies. We draw
from a number of fields such as evolutionary biology, sociology, political science
and anthropology, as well as economics. We will read the work of such diverse
authors as Jon Elster, Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis, Thomas Schelling, Joseph
Stiglitz, Robert Boyd, Peter Richerson, Garret Hardin, Robert Sugden, John Maynard
Smith, Gary Becker, and James Buchanan. Topics include: mixed strategies, credible
threats and subgame perfection, repeated games, games with asymmetric information,
the principal-agent model, adverse selection, signaling, and bargaining. Students
must be conversant with calculus techniques and have a strong interest in reading
demanding (yet rewarding!) material. Required Courses: intermediate microeconomics
or managerial economics. Students who have not taken either one of these prerequisites
but have a strong background in math are encouraged to contact the professor
at mcphail@dickinson.edu.
ECON 496D
Policy Economics
Prof. W. Bellinger
A reading, research and conference course on a selected economics topic. Student
seminar choices must be approved by the department.
EDUC 391A
Issues in Urban Education
Prof. P. Nesselrodt
Each semester this course is organized around several research topics, such
as: literacy and numeracy, schooling in cities, the history of Western educational
thought, the liberal arts curriculum, systems of schooling in European and Asian
countries, graduate and professional schools, the testing industry, political
education and the Supreme Court and public schooling.
ENGL 101AT
American Classics 1925-1950
Prof. S. Perabo
In this course we'll study classic novels from the second quarter of the 20th
century. The focus will be on close reading of the works. We'll also discuss
the artistic, cultural, social and political contexts that frame the novels.
Authors will include Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Welty, and Salinger.
ENGL 101B
Post-Colonial Women Writers
Prof. R. Ness
Women writing in countries that were once part of a colonial empire sometimes
bear what Buchi Emecheta in Nigeria has called a double yoke. They may suffer
the burdens of both neo-colonialism and other forms of race and class prejudice
and be marginalized as females by a male-dominated cultural system. How women
confront these twin oppressions will be a main focus of the course. I have selected
9 writers, from India, Africa and the West Indies.
ENGL 101BC
The Beat Generation
Prof. J. Kupetz
Constantly migrating between New York, San Francisco and Furthur, the Beat Generation
produced literature that continues to infuriate some, to inspire others and
to incite debate. By looking at the New York and San Francisco Beats as distinct
communities, by placing those communities in a historic context and by examining
the religious vision(s) that wove them together, we endeavor to develop an understanding
of the Beat vision. This course will examine poems, novels, essays, spoken word
performances, jazz, and film to discover the "jewel-center." There
will be the usual samsara of papers, projects, and exams.
ENGL 101BG
Fictions of America
Prof. R. Winston
This course will examine a variety of short stories and novels from the 19th
and 20th centuries. All of these works comment, often in quite disparate ways,
on American identity. We will examine these works from a variety of critical
perspectives; we will concentrate on the techniques of careful, close critical
reading and thoughtful critical writing. Requirements: diligent preparation,
regular attendance and thoughtful participation; two 6-page essays; in-class
final examination.
ENGL 101BL
American Novels Since 1990
Prof. J. Kupetz
This course will examine contemporary American fiction and poetry that
"misreads," aberrantly interprets, major American cultural themes:
familial relationships, gender roles, freedom, patriotism. Students will be
required to complete two papers, a mid-term, and a final examination.
ENGL 101CB
All in the Family
Prof. V. Sams
Family life and its conflicts have provided playwrights provocative and rich
dramatic material for centuries. From Oedipus to Christy Mahon, the patricidal
"hero", for instance, figures significantly (and often provocatively)
in tragedy and comedy. How have familial dramas, and their questions of inheritance
and obedience and/or rebellion, related to broader social and political struggles?
How might familial archetypes and their theatrical representations connect to
cultural and national identity? This course will explore the twentieth-century
reconstructions and transformations of the family in drama, through the work
of such playwrights as Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill, Arthur Miller, Sebastian
Barry, and Tom Murphy, among others. Come prepared to read voraciously.
ENGL 101CG
Major African American Authors
Prof. L. Johnson
This course will examine the unique impact that select African-American authors
have had on the development of the Black literature canon. Specifically, we
will begin by asking why particular writers are deemed "major" authors
within any literary tradition. Our subsequent mission will be to survey the
selected authors' works in order to gauge the degree to which they were/are
able to subvert the constraints of pre-existing literary models so as to articulate
their distinct voices and to create a distinct body of literature in America.
During our explorations, we will consider the authors' adoptions of various
genres (poetry, slave narrative, short story, novel, and drama) to address such
themes as slavery, racial uplift, black subjectivity, art, history, class and
community. The authors whose texts we may read include: Phillis Wheatley, David
Walker, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Charles Chesnutt, Frances Harper,
W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes,
Zora Neale Hurston, August Wilson, Lorraine Hansberry, and Toni Morrison.
ENGL 101CI
Literature of AIDS
Prof. S. Chilson
Don't think gloomy. Think controversy. Think fighting. Think living. AIDS has
shaped the world. It has changed how we live and love and die. It has made all
of these issues political and has helped to define how we know ourselves. The
literature of AIDS is full of people facing not just the obvious --death-- but
life and the battle to accomplish the every day with dignity. This course will
involve readings from contemporary American literature from the early years
of the epidemic including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, and drama. We
may also watch several films.
ENGL 101F
Shakespeare on Film
Prof. D. Kranz
This is a course on what the context--Hollywood and the 20th-century global
film industry--has done to interpret and perform some texts-- Shakespeare's
16th- and 17th-century plays, and why. Students will read eight of Bard's most
famous dramas and view a film or two made of each. Movies include Romeo
and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, Othello with
Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh, and Branagh's Hamlet.
ENGL 101N
The Lyric
Prof. C. Johnston
In "The Lyric" we will read poetry from the fifteenth to the twentieth
century, with emphasis upon understanding the lyric as a poetic form, as well
as learning the conventions of poetry, e.g. metaphor, meter, rhyme. Our reading
of poems will not follow chronologically, but will use poems from various time-periods
to illustrate and build poetic principles and genres, from metaphor to nature
poetry, from sonnets to odes, sestinas and villanelles. We will conclude the
course reading a collection by Rita Dove, a recent American poet laureate; our
readings of this collection of poems will allow us to discuss how issues of
race and gender may or may not figure into a poet's understanding and use of
the conventions of the lyric.
ENGL 212A
Writing About Race
Prof. L. Johnson
In this class, we will examine different ways of understanding and writing about
race and representation. This course draws on history, politics, race and gender
studies in order to explore the phenomenon of race in America. Ever since Americans
(and observers of American culture) began to discuss and write about it, race
has been the topic of some of our most controversial national debates. We will
investigate the following: How do we define race? How do discussions of race
shape and (in) form our writing? How do, or how can, we explore the contradictions
and conflicts of our time through our writing? And will the color line remain
the greatest problem of the 21st century?
