|
|
2015-2016 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Course List by Subject
|
|
|
|
Academic Resource Centers
MAT 100 - Mathematics Laboratory 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
A one credit course recommended for students who want to review high school math skills before taking a college class or while concurrently enrolled in an introductory calculus or statistics course.
Note: May be repeated once for credit with permission of the director. Instruction in basic math skills is available without credit for all students. S/D/F only.
Instructor: Norris
RED 100 - Reading Laboratory 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Individual and small-group instruction in reading and study skills, emphasizing reading efficiency, vocabulary building, and methods of effective study (concentrating, time management, preparing for tests, etc.). Recommended to students who have difficulty keeping up with reading assignments or understanding and remembering what they read as well as for those international students who want to improve their English language proficiency and pronunciation. Diagnostic test administered to determine individual needs. May be repeated once for credit, with permission of the director.
Note: Students may work at the Reading Lab without registering. S/D/F only
Instructor: Mohan
SCI 100 - Science Laboratory 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Individual or small-group instruction emphasizing problem-solving skills. This class must be taken in conjunction with first-year sequences in physics, chemistry, or biology. May be repeated once for credit with permission of the director.
Prerequisite: Consultation with the related course instructor and permission of the director of the science lab are required.
Note: Instruction is available without credit to students who cannot take the course or who need only occasional assistance. S/D/F only
Instructor: Mahlab
SCI 240 - Science Education Methods 1 credits
This discussion seminar is open to all students who have taken at least one year of science, and is encouraged for those students who are biology and chemistry student mentors, science laboratory teaching assistants, or students interested in pursuing a career in science teaching. This class will review some of the current literature in science education and focuses on examining the stages of the teaching and learning process and tools for improving teaching and learning.
Prerequisite: One year (two semesters) of biology, chemistry, mathematics/computer science, physics, or psychology; and permission of the instructor.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Mahlab
WRT 101 - Basic Principles of College Writing 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
In this course students attend a series of weekly workshops on the basics of academic composition as well as individual appointments in the Writing Lab to apply those basic principles to their assigned writing in other courses.
Prerequisite: None.
S/D/F only
Instructor: Staff
WRT 102 - Advanced Principles of College Writing 2 credits (Fall and Spring)
Using both small group sessions and individual Writing Lab appointments, this course focuses on the interrelationships among purpose, audience, and genre. Some required writing and revision.
Prerequisite: WRT 101
S/D/F only
Instructor: Staff
WRT 120 - Oral Communication Skills 2 credits (Spring)
Students will present a series of persuasive and informational speeches to a variety of audiences, receiving feedback from both instructor and classmates. Some reading and class preparation required.
Prerequisite: None.
S/D/F only
Instructor: Staff
WRT 150 - Teaching Writing 2 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: EDU 150 . Students in Writing 150 will gain both theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience as they serve as writing mentors for college courses or teach writing as volunteers in other contexts (e.g., prison programs, schools, peer tutoring). They will read about theories of teaching writing, practice skills of tutoring, running workshops and facilitating peer review, observe the teaching of writing in several contexts, and engage in discourse (both oral and written) about the teaching and learning of writing skills.
Prerequisite: Third or fourth-year standing.
S/D/F only
Instructor: Carl
WRT 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Writing Principles for Multilingual Writers 2 credits (Fall)
This course expands upon the basic principles of writing that are taught in WRT 101 by focusing on the needs of multilingual writers. We will address essential skills for any writer, such as crafting thesis statements, organizing body paragraphs, using quoted evidence, developing introductions and conclusions, and revising essays effectively. In addition, we will discuss topics specific to non-native English speakers, such as idioms, parts of speech, secondary source use, and thesis-driven organizational style.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Dates: September 15 to November 19. 1/2 semester deadlines apply.
Instructor: McGovern
WRT 295-01 - Special Topic: Creative Writing 2 credits (Spring)
See SPN 295-01 .
Alternate Language Study Option (ALSO) Program
No Active Courses Available American Studies
AMS 130 - Introduction to American Studies 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
An examination of selected beliefs and values that have been central to the shaping of American life and culture. Core values such as equality, individualism, success, freedom, a sense of special mission, pastoralism, and others are treated in topical units that range over the totality of American experience.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Barlow, Hansen
AMS 211 - Invention of Race and the Africanist Presence in American Studies 4 credits (Fall)
This interdisciplinary course introduces key issues and themes related to the evolution theories of race with particular attention to the experience of people and communities of the African diaspora. The readings are particularly intended to foster critical thinking about race as an idea and practice and representations of “identities” and “communities of meaning.” Course material consists of scholarly and popular texts, including films and law reviews in order to focus on the socio-political implications and global impact of constructing narratives about the African diaspora in and outside the United States.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Instructor: Gibel Mevorach
AMS 220 - Racing Through Genetics 4 credits (Spring)
See BIO 220 or ANT 220 .
AMS 235 - The Anthropology of American Culture 4 credits (Spring)
See ANT 235 .
AMS 245 - Shaping American Identities in Moving Images 4 credits (Fall)
This course explores representations of American identities and the binaries generated by these explorations including here/there, foreign/local, abroad/ home, American/Other. Films and readings will highlight the theme of amalgamation as an alchemic process (the melting pot) shaping Americanness and its association with characteristics such as respectability, recognition and respect.
Prerequisite: one 100-level Humanities or Social Studies course.
Instructor: Gibel Mevorach
AMS 295-02 - Special Topic: Disability and Mental Health in American Culture 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines the dramatic transformation in perceptions of disability and mental health throughout American history, how those perceptions affect the lives of individuals, and how this contentious discourse has influenced American culture. Topics covered include: the origin of intelligence testing; the development and subsequent rejection of Freudianism in the US context; the rise of the psychopharmaceutical industry; the anti-psychiatry movement of the 1960s; and recent debates of ADHD, autism, and the concept of neurodiversity.
Prerequisite: AMS 130 .
Instructor: Hansen
AMS 305 - The Cultural Politics of Fashion 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See ANT 305 .
Anthropology
ANT 104 - Anthropological Inquiries 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Demonstrates how the four fields of anthropology - archeology, biological anthropology, sociocultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology - can be collectively applied to enhance our understanding the human condition in broad historical and cross-cultural contexts. Individual sections focus on different topics. All introduce students to the holistic approach of anthropology, the application of anthropological theories and methods and relevant ethical questions, and a multiplicity of worldviews. For current course content, please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
ANT 104-01 & 03 - Anthropological Inquiries (Fall)
Family. This course examines the social institution and symbolic meaning of family from an anthropological perspective. First, we examine how our early human ancestors and primate relatives form and perform “family.” Subsequently, we analyze how family, gender roles, sexuality and child-rearing practices vary cross-culturally and historically. In particular, we consider how recent developments in reproductive technology, cloning, adoptions, and same-sex marriage are reshaping the way we understand relatedness. Finally, we explore notions of “belonging” by looking at the relationship between family, race and nation.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Kulstad
ANT 104-02 - Anthropological Inquiries (Fall)
Conflict, Violence, and Reconciliation. This course provides an overview to the approaches used by anthropologists to explore and examine broad cross-cultural issues, like conflict, and their relationship to the human condition. Unlike other sciences, anthropologists use a holistic approach incorporating biological, archaeological, cultural, and linguistic perspectives towards more fully understanding both the similarities and the range of diverse biocultural adaptative variations seen across and within human populations. Our course will explore how violence and aggression impact human societies.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Hilton
ANT 200 - Cultural Politics of Hybridity 4 credits
This course examines anthropology’s contribution to the taxonomy and representations of “race” and “culture” and its role in prescribing and proscribing the idea of interracial intimacy. Over the course of the semester, we will examine how the topic of mixing and miscegenation was invented, elaborated, and obsessed over by anthropologists, philosophers, judges, policymakers, film directors, and people raced as “mixed.” Primary attention will be given to ideas about mixing in the United States as a location from which to compare perspectives of social difference, “purity,” and “hybridity” in other countries.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 , or SOC 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Gibel Mevorach
ANT 205 - Human Evolution 4 credits
An in-depth examination of the evolution of humankind as part of an evolutionary continuum of primates stretching back approximately 65 million years, with an emphasis on the hominids of the past 4 million years. There is a heavy emphasis on comparative anatomy. Topics covered include bipedalism, molecular data, the brain and language, and various interpretations of hominid origins.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Bentley-Condit
ANT 210 - Illness, Healing, and Culture 4 credits
This course examines beliefs about illness, healing, and the body across cultures. We will examine how the body, illness, health, and medicine are shaped not only by cultural values, but also by social, political, and historical factors. The class will draw attention to how biomedicine is only one among many culturally constructed systems of medicine.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Tapias
ANT 220 - Racing Through Genetics 4 credits (Spring)
See BIO 220 or AMS 220 .
ANT 221 - Primate Behavior and Taxonomy 4 credits
A comparative survey of the taxonomy, behavior, and ecology of nonhuman primates. Topics include demography and life-history patterns, feeding behavior and competition, social organization, sexual behavior, infant development, communication, and cognition.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Bentley-Condit
ANT 225 - Human Variation 4 credits
This course explores the interaction of genetics and culture with our understanding of human evolution through: a) an examination of human differentiation and genetic variation between and within human groups; and b) an exploration of how human evolution has been shaped by this interaction. Possible topics include: simple and complex inheritance, population genetics, human migration, gene frequencies, genetics and disease, genetics and IQ, race, gene therapy, designer babies, cloning, and the Human Genome Project.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Bentley-Condit
ANT 227 - Mothers and Infants 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
In this course, we will examine mothers, mother-infant relationships and infant development across the primate order and cross-culturally from an evolutionary perspective and with focus on biology. Topics will include but are not limited to: parental investment theory, parent-offspring conflict theory, attachment theory, conception, pregnancy, gestation, lactation, human and nonhuman primate infant development and trajectories, infant sex differences, and infanticide.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Bentley-Condit
ANT 235 - The Anthropology of American Culture 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: AMS 235 . Focus on the U.S. American cultural meanings about national identity and citizenship, intersections of race and class consciousness, and the power of media to shape social attitudes, values, lifestyles, and political opinions.
Prerequisite: AMS 130 or ANT 104 .
Instructor: Gibel Mevorach
ANT 238 - Cultural and Political Ecology 4 credits
Reviews various cultural anthropology approaches to understanding human/ environment interactions. Focus placed on case studies of small-scale societies from distinct environmental regions, the adaptations to those environments, how subsistence practices relate to other aspects of culture, and how these cultures and environments are affected by increasing integration into the world system (e.g., through globalization).
Prerequisite: ANT 104 or GDS 111 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Roper
ANT 240 - Intentional Communities 4 credits
A cross-cultural and historical survey of attempts to achieve social harmony by creating small communities. Topics include: ideological foundations, alternative economic and political arrangements, experiments with sexuality and gender roles, responses of the wider society, and reasons for success and failure. Groups include the first-century Essenes, the Shakers, Amana, the Hutterites, the Amish, the kibbutzim, Japanese communes, hip communes, monastic groups, and New Age communities.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Andelson
ANT 246 - Anthropology of the Modern Middle East and North Africa 4 credits
The modern Middle East in anthropological and historical perspective. Topics include nomadic, village, and urban lifestyles; ethnic interactions; Islam and its role in the social and political systems; the role of women; and cultural change.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Kamp
ANT 250 - Language Contact 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: LIN 250 . The course examines the linguistic varieties and practices that emerge when linguistically diverse groups come in contact with one another. We will discuss the types of situations that give rise to language contact and then turn to look at the linguistic effects that result from such contact at both the micro (e.g. borrowing, code-switching) and the macro (e.g. language shift, language death) level.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 or LIN 114 .
Instructor: Hansen
ANT 251 - Native North American Indian Cultures 4 credits
Historical and ethnological survey of aboriginal cultures of North American Indians and the impact of European civilization. Indian history, ethnography, and the contemporary situation.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Andelson
ANT 252 - Culture and Agriculture 4 credits
An overview of the relationship of agriculture to other aspects of culture, through time and cross-culturally. The origins of agriculture, the role of agriculture in subsistence and trade, and its connection to social structure, religion, and values. The rise of industrial agriculture and agriculture in Iowa.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Andelson
ANT 253 - Anthropology of Ethnicities 4 credits
Examination of shifts in theory and approach to studies of ethnicities. Topics include history of key concepts, including “ethnicity,” “ethnic identities,” and “culture,” as well as perspectives on racism as a system, education and acculturation, class and ethnicity, and nationalism.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Gibel Mevorach
ANT 257 - Latin American Cultures 4 credits
Ethnographic and historic study of Latin American cultures. Description and analysis of native cultures and colonialism’s impact on native peoples’ lives. Current trends in Latin America analyzed, including family, economy, religion, environment, urbanism, and social issues. Women and gender issues in Latin America also considered.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ANT 260 - Language, Culture, and Society 4 credits
The course provides an overview of current topics in linguistic anthropology, the study of human language in its structural and cultural contexts. Through class lectures, readings, and discussions, students will become familiar with key issues, themes, and theories about language in contemporary anthropological and sociolinguistic scholarship. Overall, the course is designed to encourage students to become critical thinkers about the ways that language and language use affect and are affected by grammatical structures, individuals, social groups, cultural practices, and politics.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 or LIN 114 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: French
ANT 261 - Agriculture, Religion, and Empire: Old World Prehistory 4 credits
An archaeological perspective on major themes and trends in the development of Old World civilizations: agricultural origins, trade and migration, metal and other technological innovations, role of ideology and symbol systems in social change, religion as a power base, rise of elite leadership, and state-level society. Covers much of Old World with emphasis on particular areas.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Whittaker
ANT 262 - Archaeology of North America 4 credits
Archaeological record from human entry into the area to European domination: hunting, gathering, and agricultural developments. Geographical and physical anthropological backgrounds presented.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Whittaker
ANT 265 - Ethnography of Communication: Method and Theory 4 credits
This course explores human communication from an ethnographic perspective. It does so from a “discourse-centered” approach that conceptualizes language as meaningful social action situated in particular contexts used strategically by social actors. Building upon this framework, we will engage the ethnography of communication as both a particular theoretical orientation and a specific methodological approach to language use. Areas of emphasis include: relationships between linguistic forms and social functions, ethnography of speaking, communicative competence, multiple layering of context, performer/audience relationships, intentionality, and ideology.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 or LIN 114 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: French
ANT 267 - Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas 4 credits
An examination of Aztec, Inca, and Maya cultures, including economics, politics, and religion. Concentrates on the dynamics of early states and explores reasons for their rise and fall.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Kamp
ANT 280 - Theories of Culture 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A survey of the history of anthropological theory from the Enlightenment to the present.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 and at least one 200-level anthropology course.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Andelson, French
ANT 285 - Anthropology, Violence, and Human Rights 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course is designed to address anthropological engagement with enduring forms of violence and efforts to intervene in them in a variety of cross-cultural contexts. The class begins by considering relationships among scholarly knowledge, history, and inequality to establish a foundation for thinking about research in post-Enlightenment sociopolitical contexts. It moves to examine tensions between cultural relativism and universal rights advocacy within Western intellectual thought. Next, it examines the concept of “legitimate” violence relative to state formation and power.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 and one 200-level Anthropology, Political Science, or Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies course.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: French
ANT 290 - Archaeological Field Methods 4 credits (Spring)
Archaeological survey, excavation, and artifact analysis as tools for reconstructing the lifestyles of extinct societies. Lab work includes lithic, faunal, and ceramic analysis. Field labs provide practice in finding, mapping, recording, and interpreting archaeological sites.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 , or upper-level (200 or 300) archaeology course.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Whittaker
ANT 291 - Methods of Empirical Investigation 4 credits (Spring)
See .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
ANT 292 - Ethnographic Research Methods 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: SOC 292 . The processes by which ethnographers construct an understanding of human behavior; what questions they ask and how they answer them. Students engage in ethnographic field studies.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 or SOC 111 and one 200-level course in Cultural Anthropology or Linguistic Anthropology.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Tapias
ANT 293 - Practicing Anthropology 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course will train students in anthropological methods and explore the roles of anthropological research outside of academia, particularly that associated with local-level policy and community needs. Students will learn how anthropologists design, carry out, and present ethical research. Much of the learning will be done through experiential education, as students plan and undertake needs assessments, program evaluationsm, or some other research in coordination with and on behalf of a Grinnell community organization.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 or one 200-level anthropology course.
Note: Not offered every year
Instructor: Roper
ANT 295-01 - Special Topic: Solutions: Managing Enterprise & Innovation 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: SST 295-01 . This course, sponsored by the Donald L. Wilson Program in Enterprise and Leadership, takes a case-study approach to the management of innovations, or generating solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems, using case studies by alumni innovators, many of whom will visit class. We start, of course, with Grinnell’s most famous entrepeneur, Robert Noyce. Innovations include changes in products, processes, and organizational structures. Alumni will participate throughout the course.
Prerequisite: One course in the social studies division (Anthropology, Education, History, Economics, Sociology, Social Studies or Political Science).
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Caulkins
ANT 295-01 - Special Topic: Sustainability: Managing Organizations and Innovations 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: SST 295-01 . Sponsored by the Wilson Program in Enterprise and Leadership. An analysis of social responsibility and sustainability issues in managing non-profit, for-profit and social enterprises, in global perspective. The work of Grinnell President Howard Bowen, father of the Corporate Social Responsibility movement, will be considered in detail. Seven alumni will participate in class to discuss their organizations or how they, as consultants, help organizations become more and sustainable and socially responsible. We will consider anthropological roles of collaborative anthropology, consulting, and social entrepreneurship in addressing sustainability and social responsibility.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Caulkins
ANT 295-02 - Special Topic: Anthropology of Disaster 4 credits (Fall)
In this course, students will examine the ways in which natural, sociocultural and technological systems interact to produce catastrophe. Students will learn about the main theoretical paradigms used in the anthropological study of disasters and will apply these frameworks to ethnographic case studies of several disaster scenarios. Also, they will analyze the way in which individuals, communities and organizations prepare for, respond to and are affected by disasters.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Kulstad
ANT 295-02 - Special Topic: Language, Gender and the Social Self 4 credits (Spring)
This course provides an overview of the major themes and issues related to language and gender research. Readings examine various aspects of the relationships between language and gender cross-culturally as well as within the United States. Specifically, the course focuses on relationships between language and consciousness, gender socialization through language, cultural models and power-based models of gender difference in language use, and gender performance/enactment through discourse practices.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 or LIN 114 .
Instructor: French
ANT 295-03 - Special Topic: Nutritional Anthropology 4 credits (Fall)
This course explores issues related to food in a range of mainstream and traditional human cultures. It explores how food consumption, food availability, and food nutritional content impacts human biology. It also examines how food taboos, and how the use of wild and domesticated foods help to create cultural identities. It provides a basic understanding of how complex food/nutrition factors related to physical, social, and psychosocial environments affect social constructs related to cultural expectations surrounding food and nutrition.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Instructor: Hilton
ANT 305 - The Cultural Politics of Fashion 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: AMS 305 . Everyone gets dressed: the creation of desire and cultivation of a consumer culture transcends geographic boundaries (from Dubai to Delhi, Paris to Tehran and NY to Tokyo). Fashion is personal, public and profitable: considering fashion and taste as a dialectic shaped by local and global networks, our point of departure is on interaction and fusion between companies and consumers, brands and boutiques, luxury malls and museums, and fashioning identities in print and moving images.
Prerequisite: A 200-level course in Humanities or Social Studies Division.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Gibel Mevorach
ANT 310 - Postmodernism and Beyond 4 credits
This course explores the meanings of postmodernism, including the historical moment in which the concept emerged to describe a crisis in the social sciences. We will read anthropologists’ comments on the impact of postmodernist approaches on methodologies and theories in the discipline and examine texts that interrogate the relationship between power and knowledge, representations and ethnographic authority, the question of subjectivity and objectification, and the consequences of globalization on dominant concepts that ground the discipline of anthropology. This course includes ethnographic films and commercial movies that register the condition of postmodernity.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 and ANT 280 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Gibel Mevorach
ANT 321 - Human Ethology 4 credits
In this course we will explore: 1) the evolutionary bases for human behavior; 2) how to observe, record, and study human behavior; and 3) the benefits and shortcomings of an ethological approach through both readings and hands-on projects. Each student will design and conduct a short ethological study of human behavior. This course will be research-centered.
Prerequisite: ANT 280 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Bentley-Condit
ANT 325 - Biological Basis of Human Society 4 credits
An assessment of biological factors in human social behavior through an examination of the social behavior of nonhuman primates and evidence from human ethnology and sociobiology. Topics include reproductive behavior, aggression, dominance, sex roles, and altruism.
Prerequisite: ANT 280 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Bentley-Condit
ANT 326 - Anthropology of Religion 4 credits
Cross-listed as: REL 326 . The role and nature of religion. Origin of religious beliefs and customs. Structure and function of religious systems: beliefs, practitioners, supernatural power, totemism, and ritual change.
