A 318

M. Matacin

In this course, we will study a variety of topics as they relate to uses of beauty and body image, keeping in mind the historical and social context in which women have been viewed. A feminist framework will provide the lens with which we will examine a variety of topics including beauty, eating/eating disorders, sexuality, weight, media portrayals of females, patriarchy, and how women are taught to view their own bodies.

Credits: 3.00

H 134

T. Tucker

“Nasty, brutish, and short”: It was with these words that Thomas Hobbes described human existence before government. Is he right? Are people so naturally self-interested that a government is needed to prevent chaos? Or are people naturally kind and government a mere convenience? Or is government actually the problem because humanity's innate goodness has been corrupted by it? Are people determined by biology or are they essentially free? These and other questions will be explored through readings from Golding, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Midgley, Dawkins, and others.

Credits: 3.00

H 229

M. Blackwell

Why are we fascinated by tales of shipwrecked sailors, island castaways, plane-crash survivors? What purposes are served by stories that ask us to imagine being separated from family and friends, fending for ourselves in a hostile environment, renegotiating social rules, and shifting our attention from the niceties of modern life to the demands of physical survival? This course will provide an occasion for thinking about these and related questions through a selective survey of the literature of survival produced over the last three hundred years or so. Our main reference point will be the granddaddy of all these tales, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719), but we will also read some direct responses to Defoe’s novel, including some cinematic reimaginings of the Crusoe story.

Credits: 3.00

H 111   

L. Kelly

This seminar will explore how the wide array of communication technologies available today has become integrated into our everyday communication with our families, friends, romantic partners and strangers and will address questions about the impact on us and our relationships. We will also take a macro-level look at their influence on society, such as the creation of virtual communities and changes in social coordination.

Credits: 3.00

A 318

N. Ealy

In this seminar we will study both traditional and digital approaches to the analysis and production of literature (loosely defined to include written texts, films and visual culture, blogs, social media, and video games). Students will explore, interpret, and create digital literary projects (no knowledge of special programming skills required).

Credits: 3.00

A 318

M. Cupolo

Through interactive classes, team research, and case studies, this seminar introduces the relations between energy and oil according to the contemporary debate on sustainable development, and explains how and why oil supply and demand have been crucial in the recent history of Mexico, the United States, and Venezuela. (In the last decades, Mexico and Venezuela have been among the main suppliers of the US oil market.)

Credits: 3.00

H 132

N. Highberg

First, there were comic books, and then there were graphic novels. Now, writers and artists are turning toward their own lives for subject matter, and we will examine memoirs that raise personal, familial issues (e.g., Alison Bechdel's Fun Home and Craig Thompson's Blankets) and those that relate the personal to larger, political subjects (e.g., Art Spiegelman's Maus and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis) to see how words and images can work together to say things about individual lives and the general human condition.

Credits: 3.00

A 318

B. Esposito

China and India are by far the largest countries in the world, with populations of more than one billion (together nearly 40% of the world total) and rapidly growing economies. Since the 1950’s India and China have been seen as competitors, with each pursuing political and economic reforms, educational advances, social structural realignment and economic development. And both are considered threats to the US’s position as the dominant economic and political power in the world. Which country will be first in the coming century, and how will the growing importance of both countries impact your life? Some of the issues we will look at will include the treatment of women, the popularity and use of electronic devices, educational opportunities, religious orientations, and standards of living.

Credits: 3.00

A 318

J. Borucinska

This course will enable students to understand the concept of infectious diseases that affect humans and animals alike. The emphasis will be on diseases that have been crucial in shaping the history of civilization by being entwined with political and social issues. Scientific journal articles, book chapters, and popular movies will be used as teaching materials. These will be discussed in class. In addition, students will work in groups to prepare a presentation on a disease of their choice. Grades will be based on participation in discussions and on the group presentation.

Credits: 3.00

H 130

O. Clark

An average person can be expected to spend about 100,000 hours at work over his or her lifetime. For many of us, a job is not just a source of income but also an important part of our self-identity. It can be a source of satisfaction and pride as well as a cause of stress. In this seminar we will explore the world of work by reading book chapters and watching several films about the workplace.