ENGL 212E
Writing About Food & Culture
Prof. A. Su
Are you what you eat? Where did you get your taste for sushi, lamb korma, apple
tart, and Peking duck, and what do these tastes reveal about you? In this nation
of immigrants, eating habits are often telling, as each group, including the
Pilgrims, has had to remake itself in a new land while trying to retain a sense
of who they were. New groups are constantly arriving and undergoing similar
transformations. As a result, it's nearly impossible to write about American
food without having to constantly redefine American culture. The writers we
will discuss are likely to include: Madison Smartt Bell, Wendell Berry, Elizabeth
David, M.F.K. Fisher, Jessica Harris, Gish Jen, Mark Kurlansky, Jill McCorkle,
Molly O'Neill, Ruth Reichl, and Jeffrey Steingarten. You'll write and revise
four essays, one of which will be a critical review.
ENGL 212K
Writing About Music
Prof. J. Kupetz
This course will examine the craft of essay writing through the lens of rock
and roll reportage, historiography, and other non-fiction modes. Readings will
focus on the phenomena of fandom, "authenticity," and "gendered
music." Additionally, contemporary literary theory and social criticism
will be applied to musical "texts" in order to posit rock and roll
as a node in the continuum of U.S. culture.
ENGL 214A
Teaching Writing
Prof. J. Gill
Instruction in rhetorical theory and the teaching of writing. Intended primarily
for training student consultants in the Dickinson College Writing Program.
ENGL 214B
Writing in the Schools
Prof. S. Chilson
This class will prepare students to teach the elements of poetry to grade school
children. We will first spend some time in class talking about poetry and what
makes a poem. Next, we will focus on methods of teaching poetry to children.
We will look at different ways to teach children the elements of poetry and
will spend some time creating exercises for the classroom. Next we will spend
several class periods in local schools teaching poetry in fourth and fifth grade
classrooms.
ENGL 218A-01
Creative Writing: Fiction
Prof. C. Hood
If you have seriously contemplated writing short fiction, then this course is
for you. The course will engage students in the art and craft of writing short
stories. It is intended for students who have read widely among past and contemporary
masters of short fiction and who are accomplished in the elements of prose composition
(mechanics, syntax, and structure). Students will be expected to produce two
new short stories (10 to 20 pages each) during the semester and revise them
during the term. The course will lay emphasis on "work-shopping" (reading,
analyzing, and discussing) students' own creative work. Class sessions will
be in the form of assigned readings, written exercises, and the writer's craft.
This focus will inform our discussions as we read participants' creative and
critical drafts, as well as contemporary works by established writers. We will
also analyze essays by established fiction writers about the craft of writing
and present these analyses orally and in writing.
ENGL 218A-02
Creative Writing: Fiction
Prof. D. Dolan
If you have seriously contemplated writing short fiction, then this course is
for you. The course will engage students in the art and craft of writing short
stories. It is intended for students who have read widely among past and contemporary
masters of short fiction and who are accomplished in the elements of prose composition
(mechanics, syntax, and structure). Students will be expected to produce two
new short stories (10 to 20 pages each) during the semester and revise them
during the term. The course will lay emphasis on "work-shopping" (reading,
analyzing, and discussing) students' own creative work. Class sessions will
be in the form of assigned readings, written exercises, and the writer's craft.
This focus will inform our discussions as we read participants' creative and
critical drafts, as well as contemporary works by established writers. We will
also analyze essays by established fiction writers about the craft of writing
and present these analyses orally and in writing.
ENGL 218B-01
Creative Writing: Poetry
Prof. A. Su
(self-explanatory - no course description needed)
ENGL 218B-02
Creative Writing: Poetry
Prof. C. Johnston
(self-explanatory - no course description needed)
ENGL 218D
Creative Writ: Screenwriting
Prof. M. Weinberg
The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the fundamentals
of good screenwriting: structure, theme, conflict, character, and dialogue.
Students will take part in weekly writing exercises as preparation for their
final class project- creating a detailed outline of an original screenplay,
and completing the first act. Topics include plot and subplot, character development,
and commercial considerations such as format and genre. Students will be required
to read essential books on scriptwriting, and will analyze several successful
films and the screenplays on which they are based.
ENGL 339H
English Renaissance Sonnet
Prof. D. Kranz
Primarily, but not exclusively, through humanist, formalist, and reader-response
approaches to the sonnets of such poets as Sidney, Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne,
and Milton, this course will explore the genesis, growth, transformations in,
and enduring appeal of the sonnet form and tradition. Early miderm, short paper,
and long paper.
ENGL 349M
Black Lit of Slavery/Freedom
Prof. L. Johnson
This course will trace the development of the African-American literary tradition
during the enslavement and Reconstruction periods. Throughout the semester,
we will analyze the many dialogues concerning slavery, emancipation, cultural
identity, integration, nationalism, and racial pride as conveyed in the various
genres of African-American literary production (autobiography, novels, poetry,
polemic, and short stories). Moreover, we will consider the influence of specific
historical events which forced the evolution of and created new ideas about
race, resistance, and uplift, the major themes around which the texts are framed.
In addition to examining the African-American oral tradition, we will focus
on the works of such authors as Lucy Terry, Phillis Wheatley, Olaudah Equiano,
David Walker, Maria Stewart, Henry Highland Garnet, Harriet Jacobs, Frederick
Douglass, William W. Brown, Harriet Wilson, Frances E. W. Harper, Charles W.
Chestnutt, and Sutton Griggs.
ENGL 354A
Pope, Dryden, Swift
Prof. R. Ness
We will concentrate on three major 17th- and 18th- century British satirists.
John Dryden, Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. Readings to include MacFlecknoe,
Gulliver's Travels, The Rape of the Lock and other texts.
ENGL 360B
Stevenson & the Late Victorian Novel
Prof. T. Reed
Robert Louis Stevenson was a hugely prolific and popular writer whose early
death in 1894 ended a career that was marked equally by strong literary convictions
and restless generic range. His work includes travelogues, personal and literary
essays, adventure stories, gothic tales, children's verse, historical romances,
and dark studies of the human condition. This course will treat a range of his
novels - most likely including Treasure Island, Jekyll and Hyde, Kidnapped,
The Master of Ballantrae, and Ebb Tide - as they represented Stevenson's
ongoing evolution in " conversation" with the other great British
novelists of his time: Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Joseph Conrad and others.
Stevenson is often remembered as a "boy's writer," but his enduring
commitment to narrative action masks an equal concern with technical refinement
and moral scruple of the most serious novelist. His last works evince, in fact,
a Conradian realism that suggests some accommodation with the Naturalist movement
he in many ways opposed.
ENGL 370F
American Lives
Prof. S. O'Brien
In this course, we will explore the ways in which Americans have narrated life
stories (both individual and communal). We will be encountering a variety of
genres (autobiography, memoir, personal essay, documentary film, poetry, performance,
and radio narrative) and a diverse range of voices. Our texts will include Benjamin
Franklin's Autobiography, Jane Kenyon and Donald Halls' poetry, Audre
Lorde's Cancer Journals, Anna Deveare Smith's Fire in the Mirror, Gloria
Anzaldua and Cheri Moraga's anthology This Bridge Called My Back, David
Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Lucy Grealy's Autobiography
of a Face, Mark Doty’s Firebird, and the oral narratives
from National Public Radio's This American Life. Throughout the course
we will be exploring the interconnection between life stories and social and
historical contexts as well as the literary and aesthetic issues raised by the
genres we are considering.