Prerequisite: ANT 280 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Andelson
ANT 365 - Fighting Words: Conflict, Discourse, and Power 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course is a seminar in linguistic anthropology. It focuses on conflict and power embedded in social uses of language and analyzes them in a variety of contexts. It highlights both interactional and institutional aspects of discourse and the ways in which they are implicated in reproduction of social relationships.
Prerequisite: ANT 260 , ANT 265 , or ANT 280 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: French
ANT 375 - Experimental Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology 4 credits
Experiments with artifacts and observations of living peoples provide archaeologists with the basis for interpreting the remains of past cultures. This course examines the theoretical basis and practice of experimental archaeology and ethnoarchaeology. Course includes lab work and projects.
Prerequisite: ANT 280 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Kamp, Whittaker
ANT 377 - War, Religion, and Politics in the Puebloan Southwest 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Major issues in anthropological theory in the context of the American Southwest, from the viewpoints of archaeology informed by cultural anthropology and history.
Prerequisite: ANT 280 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Whittaker
ANT 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Anthropology of Collective Memory 4 credits (Spring)
This course addresses collective memory from theoretical and ethnographic perspectives. It locates memory in the social world, in the relevance of the past for the present, and in on-going struggles to represent and commemorate meaningful histories. Particular attention will be paid to objectified notions of language and the constitutive function of discourse in memory-making projects. This course includes travel to Ireland and Northern Ireland to engage ethnographically with course topics and themes. Students planning to participate in the course-embedded travel component of this course, will be required to pay a $400 participation fee (most other required travel expenses will be covered). This fee will be payable at the Cashier’s Office, by cash or check, and will be due by January 29, 2016. If payment of this fee causes you financial concern, please contact Gretchen Zimmermann in the Financial Aid Office to discuss loan options to cover this additional cost for attendance.
Prerequisite: ANT 280 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: French
ANT 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Indigenous Health & Human Biology 4 credits (Fall)
This class explores issues related to health, morbidity, and biology in traditional human communities as well as global health, infectious diseases, maternal and infant health, chronic violence, and political ecology. We will discuss the role of diet and physical activity on overall human health and fitness, examine the impact on human health and biology of the advent of plant and animal domesticates relative to wild resources, and how anthropologists use biological evidence of poor health to assess the success of cultural adaptations.
Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
Note: Previously offered as ANT-295 Indigenous Health and Biology
Instructor: Hilton
ANT 395-02 - Advanced Special Topic: Childhood and Archaelolgy 4 credits (Spring)
Like gender, childhood is a social construct, not a biological or psychological constant, and the nature of childhood has varied considerably across both time and space. The class will examine archaeologists’ efforts to understand the nature of past childhoods. In addition, to reading and discussing the relevant literature, students will complete several short analysis exercises and a culminating project.
Prerequisite: ANT 280 or ANT 290 .
Instructor: Kamp
ANT 399 - Directed Research 4 credits
See Directed Research.
Instructor: StaffArt
ART 103 - Introduction to Art History 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A thematic and cross-cultural study of art and architecture as expressions of diverse social, intellectual, religious, and aesthetic values, primarily in Western societies since antiquity, with reference to certain East Asian and African traditions. Emphasis on developing critical skills. Use of Grinnell College Art Collection.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
ART 111 - Introduction to the Studio 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Introduction to the Studio is a beginning level studio course designed to introduce and ground students in core principles of art making in a rigorous, hands-on studio. These principles will be taught though a series of practical exercises using traditional and digital tools. Emphasis will be placed on developing skills, knowledge of materials, methods of observation and translation, collaboration, discussion, and creative discipline.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
ART 134 - Drawing 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An introduction to observational drawing and contemporary drawing practice. Subjects will include architecture, objects, landscape, and the figure. Traditional and non-traditional media will be explored. Emphasis on technical skill, perceptual development, and critical skills.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
ART 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: An Introduction to Museum Studies 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: HUM 195-01 . An introduction to the history of museums and to museum operations, funding, exhibitions, collections, and ethics. The course will also consider the philosophical and intellectual issues raised by the contemporary museum. While art museums will be the primary focus, material pertinent to history, ethnographic, science and other types of museums will also be included.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Instructor: Wright
ART 210 - Women, Art, and History 4 credits
An introduction to the history of women’s involvement in the visual arts. Concerned with ways of analyzing changing relationships among gender, culture, and creativity. The focus is on a historical study of women as producers of art, with emphasis on the various ways women have responded to social conditions determining the production of art, and on defining the issues and methods of investigations, based on feminist critiques of conventional art historical approaches.
Prerequisite: ART 103 or GWS 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ART 214 - Monastery and Cathedral in Medieval Europe 4 credits
Study of major developments in architecture and art from the Carolingian through Gothic periods (9th–14th centuries). Primary focus on architectural design and structure (as at Durham, Canterbury, Lincoln, Cluny, Paris, Chartres, Amiens), including the roles of sculpture and manuscript painting within their social, political, religious, and intellectual climates. Option of executing projects in architectural design or doing reading in French, German, Italian, Latin, or Spanish.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ART 221 - European Art 1789-1848: Figures & Ground 4 credits
Examination of 19th-century Romantic and Realist painting as critical responses to the period’s dramatic political, industrial, and cultural transformations and as the foundation of artistic “modernity.” Emphasis on issues of high and mass culture; art and political voice; representations of non-Europeans; relevance of the canon; tensions between the urban and natural worlds; and creation of the Avant-Garde.The French Revolution of 1789 marked the entrance on the world stage of a new concept of the modern, self-determining subject. During the first half of the nineteenth century, artists in France, England, Spain and Germany sought to discover an artistic language that would represent this new individual’s relationship to the natural and the built environment, a dialogue of figure and ground that this course studies in the mediums of painting, sculpture, printmaking and photography.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ART 222 - Impressionism and Post-Impressionism 4 credits
A study of major artists, works, and issues in European Impressionist and PostImpressionist painting (c. 1865–1900). Specific movements include Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, and Art Nouveau.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ART 225 - The Baroque Imaginary 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
The Baroque has fascinated - and incensed - artists, historians, cultural critics, and philosophers from Henrich Wölfflin, Walter Benjamin, and Erwin Panofsky to Gilles Deleuze, Hubert Damisch, and Peter Greenway. Often aligned with an artistic “Golden Age” exemplified by the works of Bernini, Rubens, Velázquez, and Vermeer, the Baroque is also associated with decadence, irrationality, and effeminacy. We will explore the stakes of these connotations for seventeenth-century Baroque icons as well as for later, (Neo)Baroque artists.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lyon
ART 231 - Modern Art in Europe, 1900–1940 4 credits (Fall)
An examination of major movements in European art from 1900–1940, including Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, Constructivism, and Socialist Realism. Focus upon the historical contexts of art production and reception. Readings range from contemporary criticism to historical analysis. Investigation of recurrent problems such as primitivism, gender, authorship, and cultural politics.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Anger
ART 232 - Art Since 1945 4 credits (Spring)
An examination of developments primarily in American and European art since 1945, from Abstract Expressionism to current trends such as the globalized art market. Particular attention to art since 1960: Pop, Happenings, Black Art, Minimalism, Conceptualism, Earth Works, Feminist Art, Video, and Installation. Readings range from contemporary criticism to historical analysis from a variety of perspectives (e.g., formal, multicultural, deconstructive).
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Anger
ART 233 - American Art 4 credits
A survey of American art within its cultural, philosophical, and social contexts. Topics include: colonial portraiture; history painting, landscape, and vernacular expressions in the 19th century; and the sources and development of modernism and postmodernism.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Anger
ART 236 - Print Media 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course involves an exploration of print processes. Emphasis is placed on the development of individual skills and an aesthetic appreciation of prints through creation, production, and study. This investigation includes historical and contemporary roles of multiples within the context of select media and broader artistic practices.
Prerequisite: ART 111 .
Instructor: Kluber
ART 238 - Painting 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course is an introduction to the materials, techniques, and practice of painting. Such a practice is concerned with issues, both technical and intellectual, that will give students the knowledge to transpose, construct, and execute using the medium of paint.
Prerequisite: ART 111 .
Instructor: Kaufman
ART 240 - Ceramics 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An introduction to clay as a medium for visual expression with an emphasis on hand building, throwing, conceptual problem-solving, glazing, and firing. Students will construct both sculptural and functional forms, with particular attention paid to the development of technical skills, surface enrichment through texture, and creativity in the construction of three-dimensional forms.
Prerequisite: ART 111 .
Instructor: Schrift
ART 242 - Sculpture 4 credits (Spring)
This course will explore techniques and concepts employed by contemporary sculptors. Students will utilize materials from the ephemeral to the permanent to explore issues of space and construction through a series of creative projects.
Prerequisite: ART 111 .
Instructor: Running
ART 246 - Digital Media 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course explores contemporary digital media art practice. Students will work with a variety of software, hardware, and digital tools in addressing visual ideas. This course encourages students to employ the computer as a visual-thinking tool.
Prerequisite: ART 111 .
Instructor: Staff
ART 248 - Greek Archaeology and Art 4 credits (Spring)
See CLS 248 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
ART 250 - Roman Archaeology and Art 4 credits (Spring)
See CLS 250 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
ART 260 - Museum Studies: The Art Museum 4 credits
An examination of the history of museums, museum operations, funding, ethics, and the philosophical and intellectual issues raised by the contemporary museum. The course will focus on art museums, but many of the topics will pertain to history, ethnographic, science, and other types of museums.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Wright
ART 295-01 - Special Topic: “On the Art of Building”: History of Architecture in the Renaissance (1400-1600) 4 credits (Fall)
Study of the major buildings, figures, and cultural centers of the Renaissance, the watershed moment in the architectural history of the Western World. The course expands beyond the Italian peninnsula across the European continent. Key themes include: the Renaissance appropriation of classical antiquity, the persistence of Gothic tradition, and encounters with Islamic art. We will examine the material, urban, social, and political dimensions of architecture, as well as temporal and geographic migrations of architectural knowledge.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Instructor: Pistis
ART 295-01 - Special Topic: Art and Anti-Art Since 1980 4 credits (Spring)
The course explores Postmodernism in the 1980s to its aftermath(s) in contemporary art around the world. We will attend closely to trends that affirm, challenge, and/or reject the significance of aesthetic experience. Readings range from contemporary criticism to historical analysis, as well as from formalist to semiotic, deconstructive, feminist, Marxist, queer, and postcolonial theory.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Instructor: Anger
ART 295-01 - Special Topic: Mixing Forms: Collage, Sample, Mashup, Remix 4 credits (Spring)
This studio course explores analog and digital forms of visual and aural juxtaposition: collage, sampling, mashup, and remixing. Specifically, we will be involved with the skillful building of artwork imbued with resonant meanings through the utilization of different, technologically transgressive mixing methodologies. Projects will range from image to sound and video, readings, discussions, and presentations will situate the craft of juxtaposition into a critical and historic framework.
Prerequisite: ART 111 .
Instructor: Kaufman
ART 295-02 - Special Topic: Rubens and the Rest of the World 4 credits (Fall)
Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was arguably the most original, successful, and erudite painter of his age. He was also a spy, diplomat, and courtier par excellence who changed the face of Baroque art-even if portraiture was his least favorite genre. This course explores the world of Rubens, from his Italian years to his commissions in Paris, Madrid, Flanders, and London. Van Dyck, Velázquez, and Rubens’s legacy in modern art will also be considered.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Instructor: Lyon
ART 295-03 - Special Topic: Gender, Race and Fashion in Western Portraiture, 1550-1950 4 credits (Fall)
Explores race, gender, and fashionable dress as co-constitutive forces in portraiture from 1500 to 1950. We will investigate self-portraiture, group portraiture, historiated portraiture, and allegorical personification. If idealized white, female beauty is one of the portraiture’s longstanding fetishes, how do notions of sexual difference, physiognomy, and skin-color, among other variables, inflect representation? Subjects range from Tudor England, Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and Velaquez to Qing, China, Viceregal Mexico, ninteenth century Paris, and post-war New York.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Instructor: Lyon
ART 295-03 - Special Topic: History of Prints 4 credits (Spring)
Prints play a vital role in the dissemination of imagery throughout artistic and popular cultures alike. This course surveys the history of printmaking as the first “mass media” in the western world, highlighting renowned masters of the medium such as Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya, Kollwitz, Picasso, and Warhol. Class meetings will consist of lecture and weekly visits to the Print and Drawing Study Room in Burling Library. Periodic studio demonstrations will also introduce various printmaking techniques.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Instructor: Popp
ART 295-04 - Special Topic: European Architecture of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 4 credits (Spring)
Study of major European buildings, architects and cultural centers in a moment of critical change in society and state, wherein new travel explorations and revolutionary developments in science and antiquarian studies expanded the horizons of knowledge in every direction. Travelling across courts, academies, streets and buildings devoted to new institutions, this course examines the cultural, material, urban, social, and political dimensions of architecture, as well as temporal and geographic migrations of architectural knowledge.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Instructor: Pistis
ART 295-05 - Special Topic: Architectural Theory from Vitruvius to the Present 4 credits (Spring)
Through analysis of architectural treatises, prints and drawings, as well as of their production, circulation and reception, this course explores how different figures have thought, discussed and written about architecture from antiquity to contemporary America. It investigates architectural theory’s relationship with practice as well as with contemporary debates on society and fields of knowledge such as literature, music, philosophy and science. Topics range from the construction of Western canons to developments of the architectural profession.
Prerequisite: ART 103 .
Instructor: Pistis
ART 295-06 - Special Topic: Russian Conceptualism and Underground Soviet Culture 1 credits (Spring)
See RUS 295-02 .
ART 310 - Advanced Studio: Hybrid Media 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This advanced studio course involves investigating and expanding a visual idea across a range of media. Students have an opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary, expansive approach to art making.
Prerequisite: 12 credits of 200-level studio art.
Instructor: Kluber
ART 315 - Advanced Studio: Contemporary Practices 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An interdisciplinary studio course designed to introduce students to contemporary artistic practices and concepts. Emphasis is placed on ideation, concept, and form integration.
Prerequisite: 12 credits of 200-level studio art.
Instructor: Kaufman
ART 320 - Advanced Studio: Site Specific 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An intensive practice based course in which the problem of place and location is examined in relation to the development of a student’s individual body of work.
Prerequisite: 12 credits of 200-level studio art.
Instructor: Running
ART 360 - Exhibition Seminar 4 credits (Fall)
An exploration of the materials and methods of primary art historical research and museum practice through the organization and presentation of an exhibition. Students work directly with art objects, using works in the Grinnell College Art Collection and/or borrowed from lenders. Topic and instructor vary; see current Schedule of Courses. Course may be repeated once for credit.
Prerequisite: One 200-level art history course.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ART 400 - Seminar in Art History 4 credits (Spring)
An intensive study of selected problems with emphasis on research, methodology, and critical evaluation of a special area. May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits if different topics are taken each time. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing in art history major.
Instructor: Staff
ART 400-01 - Seminar in Art History (Spring) 4 credits (Spring)
Avant-Garde Exhibition, or: Before the Imaginary “White Cube”. Brian O’Doherty memorably pilloried the modernist exhibition space for its purported decontextualization of art and simultaneous disembodiment of the spectator in the so-called “White Cube” (1976), yet closer attention to pivotal twentieth-century exhibitions reveals far more complex and relational environments. The seminar will address seminal Euro-American examples in order to explore the curatorial role in the creation of modern art and the perplexing persistence of the twin myths of autonomy and the White Cube.
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing in art history concentration.
Instructor: Anger
ART 499 - Mentored Advanced Project — Art History 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
The preparation, writing, and public presentation of a piece of advanced art-historical research in any area of art history. Students must obtain approval of a department member as faculty director. The MAP application must be completed with the required project statement and with all faculty signatures before submission to the Office of the Registrar. All applications are subject to the approval of the associate dean of the College.
Prerequisite: Senior standing.
Instructor: Staff
ART 499 - Mentored Advanced Project — Studio 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Senior Project: A concentrated focus within a specific medium in which the student has extensive experience. This course is aimed at establishing a personal direction in content and personal expression while developing a mature portfolio in preparation for an advanced degree. The project includes preparation, creation, and public presentation of a body of artwork. Seniors must obtain approval of a department member for the desired medium as supervisor of the project. The MAP application must be completed with the required project statement and with all faculty signatures before submission to the Office of the Registrar. All applications are subject to approval of the dean of the College.
Prerequisite: 300-level studio course, senior standing, and departmental approval of official MAP proposal before the end of the preceding semester.
See additional information on MAP’s.
Instructor: Staff Biological Chemistry
BCM 262 - Introduction to Biological Chemistry 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
An introduction to chemical properties and biological functions of proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids. Topics in lecture and lab include purifying and characterizing proteins, enzyme kinetics, and basic energy metabolism. Three lectures and one scheduled lab each week.
Prerequisite: BIO 251 , CHM 221 , and completion of or concurrent registration in CHM 222 .
Instructor: Levandoski, TrimmerBiology
BIO 150 - Introduction to Biological Inquiry 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
An introduction to how biologists pose questions, design experiments, analyze data, and communicate scientific information, for prospective biology and biological chemistry majors as well as nonmajors. Although individual sections will have different topics and formats, all sections will involve intensive student-directed investigation and include a laboratory component. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
BIO 150-01 - Intro to Biological Inquiry 4 credits (Spring)
Sex Life of Plants. This course will explore the evolution and ecology of reproduction in flowering plants to develop your understanding of how and why plants reproduce as they do. You’ll experience biology as it is practiced, as you learn principles of adaptation, practice the scientific method, and communicate your research findings in the style of professional biologists. Activities will include reading and discussing classic and contemporary scientific literature, completing exercises on the structure and function of plant reproductive features, and conducting and reporting on research projects done in the lab, the greenhouse, and the field.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Eckhart
BIO 150-01 - Intro to Biological Inquiry 4 credits (Fall)
Sexy Beast. Why do animals have sex? and in such incredible variety? This course will consider the ways biologists study the causes and consequences of sex in animals at all levels – from the cellular process of meiosis, to the organismal concept of gender, to mating interactions between individuals and their evolutionary consequences. Students will learn to read and evaluate the primary literature, formulate hypotheses, and carry out independent research projects using a model organism, the bean beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Students will communicate their results in scientific papers, posters, and oral presentations. Finally, as sexy beasts ourselves, we will consider how our human biases and social assumptions influence the questions asked and their accepted answers.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Brown
BIO 150-02 - Intro to Biological Inquiry 4 credits (Spring)
Biological Responses to Stress. In this course, we will investigate ways that biologists seek to understand how organisms can interact with their environment and change in response to varying environmental conditions. Since microbes are excellent model systems for biological inquiry, their response to stressful environments will be emphasized. Students will formulate hypotheses regarding stress responses, design and conduct experiments to test their hypotheses, and communicate the results of their experiments. The class will have three, one hour and fifty-minute meetings per week that combine lab, lecture, and discussion.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Gregg-Jolly
BIO 150-02 - Intro to Biological Inquiry 4 credits (Fall)
Sex Life of Plants. This course will explore the evolution and ecology of reproduction in flowering plants to develop your understanding of how and why plants reproduce as they do. You’ll experience biology as it is practiced, as you learn principles of adaptation, practice the scientific method, and communicate your research findings in the style of professional biologists. Activities will include reading and discussing classic and contemporary scientific literature, completing exercises on the structure and function of plant reproductive features, and conducting and reporting on research projects done in the lab, the greenhouse, and the field.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Eckhart
BIO 150-03 - Intro to Biological Inquiry 4 credits (Fall)
The Effects of Climate Change on Organisms. We will examine the effects of predicted changes in temperature, moisture and carbon dioxide levels on organismal and ecosystem function through experimental investigation. We will focus on the effects of such changes on the physiology and metabolic functioning of organisms, as well as on biogeochemical processes of ecosystems. This course will be taught in a workshop format, meeting twice a week for three hours. Class time will be devoted primarily to discussions and lab work, examining theoretical aspects of organismal and ecosystem functioning, design and implementation of lab-based experiments, and the interpretation of our results in the context of extensive ongoing climate change research.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Jacobson
BIO 150-03 - Intro to Biological Inquiry 4 credits (Spring)
Symmetry Breaking: Cells are not disorderly bags of molecules. On the contrary, all cells carefully distribute their contents asymmetrically in order to make certain parts of themselves distinct from other parts. Symmetry breaking is particularly evident during embryonic development when an embryo morphs from a sphere of cells into something with multiple axes (e.g. front-back). How do cells do this? Why do they spend so much energy breaking symmetry? It turns out that symmetry breaking is essential for many biological processes. In this course students will learn to use frog oocytes, eggs, and/or embryos in order to observe and explore symmetry breaking processes in living cells. Moreover, students will perform novel research related to this topic, which will involve developing a specific hypothesis, designing and performing experiments, and analyzing and sharing results.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Sandquist
BIO 150-04 - Intro to Biological Inquiry 4 credits (Fall)
The Language of Neurons. In this course students will actively learn how biologists study the nervous system. Specifically, students will work as neuroscientists for a semester and will attempt to learn something novel about how nerve cells communicate with one another at chemical synapses. Students will present their findings at the end of the semester via both oral and written presentations. Papers resulting from a substantial independent project will be published in the class journal, Pioneering Neuroscience: The Grinnell Journal of Neurophysiology. Students with a strong background in high school physics will benefit most from this section of Biological Inquiry.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Rempel-Clower
BIO 150-04 - Intro to Biological Inquiry 4 credits (Spring)
How Our Other 90% Lives. Only 10% of the cells in your body are human – the other 90% belong to the diverse world of microorganisms. In this course, we will investigate strategies microorganisms use to colonize our food and thrive inside our bodies, ultimately making up the majority of cells we carry around each day. Topics addressed will include the biology of bacteria and viruses, what makes a microorganism harmless or dangerous, how microorganisms become resistant to antibiotics, and how we protect our food and ourselves from potentially harmful microorganisms. You will design and carry out independent research projects to test your hypotheses, and communicate your findings to a broader audience. This class will be taught in a “workshop” format that combines laboratory work, discussion, lecture, and various group exercises.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Shields-Cutler
BIO 220 - Racing Through Genetics 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: AMS 220 and ANT 220 . An interdisciplinary study of the role that science has played in the construction of race and ways that society uses such racial classifications. Historic cases including eugenics movement in the early 1990s and application of modern genetic technology will be explored. Students will consider genetic determinism in light of what is known about biology and historicize concepts based in science including the meanings they acquired when invoked to support judicial, political and social politics.