Credits: 3.00

A 318

R. Logan

Literary figures down through the centuries have portrayed love from every imaginable perspective. This seminar will examine the various stages of ideal love, beginning with sexual attraction and ending with consummate love and, more realistically, the obstacles to finding ideal love. It will consider literary examples of love as enabling and empowering; as cruel, painful, and destructive; and as a psychotic state. Literary selections will be drawn from classical to contemporary writers - for example, Ovid, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Keats, D.H. Lawrence, Annie Proulx, and Toni Morrison.

Credits: 3.00

D 419

J. Kagan

Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible feats using natural means. We will explore magic together from a variety of different perspectives. These will include a review of its history and of famous performers since 1800, discussion of its relationship to several of the sciences, and a modern look at the psychology that magicians have used for several hundred years. Since magic is a performing art, you will also learn to perform some magic.

Credits: 3.00

A 318

L. Dale

This course will evaluate the content of children’s movies, books, and television programming.  The focus will be on whether the content in these media is appropriate for children given our understanding of child development and the potentially negative influence of factors such as violence and negative modeling.

Credits: 3.00

H 246

W. Goldstein

In this first-year seminar students will immerse themselves first in the life, and then in the civil rights work and thought of the most important political and religious thinker and activist of 20th-century America. We will watch and listen to Martin Luther King's speeches and sermons, read his correspondence, and study his life. By using a variety of sources--film, tape, photographs, letters, memoirs, sermon drafts, and biographies--we will see how the historians' tools can help us understand the man behind the icon known best for “I Have a Dream.”

Credits: 3.00

Grid Number:17

A 318

E. Striff

You might think of performance as taking place onstage, but consider how you act while meeting a roommate, giving a presentation, or during a job interview. In this course, we consider how the performance of everyday life can be adapted for the stage, as well as how the study of acting can benefit our daily interactions. Through practical exercises onstage and a consideration of performance theory, this class will examine the difference between showing and doing.

Credits: 3.00

A 322

P. Siegel

Students will read, analyze, and act out scenes from plays that focus on Americans' domestic response to the terrorist attacks of 2001. Plays are chosen to emphasize how that one day may or may not have "changed everything," but did have a profound and continuing impact on how we value work, relationships, and the quest to find meaning.

Credits: 3.00

H 138

J. Banks

The depiction of sex on television has always reflected a tension between human sexual desires and the repression of those desires by social institutions like government, business and religion.  We will examine how this tension has shifted over time, what the portrayal of sexuality on television tells us about the values of our society and how these representations may influence individual and social attitudes about gender, sexual orientation, relationships and freedom of expression. Students will critically examine sexual content in a broad range of television shows and commercials, and will create their own video documentary about this topic.

Credits: 3.00

A 318

C Borck

From Plato's Republic to The Matrix and Brave New World, this course looks at works of film, literature, politics, and philosophy to understand the distinctive place of utopian and dystopian thinking in shaping politics. What do images of these political extremes tell us about our own politics, about our ideals of justice and freedom, and about the choices that confront us as citizens now? Themes include the state of nature, environmentalism, technology, the relationship between art and politics, the place of revolutions in modern political thought, gender, and justice.

Credits: 3.00

A 318

S. Markson

The American Dream, despite being a central theme of our culture, is also a puzzling dichotomy. Is it a promise or a tease, a journey or a destination, a myth or reality? Perhaps it is all these things. In class, we will explore these questions about how the American Dream affects us with both its bright side and its dark side, as well as Bruce Springsteen’s question: “Is a dream a lie if it don't come true or is it something worse?”

Credits: 3.00

A 318

J. Nicklin

This course will explore the world of work through several media sources including books, magazines, newspapers, television, and film.  The topics covered include, but are not limited to:  employee satisfaction, work-life balance, motivation, stress, group dynamics, and diversity.  Students are expected to actively participate in class and present work in oral and written form.

Credits: 3.00