ENGL 387A
20th C British Political Drama
Prof. V. Sams
The twentieth century coincided with more explicit engagement of political and
social issues in British theater by a wide range of playwrights and theater
companies. Such engagement inspired diverse forms of political drama on local,
national and international subjects. We will study various approaches to both
creating and analyzing political theater, from "state-of-the-nation"
plays to "agitprop" and "epic" theater, with an emphasis
on their intellectual, artistic, and social contexts. Readings will include
works by Bernard Shaw, John Arden and Margaretta D'Arcy, Caryl Churchhill, Theatre
Workshop, and David Hare, as well as selected dramatic and cultural theory (largely
British Cultural Studies).
ENGL 389A
Contemporary Scottish Fiction
Prof. R. Winston
Some of the most exciting and vibrant fiction produced in Great Britain today
comes from Scotland and its writers. In this course we will examine a representative
selection of the current crop of prose fiction in a variety of genres. We will
begin with one or two examples of "traditional" fiction, to identify
models with which to contrast today's writing. Requirements: conscientious preparation,
regular attendance and active participation; one short essay, a critical research
paper, and a final (take-home) essay or essays.
ENGL 392C
Shakespeare: Politics/Culture
Prof. C. Johnston
We will read seven plays representing Shakespeare's comedies, tragedies, romances,
and histories: Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Measure for
Measure, MacBeth, Lear, and The Tempest. We will also view and discuss films
of several of these plays by such directors as Branaugh, Casson, Greenaway Kurosawa,
and Noble. The secondary - theoretical - reading for the course will primarily
draw upon New Historicist and Cultural Materialist criticism, first practiced
in the US by Stephen Greenblatt in his Renaissance Self-Fashioning (1980). Where
appropriate, we will also consider contextual and feminist issues. Assignments
will include an in-class performance of a scene from one of the plays, a mid-term,
a brief close reading essay, and a final research paper.
FLMST 301G
Creative Writ: Screenwriting
Prof. M. Weinberg
The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the fundamentals
of good screenwriting: structure, theme, conflict, character, and dialogue.
Students will take part in weekly writing exercises as preparation for their
for their final class project- creating a detailed outline of an original screenplay,
and completing the first act. Topics include plot and subplot, character development,
and commercial considerations such as format and genre. Students will be required
to read essential books on scriptwriting, and will analyze several successful
films and the screenplays on which they are based.
FLMST 301L
Hollywood Renaissance
Prof. N. Mellerski
What is the nature of the "New Wave" in Hollywood cinema of the late
60s and early 70s? Was a new vision of American society being proposed, or are
these films superficially radical, yet internally conservative? In what ways
did the cinema of this period translate its audience's ambivalent relationship
to social and political change? We will try to answer these questions as we
study how competing voices on the Left and the Right in Hollywood cinema mediated
social and political change underway in the context of the Vietnam War and the
Civil Rights movement. Films by Coppola, Altman, Scorsese, Eastwood and others.
FLMST 301M
Israeli Cinema
Prof. N. Kann
This course explores Israeli cinema in its historical and social contexts, emphasizing
the themes of state-building, war, secular-religious strife, the Holocaust and
Israeli identity. Israeli cinema reflects the complex interaction of diverse
Jewish cultures from Middle Eastern, Western and East European societies. The
course considers the evolution of Israeli cinema thematically, its self-image
and its place in Israeli society. film screenings will take place during a weekly
lab session.
FLMST 301N
Chinese Cinema
Prof. P. Fu
The course introduces students to a sampling of films made in Mainland China,
Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and examines the cinematic representation of greater
China considering both local contexts and global connections. The course will
analyze the visual-aural spectacles and their aesthetic merits against a backdrop
of materials that deal with political assertions, ideological underpinnings,
historical conditions, social transformations, and cultural practices as represented
in these visual texts. By studying the international and domestic award-winning
films of the noted filmmakers from different regions of China, such as the films
of Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, John Woo, etc., students will become familiar with
different and shared perspectives.
FLMST 301O
Media Theory
Prof. M. Picker
How do the media work? What is a medium? How do we communicate? Do we? Can one
READ images? Can films foster a revolution? What's the difference between a
gramophone and an MP3 player, really? Does speed matter? Are humans too primitive
to understand digital media?
These questions and many more have
been asked - and sometimes answered in surprising ways - by those who did not
only use, but think (deeply or superficially, professionally or obsessively)
about the media. They did so coming from various disciplines, centuries and
ideologies, but they all look at what it might mean to be human in close connection
to the media, and the ways in which media change or develop. In this course,
we will not only study some of the most important media theories, but also examine
how our notion of history is a function of our understanding of the media.
Readings will include texts by the
following authors who might be considered as "media theoricians,"
among others: Aristotle; Walter Benjamin; F. de Saussure; Charles Sanders Peirce;
Marshall McLuhan; Neil Postman; Paul Virilio; Vilém Flusser; Jean Baudrillard;
Friedrich Kittler; Samuel Weber; Roger Chartier; Sigmund Freud; Jacques Derrida.
FRNCH 365H
World of Marguerite de Navarre
Prof. S. Davidson
The reading of the "Hepatmeron" and of selected plays by the Queen
of Navarre will allow students to examine the religioius, political and social
tensions of French society in the early 16th Century . The working hypothesis
we will try to affirm or infirm is that these tensions found a resolution trhough
a new set of spiritual , intellectual and aesthetic sensibilties that have shaped
the French Renaissance.
GERMN 250J
Media Theory
Prof. M. Picker
How do the media work? What is a medium? How do we communicate? Do we? Can one
READ images? Can films foster a revolution? What's the difference between a
gramophone and an MP3 player, really? Does speed matter? Are humans too primitive
to understand digital media?
These questions and many more have
been asked - and sometimes answered in surprising ways - by those who did not
only use, but think (deeply or superficially, professionally or obsessively)
about the media. They did so coming from various disciplines, centuries and
ideologies, but they all look at what it might mean to be human in close connection
to the media, and the ways in which media change or develop. In this course,
we will not only study some of the most important media theories, but also examine
how our notion of history is a function of our understanding of the media.
Readings will include texts by the
following authors who might be considered as "media theoricians,"
among others: Aristotle; Walter Benjamin; F. de Saussure; Charles Sanders Peirce;
Marshall McLuhan; Neil Postman; Paul Virilio; Vilém Flusser; Jean Baudrillard;
Friedrich Kittler; Samuel Weber; Roger Chartier; Sigmund Freud; Jacques Derrida.
GERMN 400D
Contemporary Issues in German Culture
Prof. S. Alfers
In this course, we will explore the topic of identity formation in
contemporary German culture. Discussion of a variety of texts (art, film, literature,
music). Taught in German. Prerequisite: German major or permission of the
instructor.