Prerequisite: BIO 150 and one upper level AMS, ANT, SOC, or GWSS course. (In the event of over enrollment, priority will be given to students who have completed BIO 251 )
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Gibel Mevorach, Gregg-Jolly
BIO 240 - Animal Behavior 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Investigations of the causes, functions, and origins of animal behavior. We will use an evolutionary perspective to understand and integrate common behavioral adaptations, e.g., obtaining food, avoiding predators, living in groups, communicating, mating, and caring for offspring. Laboratory projects emphasize design, analysis, and communication of quantitative tests of hypotheses carried out in the lab and field. Three lectures and one scheduled lab per week.
Prerequisite: BIO 150 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Brown
BIO 251 - Molecules, Cells, and Organisms 4 credits (Fall)
Investigations of the cellular and molecular basis of organismal structure and function, including studies of how organisms acquire and expend energy, acquire and transport materials, regulate internal conditions, transmit information, reproduce, develop, grow, and move. Three lectures and one scheduled lab each week.
Prerequisite: BIO 150 , CHM 129 , and completion of or concurrent registration in CHM 221 .
Note: Students who have completed the Biology 251/252 course sequence receive the equivalent of a standard undergraduate introductory genetics course, relevant for pre-professional programs and graduate schools.
Instructor: Staff
BIO 252 - Organisms, Evolution, and Ecology 4 credits (Spring)
Investigations of the evolutionary causes and ecological consequences of organismal structure and function, including studies of why organisms acquire and expend energy, acquire and transport materials, regulate internal conditions, transmit information, reproduce, develop, grow, and move. Three lectures and one scheduled lab each week.
Prerequisite: BIO 251 and MAT 124 or MAT 131 .
Note: Students who have completed the Biology 251/252 course sequence receive the equivalent of a standard undergraduate introductory genetics course, relevant for pre-professional programs and graduate schools.
Instructor: Staff
BIO 301 - History of Biological Thought 4 credits (Spring)
This seminar course will consider how biological theories emerge and change in a complex environment of empirical knowledge and social/political concerns. Areas of study may include reproductive biology, evolution, genetics, ecology and conservation, and medicine. Three lecture/discussion sections each week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Brown
BIO 305 - Evolution of the Iowa Flora 4 credits (Fall)
Investigations of the history of Iowa’s plant diversity from three perspectives: 1) taxonomy and systematics; 2) paleoecology and community assembly; and 3) population structure, biogeography, and conservation. Three lectures and one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Eckhart
BIO 325 - Fungal Biology 4 credits (Fall)
An integrative survey of the fungal kingdom, emphasizing current topics in developmental biology, physiology, genetics, evolution, systematics, ecology, and human interactions with fungi. Emphasis is on interactive learning through field and laboratory investigations. Combined lecture/lab periods meet two times each week for three hours.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: K. Jacobson
BIO 334 - Plant Physiology 4 credits
An assessment of the physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms underlying the life processes of plants. This course will examine major plant functions with emphasis on the physiology and biochemistry of photosynthesis, respiration, nutrient metabolism, translocation, control of growth, and response of plants to environmental stress.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 or BCM 262 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: DeRidder
BIO 339 - Biogeochemistry 4 credits (Spring)
Study of the effects of life on the Earth’s chemistry. This course will examine the interactions among biological and chemical processes that determine the cycling of biologically significant elements in soils, sediments, waters, and the atmosphere. Lectures and discussions focus on current topics, with particular emphasis on the effects of human activity on biogeochemical cycles. Field and laboratory investigations emphasize quantitative analysis and experimental design. Three lecture/discussions and one laboratory per week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 , or BCM 262 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: P. Jacobson
BIO 340 - Aquatic Biology 4 credits (Spring)
An examination of the biology of freshwater systems, including lakes, rivers, and streams, and the linkages between aquatic and terrestrial environments. Lectures and discussions focus on current topics in freshwater biology. Laboratory and field investigations emphasize quantitative analysis and experimental design and include an independent project. One laboratory meeting and two lecture/discussion sessions each week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: P. Jacobson
BIO 343 - Comparative Vertebrate Morphology 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This class will analyze the structure and evolution of the vertebrates, emphasizing functional morphology. We will consider vertebrate evolution and diversity, integument, biomaterials, and skulls; vertebral columns, lateral flexion, and the transition to terrestrial locomotion; circulatory systems; osmoregulatory structures; gas exchange; and sensory structures. In the lab, we will dissect animals such as sharks and cats and analyze other materials. We will close by focusing on morphological design and locomotion, and students will write a research proposal.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 , or BCM 262 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Queathem
BIO 345 - Advanced Genetics 4 credits (Fall)
Genetics is an experimental approach that has been applied to questions in all areas of biology, answering fundamental questions about inheritance, cell mechanics, human disease, and evolutionary change. This course will introduce students to advanced genetic principles and techniques. We will then explore how these techniques have been applied to answer fundamental questions in biology by reading both classic and recent papers from the primary literature that utilize genetic approaches. We will also discuss some of the limitations of genetics as a scientific approach. The laboratory will emphasize multiweek projects using genetic techniques to study biological problems. Two three-hour meetings per week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 , or BCM 262 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Praitis
BIO 346 - Environmental Microbiology 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
In this course we will examine the species concept and the dynamic nature of microbial populations in the environment, including how to define and measure relevant microbial populations. We will investigate the roles of microorganisms in key environmental processes including biogeochemical cycling and bioremediation of pollutants. Further topics include environmental pathogens, symbioses, and niche specialization. In the lab, students conduct seven-week independent projects. Two three-hour meetings per week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 , or BCM 262 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Hinsa-Leasure
BIO 355 - Developmental Genetics 4 credits (Spring)
We explore how scientists identify and characterize the genes required for animal and plant development, by reading and discussing papers from the primary literature that utilize molecular and classic genetic techniques. Topics include axis determination, cell fate decisions, tissue formation, sex determination, environmental influences on development, and evolutionary conservation of developmental mechanisms. In the laboratory, students do independent research projects on the model system C. elegans. Two three-hour meetings per week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 , or BCM 262 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Praitis
BIO 363 - Neurobiology 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines the structure, function, and development of the nervous system. Cellular and molecular mechanisms are emphasized and examples are drawn from throughout the animal kingdom. Three lectures and one scheduled laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: BIO 251 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lindgren
BIO 364 - Animal Physiology 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines the integrated function of tissues, organs, and organ systems from a molecular, cellular, and organismal perspective. Emphasis is placed on mechanisms underlying physiological processes found throughout the animal kingdom. Three lectures and one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lindgren
BIO 365 - Microbiology 4 credits (Fall)
The structure, physiology, and genetics of the prokaryotes. Lectures include discussion of papers from the current literature. Laboratory features multi-week investigations. Two lectures and one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: BIO 251 . BIO 252 or BCM 262 is recommended.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Hinsa-Leasure
BIO 368 - Ecology 4 credits (Fall)
Study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and of relationships between organisms and environments. Laboratories emphasize quantitative analysis and experimental design in ecology and include several field projects. Lectures focus on the development of ecological concepts and theory. Three lectures and one laboratory per week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Eckhart
BIO 370 - Advanced Cell Biology 4 credits (Fall)
In its infancy, cell biology primarily concerned the description of major cellular structures and functions that were visible by the light microscope. However, modern cell biology, and consequently this course, has shifted focus to the examination of biological processes at the molecular level. Focusing on eukaryotic systems, we will begin with a brief overview of cells, the history of cell biology, and the general approaches used to study cells. The rest of the course will focus on three to four central aspects of cell biology including signal transduction, cell cycle and cytoskeleton. How these topics relate to pharmacology and cancer biology will also be discussed. Laboratories emphasize techniques used in the study of cell biology in frog oocytes, eggs and/or embryos.
Prerequisite: BIO 251 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Sandquist
BIO 373 - Mechanisms of Evolution 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines the mechanisms of evolutionary change at both the micro- and macroevolutionary scales. Topics include the maintenance of genetic variation, population structure and speciation, molecular evolution, systematic methods and applications, and macroevolution. Three lectures and one laboratory session each week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Brown
BIO 380 - Molecular Biology 4 credits (Spring)
An examination of the molecular biology of the cell and associated technology. The application of techniques such as molecular cloning, PCR amplification, DNA sequencing and hybridization to contemporary issues in biology are emphasized in lecture and laboratory. Two lectures and one laboratory per week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 , or BCM 262 .
Instructor: DeRidder, Gregg-Jolly
BIO 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Principles of Pharmacology 4 credits (Fall)
An examination of the fundamental principles by which pharmacological agents are produced, work and used. A major part of the course will explore basic concepts of pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion), as well as receptor, theory, dose responses and other key concepts. Some common drug classes will be examined to illustrate basic physiological and pharmacological principles of drug action. Aspects of drug discovery, development and policy will be introduced. Three lectures and one scheduled laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 or BCM 262 .
Instructor: Sandquist
BIO 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Readings in Conservation Biology 2 credits (Spring)
Though the science of sustaining biological diversity is fundamentally associated with ecology and population biology, it also applies other biological disciplines (e.g., such as genetics, reproductive physiology, and epidemiology) as well as involving ethical, legal, political, social, and economic issues. In this course, we will explore the diversity of theory and practice in conservation biology, via a seminar format that emphasizes reading,
discussion, and writing about primary literature.
Prerequisite: BIO 252 .
Instructor: Eckhart
BIO 399 - Directed Research 2 or 4 credits
See Directed Research.
Instructor: StaffChemistry
CHM 100 - Chemistry is Everywhere 4 credits (Fall)
This course in intended for nonscience majors and introduces the basic principles of chemistry with special emphasis on everyday life and sustainability. The course illustrates these principles through extensive use of classroom demonstrations and hands on explorations.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Marzluff
CHM 129 - General Chemistry 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
An introductory course. Primary emphasis on stoichiometry, atomic and molecular structure, dynamic equilibrium, acid-base chemistry, thermodynamics, electronic structure, and intermolecular interactions. Three classes, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
CHM 210 - Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Leads to advanced work in the department. Principles of inorganic chemistry and elementary quantitative analysis, including ionic equilibrium, electrochemistry, and acid-base chemistry. Three classes, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: CHM 129 .
Instructor: Staff
CHM 221 - Organic Chemistry I 4 credits (Fall)
A comprehensive study of structures, reactions, syntheses, and spectroscopy of aliphatic and aromatic compounds, which emphasizes modern mechanistic models. Three classes, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: CHM 129 . (Students with AP/IB credit or other off-campus credit to substitute for CHM 129 must take CHM 210 .)
Instructor: Staff
CHM 222 - Organic Chemistry II 4 credits (Spring)
A comprehensive study of structures, reactions, syntheses, and spectroscopy of aliphatic and aromatic compounds, which emphasizes modern mechanistic models. Three classes, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: CHM 221 .
Instructor: Staff
CHM 295-01 - Special Topic: Environmental Chemistry 4 credits Spring
Cross-listed as: ENV 295-01 . An introduction to the chemistry of the atmosphere, natural waters, soils and sediments, emphasizing chemical pollution and pollution prevention. Topics include: atmospheric pollution, persistent organic pollutants, agrochemicals, heavy metal contamination, and emerging contaminants. Two classes, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: CHM 129 .
Instructor: Graham
CHM 325 - Advanced Organic Chemistry 4 credits (Fall)
Selected topics in organic chemistry, including spectral methods of identifying organic compounds, reaction mechanisms, and modern methods of organic synthesis. Laboratory emphasis on spectral, chromatographic, and synthetic methods. Three classes, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: CHM 222 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
CHM 330 - Bioorganic Chemistry 4 credits (Fall)
Exploration of the advanced biochemistry discipline of bioorganic chemistry, which applies the principles and techniques of organic chemistry to the study of biochemical reactions. Emphasis on the reactions of enzymes, particularly enzymes that require a coenzyme (flavin, pyridoxal phosphate, etc.) to carry out their chemistry. Topics include enzyme structure, catalytic strategies, kinetics, and methodologies to determine enzyme mechanisms. Investigates laboratories stress spectroscopic and kinetic techniques. Three classes, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: BCM 262 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Trimmer
CHM 332 - Biophysical Chemistry 4 credits (Fall)
Exploration of advanced topics in biochemistry with an emphasis on physical methodologies (thermodynamics and kinetics) and techniques. Topics include ligand binding theory, protein folding, and structure determination, etc. Secondary emphasis involves topics in molecular neuroscience, such as second messenger systems and ion channels. Laboratory employs some of the techniques discussed and includes an independent project. Three classes, one laboratory each week. Completion of the introductory physics sequence and CHM 363 is recommended.
Prerequisite: BCM 262 and completion of or concurrent registration in PHY 131 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Levandoski
CHM 358 - Instrumental Analysis 4 credits (Fall)
Analytical chemistry, including both theory and applications of spectral, electrochemical, chromatographic, and other commonly employed methods of analysis and separation. Two classes, two laboratories each week.
Prerequisite: CHM 221 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Lyons, Sharpe
CHM 363 - Physical Chemistry I 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
An introduction to physical chemistry that emphasizes experimental and theoretical aspects of chemical thermodynamics, chemical and physical equilibrium, and kinetics. Three classes, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: CHM 222 , and MAT 133 or equivalent, and PHY 131 or equivalent, and completion of or concurrent registration in PHY 132 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Hernandez-Soto, Marzluff
CHM 364 - Physical Chemistry II 4 credits (Spring)
Selected topics in physical chemistry with emphasis on molecular structure and chemical bonding and the application of thermodynamic and quantum theory to a variety of physical chemical phenomena. Three classes, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: CHM 363 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Marzluff, Hernandez-Soto
CHM 390 - Seminar: Current Topics in Chemistry 2 credits (Fall or Spring)
An investigation of a selected topic in chemistry with readings from the recent literature discussed in a seminar format. Specific topic announced at least a semester in advance. May be repeated a second time for credit. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: CHM 222 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
CHM 399 - Directed Research 4 credits
See Directed Research.
Instructor: Staff
CHM 423 - Advanced Inorganic Chemistry 4 credits (Spring)
Selected topics, including atomic structure, bonding, acid-base theories, coordination chemistry, crystal structure, and inorganic reactions. Three classes, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: CHM 363 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Minelli
CHM 499 - Mentored Advanced Project 2 or 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See additional information on Mentored Advanced Projects.
Chinese and Japanese
CHI 101 - Beginning Chinese I 5 credits (Fall)
An introductory course to modern (Mandarin) Chinese that teaches the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Instructional emphasis is laid on both linguistic aspects (pronunciation, vocabulary, and structures) and on sociocultural strategies in communication. Students learn approximately 550 frequently used core graphs and their use in context.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Ridgway
CHI 102 - Beginning Chinese II 5 credits (Spring)
An introductory course to modern (Mandarin) Chinese that teaches the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Instructional emphasis is laid on both linguistic aspects (pronunciation, vocabulary, and structures) and on sociocultural strategies in communication. Students learn approximately 550 frequently used core graphs and their use in context.
Prerequisite: CHI 101 .
Instructor: Ridgway
CHI 221 - Intermediate Chinese I 4 credits (Fall)
Reinforcement and expansion of the grammatical basis and communicative competence gained in CHI 101 and CHI 102 . Continued practice of oral and listening skills, but with increased emphasis on reading and writing skills. Stress is on the acquisition of core graphs (to approximately 1,500), vocabulary, and complex sentence patterns. Simplified characters are also introduced.
Prerequisite: CHI 102 .
Instructor: Feng
CHI 222 - Intermediate Chinese II 4 credits (Spring)
Reinforcement and expansion of the grammatical basis and communicative competence gained in CHI 101 and CHI 102 . Continued practice of oral and listening skills, but with increased emphasis on reading and writing skills. Stress is on the acquisition of core graphs (to approximately 1,500), vocabulary, and complex sentence patterns. Simplified characters are also introduced.
Prerequisite: CHI 221 .
Instructor: Feng
CHI 230 - Chinese Women: Past and Present 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course will examine literary and cinematic representations of Chinese women, past and present by using gender as a category of analysis. Literary and cinematic focus is on the complex and changing relationship of Chinese women to normative gender codes and conventions over the course of some 2,000 years.
Prerequisite: None
Instructor: Feng
CHI 277 - Modern China through Literature and Film (in Translation) 4 credits
Cross-listed as: GLS 277 . This course examines literature and society in China starting from the turn of the 20th century through the critical study of selected samples of the literary and cinematic products of this tumultuous historical period. Attention is particularly focused on the political, cultural, and aesthetic messages that the literary and cinematic forms convey and disseminate. All readings and discussion are in English.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Feng
CHI 288 - Chinese Food for Thought 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: EAS 288 . Food is a prism that absorbs and reflects a host of cultural phenomena. An examination of Chinese and Chinese American foodways–behaviors and beliefs surrounding the production, distribution, processing, preparation, and consumption of food–reveals power relations and ways of constructing class, gender, and racial identities. This course analyzes foodways in various historical and contemporary contexts. It brings different types of materials and approaches to bear on the study of our most basic, visceral experience.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing and successful completion of tutorial.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Feng
CHI 295-01 - Special Topic: Fictions of Desire and Enlightenment in Late Imperial China 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: EAS 295-01 . In this class students explore the religious, emotional, and social dimensions of three masterworks of Chinese vernacular fiction of the 17th-18th centuries (The Journey to the West, The Tower of Myriad Mirrors, and The Story of the Stone) and examine how major schools of thought and religious traditions grappled with interconnections and tensions between sentiment, desire, and enlightenment.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Ridgway
CHI 295-01 - Special Topic: The Transformation of Life: Biopolitics in Modern Chinese Literature, Film and Art 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: EAS 295-02 . This course explores the issue of biopolitics in modern Chinese culture. Drawing upon the critical notions of biopolitics and correlative thinking, we will examine the dynamic space between biological life and cultural production that is presented in a wide range of modern and contemporary Chinese literature, film and art. Specific readings include creative works by Lu Xun, Jia Zhangke, and Cai Guo-Qiang, as well as philosophical writings by Henri Bergson, Michel Foucault, and Francois Jullien.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Cui
CHI 331 - Advanced Chinese I 4 credits (Fall)
Further reinforcement, expansion, and refinement of grammatical proficiency and communicative skills through intensive reading of authentic Chinese materials, such as short stories, newspapers, and journals, and viewing of films and television broadcasts. Particular emphasis also given to increasing level of literary appreciation and critical awareness of the sociocultural contexts that shape readings.
Prerequisite: CHI 222 .
Instructor: Feng
CHI 332 - Advanced Chinese II 4 credits (Spring)
Further reinforcement, expansion, and refinement of grammatical proficiency and communicative skills through intensive reading of authentic Chinese materials, such as short stories, newspapers, and journals, and viewing of films and television broadcasts. Particular emphasis also given to increasing level of literary appreciation and critical awareness of the sociocultural contexts that shape readings.
Prerequisite: CHI 331 .
Instructor: Ridgway
CHI 387 - Individual Reading 2 or 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Designed to satisfy needs and interests of majors who have otherwise exhausted departmental language offerings.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor and department chair.
Instructor: Staff
CHI 461 - Classical Chinese 4 credits (Fall)
Intensive treatment of the basic particles and grammatical structure of the literary Chinese language (wenyan). Development of skills in understanding and recognizing syntactic parallelism, contextual clues, and rhetorical structures through the reading of selected works of classical prose and poetry.
Prerequisite: CHI 332 .