HIST 211C
History of American Feminism
Prof. A. Farrell
This course will emphasize such topics as the 19th century women's movement,
the suffrage movement, radical and liberal feminism, and African-American feminism.
We will pay particular attention to the diversity of women's experiences in
the United States and to women's multiple and often conflicting responses to
patriarchy and other forms of oppression. Prerequisite: One course
in Women's Studies or history or permission of the instructor.
HIST 211L
19th Century Politics
Prof. M. Pinsker
This course offers students an advanced survey of key developments in nineteenth-century
US politics. Topics will include the birth of political parties and subsequent
partisan realignments, the social culture of early campaigns, the rise of urban
political machines, grassroots issues such as temperance and nativism and the
dramatic struggles to achieve voting rights for blacks and women.
HIST 211V
History of Film
Prof. S. Weinberger
This course will trace the development of the film industry from the late nineteenth
century up to the present. We shall consider the social, political, economic
and cultural influences that helped to shape different film styles. The focus
will be divided evenly between American films and those of Europe and Asia.
HIST 213E
Med & Renaissance Women
Prof. S. Weinberger
This course will focus on the conditions and attitudes affecting women in Western
Europe beginning with Ancient Greece and continuing up through the Renaissance.
It will deal with such topics as women and the Greek philosophers, women and
the early church, Germanic women, women in the feudal world, women and romance,
the stirrings of feminism, and the education of women.
HIST 215J
Lat Am City: Politics/Culture
Prof. B. Bockelman
Cities like Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City have long towered
over their countries' histories, so much so that one critic called the Latin
American metropolis " a head that has outgrown its body." this course
will look at the unique place of the city in Latin American history from the
early colonial era to the present ,with an emphasis on the twentieth century.
through a combination of history, fiction, and film, we will investigate the
importance of the urban space as a site of cultural creativity and political
struggle, and we will consider the broader impact of the Latin American mega-city
on national and regional politics.
HIST 215K
Japan Since 1968
Prof. S. Kim
This course reviews Japanese history from the fall of the Tokugawa bakufu to
the recent upsurge of popular interest in Japan's security in East Asia. Topics
include Japan's emergence as a major empire before 1945 and its remarkable economic
revival in the wake of the Pacific War.
HIST311L
Nature, Providence, & Mission
Prof. N.
Miller
Jefferson's memorable phrase, justified American independence from England.
A firm reliance on "the protection of Divine Providence," in turn,
underscored Jefferson's faith in the successful outcome of the Revolution. Like
many 18th-century Americans, Jefferson viewed Nature as rational and
purposeful, a source of timeless scientific and moral truths traceable to a
transcendent Creator. Originating in ancient Greek philosophy and early
Christian theology, this understanding of Nature dominated 17th- and18th-century
natural philosophy and Anglo-American "physico-theology." It
exists still in contemporary arguments for Intelligent Design. In turn, the
providential belief that God has a special overriding interest in America,and
that the United States is destined to fulfill a special world-historical
mission, have been perennial elements of American civil religion from the Puritans'
covenant theology to the present day. This course will examine
Nature, Providence, and Mission in American history from the colonial and
revolutionary eras, through Manifest Destiny and the Civil War, to late19th-century
debates about Darwinian theory and Gilded Age imperialism.
HIST 311M
20th C US Foreign Policy
Prof. B. McKenzie
This course will examine the strategic calculations behind pivotal moments in
U.S. foreign policy. the focus of the course will be the diplomatic history
of war and peace. What were the reasons the U.S. entered alliances or went to
war in the twentieth century? When and why did the U.S. follow an isolationist
course? What influences, domestic or international, determined policy? Students
will consider the First World War, the Versailles settlement and its revision
during the 1920s, the Second World War, the Marshall Plan and NATO, Vietnam,
and some contemporary conflicts.
HIST 313B
Society & the Sexes
Prof. R. Sweeney
This will be a reading and discussion course which will investigate three separate
but interrelated threads- the history of sexuality, the history of the body,
and the construction of gender- in both pre-industrial and modern Europe. We
will ask how definitions of male/female and masculine/feminine have changed
over time, and how they shaped the life experiences of men and women. Readings
will include medical opinions, diaries, legal texts, novels and political debates.
HIST 313C
The Holocaust
Prof. K. Qualls
This course on the Holocaust will seek to understand the causes, effects, and
representations of the Holocaust. We will place the Holocaust in a larger context
of genocides and ethnic cleansings in the twentieth century. We will focus on
victims of all kinds, perpetrators, the motivation for killing, and policy decisions
that led up to mass extermination. The course will conclude with a discussion
of trials, restitution, and commemoration.
HIST 315C
US Relations with Japan
Prof. S. Kim
This colloquium explores several contentious issues in the history of U.S.-Japan
relations from Commodore Perry's arrival in Japan to the present. Emphasis is
on the political and cultural backlash against America before and after the
Pacific War.
HIST 404M
1960'S: Soc Movements & Lives
Prof. K. Rogers
This course explores the social movements of the 1960s and their impact upon
American society. We will examine the Civil Rights Movement, the New Left, the
Women's Movement and the Vietnam War through the biographies and autobiographies
of participants.
HIST 404V
The Second World War
Prof. B. McKenzie
Military history forms the background for a study of how societies mobilized
to meet the demands of total war; how people faced foreign occupation and persecution;
and how the war changed political, economic, and social institutions, inspired
moral reflection and cultural expression, and altered the global balance of
power."
IB&M 300AI
Comparative Knowledge Mgmt
Prof. D. Jin
The course is a research seminar which examines the historical origin for the
rise of knowledge- based organization, economy, and society. It further explores
the nature and organizing principles of knowledge management and their cross-cultural
differences.
IB&M 300AL
Marketing Communications
Prof. M. Poulton
This course will be a WR course addressing areas that are merely introduced
in Marketing 240: advertising (message development, format, structure, execution,
advertising budgets, result evaluation, ethical review and cross cultural considerations);
public relations (media relations and writing for printed media); crisis communication
management (facing the Court of Public Opinion) and internal organization communications
(the role of corporate communications offices, memo writing, policy communication).
We will use some lecture, "best and worst practices" cases, team project
work, outside speakers from advertising agencies, PR firms and corporation communication
personnel. The course will cover communications in both for profit and not-for-profit
organizations.
IB&M 300AM
China: Emerging Superpower?
Prof. M. Fratantuono
In this course, we will examine China's unprecedented, rapid economic growth
of the past 25 years. We will ask whether China's pace of growth is sustainable
and what challenges lie ahead for the country. We will relate China's recent
economic performance to its broad historical and cultural context. We will look
at how different segments of China's society are faring in the face of dramatic
change. Additionally, we will examine how different actors in the international
system, including multinational companies, workers in other countries, and foreign
governments are adjusting to China's rise in prominence, power, and prestige.
IB&M 300AO
Nonprofit Management
Prof. D.Sarcone
The overall objective of this service learning based course is to provide students
with a clearer understanding of the ways nonprofit organizations individually
and collectively strive to improve and maintain a desirable social good. the
major course components include: a historical review of management theory to
include a discussion on the similarities and differences between for profit
and nonprofit management; the governance of nonprofit organizations; nonprofit
strategic management; nonprofit operational management; and the management of
newly emerging models of nonprofit collaboration - the development of inter-organizational
networks created to more effectively address complex and recurring community
problems.
IB&M 300AP
Game Theory: the Microeconomics of Competition, Coordination,
Cooperation and Conflict
Prof. E. McPhail
Using the tools of modern evolutionary game theory we explore issues of strategic
interaction. We examine fundamental microeconomic concepts relevant to the generic
problem of coordinating social interactions among autonomous actors, with particular
attention paid to conflict, competition, collective action, coordination failures,
and the evolution of institutions and norms in capitalist economies. We draw
from a number of fields such as evolutionary biology, sociology, political science
and anthropology, as well as economics. We will read the work of such diverse
authors as Jon Elster, Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis, Thomas Schelling, Joseph
Stiglitz, Robert Boyd, Peter Richerson, Garret Hardin, Robert Sugden, John Maynard
Smith, Gary Becker, and James Buchanan. Topics include: mixed strategies, credible
threats and subgame perfection, repeated games, games with asymmetric information,
the principal-agent model, adverse selection, signaling, and bargaining. Students
must be conversant with calculus techniques and have a strong interest in reading
demanding (yet rewarding!) material. Required Courses: intermediate microeconomics
or managerial economics. Students who have not taken either one of these prerequisites
but have a strong background in math are encouraged to contact the professor
at mcphail@dickinson.edu.
IB&M 300AQ
Investments
Prof. V. Vijayraghavan
This course is a basic course in investment analysis and portfolio management.
We will cover the core concepts of finance theory - the capital asset pricing
model, risk-return trade-offs, analysis of bond pricing, and equity valuation.
In addition, we will look at the organization and functioning of capital markets,
asset allocation strategies, some basic principles of options and futures markets
and finally global portfolio management. This course will use problem-solving
and Excel spreadsheet analysis to apply the theoretical concepts.
Prerequisite: IB&M 300Q. Corporate
Finance
IB&M 300AR
Operational and Enterprise Leadership
Prof. L. Holder
This seminar focuses on leadership at enterprise or operational level in the
public and private sectors. We will study the powers, limitations, thinking,
and options of high-level leaders who are responsible for implementing the policy
guidance of chief executives, strategic leaders, directing boards, or electorates.
The course objective is to understand how future leaders may deal with broad
responsibilities, new opportunities, and high risk in an environment of change.
IB&M 300Y
Business to Business Mktg
Prof. W. Su
Business-to-Business Marketing focuses on the management processes and activities
that a supplier firm performs in order to satisfy the needs of its organizational
customers, which include other businesses, governments, or institutions. This
course is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of marketing
theories and practices in an inter-organizational transaction context. Special
emphasis is placed on the creation and delivery of value to business customers,
the development and maintenance of business relationships, as well as the communication
and coordination issues in managing the business network. Through seminar discussion,
case analysis, research project and computer simulation, this course aims at
helping students develop critical analysis and problem- solving capabilities
in their preparation to meet major challenges in dynamic business markets.
ITAL 400D
Italian Food As Culture
Prof. S. Davidson
From the literary comedies of the Renaissance to the slapstick improvisation
of the comici dell'arte, from the existential paradoxes of Pirandello to the
political satire of Dario Fo, Italy can boast a long and rich comic tradition.
This course examines Italian comedy from the 1500's to the present, tracing
the genre's development against the background of a changing Italian society.
Student research projects will focus on a single play, comic type, or motif,
examined in its literary and historical context.
INTST 401
Interdisciplinary Seminar: US Grand Strategy
Prof. D. Stuart
This seminar is designed to give International Studies seniors an opportunity
to analyze and discuss the concept of US grand strategy. We will focus upon
the current National Security Strategy of the United States, but will look at
this document from three points of view: International relations theory, history,
and the grand strategies of other major international actors.
JUDST 216E
Kabbalah:Fund-Jew Mysticism
Prof. A. Lieber
Kabbalah is a rich tradition of esoteric teaching and practices that has been
a vital part of Judaism since late antiquity. The underlying assumptions of
Kabbalah is that the divinely- revealed text of the Torah (Hebrew Scriptures)
can be read on multiple levels: literal, symbolic, allegorical and mystical.
In this course, we focus on mystical traditions of interpretation. These mystical
techniques of interpreting the Torah center around the notion that every Hebrew
letter has a numerical equivalent, and that by calculating the numerical value
of words and phrases in the bible, or by exchanging different letters of the
alphabet in accordance with a set system, associations can be made between otherwise
unrelated aspects of the text. Tracing the history of Jewish mysticisms, the
course introduces students to major trends in Jewish mysticism, focusing special
attention on meditation, mysticism and magic, reincarnation, messianism and
heavenly ascent. We will also explore contemporary popular expressions of Kabbalastic
numerology, including the film PI, and the recent best seller, The
Bible Code.
JUDST 216O
Amer Jewish Popular Culture
Prof. E. Merwin
What do George Gershwin, Arthur Miller, Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Mel
Brooks and Jerry Seinfeld all have in common? The answer is that they are all
Jewish. But how does their Jewishness inform their work? This course will ask
what is Jewish about Jewish humor, music, film, and theater, focusing on definitions
that extend beyond the boundaries of "religious" definitions. We will
analyze a wide range of works in order to understand Jewish contributions to
American popular culture.
JUDST 316G
The Holocaust
Prof. K. Qualls
This course on the Holocaust will seek to understand the causes, effects, and
representations of the Holocaust. We will place the Holocaust in a larger context
of genocides and ethnic cleansings in the twentieth century. We will focus on
victims of all kinds, perpetrators, the motivation for killing, and policy decisions
that led up to mass extermination. The course will conclude with a discussion
of trials, restitution, and commemoration.
JUDST 316H
Israeli Cinema
Prof. N. Kann
This course explores Israeli cinema in its historical and social contexts, emphasizing
the themes of state-building, war, secular-religious strife, the Holocaust and
Israeli identity. Israeli cinema reflects the complex interaction of diverse
Jewish cultures from Middle Eastern, Western and east European societies. The
course considers the evolution of Israeli cinema thematically, its self-image
and its place in Israeli society. Film screenings will take place during a weekly
lab session.
LP 290C
Law, politics, society - E. Asia
Prof. N. Diamant
This course examines how people in East Asia use institutions to obtain justice
and how these efforts help illustrate the "overlap" between law, politics,
and society in countries like China and Japan. Instead of assuming a single
conception of how law works and what law means, we will focus on the wide variation
found among Asian countries, social classes, and urban and rural areas as people
seek to remedy what they regard as travesties of justice. Unlike the West where
such remedial action is usually pursued through courts, in Asia we must also
focus on the ways certain social relationships, like landlord and peasant, and
certain institutions like village mediation committees and roles like mediator,
serve as a framework for seeking or thwarting justice. Such considerations are
crucial in determining where Asian judicial systems converge with and diverge
from Western models like that of the United States
LP 400A
Biomedical Tech, Policy & Law
Prof. D. Edlin
This seminar examines the legal, ethical and policy issues surrounding developments
in biomedical technology, with a focus on surrogate motherhood, in vitro fertilization,
stem cell research and cloning. We will study the scientific advances in these
areas along with their practical applications. We will consider how the different
individual and institutional perspectives of scientific, political and legal
actors combine to frame the policy debate about the use and regulation of cutting-edge
medical and scientific research.