Instructor: Ridgway
CHI 498 - Readings in Chinese Literature 4 credits (Spring)
This course is designed to increase students’ proficiency in reading, interpreting, and discussing Chinese literature in its original language, and thereby build upon the linguistic foundation acquired in both Classical Chinese (CHI 461 ) and the three-year language sequence. Literature for the course will consist of a thematically focused set of textual materials taken from both pre-modern and modern sources, including literary, philosophical, and religious texts. Conducted in Chinese.
Prerequisite: CHI 332 and CHI 461 .
Instructor: Feng
EAS 295-01 - Special Topic: WWII in Japanese Literature and Film 4 credits (Spring)
See JPN 295-01 .
JPN 101 - Beginning Japanese I 5 credits (Fall)
An introductory course that teaches the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Instructional emphasis is laid on both linguistic aspects (pronunciation, vocabulary, and structures) and on sociocultural strategies in communication. Students learn both Japanese syllabaries and are introduced to kanji.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Schimmel
JPN 102 - Beginning Japanese II 5 credits (Spring)
A continuation of Beginning Japanese I, emphasizing the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Instructional emphasis is laid on both linguistic aspects (pronunciation, vocabulary, and structures) and on sociocultural strategies in communication. Students will have learned at least 100 kanji by the end of the course.
Prerequisite: JPN 101 .
Instructor: Schimmel
JPN 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Japanese Society and Popular Culture 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: EAS 195-01 . This course provides an introduction to postwar Japan through major ideas and social changes that impacted Japanese popular culture. Using cross-disciplinary methodologies drawn from sociology, history, literature and film studies, we will explore critical questions such as center/margin, past/future, and self/other. Readings and screenings will examine the impact of postwar social, economic, and political changes on various groups of people, including corporate workers, youth, women, and ethnic minorities.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Saito
JPN 221 - Intermediate Japanese I 4 credits (Fall)
Reinforcement and expansion of Japanese grammar and communicative competence for students who have previously studied Japanese. Students will gain advancement in the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Prerequisite: JPN 102 .
Instructor: Staff
JPN 222 - Intermediate Japanese II 4 credits (Spring)
Further reinforcement and expansion of Japanese grammar and communicative competence, and advancement in the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Students will have learned at least 300 kanji by the end of the course.
Prerequisite: JPN 221 .
Instructor: Staff
JPN 279 - Modern Japanese Fiction and Film 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 279 . This course considers Japanese fiction and films that depict Japan from the mid-19th century through the present day. The work of some major authors and film directors will be introduced to examine Japanese culture and society, as well as the characteristics that are unique to Japanese fiction and film. Readings and discussions in English.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Not offered every year. Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Schimmel
JPN 295-01 - Special Topic: WWII in Japanese Literature and Film 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: EAS 295-01 . How is WWII remembered and taught in Japan where the Constitution outlaws involvement in war? This course explores how the most influential literarytexts and films in postwar Japan have framed the Japanese ideas of repentance, war crime, victimhood, and heroism. The topics include moral education for children, documenting the atrocities of the war, monsters and robots in fantasy, and the recent revival of war dramas along with heated discussions over Article 9.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Saito
JPN 331 - Advanced Japanese I 4 credits (Fall)
This course is for those students who have finished Intermediate Japanese II or an equivalent course. An integrated approach will be taken by the instructor so students will be able to develop both their speaking and writing skills in Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPN 222 .
Instructor: Schimmel
JPN 332 - Advanced Japanese II 4 credits (Spring)
This course is for those students who have finished Advanced Japanese I or an equivalent course. An integrated approach will be taken by the instructor so students will be able to develop both their speaking and writing skills in Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPN 331 .
Instructor: Staff
JPN 387 - Individual Reading 2 or 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Designed to satisfy needs and interests of majors who have otherwise exhausted departmental language offerings.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor and department chair.
Instructor: StaffClassics
CLS 231 - History of Ancient Philosophy 4 credits (Fall)
See PHI 231 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
CLS 242 - Classical Mythology 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 242 . A systematic study of the most important stories and figures of classical mythology, with emphasis on the reading and interpretation of primary Greek and Roman literary sources and on the contribution of feminist criticism, anthropology, religion, and psychology to this study.
Prerequisite: HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Mercado
CLS 248 - Greek Archaeology and Art 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: ART 248 . A study of major archaeological excavations and artistic genres of ancient Greece, and their relationship to political and cultural history; the exchange of artistic and archaeological influences with contemporary cultures of Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: M. Cummins
CLS 250 - Roman Archaeology and Art 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: ART 250 . A study of the major monuments and artifacts of ancient Etruria and Rome; their relationship to the political and cultural history; the Roman borrowing and adoption of Greek forms, as well as original expression in art and architecture. Roman artistic exchange with other cultures of Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: M. Cummins
CLS 255 - History of Ancient Greece 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: HIS 255 . The political, military, social, economic, and intellectual history of the Greeks in the Archaic and Classical periods and their relationship with other peoples of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Focus on the evolution of the Athenian and Spartan constitutions, the Persian War, Athenian imperialism and the Peloponnesian War, the rise of Macedon, and Alexander’s conquest of Egypt and the Near East.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
CLS 257 - The Roman Republic 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: HIS 257 . This course examines the rise of Rome from a village on the banks of the Tiber River to an imperial Mediterranean power governed by a republic (753 BCE to 14 CE). It focuses on Rome’s expansion in Italy, its struggle with Carthage, the tumultuous “fall” of the republic, the Augustan settlement and the transition to empire. Attention is also given to Roman social and religious life. Students analyze both literary texts and archaeological evidence.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Cummins
CLS 258 - The Roman Empire 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: HIS 258 . This course examines the Roman Empire from the accession of Augustus through the reign of the last western emperor, Romulus Augustulus (27 BCE-476 CE). It focuses on political, military, social and religious developments, with special attention given to specific subject populations such as the Jews and Christians, and to life in the provinces and on the frontiers of the empire. Students analyze both literary texts and archaeological evidence.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Cummins
CLS 263 - Political Theory I 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See PHI 263 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
CLS 295-01 - Special Topic: Introduction to Indo-European 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: LIN 295-01 . Many ancient and modern languages, including Greek, English, German, Latin, French, Spanish,and Russian, are “sisters” in a language family called “Indo-European.” Although no documents written in their “mother” tongue survive, linguists can reconstruct many aspects of Proto-Indo-European by working backwards from the “daughter” languages. This course explores the development of systems of sound and word/phrase structure that allow us to reconstruct a completely extinct language, as well as features of its literature and culture.
Prerequisite: Second year standing. Recommended: at least one from GRE 101 , LAT 103 , ENG 230 , FRN 221 , GRM 221 , RUS 221 , SPN 217 , ANT 260 , LIN 114 .
Instructor: Mercado
CLS 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Civic Identity in the Ancient Greek World 4 credits (Spring)
This interdisciplinary course examines how civic identity was shaped for the Athenians and Spartans in the period 750-323 BCE. It explores comparatively the values which governed the Athenian and Spartan citizen’s behavior, his civic and military obligations, and his relationship with the gods. The coexistence of women and slaves with the male citizenry is also considered. We will also study the topography and archaeology of Athens and Sparts, the role of interntational religious sanctuaries–Olympia and Delphi–in the civic life of these cities. As part of this course, students will study the topography and material remains of Athens and Sparta in Greece during the week directly after Commencement. Students planning to participate in the course-embedded travel component of this course, will be required to pay a $400 participation fee (most other required travel expenses will be covered). This fee will be payable at the Cashier’s Office, by cash or check, and will be due by January 29, 2016. If payment of this fee causes you financial concern, please contact Gretchen Zimmermann in the Financial Aid Office to discuss loan options to cover this additional cost for attendance.
Prerequisite: CLS 255 , HIS 255 , PHI 263 , POL 263 , CLS 263 , GRE 301 , GRE 302 , GRE 303 , GRE 304 , GRE 305 , or prior completion of or concurrent enrollment in CLS 248 or ART 248 .
Instructor: Cummins
CLS 495 - Senior Seminar 4 credits (Spring)
Devoted to major themes in Greek and Roman culture, the seminar allows seniors to integrate their study of classics and related fields. Participants will plan topics and present papers that serve as a basis for analysis and discussion.
Prerequisite: Senior standing and permission of department.
Instructor: Staff
GRE 101 - Elementary Greek 5 credits (Fall)
The fundamentals of ancient Greek inflection, grammar, syntax, and literary style, based on simplified readings from Attic prose and poetry.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Hughes
GRE 222 - Intermediate Greek 5 credits (Spring)
Continuation of GRE 101 . Review of forms and grammar. Introduction to a range of Greek poetic and prose literature, with selected short readings from Homer, lyric poetry, Herodotus, Sophocles, Euripides, Plato, and the Christian Scriptures.
Prerequisite: GRE 101 .
Instructor: Hughes
GRE 301 - Homer 4 credits (Spring)
Reading of selected passages from the Iliad, the Odyssey, or both epics; special readings in archaeological and critical background.
Prerequisite: GRE 222 and HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
GRE 302 - Plato 4 credits (Fall)
Readings from one or more of Plato’s dialogues with attention to language, literary features, and philosophy.
Prerequisite: GRE 222 and HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: J. Cummins
GRE 303 - Greek Drama 4 credits (Spring)
Reading of two plays with study of literary form, the myths, and relevant social, religious, and philosophical issues.
Prerequisite: GRE 222 and HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
GRE 304 - Greek Prose Writers 4 credits (Fall)
Reading and study of related works of one or more Greek prose writers, excluding Plato. Possibly to include history (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon), philosophy (Aristotle), oratory (Andocides, Lysias, Demosthenes), or epigraphy.
Prerequisite: GRE 222 and HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: M. Cummins, Hughes
GRE 305 - Greek Poetry 4 credits (Fall)
Readings in Greek poetry, excluding Homer and drama. Possibly to include Archaic lyric and elegiac poets (e.g., Sappho, Archilochus, Solon), Pindar and Bacchylides, or the Hellenistic poets (Apollonius, Theocritus, Callimachus). Introduction to Greek metrics and literary dialects. Emphasis on close reading and critical analysis of the texts.
Prerequisite: GRE 222 and HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Hughes
GRE 387 - Individual Reading 2 or 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Supervised readings designed to fit special needs of students — for example, those who wish to develop facility in reading New Testament Greek.
Prerequisite: At least one reading course in Greek and permission of instructor.
Instructor: Staff
LAT 103 - Elementary Latin 5 credits (Fall)
The fundamentals of Latin forms and sentence structure, based on sentences and connected reading from classical Latin literature.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: M. Cummins, Mercado
LAT 222 - Intermediate Latin 5 credits (Spring)
Continuation of LAT 103 . Readings in classical Latin prose and poetry, with review and composition as needed in order to attain a reading knowledge of Latin.
Prerequisite: LAT 103 .
Instructor: M. Cummins, Mercado
LAT 225 - Reading Latin 4 credits (Fall)
An intermediate course that can function as a continuation of LAT 222 or as a review class for students with substantial prior work in Latin at the secondary or collegiate level. Review of fundamentals with an emphasis on reading and interpreting a variety of texts.
Prerequisite: LAT 222 , or at least two years of secondary-school Latin.
Instructor: Staff
LAT 318 - Roman Satire 4 credits (Fall)
Readings in Lucretius, Horace, and Juvenal: the poetry of criticism and wit. Roman originality, Epicurean and Stoic stances in this complex and chameleonic genre, the interplay of moral voice and sense of humor, relations between philosophy and satire, rhetoric, and poetry.
Prerequisite: LAT 222 , or LAT 225 and HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
LAT 320 - Cicero 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Readings from Cicero’s speeches, essays, or letters, with special attention to language, subject matter, rhetoric, literary artistry in general, and historical setting.
Prerequisite: LAT 222 or LAT 225 , and HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: J. Cummins
LAT 323 - Vergil 4 credits (Spring)
Readings in the Eclogues, the Georgics, and the Aeneid; the development of Vergilian poetic technique; the civilized and national epic as a new form and its influence on Roman and later cultures; the pastoral tradition, Greek literary precedents.
Prerequisite: LAT 222 or LAT 225 , and HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Mercado
LAT 333 - Roman Historians 4 credits (Fall)
Selected readings from Sallust, Bellum Catilinae, Bellum Iugurthinum, and Livy, Ab Urbe Condita; the interpretation of Rome’s past by historians of the era of transition from republic to empire.
Prerequisite: LAT 222 or LAT 225 , and HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: M. Cummins
LAT 334 - Roman Lyric Poetry 4 credits (Spring)
The poetry of Catullus and the Odes of Horace. Critical analysis, the Greek background and models, the art and philosophy of Horace as the culmination of classical humanism.
Prerequisite: LAT 222 or LAT 225 , and HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Hughes
LAT 344 - Roman Thought 4 credits (Fall)
The poetry of Lucretius and some of the essays of Cicero will be studied for the ways in which they present Greek ideas to a Roman audience, on the subjects of nature, religion, politics, and the goals of life.
Prerequisite: LAT 222 or LAT 225 , and HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: J. Cummins
LAT 387 - Individual Reading 2 or 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Supervised reading designed to fit special needs of students.
Prerequisite: At least one reading course in Latin and permission of instructor.
Instructor: StaffComputer Science
CSC 105 - The Digital Age 4 credits (Spring)
A study of core topics and great ideas in the field of computer science, focusing on underlying algorithmic principles and social implications. Topics may include multimedia and hypermedia, networks, architecture, programming languages, software design, artificial intelligence, databases, cryptography, and the theory of computing. Includes formal laboratory work.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Osera, Weinman
CSC 151 - Functional Problem Solving 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A lab-based introduction to basic ideas of computer science, including recursion, abstraction, scope and binding, modularity, the design and analysis of algorithms, and the fundamentals of programming in a high-level, functional language. Includes formal laboratory work. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
CSC 151-01 & 02 - Functional Problem Solving (Media Scripting) 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
In this section of CSC 151, we will ground our study of functional problem solving in media computation. In particular, we will explore mechanisms for representing, making, and manipulating images. We will consider a variety of models of images based on pixels, basic shapes, and objects that draw. The course will be taught using a workshop style: In most class sessions, students will work collaboratively on a series of problems. Includes formal laboratory work.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
CSC 161 - Imperative Problem Solving and Data Structures 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A continuation of CSC 151 , bringing in some concepts more closely tied to the architecture of computers, compilers, and operating systems, such as macro processing, compilation and linking, pointers and memory management, data representation, and software development tools. Additional topics include assertions and invariants, data abstraction, linked data structures, an introduction to the use of the GNU/Linux operating system, and programming in a low-level, imperative language. Includes formal laboratory work. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: CSC 151 .
Instructor: Staff
CSC 161-01 & 02 - Imperative Problem Solving & Data Structures (Robots) 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
This section of CSC 161 will utilize robotics as an application domain in studying imperative problem solving, data representation, and memory management. Additional topics will include assertions and invariants, data abstraction, linked data structures, an introduction to the GNU/Linux operating system, and programming the low-level, imperative language C. The course will utilize a workshop style, in which students will frequently work collaboratively on a series of problems. Includes formal laboratory work.
Prerequisite: CSC 151 .
Instructor: Staff
CSC 205 - Computational Linguistics 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: LIN 205 An examination of computational techniques for producing and processing text in natural languages and an introduction to the theoretical basis for those techniques, both in linguistics and in computer science. Topics include generative grammars, parsing, algorithms for automatic indexing, information retrieval, and natural-language interfaces.
Prerequisite: LIN 114 and CSC 151 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: J. Stone
CSC 207 - Algorithms and Object-Oriented Design 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
An introduction to the ideas and practices of computation: message passing, information hiding, classes and interfaces, inheritance, polymorphism, and reflection. The course also includes data structures and the associated algorithms, packages and libraries, exceptions, and the use of an integrated software-development environment. Includes formal laboratory work.
Prerequisite: CSC 161 .
Instructor: Osera, Rebelsky
CSC 208 - Discrete Structures 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: MAT 208 . How do we “know” that a mathematical or logical statement is correct? What common properties appear among different collections? How might we represent functions, and how can we tell if two functions with different representations are the same? Can we formally describe and understand common diagrams? We consider such questions as we develop both intuition and formal mechanisms for addressing them. Along the way, we explore Boolean logic, proof techniques, sets, structures that include trees and graphs, and more. Students who have previously taken MAT 218 may not subsequently take CSC/MAT 208.
Prerequisite: and either or .
Instructor: Mileti, J. Stone
CSC 211 - Computer Organization and Architecture 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Study of both traditional and alternative computer architectures. Introduction to digital logic, microcode, Von Neumann architectures, data representations, fetch/execute model, RISC/CISC, instruction formats and addressing, machine and assembly language, memory architecture and algorithms, I/O architecture, and elements of distributed systems. Includes formal laboratory work.
Prerequisite: CSC 161 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Curtsinger
CSC 213 - Operating Systems and Parallel Algorithms 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Study of the principal components of typical operating systems and an introduction to parallel algorithms. Topics from operating systems: storage management, scheduling, concurrent processing, synchronization, data protection, and security. Discussion of models of parallelism and algorithms for problems in such areas as lists, trees, searching, sorting, graphs, geometry, and strings. Includes formal laboratory work.
Prerequisite: CSC 161 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Curtsinger, Weinman
CSC 214 - Computer and Network Security 2 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course deals with the security of computing systems and the networks over which they communicate, including tools and techniques for undermining or for reinforcing the reliability and usability of computer systems, the theoretical concepts that underlie those techniques, and the ways in which governments, corporations, interest groups, and individuals currently use them.
Prerequisite: CSC 161 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Curtsinger, J. Stone
CSC 216 - Computer Networks 2 credits (Fall or Spring)
Introduction to the communication protocols that make up the modern Internet - their functionality, specification, implementation, and performance. Includes hands-on laboratory work.
Prerequisite: CSC 161 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Curtsinger, Rebelsky
CSC 232 - Human-Computer Interaction 2 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: PSY 232 and TEC 232 . Introduction to fundamental principles and methods of human-centered interaction design: Human capabilities and limitations, usability and accessibility guidelines, iterative design, contextual inquiry, task analysis, prototyping, evaluation. Includes hands-on laboratory work.
Prerequisite: CSC 105 , CSC 151 , PSY 113 or TEC 154 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
CSC 261 - Artificial Intelligence 4 credits (Fall)
An introduction to current principles, approaches, and applications of artificial intelligence, with an emphasis on problem-solving methods, knowledge representation, reasoning with uncertainty, and heuristic search. Study of a range of AI approaches, such as rule-based systems, neural networks, and systems for machine learning. Review of several applications areas such as game playing, natural language processing, robotics, theorem proving, and perception.
Prerequisite: CSC 161 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Weinman
CSC 262 - Computer Vision 4 credits (Spring)
How can computers understand images? This course covers principles in computational vision and their relationship to human visual perception. Topics may include geometry of image formation, image filtering and representation, texture analysis, 3-D reconstruction from stereo and motion, image segmentation, object detection, and recognition. Students implement and evaluate methods on real images in laboratory exercises and an independent project.
Prerequisite: CSC 161 , or both CSC 151 and MAT 215 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Weinman
CSC 281 - Life Beyond Grinnell - Learning from Computer Science Alumni 1 credits (Fall)
This course challenges you to think beyond your time at Grinnell. Alumni with careers related to computer science will tell their own stories so that we can learn how they constructed their lives and careers. They will also provide advice as you think about your own career and life. Readings and assignments will encourage further reflection. Variable topic course. Repeatable for credit when content changes.
Prerequisite: CSC 151 .
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Rebelsky
CSC 282 - Thinking in C and Unix 1 credits (Spring)
The most successful software designers master a variety of languages, algorithms, and software design methodologies. In this course, you will examine the Unix approach to software design. You will ground that examination, in part, by developing programs that deepen your understanding of advanced techniques of the C programming language. Includes laboratory work.
Prerequisite: CSC 161 .
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Rebelsky
CSC 295-01 - Special Topic: Multidisciplinary Game Development 4 credits (Spring)
Video game development requires a team of creative people with a variety of skills and talents. This course introduces the range of necessary skills, inviting students with a background in art, computer science, fiction writing, music, and performance to experience the collaborative process and sample techniques from these contributing fields and learn essential project management skills. Everyone will contribute to a game prototype built using the Unity game development environment.
Prerequisite: ART 246 , CSC 207 , ENG 205 , MUS 219 , or THD 240 .
Instructor: Wolz
CSC 301 - Analysis of Algorithms 4 credits (Fall)
Study of structures used to organize data and of the algorithms used to manipulate these structures. Assignments to implement data structures and to use them in computer science and other applications programs. Emphasis on mathematical principles behind the data structures.
Prerequisite: CSC 207 and either MAT 218 , CSC 208 or MAT 208
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Rebelsky, J. Stone
CSC 312 - Programming Language Implementation 2 credits (Fall or Spring)
A hands-on approach to understanding the essential concepts of programming languages (such as evaluation, binding, procedural abstraction, state, control flow, data abstraction, types, and inheritance) by writing interpreters that implement those concepts.
Prerequisite: CSC 207 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: J. Stone
CSC 321 - Software Development Principles and Practices 2 credits (Fall and Spring)
Provides a foundation for “programming in the large” and developing high-quality software that meets human needs. Introduces the software lifecycle, agile development methods, professional tools, and software design principles. Includes laboratory work.