LPPM 290B
Operational and Enterprise Leadership
Prof. L. Holder
This seminar focuses on leadership at enterprise or operational level in the
public and private sectors. We will study the powers, limitations, thinking,
and options of high-level leaders who are responsible for implementing the policy
guidance of chief executives, strategic leaders, directing boards, or electorates.
The course objective is to understand how future leaders may deal with broad
responsibilities, new opportunities, and high risk in an environment of change.
MATH 201A
Calculus of Variations
Prof. A. Mareno
An introduction to
the calculus of variations. This course presents methods for finding extrema
for functionals as opposed to functions. Topics include the first variation
and the Euler-Lagrange equation, isoperimetric problems, holonomic and nonholonomic
constraints, problems with variable endpoints, and the second variation. Prerequisite:
Math 261.
MEMS 200D
The Medieval Song
Prof. A. Quintanar
This course introduces the student to the study of the Middle Ages and the Early
Modern periods by examining the fusion of words and music produced in Medieval
and Early Modern Europe. The core of the course uses modern technology to examine
manuscript images, manuscript transcriptions, translations into English, and
musical renditions. The material is studied comparatively and focuses on textual
context, thematic convention (literary as well as musical), as well as cultural
content.
MUSIC 113A-01
Piano Class
Prof. D. Glasgow
Open to all students who demonstrate by audition some acquaintance with musical
notation, and who should continue to study instrument or voice at the basic
level.
MUSIC 113A-03
Voice Class
Prof. L. Helding
Open to all students who demonstrate by audition some acquaintance with musical
notation, and who should continue to study instrument or voice at the basic
level.
MUSIC 121
Musical Transgressions
Prof. B. Wilson
Explores the long and shifting dialogue between music and other disciplines,
with particular focus upon significant moments of creative conflict between
old and new modes of musical thought. Topics are selective and wide-ranging,
and may include ancient philosophy, the Orpheus myth, rhetoric and memory, Petrarch
and the madrigal, musical iconography in Renaissance painting, the invention
of opera, Louis XIV and musical statecraft, biblical exegesis in Bach’s
music, Masonic strains in Mozart, and Beethoven during and after Napoleon. An
introductory course open to those with little or no musical background.
MUSIC 354A
Music & Politics
Prof. A. Wlodarski
This course explores the manner in which music has influenced or interacted
with the political sphere from 1800 to the present. Topics to be examined include
how composers have represented political figures or events in their music, how
music creates socio-political commentary, the use of music as propaganda, and
the contribution of music to nationalistic movements and political identities.
Some of the events covered include: The Civil War, World War I, Weimar Germany,
the Vietnam war, and the current War on Terror. Special weight is given to the
WWII era and the Holocaust.
PHILO 113B
Environment, Culture & Values
Prof. S. Feldman
A study of the effects of scientific, religious and philosophical values on
man's attitudes toward his environment and how these attitudes may affect our
way of life. By focusing on particular current topic, and by subjecting the
behavior in regard to that topic, we are able to critique them on alternative
levels of behavior.
PHILO 261G
Film Aesthetics
Prof. C. Dwiggins
An examination of classical and more recent theories of film art and experience,
touching on the nature of film as a medium and as an art form, audience experience,
and their relationship of film to other arts. Close study of film each week,
with readings from classical and contemporary theories keyed to the issues posed
in or by the film. Prerequisite: a previous course in philosophy or permission
of the instructor.
PHILO 391E
Sen Sem: American Pragmatism
Prof. J. Wahman
Underlying theories of psychology are fundamental assumptions about human nature,
its capacities, and its motivations. We will first take a look at some historical
roots of the concept of psyche and will proceed to examine the three major "waves"
of psychology for their presuppositions about human life and its nature as a
scientific object.
LPPM 290B
Operational and Enterprise Leadership
Prof. L. Holder
This seminar focuses on leadership at enterprise or operational level in the
public and private sectors. We will study the powers, limitations, thinking,
and options of high-level leaders who are responsible for implementing the policy
guidance of chief executives, strategic leaders, directing boards, or electorates.
The course objective is to understand how future leaders may deal with broad
responsibilities, new opportunities, and high risk in an environment of change.
POLSC 290AH
Law, Politics, Society - E. Asia
Prof. N. Diamant
This course examines how people in East Asia use institutions to obtain justice
and how these efforts help illustrate the "overlap" between law, politics,
and society in countries like China and Japan. Instead of assuming a single
conception of how law works and what law means, we will focus on the wide variation
found among Asian countries, social classes, and urban and rural areas as people
seek to remedy what they regard as travesties of justice. Unlike the West where
such remedial action is usually pursued through courts, in Asia we must also
focus on the ways certain social relationships, like landlord and peasant, and
certain institutions like village mediation committees and roles like mediator,
serve as a framework for seeking or thwarting justice. Such considerations are
crucial in determining where Asian judicial systems converge with and diverge
from Western models like that of the United States.
POLSC 290AV
The War on Terrorism
Prof. A. Williams
This course will cover the global war on terrorism, its origins, its characteristics,
and the ends, ways and means of the participants. We will begin by seeking to
arrive at a working definition of terrorism. We will examine various historic
case studies in an effort to identify common characteristics of terrorist activity,
terrorist motivations, the origins of today's terrorist movements, and a general
typology of terrorism. We will address the catastrophic events of September
11, 2001 and their impact on the national security of the United States. Finally,
we will examine the current strategy of the United States in the global war
on terrorism, and its implications and challenges.
POLSC 290BI
Crime and Punishment
Prof. H. Pohlman
This course will examine and critically evaluate the substantive principles
that the criminal law uses to assess culpability. Central questions are: Why
punish? Whom should we punish? How much should we punish? the focus will be
on the law of homicide and a recurring issue will be the morality of capital
punishment. Various defenses and justifications will be considered - insanity,
diminished capacity, self-defense, duress, and necessity. The goal of the course
is to use the law of homicide to explore basic questions concerning personal
responsibility.
POLSC 290BJ
Race, Media & Politics
Prof. S. Larson
This class looks at how the four major racial minority groups in the United
States (Blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans) are represented
in entertainment (movies and television) and news media (television, newspapers,
news magazines). Although representation is inherently political, our attention
will be to system-supportive messages about race. The four major sections of
the class are: movies/ entertainment media, news coverage of mass publics, news
coverage of racial social movements, and news coverage of candidates and politicians
of color. We will also look at how mainstream messages are challenged by alternative
media controlled by racial minorities.
POLSC 290BK
Operational and Enterprise Leadership
Prof. L. Holder
This seminar focuses on leadership at enterprise or operational level in the
public and private sectors. We will study the powers, limitations, thinking,
and options of high-level leaders who are responsible for implementing the policy
guidance of chief executives, strategic leaders, directing boards, or electorates.