Prerequisite: CSC 207 .
Instructor: Rebelsky
CSC 322 - Team Software Development for Community Organizations 2 credits (Fall and Spring)
Application of software development principles and practices to a large-scale project. Teams will develop software for a community organization, supported by a faculty adviser and an alumni technical mentor. Students will gain experience working with a client, as well as a substantial code base suitable for inclusion in a professional portfolio. Students are encouraged to repeat the course for credit to experience multiple roles within a team and multiple phases of the software lifecycle.
Prerequisite: CSC 207 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: CSC 321 .
Instructor: Rebelsky
CSC 341 - Automata, Formal Languages, and Computational Complexity 4 credits (Spring)
A formal study of computational devices, their related languages, and the possibility and difficulty of computations. Examples are pushdown automata and Turing machines, context-free languages and recursively enumerable sets, and the halting problem and NP-completeness.
Prerequisite: CSC 161 and either MAT 218 , or MAT 208
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Osera, J. StoneEast Asian Studies
EAS 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Japanese Society and Popular Culture 4 credits (Fall)
See JPN 195-01 .
EAS 288 - Chinese Food for Thought 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See CHI 288 .
Note: Not offered every year.
EAS 295-01 - Special Topic: Fictions of Desire and Enlightenment in Late Imperial China 4 credits (Fall)
See CHI 295-01 .
EAS 295-02 - Special Topic: The Transformation of Life: Biopolitics in Modern Chinese Literature, Film and Art 4 credits (Spring)
See CHI 295-01 .
Economics
ECN 111 - Introduction to Economics 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A survey of the basic concepts and methods of analysis used in economics. Application to such policy problems as economic recession, inflation, regulation of industry, poverty and income distribution, financial crises, pollution, and trade restrictions.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
ECN 205 - Current State of the U.S. Economy 4 credits
A study of current business conditions and key public policy problems in the United States. Analysis of the data reporting system and judgmental forecasting. Recent problems have included: inflation, the federal deficit, government regulation, energy, unemployment, and tax reform. Not intended for students who have taken ECN 282 .
Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
ECN 215 - Labor Economics 4 credits
An investigation into the political economy of labor markets. Consideration given to traditional supply and demand interactions, relations of authority between employers and employees and their influence on productivity, internal labor markets, labor market segmentation, the role of unions, racial differences, gender differences, and the effects of international competition on U.S. labor markets. Not intended for students who have taken both ECN 280 and ECN 282 .
Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ferguson, Lee
ECN 218 - Gender and the Economy 4 credits
An examination and economic analysis of women’s changing economic status, primarily in the United States. Topics include wage differentials, occupational segregation, labor force participation, and family and work issues. This course also examines the interaction of race, gender, and class in determining economic status and policies for improving women’s economic options.
Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ECN 220 - Foundations of Policy Analysis 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: PST 220 . This course explores principles of policy making, with applications. It opens by examining theoretical rationales for policy, including those premised on ideology or market failure. It proceeds to investigate institutional context and processes relevant to policy making, using case studies. With this foundation, the course explores specific policy problems and solutions related to
important problem areas such as economic growth, health care, monetary policy, education, and environment. Students will be encouraged to investigate policy areas of interest for case studies and papers.
Prerequisite: ECN 111 and second-year standing.
Instructor: Ferguson
ECN 226 - Economics of Innovation 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An examination of the role of innovation in the economy. Topics include the process of innovation, drivers of innovation, intellectual property, the impact of innovation on firms, labor, economic growth, and inequality, and innovation policy. Not intended for students who have taken ECN 280 .
Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: B. Graham
ECN 228 - Introduction to Managerial Economics 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Managerial Economics presents a microeconomic approach to business decisions. The concepts and problems are analyzed from the perspective of the firm and the managers’ decisions. Emphasis is thus placed on the study of the production process and the analysis of interactions in markets, both with the customers and the rival firms. Topis include: managing in competitive, monopolistic, and oligopolistic markets; strategiec interactions and game theory; pricing; information and market structure; and regulation and public policy.
Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
Instructor: Montgomery
ECN 229 - American Economic History 4 credits
Cross-listed as: HIS 229 . Development of the U.S. economy since colonial times. Contributions and limitations of economic analysis and quantitative methods in understanding the economy’s growth, industrialization, markets, railroads, the Revolution, slavery, greenback and silver controversies, the multinational monopoly, the New Deal, the Depression, and the impact of reforms on future international economic relations.
Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ECN 230 - Economic Development 4 credits
A survey of analytic approaches to the process of economic development in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and an examination of their significant policy problems.
Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
ECN 233 - International Economics 4 credits
An introduction to international trade theory, balance of payments concepts, and exchange rate determination. Topics include events, international institutions, and policies that affect trade, foreign investment, economic stability, and growth. Not intended for students who have taken ECN 280 and ECN 282 .
Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Chan
ECN 240 - Resource and Environmental Economics 4 credits
Investigation of the economics of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources. Particular emphasis on the relationship between the biological and physical characteristics of particular resources and our economic choices. Consideration of selected current problems. Not intended for students who have taken ECN 280 .
Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Montgomery
ECN 245 - Financial Economics 4 credits
This course examines the financial system’s role in the domestic and global economy. It surveys financial markets (e.g. common stock markets), players (e.g. investment companies), and instruments (e.g. options and futures contracts) with a focus on the underlying economic and regulatory forces that shape the financial system and its impact on the broader economy. Not intended for students who have previously taken ECN 280 or ECN 282 .
Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ECN 250 - Public Finance 4 credits
The economic role of government in an economy. Topics include the determination of the size and economic function of government, expenditure decisions and budgeting, the incidence and distributional effects of various taxes, and issues in state and local finance. Not intended for students who have taken ECN 280 .
Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Brouhle, Ohrn
ECN 280 - Microeconomic Analysis 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
An examination of the theoretical underpinnings of the economic system. The objective is to develop a theoretical framework with which to investigate the economic behavior of individual consumers, firms, and resource owners.
Prerequisite: Mathematics MAT 124 or MAT 131 , and ECN 111 , and second-year standing, and one additional economics course numbered between 205 and 250.
Instructor: Brouhle, Montgomery, Staff
ECN 282 - Macroeconomic Analysis 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Analysis of economic aggregates, primarily national income and employment, through a theoretical framework. While current and historical real world examples will be used to illustrate concepts, the primary goal is the development of general tools that enable students to understand the behavior of a macroeconomy.
Prerequisite: Mathematics MAT 124 or MAT 131 , and ECN 111 , and second-year standing, and one additional economics course numbered between 205 and 250.
Instructor: Chan, Staff
ECN 286 - Econometrics 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
The use of statistical techniques to estimate and test economic models. Topics include multiple regression, multicollinearity, serial correlation, heteroskedasticity, simultaneous equations, limited dependent variables, and time series/forecasting.
Prerequisite: MAT 209 or MAT 335 .
Instructor: Montgomery, Lee
ECN 326 - Financial and Managerial Accounting 4 credits (Fall)
A case-based introduction to the principles of financial and managerial accounting. Although this is a first course in accounting, the level of coverage is advanced. Students work in teams and are responsible for their own learning and the learning of their colleagues. Open only to third-year students and seniors.
Prerequisite: ECN 280 .
Instructor: Ohrn
ECN 327 - Corporate Finance 4 credits (Spring)
An intense examination of the basics of theory and practice in corporate financial management. An understanding of intermediate microeconomics and financial accounting and comfort with applied mathematics are essential for success in this course.
Prerequisite: ECN 280 and ECN 326 .
Instructor: Ohrn
ECN 338 - Applied Game Theory 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Game theory facilitates modeling strategic interaction among interdependent agents who share awareness of their interdependence. As such, it can generate analytical foundations for many relationships found in social and natural sciences. This course develops game theoretic modeling using visual representation and equations, with an emphasis on intuitive technique and direct application to examples primarily from economics and politics.
Prerequisite: ECN 111 and ECN 280 , and MAT 124 or MAT 131 .
Instructor: Ferguson, Staff
ECN 339 - Introduction to Mathematical Economics 4 credits
An introduction to mathematical models of economic behavior. Basic techniques in differential and integral calculus and linear algebra will be applied to a wide range of micro- and macroeconomic issues. Topics include comparative statics, optimization, and linear programming.
Prerequisite: MAT 133 , and ECN 280 and ECN 282 . MAT 215 is useful but not required.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Montgomery
ECN 369 - Seminar in Environmental Economics 4 credits
This course will familiarize students with the theory and application of economics to environmental problems and prepare them to analyze issues in environmental economics and policy. It will focus on the design of cost-effective environmental policies and on methods for determining the value of environmental amenities.
Prerequisite: ECN 280 ; and concurrent registration in or completion of ECN 262 (offered Fall 2011, 2012 and Spring 2012, 2013), or ECN 286 , or MAT 336 .
Instructor: Brouhle
ECN 370 - Seminar in Political Economy 4 credits
This course begins with the premise that many economic interactions are “political” in the sense that coalitions of participants, whose interests may differ, can influence important outcomes. The course will explore tendencies toward competition, cooperation, and conflict, and their relationship to constraints imposed by the forces of supply and demand, as they operate in various institutional arenas, such as labor markets or the national economy. The course will examine relevant theories of incomplete contracting under conditions of imperfect information with some attention to game theory, and then apply these concepts to contemporary problems concerning employment, economic growth, and the distribution of income and wealth.
Prerequisite: ECN 280 and ECN 282 .
Instructor: Ferguson
ECN 372 - Seminar in Economic Development 4 credits
Processes of growth and change in developing societies. Both theoretical and empirical modes of analysis introduced in the literature covered. Topics chosen from among population growth, agricultural development, industrialization, investment in human capital vs. physical capital, the balanced-unbalanced growth controversy, noneconomic factors in development and underdevelopment.
Prerequisite: ECN 282 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ECN 374 - Seminar in International Trade 4 credits
International trade theory and policy. Explanations of the pattern of trade, possible gains from trade, effects on income distribution and trends over time. Import restrictions, export promotion, and strategic government intervention. Operations of multinational corporations, migration, trade blocs, WTO negotiations, and other current topics.
Prerequisite: ECN 280 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ECN 375 - Seminar in International Finance 4 credits
International financial relationships and macroeconomic policy. Financial markets, exchange rate determination, and the balance of payments. Trade balance adjustments, international capital flows, and domestic macroeconomic goals. Exchange rate regimes, currency blocs, debt crises, and other current topics.
Prerequisite: ECN 282 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ECN 376 - Seminar in Income Distribution 4 credits
Examination of the distribution of income and wealth in the United States, covering conflicting explanations of economic inequality and policy debates. Topics include economic trends affecting U.S. workers, racial and sexual inequality, and poverty.
Prerequisite: ECN 280 and ECN 282 .
Instructor: Seiz
ECN 378 - Seminar in Law and Economics 4 credits
This course considers the application of economic theory to the law and legal institutions, including property, contract, tort, and criminal law. We will investigate how legal rules influence economic incentives and the allocation of resources. Topics include liability and negligence assignment, uncertainty, allocation of property rights, bargaining, remedies, criminal deterrence, and the litigation process.
Prerequisite: ECN 280 .
Instructor: Graham
ECN 380 - Seminar in Monetary Economics 4 credits
Analysis of how monetary and financial institutions affect the growth and stability of economies internationally. Examination of theoretical controversies and evidence about relations between money and the real sectors of economies, interactions between central banks, international monetary authorities, and currency flows, and financial aspects of the inflation process and economic stability. Study of the effects of current changes in financial intermediaries and structures.
Prerequisite: ECN 282 .
Instructor: Chan
ECN 382 - Seminar in Industrial Organization 4 credits
An examination of the relationships between structure, conduct, and performance in the American economy. The seminar includes work with basic I/O theory, antitrust laws and litigation, industry studies, and alternative approaches to understanding corporate behavior in the American economy.
Prerequisite: ECN 280 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ECN 384 - Seminar in the Economics of Education 4 credits
Education becomes increasingly important as the “information economy” replaces the old industrial economy. This course explores some questions that are global, others that are personal: is better education the solution to poverty? Is investment in human capital the key to a nation’s development? Can vouchers improve public schools? Is a Grinnell education a better investment than putting those thousands of tuition dollars into the stock market? Should you go to law school?
Prerequisite: ECN 280 and ECN 282 and concurrent registration in or completion of ECN 286 , or MAT 336 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Montgomery
ECN 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Seminar in Public Finance 4 credits (Spring)
A discussion based examination of current theories, empirical methods, and research related to the role of government in the economy. Topics include efficient public good provision, income and corporate taxation, and behavioral responses to public policy.
Prerequisite: ECN 280 . Recommended ECN 286 .
Instructor: Ohrn
ECN 395-02 - Advanced Special Topic: Seminar in the Economics of Crime 4 credits (Spring)
This course is designed to increase student’s understanding of the determinants and consequences of criminality. Topics will include societally optimal levels of deterrence and incarceration, criminal behavior both while incarcerated and free, and juvenile delinquency. Students should expect to learn a large portion of the literature regarding these issues as well as the econometric tools used in applied micro economics research.
Prerequisite: ECN 280 . Recommended ECN 286 .
Instructor: Lee
ECN 395-03 - Advanced Special Topic: Behavioral and Experimental Economics 4 credits (Spring)
This course is an introduction to methods in experimental economics as applied to specific topics such as trust and cooperation, public goods, social preferences and auctions. Where possible, we will follow a series of experiments to illustrate how experiments build on one another to give clearer answers. While the focus will be on laboratory and field experiments, our discussions of the findings and implications will also serve to highlight important topics in behavioral economics.
Prerequisite: ECN 280 .
Instructor: ZurowskiEducation
EDU 101 - Educational Principles in a Pluralistic Society 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course provides an overview of philosophical, historical, and sociological/anthropological perspectives on education with an emphasis on making connections between educational theories and schooling in the U.S. Special focus on practices that marginalize or disadvantage students. Ten hours of observation in schools required for all seeking licensure. Course required for Iowa teacher certification.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
EDU 150 - Teaching Writing 2 credits (Fall or Spring)
See WRT 150 .
EDU 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: How to Learn Physics 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: PHY 195-01 . An elective science course designed for students who might be interested in physics, but are a little mystified or intimiated by it. Students will use inquiry-based methods to study some basic concepts of physical science. But the course also focuses on learning science as “the refinement of everyday thinking”. (Einstein, 1936) Occasional lectures will introduce a vocabulary to help students become more aware of everyday thinking and its subsequent refinement toward scientific understanding. Intended for non-science majors.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Hutchison
EDU 210 - Historical Perspectives on U.S. Education 4 credits (Fall)
Three questions guide our study of the history of U.S. education: (1) Whose interests should schools serve and whose interests have they served in the past? (2) What should be taught and why? and (3) How should schools be organized and operated? We explore current educational issues (e.g. resegregation, immigrant education, tracking, secularism, and homeschooling) through an historical lens that considers the ideologies and assumptions embedded in the institutions and policies of the U.S. school system.
Prerequisite: EDU 101 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Michaels
EDU 211 - The Politics of Educational Assessment 4 credits (Spring)
The course will begin with an examination of the purposes and limits of assessment and discussions of the ethical use of standardized tests. We will examine the concept of meritocracy as a guiding principle of the American education system and will trace the historical development of standardized measurements of intelligence and aptitude as tools used to track students and determine eligibility for further schooling. We will include an analysis of the current national debate on the K–12 education.
Prerequisite: EDU 101 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ketter
EDU 212 - Critical Pedagogy and School Reform 4 credits (Fall)
This course is a study of critical pedagogy from its roots in Marxism and the Frankfurt School through current-day theoretical connections (postmodernism, critical theory, critical feminism, and critical race theory) and their relevance to American public education. We will examine the dual character of schools that helps to explain some difficulties of school reform; that is, the democratic promise of schooling on the one hand, and its institutional service to a society based on race, class, and gender privilege on the other.
Prerequisite: EDU 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
EDU 213 - Cultural Politics of Language Teaching 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course will focus primarily on issues critical to the teaching and learning of English in the United States and abroad. Concepts of language ideology, personal identity, and international development will be used as analytical frames for examining language policy, language instruction, and language shift. Multilingualism, the needs of U.S. English language learners, and the politics of heritage language maintenance will also be examined. This course fills a 200-level course elective for the Linguistics Concentration. This course is required for a teacher licensure candidate earning the ESL endorsement.
Prerequisite: EDU 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
EDU 215 - Reading and Writing Youth and Youth Cultures 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: ENG 215 . The course will have a dual focus: (1) an examination and critique of the dominant narrative of adolescence enacted through educational, legal, and medical institutions with the aim of exploring how these constructions enable or constrain young people from developing as autonomous and critical adults, (2) and the use of various critical approaches to analyze texts written for young adults to uncover assumptions about what adolescence is and how young people themselves should encounter the world.
Prerequisite: EDU 101 or ENG 120 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Ketter
EDU 217 - Comparative and International Education 4 credits (Spring)
Education can be a vehicle for world peace, reducing poverty and creating greater equality in the world. Or such is the claim of a multitude of education projects funded by grassroots initiatives and transnational organizations, including UNESCO, the World Bank, and nongovernment organizations (NGOs). In this course we learn to evaluate transnational education projects against their stated and implied goals, while considering their impact on local economies, communities, and education systems. We also investigate how globalization and democratization implicate education in broadscale changes. Student interests influence the countries we use in our case studies.
Prerequisite: EDU 101 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Michaels
EDU 218 - Place-Based Education 4 credits (Spring)
This course will address issues salient to place-based education, an educational philosophy that construes local communities (environmental and social), indigenous knowledge practices, and service-learning as the curricular building blocks of education defined broadly. Readings will include works addressing ecojustice, the broader social purposes of education, and the politics of place. Globalization and its intersections with notions of “the local” will also be a focus.
Prerequisite: EDU 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Jakubiak
EDU 221 - Educational Psychology 4 credits (Spring)
The application of theories of learning and principles of development in formal instructional environments. Topics include behavioral, cognitive, and sociocultural theories of learning, motivation, several developmental theories relevant to teaching and learning, and assessment theory. Course requires 26 hours (2 hours per week) observing/teaching in a K-12 classroom. Required for Iowa Teaching Licensure.
Prerequisite: EDU 101 and at least second-year standing.
Instructor: Hutchison
EDU 250 - Differentiating Instruction for All Students 4 credits (Fall)
This course aims to help future teachers develop ethical and effective approaches for meeting all students’ learning needs, using a critical model of inclusion based on a disability studies framework. The course will center on two key activities: a case study at the middle or high school, and the peer lessons developed using approaches that help all students learn more effectively. The case study will require that students spend 2 hours per week (26 hours) in the school observing, tutoring, and talking with students. In the course, students will develop research skills to improve their own teaching and will analyze how particular students learn, how teachers adapt instruction to meet a wide range of student learning needs, and how schools organize curricular paths for students. Required for Iowa Teaching Licensure.
Prerequisite: EDU 101 and EDU 221 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Ketter
EDU 295-01 - Special Topic: Education Policy and Politics 4 credits (Spring)
Over the past 60 years schools in America have shifted from highly localized control to increasing influence from state and national policy makers. This shift has politicized education policy, for example placing education policy ideas at the forefront of political campaigns and platforms. This course will explore these trends in education and policy and politics. We will look at how policy is made and how politics influences policy by analyzing both politics and policy.
Prerequisite: EDU 101 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Hastings
EDU 340 - Research and Methods in Teaching the Young Adult 4 credits (Spring)
This course is taken with a complementary disciplinary specific methods course. Students will analyze and experiment with a variety of critical approaches to texts, will review and evaluate teaching materials, and will explore alternative means of evaluation of all the types of learning that should be happening in a classroom. Students will practice planning engaging lessons, assessing in fair and constructive ways, and developing effective classroom management approaches. Twenty (20) hours of observaton in 5-12 public school setting. Required for Iowa Teaching Licensure.
Co-requisite: EDU 341 , EDU 342 , EDU 343 , EDU 344 , EDU 345 , or EDU 346 .
Prerequisite: EDU 101 , EDU 221 , and EDU 250 .
Instructor: Staff
EDU 341 - Research and Methods in the Teaching of Language Arts and Reading 2 credits (Spring)
This course complements the general methods course. Students will develop a practical theory of teaching English/language arts, one that synthesizes what they have learned about excellent, ethical teaching. Students will choose curriculum and design specific approaches for use in the middle or high school as they investigate the purposes for teaching English and theorize about how to best engage students in critical reading, writing, viewing, and speaking.
Co-requisite: EDU 340 .
Prerequisite: EDU 101 , EDU 221 , and EDU 250 ; and EDU 210 , EDU 211 , EDU 212 , EDU 213 , or EDU 215 .
Instructor: Ketter
EDU 342 - Research and Methods in the Teaching and Learning of World Languages 2 credits (Spring)
This course complements the general methods course and provides an introduction to theories in and teaching of world languages. We will analyze theories of language acquisition and pedagogies that grow out of those theories, and evaluate theories of the “best” pedagogy for teaching a new language. We will discuss how to integrate the sometimes opposing theories of ethical and effective teaching practices. Students will have an opportunity to practice teach.
Co-requisite: EDU 340 .
Prerequisite: EDU 101 , EDU 221 , and EDU 250 ; and EDU 210 , EDU 211 , EDU 212 , EDU 213 , or EDU 215 .
Instructor: Jakubiak
EDU 343 - Research and Methods in Teaching and Learning in the Social Studies 2 credits (Spring)
This course complements the general methods course. Becoming a teacher of the social sciences requires students to think about what they are teaching, whom they are teaching, and how they will teach. The work in this course is structured to provide students with the tools to answer those questions and to teach effectively for student understanding.
Co-requisite: EDU 340 .
Prerequisite: EDU 101 , EDU 221 , and EDU 250 ; and EDU 210 , EDU 211 , EDU 212 , EDU 213 , or EDU 215 .
Instructor: Michaels
EDU 344 - Research and Methods in Teaching and Learning in the Mathematics 2 credits (Spring)
This course is a study of strategies, techniques, materials, technology, and current research used in the teaching of mathematical concepts to middle and high school students. Students will review the standards involved in teaching mathematics at the secondary school level; develop an awareness of the professional resources, materials, technology and information available for teachers; prepare unit and lesson plans with related assessment procedures on a variety of topics; and acquire teaching experience.
Co-requisite: EDU 340 .
Prerequisite: EDU 101 , EDU 221 , and EDU 250 ; and EDU 210 , EDU 211 , EDU 212 , EDU 213 , or EDU 215 .
Instructor: P. Hutchison
EDU 345 - Research and Methods in Teaching and Learning in the Sciences 2 credits (Spring)
This course is a study of strategies, techniques, materials, technology, and current research used in the teaching of science concepts to middle and high school students. Students will review the standards involved in teaching sciences at the secondary school level; develop an awareness of the professional resources, materials, technology and information available for teachers; prepare unit and lesson plans with related assessment procedures on a variety of topics; and acquire teaching experience.
Co-requisite: EDU 340 .
Prerequisite: EDU 101 , EDU 221 , and EDU 250 ; and EDU 210 , EDU 211 , EDU 212 , EDU 213 , or EDU 215 .
Instructor: P. Hutchison
EDU 346 - Research and Methods in Teaching and Learning ESL/Bilingual Education 2 credits (Spring)
This course is a complement to the general methods course, EDU 340 . It will provide prospective ESL practitioners with the methodologies necessary to develop into successful and thoughtful teachers. We will examine past and current approaches, methods, and techniques for teaching ESL. Students will explore the political and cultural implications for teaching ESL in the United States K- 12 schools.
Co-requisite: EDU 340 .
Prerequisite: EDU 101 , EDU 221 , and EDU 250 ; and EDU 210 , EDU 211 , EDU 212 , EDU 213 , or EDU 215 .
Instructor: Jakubiak
EDU 460 - Seminar in Teaching the Young Adult 4 credits (Fall)
This course is a complement to the student teaching internship and is designed to provide students with a structured way of making connections between teaching theory and practice. We will conduct weekly seminar meetings aimed at two purposes: 1) to develop a problem-posing, relective approach to teaching challenges, and 2) to support the design, implementation and presentation of an action research project.
Co-requisite: EDU 469 .
Prerequisite: EDU 101 , EDU 221 , EDU 250 and EDU 340 ; and EDU 210 , EDU 211 , EDU 212 , EDU 213 , or EDU 215 ; and EDU 341 , EDU 342 , EDU 343 , EDU 344 , EDU 345 , or EDU 346 .
Instructor: Staff
EDU 469 - Student Teaching Internship in The Disciplines 8 credits (Fall)
This internship is the culminating experience for the student teaching program and provides a vehicle for systematic practice of our program goals and the program standards they encompass. This carefully mentored 14-week internship begins as soon as the school to which you are assigned begins its school year. Equivalent to a full-time job for the 14 weeks you are working in the schools, the internship commits you to over 600 hours of work.
Co-requisite: EDU 460 .
Prerequisite: EDU 101 , EDU 221 , EDU 250 and EDU 340 ; and EDU 210 , EDU 211 , EDU 212 , EDU 213 , EDU 215 , or EDU 217 ; and EDU 341 , EDU 342 , EDU 343 , EDU 344 , EDU 345 , or EDU 346 .
S/D/F only
Instructor: StaffEnglish
ENG 120 - Literary Analysis 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
An introduction to the methods and pleasures of literary analysis focusing on skills needed to practice close reading and explication of texts and emphasizing the rich complexities of literary language. Although individual sections vary in genres considered, all prepare students for further work in poetry and prose. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
ENG 120-01 - Literary Analysis 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
In this course, students develop their ability to analyze literary works (including novels, plays, poetry, and film) by engaging with a variety of theoretical methods (including Formalism, Feminism, Marxism, and Deconstruction). Lectures and discussions will cultivate a knowledge of genres, styles, and cultural contexts that inform acts of interpretation. In writing assignments, students will be asked to demonstrate fluency in the protocols of literary analysis, which include: presenting and synthesizing evidence, scrutinizing poetic language, and incorporating literary terminology and theoretical frameworks. Students will practice the collaborative process of interpretation in discussions and weekly online postings, compose three short analytical essays, and take a midterm and final exam dealing with terminology, historical contexts, and reading comprehension.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Mangano
ENG 120-02 - Literary Analysis 4 credits (Fall)
This course will sharpen and deepen your experience of literature. We will explore what makes literature different from other kinds of writing, learn how to analyze poetry and narrative, and consider the relationships between an author and her work and between writing and power. You will gain facility with the practice of close reading, a key methodology of literary studies. Along the way, we will encounter a wide range of texts from the early modern period to the twenty-first century: poetry, fiction, plays, even a modest proposal. Because writing is central to learning how to articulate one’s thoughts, you will write in response to a variety of prompts. You will receive an introduction to library research that will contribute to the process of writing a final research essay. You will come away with an appreciation for the importance of literary studies in a liberal arts education.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Sinykin
ENG 120-02 & 04 - Literary Analysis 4 credits (Spring)
In this course devoted to critical reading, writing, and thinking, students will read literary works in a number of genres while developing their skills of critical analysis. We will start by looking at critical and theoretical approaches to a single novel (Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights) and then turn to short fiction, drama (a play by Shakespeare), and poetry, building on what we have learned while focusing on genre-specific vocabulary and strategies of interpretation. Graded assignments will include short writing assignments and three papers.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Jacobson
ENG 120-03 - Literary Analysis 4 credits (Fall)
This course is an introduction to methods of literary analysis for poetry, short fiction, novels and drama. We will begin with poetry, working on developing a vocabulary for discussion and interpretation of poetry, and focusing on imagery, sound, theme, rhyme and meter, and other elements. The middle units of the course will be devoted to close reading of short fiction, and one novel, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and we will conclude with a consideration of some of the most important elements of drama via Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Barlow
ENG 120-03 - Literary Analysis 4 credits (Spring)
This course will sharpen and deepen your experience of literature. We will explore what makes literature different from other kinds of writing, learn how to analyze poetry and narrative, and consider the relationships between an author and her work and between writing and power. You will gain facility with the practice of close reading, a key methodology of literary studies. Along the way, we will encounter a wide range of texts from the early modern period to the twenty-first century: poetry, fiction, plays, even a modest proposal. Because writing is central to learning how to articulate one’s thoughts, you will write in response to a variety of prompts. You will receive an introduction to library research that will contribute to the process of writing a final research essay. You will come away with an appreciation for the importance of literary studies in a liberal arts education.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Sinykin
ENG 120-04 - Literary Analysis 4 credits (Fall)
In this course devoted to critical reading, writing, and thinking, students will read literary works in a number of genres while developing their skills of critical analysis. We will start by looking at critical and theoretical approaches to a single novel (Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights) and then turn to short fiction, drama (a play by Shakespeare), and poetry, building on what we have learned while focusing on genre-specific vocabulary and strategies of interpretation. Graded assignments will include short writing assignments and three papers.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Jacobson
ENG 120-05 - Literary Analysis 4 credits (Spring)
This course is an introduction to methods of literary analysis for poetry, short fiction, novels and drama. We will begin with poetry, working on developing a vocabulary for discussion and interpretation of poetry, and focusing on imagery, sound, theme, rhyme and meter, and other elements. The middle units of the course will be devoted to close reading of short fiction, and one novel, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and we will conclude with a consideration of some of the most important elements of drama via Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Barlow
ENG 121 - Introduction to Shakespeare 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
A close study of representative plays from each period of Shakespeare’s career, including comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Lee, Simpson
ENG 121-01 & 02 - Introduction to Shakespeare 4 credits (Fall)
This course is an introduction to Shakespeare’s drama and poetry. We will read Shakespeare’s work as a way to develop the skills necessary for literary analysis: close reading, clear writing, and logical argumentation. Shakespeare’s texts did not only paint a picture of the complicated Renaissance world; they attempted to change how that world looked. His poetry and drama powerfully challenged and redefined some of the dominant orthodoxies of Renaissance English culture. We will study how Shakespeare used the sonnet form to critique the norms governing Renaissance sexuality, the history play to reveal the long history of class tensions and social injustice dividing the English nation, the comedy to redefine the place of women in English society, and the tragedy to reimagine the position of the individual in vast corporate institutions such as the state and the church. In studying how Shakespeare participated in some of the most pointed cultural debates of his time, we will consider how recent critics and theorists have read Shakespearean texts to critique aspects of contemporary culture.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Lee
ENG 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Indian Theory of Drama/Theatre and Performance: Bharata’s Natyashahtra 1 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: THD 195-01 . The Course aims to introduce Natyashastra, the core text of Indian Aesthetics, the source text for Indian art including poetics, dramaturgy, theatre, dance, music, painting, sculpture etc. The topics covered would include theatre architecture; four types of acting; aesthetic experience and states of human mind; drama/theatre and ritual; systems of theatre and performance; body and theatre; psychology of performance and reception of drama/theatre/performance; philosophy of space and theatre; philosophy of mind and theatre; text, stage, and the audience; speech, body, costume, and consciousness on stage; folk and stylized theatre; and theatre and the philosophy of yoga.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Dates: September 29 to October 16. Short course deadlines apply.
Instructor: Singh
ENG 204 - The Craft of Argument 4 credits (Spring)
Advanced course in argumentative or analytical writing with particular attention to style.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Arner
ENG 205 - The Craft of Fiction 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Instruction in the techniques and process of fiction writing, with emphasis on the short story. Readings may include published short stories and essays on the art of fiction. Students may also be asked to write in forms related to fiction (journal, autobiography, prose poem).
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 .
Instructor: Smith, Bakopoulos
ENG 206 - The Craft of Poetry 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Instruction in the techniques and process of verse writing. Readings may include published poems and essays on the art of poetry.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 .
Instructor: Barlow, Savarese
ENG 207 - Craft of Creative Nonfiction 4 credits (Spring)
In this course, we will acquaint ourselves with the genre of creative nonfiction, sampling a range of the myriad possibilities it presents: the personal essay, the political essay, nature writing, memoir, travel writing, literary journalism, biographical profile. We will read exemplary models and try our hands at each.
Prerequisite: ENG 205 or ENG 206
Instructor: Savarese
ENG 210 - Studies in Genre 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Intensive study of a particular genre. May include the study of lyric, epic, or narrative poetry; or novel, graphic novel, short story or drama. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; or for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
ENG 210-01 - Studies in Genre 4 credits (Fall)
Romance versus Realism. This course explores the categories of romance and realism in early modern and contemporary prose fiction. By pairing early innovators in the novel genre (Behn, Defoe, Austen) with contemporary writers (Coetzee, Morrison, McEwan), we will compare and contrast the way authors then and now approached the relationship between romance and realism. Attending to works from the Restoration through the early nineteenth century, we will examine the roots of the romance/realism tension as well as the debates it generated among mass audiences. In turning toward modern authors, we will consider their debts to literary traditions and identify the ways they approach this tension differently in light of modern concerns. Students will write weekly online responses and compose three analytical essays on formal, historical, and theoretical facets of prose fictions.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Instructor: Mangano
ENG 215 - Reading and Writing Youth and Youth Cultures 4 credits (Spring)
See EDU 215 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Ketter
ENG 223 - The Tradition of English Literature I 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Study of English literature from Old English to the early 17th century; may include such works as Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Faerie Queene, and Paradise Lost. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Lee
ENG 223-01 - The Tradition of English Literature I 4 credits
Centuries of Revolution. This course is an introduction to the major texts and dominant issues defining the English culture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. We will read texts from this broad historical range, by Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spenser, and Milton, as individual artistic masterpieces, but also as important interventions in the religious, political, and scientific revolutions of the time. Our understanding of the period will be defined by four central cultural issues: the rise of the idea of the English nation, the influence of Humanist rhetoric and education on English literary culture, the Protestant Reformation and the creation of the Anglican Church, and the development of the empirical scientific method. The course will conclude with an analysis of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, written in the aftermath of the tumultuous English Civil War, as the culmination of the four themes covered in the class. Throughout the course, we will focus on how literary texts decisively intervened in broad cultural debates during a time of unprecedented religious, political, and scientific upheaval. The course will be centered around class discussion and close reading of assigned texts. Our work will focus on clear writing and logical argumentation.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Instructor: Lee
ENG 224 - The Tradition of English Literature II 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Study of English literature from the Restoration through the Victorians; may include such authors as Behn, Defoe, Swift, Wordsworth, Shelley, Austen, George Eliot, and Dickens. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Lobban-Viravong, Simpson
ENG 224-01 - The Tradition of English Literature II 4 credits (Spring)
This course traces the diversification and evolution of British literary genres from the Restoration to the end of the nineteenth century. Readings may include works by Aphra Behn, Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, William Blake, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Charles Dickens, and Oscar Wilde. We will discuss English literary forms in light of broad social transformations occurring in this epoch, including the emergence of Britain as a global empire, the expansion and regulation of print media, the rise of domesticity as a cultural and economic logic, and the bifurcation of religious and scientific conceptions of human nature. Students will compose short online responses for each reading, create an annotated bibliography on a single (unassigned) author, and take a midterm and final exam involving literary terminology, historical content, and quotation recognition.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Instructor: Mangano
ENG 225 - Introduction to Postcolonial Literatures 4 credits (Fall)
An introduction to postcolonial literatures and theory from the Caribbean, Africa, South Asia, and the Pacific. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Kapila
ENG 225-01 - Introduction to Postcolonial Literatures 4 credits (Fall)
In this course we will study literary and theoretical responses to canonical English literature by authors from formerly colonized countries. By establishing a critical relation to traditional English literature, such responses inaugurate a new literary sensibility. Our discussions will include a consideration of terms such as ‘postcolonial,’ ‘home,’ and ‘english.’ Fiction written in English describes not only a literary and cultural tradition, but also a political response to the colonial past and the possibilities of a postcolonial future. We will explore how postcolonial fiction becomes an alternative history that questions colonial narratives. The final section of the course will focus on writers from the Asian, African, and Caribbean diaspora, who give voice to the multiple locations of “home.” Readings for the course include critical essays by postcolonial theorists such as Fernandez Retamar, and Ella Shohat, Shakespeare’s The Tempest; Aime Cesaire’s A Tempest; Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe; Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea; Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy; Salman Rushdie’s East, West; The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh; and Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day. We will also explore concepts such as ‘exile’ and ‘location’ in the poetry of Derek Walcott.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors,ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Instructor: Kapila
ENG 226 - The Tradition of English Literature III 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Study of English literature of the 20th century; may include such authors as Joyce, Woolf, Beckett, Orwell, Eliot, Winterson, Kureishi, and Walcott. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Instructor: Kapila, Simpson
ENG 227 - American Literary Traditions I 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Study of American literature from Columbus to 1830; may include such authors as Columbus, Ralegh, Bradstreet, Rowlandson, Franklin, Rowson, Irving, Bryant, and Cooper. Features works from a variety of genres, including Native American myths, travel and promotional narratives, journals, poetry, fiction, nonfiction prose, and maps. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Andrews
ENG 227-01 - American Literary Traditions I 4 credits (Fall)
From Captivity to Captivation. The question of a distinctly American literature is explored from the perspective of captivity. Early in the semester we focus on Lydia Maria Child’s Hobomok in order to analyze the aesthetic techniques that turn the violence of seventeenth century captivity into the captivating pleasures of nineteenth century historical romance. Discussion will be supplemented by Native American creation stories and English promotional literature; the poetry, sermons, and journals of early colonists such as Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson; and selections from William Apess and James Fenimore Cooper. The middle portion of the course focuses on two novels of the early Republic: Charles Brockden Brown’s Arthur Mervyn and Royall Tyler’s The Algerine Captive. Discussion of the transatlantic trade in slaves and its impact on republican virtue and textual self-fashioning will be supplemented by selections from Olaudah Equiano, Phillis Wheatley, Benjamin Franklin, Hannah Foster, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and recent Iraq War versions of the captivity narrative. The course will conclude with a discussion of Emerson’s “The American Scholar,” in which he urges liberation from “our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands.” Readings from Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Margaret Fuller, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and especially from Walt Whitman will provide the basis for discussing how much had been done and what is left to do as “American” literature continues to acknowledge its multicultural and transnational relations.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Instructor: Andrews
ENG 228 - American Literary Traditions II 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Study of American literature from 1830 to 1893; may include such authors as Emerson, Melville, Whitman, Dickinson, Twain, James, Chopin, Chesnutt, and Zitkala-Sa. Features works from a variety of genres including fiction, poetry, nonfiction prose, and drama. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Andrews, Benjamin
ENG 229 - The Tradition of African American Literature 4 credits (Fall)
The emergence and growth of African American literature from slavery to the present. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Benjamin
ENG 230 - English Historical Linguistics 4 credits (Spring)
Study of the history of the English language through examination of phonological, grammatical, and semantic changes in the language from Old English to Middle English to Modern English with attention to “external” history.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Arner
ENG 231 - American Literary Traditions III 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Study of American literature from 1893 to today; may include such authors as Crane, Eliot, Faulkner, Hurston, Plath, DeLillo, and Morrison.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Savarese
ENG 231-01 - American Literary Traditions III 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
At the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner declared the closing of the American frontier – which was, implicitly, also a declaration of victory over the indigenous peoples who populated the West. He painted a picture of America and Americans as defined by a frontier that had disappeared. What would come to define America now? With Turner’s declaration as the starting point, this course provides an introduction to American literature from 1893 to the present. We will consider major literary movements, including realism, naturalism, modernism, the Harlem Renaissance, postmodernism, and the rise of ethnic literatures. Throughout, we will situate American literature in the world, exploring transnational currents that trouble the contours of a coherent and enclosed “America.” What is American naturalism’s relationship to European writing? How does William Faulkner’s vision of a doomed white patriarchal American South depend on the Haitian Revolution? How do writers of the Harlem Renaissance differently call forth “Africa”? What happens when we read Lolita as a story about a Russian ex-pat indulging in Americana? We will close with Claudia Rankine’s Citizen, which will allow us to explore the relationship between literature and race in America in 2015.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Instructor: Sinykin
ENG 232 - Ethnic American Literatures 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Study of the major traditions of American ethnic literatures. Features works from a variety of genres including fiction, poetry, nonfiction prose, and drama. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 orENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Instructor: Phan
ENG 232-01 - Traditions of Ethnic American Literature 4 credits (Spring)
This survey course examines how a variety of American writers negotiate the contradictions, ambiguities and anxieties embedded in questions of American national identity at the intersection of race and citizenship. We will read fiction, poetry, plays, and essays by 20th-century and contemporary American authors who identify with African American, Asian American, Native American, Jewish, Latino and Chicano heritages, amongst others. Reading texts within and against their specific cultural and historical contexts, we will explore how these writers use literary form and language as a way to articulate alternative histories of the nation, national identity, and belonging. Readings will include major works by James Baldwin, Maxine Hong Kingston, Philip Roth, Louise Erdrich, Amiri Baraka, Yusef Komunyakaa, Li-Young Lee, Anna Deveare Smith, David Henry Hwang, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Junot Diaz.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language.