The course objective is to understand how future leaders may deal with broad
responsibilities, new opportunities, and high risk in an environment of change.
POLSC 390AA
Biomedical Tech, Policy & Law
Prof. D. Edlin
This seminar examines the legal, ethical and policy issues surrounding developments
in biomedical technology, with a focus on surrogate motherhood, in vitro fertilization,
stem cell research and cloning. We will study the scientific advances in these
areas along with their practical applications. We will consider how the different
individual and institutional perspectives of scientific, political and legal
actors combine to frame the policy debate about the use and regulation of cutting-edge
medical and scientific research.
POLSC 390H
Global Futures
Prof. R. Bova
This seminar will focus on reading and discussion of a number of recently published,
provocative books which attempt to analyze, explain, and predict the general
contours of early twenty-first century world politics. Among the general issues
to be discussed are trends in economic globalization, the future of war, prospects
for global democracy, the impact of the rise of China, and many others.
POLSC 390Z
Comp Political Corruption
Prof. J. Mark Ruhl
Political corruption is the misuse of public office for private gain (embezzlement,
bribery, etc.). The seminar will investigate why the level of political corruption
varies so widely from country to country in the world today (from high in Russia
to moderate in Italy to low in Finland or Singapore). We will study the causes
and consequences of this variation as well as reform strategies for reducing
corruption. Our readings will include Arnold Heidenheimer and Michael Johnson's
classic book Political Corruption: Concepts and Contexts, Chinua Achebe's novel
of corruption in a new nation No Longer at East, and other texts.
PSYCH 180O
Adolescent Psychology
Prof. A. Sauve
This course will provide a comprehensive and up-to-date survey of theory
and research findings in the various domains of adolescent psychology. Physical,
cognitive and social changes will be examined in the context of the family,
peer and school environments. In addition, contemporary adolescent issues will
be discussed along with adolescent psychopathology.
PSYCH 380C
Rsch Meth in Drugs & Behavior
Prof. A. Rauhut
Investigates biological underpinnings of basic operant and classical conditioning
processes. Uses animal models to explore implications for psychopathology, addiction,
etc.
PSYCH 380G
Rsch Meth in Community Psych
Prof. M. Davis
This course teaches the major tenets of community psychology and various research
methods including a focus on understanding the role of the environment in human
behavior, the field's application to a range of social issues, and commitment
to action.
RELGN 241J
Amer Jewish Popular Culture
Prof. E. Merwin
What do George Gershwin, Arthur Miller, Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Mel
Brooks and Jerry Seinfeld all have in common? The answer is that they are all
Jewish. But how does their Jewishness inform their work? This course will ask
what is Jewish about Jewish humor, music, film, and theater, focusing on definitions
that extend beyond the boundaries of "religious" definitions. We will
analyze a wide range of works in order to understand Jewish contributions to
American popular culture.
RELGN 241K
Religious Images in Western Art
Prof. J. Monighan-Schaefer
This course sketches the conflicting and also nurturing relationship
between the Fine Arts and Christianity during its 2000-year journey. The focus
will be on the underlying theological developments, which brought forth new
art forms. In addition, we will explore the theology of various artists with
an emphasis on those during the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of the course
sessions will employ slides and PowerPoint presentations of artists’ works,
lecture and small group discussions.
RELGN 260B
The Way of the Shaman
Prof. D. Cozort
The shaman, a figure in some form or another in nearly every culture past and
present, is a healer of the body and soul who is the protector of the psychic
integrity of the people he or she serves. Initiated by the ordeal, able to go
into profound trance (and in that state, believed to have the powers to fly,
to visit heaven and hell, to transform into animals), and the last resort of
the desperate, the shaman is a human bridge to the supernatural. the course
will use the methods of psychology and anthropology to analyze examples ranging
from Siberia to Tibet to the Great Plains.
RELGN 260G
Kabbalah:Fund-Jew Mysticism
Prof. A. Lieber
Kabbalah is a rich tradition of esoteric teachings and practices that has been
a vital part of Judaism since late antiquity. The underlying assumption of Kabbalah
is that the divinely- revealed text of the Torah (Hebrew Scriptures) can be
read on multiple levels: literal, symbolic, allegorical and mystical. In this
course, we focus on mystical traditions of interpretation. These mystical techniques
of interpreting the Torah center around the notion that every Hebrew letter
has a numerical equivalent, and that by calculating the numerical value of words
and phrases in the bible, or by exchanging different letters of the alphabet
in accordance with a set system, associations can be made between otherwise
unrelated aspects of the text. Tracing the history of Jewish mysticism, the
course introduces students to major trends in Jewish mysticism, focusing special
attention on meditation, mysticism and magic, reincarnation, messianism and
heavenly ascent. We will also explore contemporary popular expressions of Kabbalistic
numerology, including the film PI, and the recent best seller, The
Bible Code.
RELGN 260R
Religion, Reaction & Reform
Prof. J. Gilchrist
Religion has sometimes
been a conservative force, as Karl Marx alleged, but it has also been a progressive,
even a revolutionary, force at times. This course will bring analytical models
to bear on historical examples (e.g., slavery, segregation, the role of women,
nationalism, war, wealth & poverty) to explain why even the same religious
tradition can be a force for reaction and reform. Case studies from various
religions and nations will provide insights into the role of religion in contemporary
conflicts, both domestic and international.
SCNCE 101FH
Exploration in Physics W/Lab
Prof. D. Jackson
This course is an activity-based lab science course designed for non-science
majors. In this course, everything you learn will be built up from direct observations
that you will make in class. This kind of in-depth study will provide you with
more than just knowledge about the particular concept under study. It will also
give you direct experience with the scientific process. Furthermore, most students
find that this is a fun way to learn about science. The topics covered in this
course vary from semester to semester. In Spring 2006 we will be investigating
“Magnets, Charge, and Electric Motors” and “Vibrations, Sound,
and Musical Tones.”
SOCIO 230AH
Conflicts/Conflict Resolut St
Prof. S. Staub
Conflict seems to be an inescapable aspect of social life. Are we, as human
beings, pre-determined to live in conflict? Yet as social beings living in mutually
dependent social groups, we have developed various simple and complex strategies
for managing and resolving conflicts. We will explore these mechanisms to manage
or resolve conflicts of different kinds - inter-personally, in families, workplace-based,
among ethnic, racial, and religious groups, and internationally. This course
will examine the growing literature on conflict studies, and will draw on inter-disciplinary
perspectives to examine conflict and conflict resolution processes and strategies.
SOCIO 230AP
Law and Society
Prof. P. Grahame
Law is the most formal expression of the morality of a society, and yet in practice
law may seem amoral or even immoral. Why? this course examines law as a social
institution and arena of social interaction. Our central concern will be with
"law in action" rather that official and formal definitions of the
justice system. Social factors such as class, gender, and race will be considered
throughout.
SOCIO 230AQ
Environmental Society
Prof. P. Grahame
Contemporary environmental movements reflect important changes in how we understand
the local and global consequences of human action. For example we may wonder
whether modern societies are sustainable or doomed to catastrophic failure.