Instructor: Phan
ENG 273 - Feminism and Difference 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Study of critical debates in global, transnational and Postcolonial feminisms. This introductory course will include literary, historical, and theoretical texts which study the progress of feminism in the global south in conjunction with but also often in opposition to the Euro-American world. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 , ENG 121 , GWS 111 or a course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Kapila
ENG 273-01 - Feminism and Difference 4 credits (Fall)
This course focuses on postcolonial and transnational feminisms. Readings emphasize the historical, cultural, and social contexts of feminist theory. We will focus on feminist politics and practice both in the Anglo-American world and in international contexts especially as related to law, the environment, and women’s work.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Instructor: Kapila
ENG 274 - Sex, Gender, and Critical Theory 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Study of the critical debates in the construction of gender and sexualty, and how these debates have shaped, and been shaped by contemporary feminist and queer theory. This course will familiarize students with a range of critical theories that have transformed the study of sexuality and gender in recent decades-psychoanalysis, structuralism, post-structuralism, deconstruction and postmodernism. We will read key figures in theories of sex and gender, including Judith Butler, Michel Foucault, and Gayle Rubin.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 , ENG 121 , GWS 111 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Geller
ENG 290 - Introduction to Literary Theory 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Survey of Critical debates in history of literary theory and criticism from Plato to Butler. For purposes of practical application, readings may also include selected fiction, poetry, and drama. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
ENG 290-01 - Introduction to Literary Theory 4 credits (Spring)
Something Written in the State: Hamlet and the Play of Language. The first half of this course is focused on discussion of readings clustered around important terms such as “craft,” “imitation,” “utility,” “sign,” “affect,” and “intention.” Doing so anachronistically will enable us to tease out the continuities and divergences between different critics and between different literary movements across time. The second half of the course will involve a series of practical applications focused on one canonical text, in this case Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Additional readings from contemporary theorists will enable us to reflect on the degree to which aspects of ideology-such as gender, sexuality, race, and class-impact a given reader’s interpretation of one of our culture’s most durable texts.
Prerequisite or co-requisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Andrews
ENG 295-01 - Special Topic: Creative Writing Workshop: Writing Shame: Reading & Crafting Literary Embarrassment 2 credits (Spring)
This course is an exploration of the relationship between writing and shame. Are secrets integral to plot? Do narratives of redemption hold more cultural value than narratives of disgrace? What can technology-driven narrative written modes (texting, tweeting, blogging Facebook, etc.) teach us about shame and storytelling? How can we utilize shame to our benefit in writing our own creative works of fiction and nonfiction? Student work in this course will focus on developing characters’ motivation and personalities by tying their most humiliating traits and secrets to plot development. In additionto writing exercises, we will explore and analyze textual examples by authors such as Junot Diaz, Lynda Barry, David Sedaris and George Saunders.
Prerequisite: ENG 205 or ENG 206 .
Note: Meets 03/04/16 to 04/29/16. Half semester deadlines apply. S/D/F only.
Instructor: Nutting
ENG 295-01 - Special Topic: Radio Storytelling 2 credits (Fall)
When Jay Allison launched The Moth Radio Hour in 2009, a weekly podcast featuring unscripted “true” stories told live, he was betting on an untapped appetite for narrative radio. He was right: we are in the midst of a renaissance of acoustic storytelling reminiscent of radio in the 1930s and 40s, with Moth and such shows as Sarah Koenig’s Serial (2014), a podcast throwback to be serialized broadcasts of old-time radio. Telling one true-crime story over the course of its first season, Serial (which has been downloaded 68 million times) attracted an audience that became obsessed with the Koenig’s detective skills and meandering style. Like the devoted fans of Ma Perkins seventy-five years ago, Serial’s listeners can’t wait to hear what happens next: did ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed really strangle Hae Min Lee? This short course will focus on radio storytelling. You’ll listen to a variety of radio’s classic writers from Orson Welles and Lucille Fletcher to Toni Dave and David Sedaris, as well as compose your own narratives for podcasting. Each of you will write one story, either fact-based or invented, that will be carefully workshopped in written form and then recorded, edited, and mixed in Pro Tools (audio editing software). The goal of this class is to help you discover and develop your skill as a writer of narrative prose that is as compelling to the ear as to the eye - and to become a cutting edge podcaster.
Prerequisite: ENG 205 or ENG 206 .
Note: Dates: September 11 to October 16. Short course deadlines apply. S/D/F only.
Instructor: Porter
ENG 303 - Chaucer 4 credits (Spring)
Study of Chaucer’s poetry in Middle English. Option of doing some reading in Latin, Italian, or French. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 223 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Arner
ENG 310 - Studies in Shakespeare 4 credits (Fall)
An intensive study of three or four plays from various approaches, such as sources, imagery, and critical and theatrical traditions. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 121 . ENG 223 and ENG 224 strongly recommended.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lee
ENG 310-01 - Studies in Shakespeare 4 credits (Fall)
Precolonialism: Shakespeare’s Global Renaissance, 1590-1623. This course will analyze a prehistory of colonialism in Shakespeare’s England. Our point of departure will be Christopher Hill’s famous description of England’s rise: “The England of 1603 was a second-class power; the Great Britain of 1714 was the greatest world power. Under James and Charles English colonisation of America was just beginning; under Anne England held a large empire in America, Asia, and Africa, and colonial questions were decisive when policy was formulated.” In this course, we will begin to map out how England’s place on the world stage began to change in Shakespeare’s time. Queen Elizabeth granted a Royal Charter founding the East India Company in 1600, and dispatched her first diplomatic emissaries to Asia from 1596-1602, during the peak of Shakespeare’s career. Throughout the 1590’s, Shakespeare and a generation of poets and playwrights began to reposition England on a broader global stage, rejecting the earlier Renaissance understanding of England as a cultural backwater because of its geographical isolation. This course will therefore study how Shakespeare participated in an effort to imagine England’s relation to the “Orient” from 1590-1623 by reading his drama, the travel writing of his contemporaries, and diplomatic communiqués written during the first decades of English global expansion. The class will develop an understanding of how the first Renaissance literary representations of the “East” defined the terms of England’s policies during its subsequent century of colonialist expansion. The course will conclude with an analysis of how a fundamental shift occurred in the seventeenth century, transforming the English imagination of Asia from a discourse of trade imbalances, to one of racial otherness that we inherit today. A note on method: this course will use close reading in conjunction with computational methods to test experimental hypotheses against a large corpus of Renaissance texts (up to 25,000 texts). We will think about why different, or analogous, arguments emerge from the different methods. Students without the prerequisites may enroll in the class with the permission of the instructor.
Prerequisite: ENG 121 . ENG 223 and ENG 224 strongly recommended.
Instructor: Lee
ENG 314 - Milton 4 credits (Fall)
Intensive study of Milton’s poetry and selected prose with emphasis on Paradise Lost, on Milton’s place in the epic tradition, and on Milton’s reputation in English poetry. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 223 or ENG 273 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lee
ENG 314-01 - Milton 4 credits (Spring)
This course is an intensive study of Milton’s poetry and prose. Our understanding of Milton’s career will be shaped by a single hypothesis: Milton radically transformed every poetic form he encountered because he was a masterful writer in prose. Milton’s career as a poet was interrupted by a major political event - the English Civil War - during which he wrote fiercely polemical pamphlets in prose. As a result, Milton was the first poet in the English tradition to take prose seriously as a model for poetry, and he critiqued the constraints of formal poetic versification as a type of political oppression binding the English language in shackles. We will first read Milton’s initial efforts to master the traditional range of poetic forms in his early lyric. We will then analyze the polemical prose tracts to identify how Milton harnessed the resources of classical rhetoric and oratory to develop a prose form unique to the English language. Finally, we will study how Milton’s career as a masterful prose stylist defined the aesthetic force of his major epics, Paradise Lost and Samson Agonistes, and how these texts argue that the stylistic choices one makes in language determine the possibility of political freedom and free will. We will conclude the class by testing a second hypothesis: given Paradise Lost’s debt to Milton’s prose style, his epic is the first English novel. A note on method: this course will use close reading in conjunction with computational methods (primarily natural language processing software) to test experimental hypotheses against Milton’s entire prose corpus. We will think about why different, or analogous, arguments emerge from the different methods.
Prerequisite: ENG 223 or ENG 273 .
Instructor: Lee
ENG 316 - Studies in English Renaissance Literature 4 credits (Spring)
An intensive study of a group of related authors, a mode, or a genre from the period 1500–1600. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 223 or ENG 273 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lee
ENG 323 - Studies in English Literature: 1660–1798 4 credits (Spring)
Intensive study of Restoration and 18th-century literature with a focus on specific themes and genres. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 223 , ENG 224 , or ENG 273 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lobban-Viravong, Simpson
ENG 323-01 - Studies in English Literature: 1660-1798 4 credits (Fall)
Can Literature Enlighten? or, Educational and Literary Forms in the Long Eighteenth Century. Covering a range of Restoration and eighteenth-century genres, this course explores the dialogue of literary “instruction” and Enlightenment education theories. From the spiritual allegory and bildungsroman (novels of education) to the lyrical autobiography of a Romantic poet, each representative genre will offer insight into the way literature depicts and performs the education process. At the same time, each text will shed light on the strategies that authors used to “tutor” audiences in “correct” modes of reading during the rise of a mass literary culture. As we explore readings through the lens of eighteenth-century life, we will consider the relationship between practical concerns of educational systems and the notion of “Enlightenment” as an emergent intellectual value. Subtopics will include the role of tutors and governesses, surveillance in schools, and the division of education models according to sex and class. Framing questions will include: how do authors address cultural fears about the moral hazards of “low” reading materials? When is deception justified in education or in literature? How do female authors resist or corroborate with the formation of a gendered education ideology? What kind of adults do these educational and literary paradigms seek to produce and why? What do eighteenth-century preoccupations with maternal nursing, swaddled infants, and vulgar servants have to do with literary forms? Students will explore course topics by working collaboratively to create a series of interlinking wiki blogs during the first half of the semester. During the second half of the semester, students will produce a researched essay (about 15 pages) on a topic of their choice that relates eighteenth-century literature to a twenty-first century “education” issue (loosely defined) in cultural or literary contexts. In the final 5-6 weeks of the semester, class meetings will transition to one-on-one meetings with the instructor for advising and progress reports on the independent research projects.
Prerequisite: ENG 223 , ENG 224 , or ENG 273 .
Instructor: Mangano
ENG 325 - Studies in Ethnic American Literatures 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Intensive study of important authors, movements, or trends in American ethnic literatures. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 227 , ENG 228 , ENG 229 , ENG 231 , ENG 232 , or ENG 273 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Phan
ENG 326 - Studies in American Poetry I 4 credits (Fall)
Intensive study of important poets, movements, or trends in 19th-century American poetry. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 227 , ENG 228 , ENG 229 , ENG 231 , ENG 232 , or ENG 273 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Andrews, Savarese
ENG 326-01 - Studies in American Poetry I 4 credits (Spring)
Affectionate Absorption: The Case of Whitman and Dickinson. Walt Whitman concludes his preface to the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass with the proposition that “the proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it.” These days few would argue that Whitman and Dickinson have not been “affectionately absorbed,” at least by American literary culture. Such was not always the case, however; during the period when Whitman and Dickinson were producing the bulk of their work, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was arguably the most dominant literary figure in America. What happened? By way of an introduction to historical poetics, this course will explore the question of cultural absorption and the extent to which the form and content of Whitman’s and Dickinson’s poetry helped effect a shift in literary value during the twentieth century. Close-readings of work by Whitman, Dickinson, Emerson, Longfellow, and Poe will be a first step toward situating them, and us, within their nineteenth century literary context. These discussions will lay the groundwork for readings that may include poems or critical essays by Hart Crane, John Berryman, Allen Ginsberg, Adrienne Rich, Derek Walcott, and Susan Howe. During the second half of the course we will focus on three specific cases in which the impact of Whitman or Dickinson on 20th century literary concerns is especially acute: the inaugural issue of Poetry magazine (1912); the legal complications in the publication of Howl (1955); and the publication of the Facsimile Edition of Dickinson’s poems (1981). We will conclude with a series of discussions on the politics of methodology and classroom practice in relation to the poetics of identity.
Prerequisite: ENG 227 , ENG 228 , ENG 229 , ENG 231 , ENG 232 , or ENG 273 . The instructor will give serious consideration to students who have had ENG 206 .
Instructor: Andrews
ENG 327 - The Romantics 4 credits (Fall)
Study of major figures in English literature from 1798 to 1830, with attention to Romantic theories of poetry. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 224 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Simpson
ENG 327-01 - The Romantics 4 credits (Spring)
Electric Romanticism: The Technologies of the Romantic Period and of Romantic Studies. This course will involve a two-pronged approach to the relationship between British Romanticism and technology. On the one hand, we will study texts of the Romantic period that address technological innovation themselves; these texts will include, for example, a unit placing Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in the context of Romantic-era science and technology. We will also address other scientific innovations at the time, such as the discovery of oxygen, the development of the difference engine, and early evolutionary theory. On the other hand, we will examine and use contemporary technologies that enable new ways of studying Romantic texts, from online editions and databases to new tools for analyzing individual texts and large corpuses of texts. We will weave these threads together with critical and theoretical readings about Romantic and present-day technologies, and students will have the option to write a conventional term paper or to develop a digital project based on the course readings.
Prerequisite: ENG 224 .
Instructor: Simpson
ENG 328 - Studies in American Poetry II 4 credits (Fall)
Intensive study of important poets, movements, or trends in 20th-century American poetry. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 227 , ENG 228 , ENG 229 , ENG 231 , ENG 232 , or ENG 273 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Andrews, Savarese
ENG 329 - Studies in African American Literature 4 credits
Intensive study of an African American literary genre, movement, author, or a group of related authors. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 225 , ENG 227 , ENG 228 , ENG 229 , ENG 231 , ENG 232 , or ENG 273 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Benjamin
ENG 329-01 - Studies in African American Literature 4 credits (Fall)
This course examines how black women’s literature and feminist scholarship illuminates the impasse between how black women see themselves and how they are seen. Bearers of the burden of representation and experts in the politics of respectability, black women writers and black feminist critics often address-either implicitly or explicitly-the stereotypical portrayals of black womanhood that misrecognize black women or render them invisible. To better grasp the applicability of this longstanding history within a contemporary context, we will read Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, alongside representative reviews of the novel and film, to reveal the troping of black women’s bodies, voices, and stories as a mechanism for advancing social fantasies of racial harmony. Specifically, we will: examine how Stockett, a white woman, represents black women, their voices and thoughts; delineate how her portrayals compare to the black female protagonists figured in texts by black women writers; and distinguish between how Skeeter views “the help” and how black women literary scholars, historians, and cultural critics view themselves and the black women they study.
Prerequisite: ENG 225 , ENG 227 , ENG 228 , ENG 229 , ENG 231 , ENG 232 , or ENG 273
Instructor: Benjamin
ENG 330 - Studies in American Prose I 4 credits (Fall)
Intensive study of important writers, movements, or trends in 19th-century American prose. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 227 , ENG 228 , ENG 229 , ENG 231 , ENG 232 , or ENG 273 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Andrews, Savarese
ENG 331 - Studies in American Prose II 4 credits (Spring)
Intensive study of important writers, movements, or trends in 20th-century American prose. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 227 , ENG 228 , ENG 229 , ENG 231 , ENG 232 , or ENG 273 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
ENG 331-01 - Studies in American Prose II 4 credits (Spring)
When the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, it ushered in a new age of apocalyptic fear. Since then, American writers have turned to the apocalypse to express their anxieties about more than nuclear weapons. From Christian visions of the rapture to climate change, from race riots to the AIDS epidemic, Americans have been compelled by fantasies of the end of the world. This course asks: why? What drives writers to imagine the apocalypse? Is it easier today, as is sometimes said, to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism? How does apocalyptic writing open new ways of understanding the times we live in? What does literary apocalyptic writing offer in a time of neoliberalism? To explore these questions, we will read a broad spectrum of post-World War II apocalyptic texts by writers such as James Baldwin, Tony Kushner, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Margaret Atwood, along with recent apocalyptic manifestos about capitalism and climate change.
Prerequisite: ENG 227 , ENG 228 , ENG 229 , ENG 231 , ENG 232 , or ENG 273 .
Instructor: Sinykin
ENG 332 - The Victorians 4 credits (Fall)
Study of major British writers from 1830 to 1900, with emphasis on distinctive approaches to common artistic, intellectual, and social problems. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.below.
Prerequisite: English ENG 224 or ENG 225 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Simpson
ENG 337 - The British Novel I 4 credits (Spring)
Historical development of the British novel, formal evolution, methods of publication, and the relation of novels to their cultures. Through the early Dickens (e.g., Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Jane Austen, Thackeray). For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 223 , ENG 224 , ENG 225 , ENG 226 , or ENG 273 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lobban-Viravong
ENG 338 - The British Novel II 4 credits (Spring)
Historical development of the British novel, formal evolution, methods of publication, and the relation of novels to their cultures. From Dickens to the present (e.g., George Eliot, Hardy, Conrad, Lawrence, Forster, Virginia Woolf). For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 223 , ENG 224 , ENG 225 , ENG 226 , or ENG 273 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lobban-Viravong
ENG 338-01 - The British Novel II 4 credits (Fall)
Page-Turners. In this course we will trace the historical development of the British novel since the nineteenth century to the present. Readings may include novels by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, E. M. Forster, and Virginia Woolf, and the novels will be supplemented with critical and theoretical readings that will help us investigate the changes in the genre. Assignments will include regular responses, a shorter mid-semester paper, an annotated biography, and a longer paper.
Prerequisite: ENG 223 , ENG 224 , ENG 225 , ENG 226 , or ENG 273 .
Instructor: Jacobson
ENG 345 - Studies in Modern Poetry 4 credits (Fall)
Intensive study of important modern poets. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 224 , ENG 225 , ENG 226 , ENG 227 , ENG 228 , ENG 229 , ENG 231 , ENG 232 , or ENG 273 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Savarese
ENG 346 - Studies in Modern Prose 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: GLS 346 . Intensive study of important modern fiction. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 224 , ENG 225 , or ENG 226 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Geller, Simpson
ENG 349 - Medieval Literature 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: GLS 349 . Study of medieval European literary forms (lyric, epic, romance, allegory, and dream vision) through analysis of major works such as Beowulf, Chretien de Troyes’ poems, Marie de France’s Lais, The Romance of the Rose, The Divine Comedy, The Decameron, Piers Plowman, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Book of the City of Ladies, and Malory’s prose. Option of doing some reading in Latin, Italian, or French. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 223 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Arner
ENG 360 - Seminar in Postcolonial Literature 4 credits (Spring)
An intensive study of important writers, movements, or theoretical concepts in postcolonial literature written in English. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: ENG 224 , ENG 225 , ENG 226 , or ENG 229 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Kapila
ENG 360-01 - Seminar in Postcolonial Literature 4 credits (Spring)
This course explores the phenomenon of nationalism in literature from South Africa, Nigeria, New Zealand, and India. How have writers from these countries articulated a national imaginary? Now often understood to be a somewhat pejorative and outdated concept, associated with military chauvinism or aggression, nationalism marked the first wave of anti-imperial literature. Which groups of people feel oppressed and excluded from the nation? In what ways does the concept of the nation have continuing theoretical and material significance? These are some of the questions we will study in the essays and novels of Salman Rushdie, Chinua Achebe, Buchi Emecheta, J. M Coetzee, Mahasweta Devi, Witi Ihimeara, Alan Duff, We will also read critical essays by, among others, Ben Anderson, Partha Chatterjee, and Anthony Appiah. The objectives of the course are to explore postcolonial fiction in relation to theoretical concepts inherited from disciplines such as anthropology and history about subjects, nations, and narrative forms. We will also study the relationship between the postcolonial novel and postmodern fiction.
Prerequisite: ENG 224 , ENG 225 , ENG 226 , or ENG 229 .
Instructor: Kapila
ENG 385 - Writing Seminar: Fiction 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Advanced workshop for students with a strong background in fiction writing.
Prerequisite: ENG 205 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Smith, Bakopoulos
ENG 386 - Writing Seminar: Poetry 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Advanced workshop for students with a strong background in verse writing.
Prerequisite: ENG 206 .
Instructor: Barlow, Savarese
ENG 390 - Literary Theory 4 credits (Spring)
An intensive introduction to the major schools of critical and literary theory. Readings likely to include foundational texts in formalism, Marxism, feminism, psychoanalysis, historicism, poststructuralism, and postcolonialism. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Third-year or senior standing and at least one 300-level literature seminar in the English department.
Instructor: Andrews, Kapila
ENG 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Milton, Blake, and Frankenstein: Explorations in Literary and Digital Methods 4 credits (Spring)
Team-taught by Professors Lee and Simpson, this course will involve the study of John Milton and two Romantic-era writers who adapted Milton’s work to their own ends: William Blake and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. We will first read a selection of Milton’s prose and poetry. Milton reinvented the epic poem in Paradise Lost and Samson Agonistes, and during the English Civil War, he also wrote fiercely political pamphlets in prose that critiqued the constraints of formal poetic versification as a type of political oppression binding the English language in shackles. The latter part of the course will focus first on the poetry and art of Blake, who found inspiration for the radicalism of his own art in his contrarian reading of Milton, and then on Mary Shelley, who used Milton’s interpretation of the Biblical creation as the foundation of her modern myth of technology and invention, Frankenstein. Reading Milton and then tracing his afterlife in the eighteenth century will allow us to explore his role in early theories of aesthetics and the sublime, and also if he was indeed, as Blake suggests, “a true Poet and of the Devil’s party without knowing it.” Throughout the course, we will use close reading in conjunction with computational methods of reading and responding to literary works. We will think
about why different, or analogous, arguments emerge from the different methods.
Prerequisite: ENG 223 , ENG 224 , ENG 225 , ENG 226 , or ENG 273 .