Or we made anguish over tradeoffs between economic development and preservation
of natural areas. This course explores environmental dimensions of human life
in relation to topics such as sustainable development, toxic communities, technological
disasters, environmental activism, green consumerism, deep ecology, ecofeminism,
media portrayals of environmental issues, and ecotourism.
SOCIO 230AR
Sociology of Education
Prof. J. Marquis
In the United States, education is the one universal factor that purports to
provide the basis for an equitable and democratic society. This course will
provide you with the intellectual tools for understanding the relationship between
our schools and the larger society in which they are embedded, and a methodology
for decoding what the current situation is. We will accomplish this through
a critical examination of the social forces influencing the issues of literacy,
technology, and a race and class.
SOCIO 230Z
Gender and Society
Prof. A. Finley
This course is designed to give an overview of the social issues that create
separate spheres for women and men in the United States. It will explore a number
of different topics from the private sphere to the public sphere, emphasizing
how these issues differ by race and class. The aim of the course is to develop
a sociological understanding of why women and men are uniquely located in certain
social contexts and their roles within them. Ultimately, present and future
implications of our gendered socialization are examined, with critical discussion
focusing on social policy.
SOCIO 236
Stratification
Prof. A. Finley
This course takes a critical look at the layers of American society that shape,
construct, and inhibit the basic pursuit for equality of opportunity. Students
will be asked to examine how the three most fundamental elements of social stratification
– race, class, and gender – function both separately and in tandem
to organize systems of inequality. The course enlists theoretical and practical
applications of stratification to evaluate how social constructions of difference
influence the institutions, such as education, work, family, government, and
society policy that impact our daily lives. Additionally, class discussions
will also consider how the forces of racism, sexism, and classism impact the
attainment of basic needs, such as wages, health care, and housing.
SOCIO 239
Work and Occupation
Prof. A. Finley
“Never work just for money or for power. They won't save your
soul or help you sleep at night” (Marian Wright Edelman). The problem
is, work is all of those things: our livelihood, our mobility, and our identity.
This course is a sociological examination of how we structure, fill, and define
work in the United States. Course material will investigate how occupational
positions have come to define American social stratification in terms of prestige,
skill, and distributed rewards. Specifically, class discussions will be concerned
with who occupies certain positions, how we socially construct occupational
opportunities, and how this impacts life circumstances according to race, gender,
and class. The goal is to understand, through the use of both theory and contemporary
application, how the nature of work and occupations shapes our daily lives.
SOCIO 313A
Women's Health
Prof. J. Winterich
This course examines how the production of medical knowledge and the social
construction of gender affect women's experiences with health and illness and
medical care. The concept of health, medical research and administration of
medical care are socially, economically and politically influenced with significant
consequences for women. This course uses a feminist and cultural analytical
framework to examine the social worlds of gender, health, medicine and science.
In this course we will explore the following issues: What is the relationship
between scientific knowledge, medical care, and women in the United States?
How does our culture emphasis on the individual and increasing commodification
of health influence how medicine defines health and illness for women? How do
women experience health and illness and how do these experiences compare by
race, class and sexual orientation? What are alternatives to the biomedical
system and how would women benefit from a feminist, collective approach to women's
health issues?
SPAN 300
Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics
Prof. M. Overstreet
This course serves as an introduction to the concepts of phonetics,
phonology, morphology and syntax of the Spanish language. Students are introduced
to the concept of descriptive linguistics and linguistic analysis. Students
are introduced to linguistic development, historical linguistics and linguistic
variation and change.
SPAN 400E
The Medieval Song
Prof. A. Quintanar
This course introduces the student to the study of the Middle Ages and the Early
Modern periods by examining the fusion of words and music produced in Medieval
and Early Modern Europe. The core of the course uses modern technology to examine
manuscript images, manuscript transcriptions, translations into English, and
musical renditions. The material is studied comparatively and focuses on textual
context, thematic convention (literary as well as musical), as well as cultural
content.
SPAN 410G
Hist & Myth in Contemp Sp Am L
Prof. B. Toral
This course will examine the dynamics of history and myth in contemporary narrative
works by some leading Spanish American male and female authors. Special attention
will be given to the literary strategy of memory in our exploration of issues
that include gender, race, and/or ethnicity. We will also explore the narrative
technique of "magical realism" and the way it questions cultural and
national history from both a male and female perspective. Films will also be
incorporated in the course.
WOMST 101B
Post-Colonial Women Writers
Prof. R. Ness
Women writing in countries that were once part of a colonial empire sometimes
bear what Buchi Emecheta in Nigeria has called a double yoke. They may suffer
the burdens of both neo-colonialism and other forms of race and class prejudice
and be marginalized as females by a male-dominated cultural system. How women
confront these twin oppressions will be a main focus of the course. I have selected
9 writers, from India, Africa and the West Indies.
WOMST 202C
Women and Popular Culture
Prof. S. Brautbar
Popular culture is all around us: it is the movies and television programs we
watch, the news media that informs us about “reality”, the songs
we listen to in the car, the magazines and novels we read, the clothes we wear
and much more. In Women and Popular Culture, students will analyze the everyday
messages and themes expressed through popular culture. We will look at representations
of women in the media, the role of women as produces of popular culture, and
the role of women as consumers of popular culture. From Barbie to Sex and The
City and Mary J. Blidge, we will ask difficult questions about the ways in which
the world around us defines and limits women’s identity and the ways in
which it can be a tool for empowerment.
WOMST 202D
Fam & Gen in a Cross-cultural Perspective
Prof. S. Rose
In this comparative course in family systems, we will study the impact
of production and politics on family life in various cultures, including Africa,
Latin America, the Far East and the United States. The course uses ethnographic
studies and documentaries to illuminate the impact of the political economy
on family life, the life course, and gender roles and relationships. Various
theories of development will place the ethnographies into socio-political and
historical context.
WOMST 300G
Society & the Sexes
Prof. R. Sweeney
This will be a reading and discussion course which will investigate three separate
but interrelated threads- the history of sexuality, the history of the body,
and the construction of gender - in both pre-industrial and modern Europe. We
will ask how definitions of male/female and masculine/feminine have changed
over time, and how they shaped the life-experiences of men and women. Readings
will include medical opinions, diaries, legal texts, novels and political debates.
WOMST 300J
Women's Health
Prof. J. Winterich
This course examines how the production of medical knowledge and the social
construction of gender affect women's experiences with health and illness and
medical care. The concept of health, medical research and administration of
medical care are socially, economically and politically influenced with significant
consequences for women. This course uses a feminist and cultural analytical
framework to examine the social worlds of gender, health, medicine and science.
In this course we will explore the following issues: What is the relationship
between scientific knowledge, medical care, and women in the United States?
How does our culture emphasis on the individual and increasing commodification
of health influence how medicine defines health and illness for women? How do
women experience health and illness and how do these experiences compare by
race, class and sexual orientation? What are alternatives to the biomedical
system and how would women benefit from a feminist, collective approach to women's
health issues?
updated 01/26/06; B. Lehman