Instructor: Lee, SimpsonEnvironmental Studies
ENV 120 - Environmental Challenges and Responses 1 credits (Fall)
This course provides a substantive forum for discussions of current environmental issues among small groups of students and faculty. Content varies. All students meet biweekly to hear an invited speaker present on a relevant topic. During intervening weeks students meet in small groups with two faculty members to discuss the previous week’s seminar and related readings. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Second-semester standing.
S/D/F only
ENV 125 - Introduction to Earth Systems Science with Lab 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: SCI 125 . An introductory geology course that demonstrates that Earth systems (the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere) are dynamically linked by internal and external physical, chemical, and biological processes. Using process-response models, we examine the structure and evolution of the Earth, how the rock record is used to decipher Earth’s past and predict its future, and societal issues centered on the environment, land use, resources (water, mineral, and energy), and natural hazards. Three lectures and one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Graham
ENV 145 - Nations and the Global Environment 4 credits (Fall)
Global environmental issues discussed from the perspective of how these problems relate to each student. Emphasis on the geological, biological, and human history of Earth: trends in global climate (including the greenhouse effect and ozone depletion), species diversity (including episodes of mass extinction), human demography, international energy policies, global distribution of resources (including famine, lifeboat “ethics,” and politics of “north vs. south”). Discussion of sustainable development of tropical forest, savanna, and marine ecosystems. Readings from texts and current literature.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Campbell
ENV 154 - Natural Hazards and Disasters 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: GDS 154 . Natural hazards arise from normal Earth processes. But natural disasters result from the inability of humans to anticipate, and plan for, inevitable hazardous events. Through lectures, seminars, and lab exercises, we will: examine the Earth processes that generate hazardous events; analyze the historical and geological record of past disasters; consider the political, economic, and social factors contributing to the severity of natural disasters; explore how natural catastrophes have influenced human history, art, and religion; and examine international disparities in vulnerability.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
ENV 251 - Water, Development and the Environment 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See GDS 251 .
Note: Not offered every year.
ENV 261 - Climate Change, Development and the Environment 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See GDS 261 .
Note: Not offered every year.
ENV 295-01 - Special Topic: Environmental Chemistry 4 credits (Spring)
See CHM 295-01 .
ENV 295-01 - Special Topic: Environmental History of Infectious Disease 4 credits (Fall)
Infectious diseases have determined the fates of cultures and of nations more than any army or geopolitical thrall ever could. This course will examine the fundamental pathogenesis, etiology and epidemiology of infectious diseases, both human and zoönotic, including smallpox, plague, yellow fever, rabies, malaria, river blindness, syphilis, yaws, kala-azar, influenza, HIV, rinderpest, hoof-and-mouth disease, and the potato blight. It will also examine the geopolitical and social changes these diseases have wrought on human demography, history and destiny, from the spread of rodent-vectored plague westward along the Silk Road, to the decimation of New World populations by smallpox after their conquest by Europeans, to the depredations of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, to the modern-day emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens (among others).
Prerequisite: Second-year standing
Instructor: Campbell
ENV 495 - Senior Seminar 4 credits (Spring)
An interdisciplinary senior seminar for students completing the concentration in Environmental Studies. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Instructor: Staff
ENV 495-01 - Senior Seminar on Tropical America 4 credits (Spring)
The course explores the geography, natural history, human ecology, colonial environmental history and contemporary environmental issues of tropical America (Central America, South America and the West Indies). We’ll begin with Amazônia (the most complex biome ever to have existed in the 3.5 billion year history of life on Earth): various theories regarding the evolution, maintenance and patterns of Amazonian biodiversity; the biological exploration of the Amazon River Valley; environmentally benign development (such as extractive reserves and the search for medicinal plants) vs. malignant development (the TransAmazônica, cattle ranching and gold extraction). Other regions to be discussed are: the Andean Cordillera, the coastal deserts, savanna (pampas/llanos) and the Greater and Lesser Antilles. We will examine the relationship between El Niño and famine in northeastern Brazil vs. floods and erosion in northwestern South America; demography over the past 1,500 years (including the effects of the European contact); the condition of indigenous tribes; women’s rights and reproductive self-determination (with emphasis in Catholic countries). Readings are from contemporary literature. Two lectures per week.
Prerequisite: Senior status or permission of instructor.
Instructor: CampbellEuropean Studies
ESC 297 - Guided Reading Project 2 credits (Fall or Spring)
To be taken in the semester preceding that in which the student will take the 397 course, this project is designed as preparation for Senior Independent Study. The student may request to work with any instructor currently teaching in the program who will also be teaching on the Grinnell campus during the following semester.
Prerequisite: Second semester of first-year standing.
Instructor: Staff
ESC 397 - Senior Independent Study 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
The subject must be arranged with a faculty adviser (preferably the instructor of the Guided Reading Project 297, above) before the end of the semester preceding the independent study. The study should result in either a substantial essay (about 25–30 pages) or a creative accomplishment such as a photographic essay, film, dramatic production, paintings, etc. of similar magnitude. The latter will require some written explication as well. Occasional colloquia consisting of all students and faculty engaged in these projects will be held to exchange ideas and methods.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Instructor: StaffFilm and Media Courses
HUM 185 - Film Analysis, Theory & Criticism 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
This writing-intensive course examines foundational concepts and methodologies in Cinema Studies, introducing students to a number of theoretical approaches central to the study of film, including semiotics, psychoanalysis, and Cultural Studies. Our focus is not film appreciation but rather the analysis of film as a language and “reading” film texts for their meanings. Since film is a system of representation, the study of gender, sexuality, race and class will be crucial to our interpretive practice throughout.
Prerequisite: One course in English, Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, American Studies, Philosophy, or Art History.
Instructor: Geller
HUM 213 - Media and the Middle East 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: SST 213 . This course will explore representations of the Middle East in the Western and Middle-Eastern media. It will adopt a comparative approach and will use theoretical readings and case studies to examine the diverse ways in which news can be viewed as a cultural product.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Instructor: Youssef
HUM 290 - Film Genres 4 credits (Spring)
This course will examine the theory, criticism, and history of film genre. We will take a comparative approach, analyzing the stylistic and narrative conventions of specific genres, and their relationship to culture, race, sexuality, gender and national identity. We will discuss various film genres, including the musical, screwball comedy, melodrama, and film noir. The objective of this course is to explore the question of genre through a range of theoretical rubrics (structuralism, psychoanalysis, feminism and ideological criticism) to address both the social implications and aesthetic properties of cinema. This course requires weekly screenings (usually two films per week) along with the assigned class reading.
Prerequisite: HUM 185 (previously offered as HUM 211).
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Geller
HUM 365 - Studies in Film Theory 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An intensive examination of important film scholars, movements, and/or theoretical concepts in Film Studies. An advanced-level, variable-topic course that explores film theory and the wide range of critical theories informing film criticism. Possible topics include queer theory, feminist film criticism, aesthetics, theories of space and place, film historiography, postmodernism, psychoanalysis, deconstruction, performance, affect, political economy, genre, poststructuralism, globalization, critical race theory, etc. May be repeated when content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: HUM 185 and third-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Geller
HUM 365-01 - Studies in Film Theory 4 credits Spring
Domestic Cinema–Feminist Film Criticism and Practice. This seminar is deeply interdisciplinary, engaging with several fields of inquiry. Specifically, we will study in detail three principle areas of research-film theory & history, feminism, and human geography. The central focus throughout will be the ways space, particularly domestic space, shapes constructions and embodiments of gender, race, nationality, and sexuality. While such investigations will familiarize students with both the theories of human geography and even some knowledge of architectural history, it will also demand in-depth study of a range of feminist knowledge. We will read in detail about the history of second wave feminism and its engagement with other theoretical methodologies, such as Marxism, psychoanalysis, postmodernism, postcolonialism, critical race studies, literary and cultural theory. We will engage these complex feminist topics through the academic discipline of film studies, in which feminist film theory specifically has played a central role in its history. The course begins by addressing representations of women in dominant cinema; however, we will spend most of the semester engaging with films by women, and the many forms global women’s cinema has taken over the years.
Prerequisite: Third-year standing and HUM 185 .
Instructor: StaffFrench and Arabic
ARB 101 - Beginning Arabic I 5 credits (Fall)
Study of the fundamentals of spoken and written Modern Standard Arabic with emphasis on communication through oral-aural practice and awareness of cultural context. Acquisition of basic grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Youssef
ARB 102 - Beginning Arabic II 5 credits (Spring)
This course is designed primarily as a continuation of ARB 101 . Emphasizes the development of oral-aural skills and of reading comprehension by providing communicative practice and attention to cultural context.
Prerequisite: ARB 101 or by placement.
Instructor: Youssef
ARB 221 - Intermediate Arabic I 4 credits (Fall)
Conducted in Arabic. Emphasizes grammar and written and oral skills. Provides an introduction to the analysis of literary and cultural texts.
Prerequisite: ARB 102 .
Instructor: Youssef
ARB 222 - Intermediate Arabic II 4 credits (Spring)
Conducted in Arabic. Focuses on the development of written and oral skills. Emphasizes vocabulary acquisition, discussion, and composition through the exploration of literary texts and contemporary media materials.
Prerequisite: ARB 221 .
Instructor: Youssef
FRN 101 - Introduction to French 5 credits (Fall)
Study of the fundamentals of spoken and written French with emphasis on communication through oral-aural practice and awareness of cultural context. Acquisition of basic grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
FRN 102 - Introduction to French II 5 credits (Spring)
Offered only in the spring, this course is designed primarily as a continuation of FRN 101 . Emphasizes the development of oral-aural skills and of reading comprehension by providing communicative practice and attention to cultural context.
Prerequisite: FRN 101 or by placement.
Instructor: Staff
FRN 103 - Accelerated Introduction to French 5 credits (Fall)
Offered only in the fall, this course is for students with some previous study of French. Covers the equivalent of FRN 101 and FRN 102 in a single semester. Emphasizes the development of oral-aural skills and of reading comprehension by providing communicative practice and attention to cultural context. Not open to students who have taken FRN 102 .
Prerequisite: Grinnell Placement Test or consultation with department.
Instructor: Staff
FRN 201 - French Speaking 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Conversational unit designed for both free and structured oral exchange in French. May be taken only once for credit.
Co-requisite: Concurrent registration in any 200- or 300-level French course.
Instructor: Staff
FRN 221 - Intermediate French I 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Conducted in French. Review of grammar with emphasis on written and oral skills. Introduction to analysis of literary and cultural texts.
Prerequisite: FRN 102 or FRN 103 .
Instructor: Staff
FRN 222 - Intermediate French II 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Conducted in French. Review of grammar with a focus on the development of written and oral skills. Emphasis on analysis, discussion, and composition through the exploration of literature, documents, and films related to the Occupation of France during World War II.
Prerequisite: FRN 221 .
Instructor: Staff
FRN 301 - Advanced Oral and Written Expression 4 credits (Spring)
Conducted in French. An integrated approach to the development of oral-aural and written skills in French. Designed to prepare students for discussion and analysis at the 300 level.
Prerequisite: FRN 222 .
Instructor: Moisan
FRN 303 - French Civilization I: Sites of Myth and Memory 4 credits (Fall)
Conducted in French. An introduction to French civilization from its origins to the French Revolution through the study of historical and literary texts, paintings, and films.
Prerequisite: FRN 222 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Harrison
FRN 304 - French Civilization II: Revolutions and Identities 4 credits (Fall)
Conducted in French. An introduction to French civilization from the French Revolution to the present through the study of historical and literary texts, paintings, and films.
Prerequisite: FRN 222 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Moisan
FRN 305 - Contemporary Francophone Cultures 4 credits (Spring)
Conducted in French. Overview of contemporary France and the French-speaking world. Examines the relationship between national identity and the forces of geography, history, language, race, religion, and ethnicity. Topics include: colonization, decolonization, immigration, French-American relations, and societal values related to the family, gender, education, political organization, the state, and secularism. Uses historical, cultural, and literary texts and films.
Prerequisite: FRN 222 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Caradec
FRN 312 - Introduction to French Literature from the Middle Ages to the Revolution: From Knights to Libertines 4 credits (Spring)
Conducted in French. Readings in poetry, prose, and theatre. Topics may include: the medieval chanson de geste, Renaissance love poetry, tragedy and comedy in the age of Louis XIV, and the Enlightenment. Presents the critical terminology and analytical techniques necessary for in-depth study of the respective genres.
Prerequisite: FRN 222 .
Instructor: Harrison
FRN 313 - Introduction to French Literature of the 19th and 20th Centuries: Literary Revolutions 4 credits (Fall)
Conducted in French. Readings in poetry, theatre, and prose. Examines literary movements such as Romanticism, Realism, the Theatre of the Absurd, Surrealism, and the Nouveau Roman. Presents the critical terminology and analytical techniques necessary for in-depth study of the respective genres.
Prerequisite: FRN 222 .
Instructor: Ireland
FRN 327 - Power and Resistance in 17th- and 18th-Century French Literature 4 credits (Fall)
Conducted in French. Explores the relationship between writers and questions of authority from 1600–1789. Examines the representation of royal power, challenges to state authority and social conventions (such as the role of the church and the position of women in society), and the role of humor as a subversive technique. Authors studied may include La Fontaine, Pascal, Corneille, Moliere, Madame de Lafayette, Mme de Sévigné, Saint-Simon, Diderot, Voltaire, Laclos, and Sade.
Prerequisite: FRN 312 or FRN 313 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Harrison
FRN 328 - Comedy in French Literature Prior to the Revolution 4 credits (Fall)
Conducted in French. Analyzes the notion of the comic in French literary texts written before 1789. Examines the relationship between comedy and society, using the theories of Bakhtin, Bergson, Boileau, and Freud. Focuses on the particular techniques used in different literary genres, such as the novel, theatre, and satiric verse. Works studied may include the farces of the Middle Ages, Rabelais, Marguerite de Navarre, Moliere, Boileau, Voltaire, and Diderot.
Prerequisite: FRN 312 or FRN 313 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Harrison
FRN 329 - Literature and Society in 19th-Century and Belle Epoque France 4 credits (Fall)
Conducted in French. Examines texts representative of Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, and post-Romantic poetry. Topics may include: realism and nature; the role of description; the expression of desire; and the relationship between the individual and society.
Prerequisite: FRN 312 or FRN 313 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Moisan
FRN 330 - Innovation and Transgression in French from 1870 to 1945 4 credits (Fall)
Conducted in French. Explores the evolution of literature and the rise of cinema between 1870 and 1945; examines notions such as moral and aesthetic transgression and innovation. Topics to be studied may include: collage, montage, memory, war, autobiography, and sexuality in authors and filmmakers such as Rimbaud, Rachilde, Colette, Melies, Jarry, Proust, Gide, Celine, and Cocteau.
Prerequisite: FRN 312 or FRN 313 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Moisan
FRN 331 - Modern Francophone Theatre 4 credits (Spring)
Conducted in French. Study of dramatic texts and their contexts since the Second World War, with reference to existentialism, the theatre of the absurd, and the performance of identity shaped by gender, religion, and postcolonial and immigrant experience. Examines how theatre of the French-speaking world reflects, challenges, and redefines societal, philosophical, and aesthetic values, with a focus on the relationship between text and performance.
Prerequisite: FRN 312 or FRN 313 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
FRN 341 - Contemporary French Writing 4 credits (Spring)
Conducted in French. Traces the evolution of prose fiction from the 1950s to the present and examines its relationship to biography, autobiography, feminist writing, film, and the popular novel. Explores literary representations of topics such as mother-daughter relations, social class, sexuality, illness, interracial relationships, immigration, and exile.
Prerequisite: FRN 312 or FRN 313 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ireland
FRN 342 - Orientalism Revisited 4 credits (Spring)
Conducted in French. Examines the relations between France and the Orient as portrayed in paintings, photos, films, and prose fiction from the mid-19th century to the present. Focuses in particular on images of Oriental women, beginning with France’s representation of its colonies as female. The main topics to be considered are: the depiction of interracial relationships; the effect of gender on the experience of immigration; women and war (Algeria and Lebanon); women’s voices in contemporary North Africa; and the notions of tradition and modernity in relation to issues such as arranged marriages, polygamy, and excision. The Orient studied includes Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, and Lebanon.
Prerequisite: FRN 312 or FRN 313 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ireland
FRN 346 - The Francophone Caribbean World: From Plantation to Emancipation 4 credits (Spring)
Conducted in French. This course explores relations between the francophone Caribbean islands (Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique) and the métropole from the colonial period to the present. It addresses topics such as slavery, négritude, identity, multilingualism, diaspora, globalization and the environmental challenges facing the region. Students will examine poetry, theater, fiction and film. Authors to be studied include Césaire, Fanon, Roumain, Chamoiseau, Glissant, Condé, Laferrière and Frankétienne.
Prerequisite: FRN 312 or FRN 313 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Caradec
FRN 350 - Advanced Topics in Literature and Civilization 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Intensive study of a particular period, author, theme, movement, and/or genre. Topic will be announced each time the course is offered. Conducted in French. Course may be repeated for credit if content is different. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: FRN 312 or FRN 313 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
FRN 350-01 - Advanced Topics in Literature & Civilization 4 credits (Spring)
Contemporary Ecologies: Environment in Literature and Film. Conducted in French. Examines representations of the environment in French and francophone novels and films. Explores topics such as pollution, climate change, animals, waste, the notions of paysage and terroir, contrasts between natural and non-natural, rural and urban, local and global, the human and the non-human. Authors and filmmakers to be studied may include René Barjavel, Georges Perec, Jean-Marie Le Clézio, Marie-Hélène Lafon, Jean-Christophe Rufin, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Joy Sorman, Agnès Varda, Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou.
Prerequisite: FRN 312 or FRN 313 .
Instructor: Caradec
FRN 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Contemporary Queer Women’s Writing in French 4 credits (Spring)
Conducted in French. Examines strategies of resistance, empowerment and subversion made possible through writing. Focuses in particular on the relationship between queerness and linguistic and narrative innovation. The course will cover topics such as gender, sexuality, desire, trauma, productive violence, performativity, (dis)identification, and the writing of the self. Authors studied may include Leduc, Wittig, Blais, Brossard, Causse, Francois, Pruvot, Maroh, Garréta and Bouraoui.
Prerequisite: FRN 312 or FRN 313 .
Instructor: KosnickGender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies
GWS 111 - Introduction to Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course introduces students to key topics, concepts, approaches, and problems in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies as the field has developed over the past 45 years. We investigate the significance and meaning of gender at different periods in United States history and explore the development of United States feminism and feminist theory, adopting comparative and transnational perspectives throughout the semester. The ways in which race, ethnicity, sexuality, class, nationality, and age shape experience, culture, ideology, and politics are central areas of inquiry. We also address the means through which women have resisted inequality and effected social and political change. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach, and students are introduced to scholarship from a wide range of disciplines, including cultural studies, economics, history, philosophy, political theory, psychology, and sociology.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
GWS 211 - Foundations of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course provides students with an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) studies. We study the emergence and transformation of LGBTQ identities, cultural practices, and political movements within the broader context of changes in social constructions of sexuality, as well as cultural, social, political, and economic transformations. We pay particular attention to the ways in which gender, race, ethnicity, class, and generation have shaped same-sex sexuality in different historical periods.
Prerequisite: GWS 111 and second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Henry
GWS 235 - Feminism and Popular Culture 4 credits (Fall)
This course examines various popular cultural forms using feminist criticism/theory as a crtical lens. Through an intersecional and intertextual investigation of television, film, advertising, and popular music, students will explore how representation both reflects and produces sociocultural phenomena and ideas about race, gender, class, and sexuality in society.
Prerequisite: GWS 111
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Johnson
GWS 249 - Theory and Methodology in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies 4 credits (Fall)
This course provides students with a comprehensive and in-depth exploration of the interdisciplinary field of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, including its theories, methods, debates, and relationships to other academic disciplines. We examine the history and development of feminist and queer theory, paying particular attention to the relationship between theory and activism. We explore the forms of privilege and power operating within feminist and queer theory and the intersections of race, sexuality, class, and gender.
Prerequisite: GWS 111
Instructor: Henry, Johnson
GWS 295-01 - Special Topic: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Modern Europe 4 credits (Spring)
See GRM 295-01 .
GWS 295-01 - Special Topic: Readings in Transgender Studies 4 credits (Fall)
This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Transgender Studies, with an emphasis on recent work. By examining scholarly texts along with activist writings and selections from popular culture, students will gain an understanding of major issues and debates in trans politics. We will especially consider the dramatic surge in popular attention to trans issues in recent years (including in news media, film, and television), and ask how to evaluate this growing visibility in light of ongoing structures of power and oppression. To this end, this course will emphasize how trans critics have engaged issues like the politics of race, neoliberalism, nonprofitization, and incarceration.
Prerequisite: GWS 111 .
Instructor: Lewis
GWS 324 - Critical Race Feminisms 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course provides an introduction to critical theoretical debates about gender, race, and class in the United States legal system. Students examine legal concepts, structures, and narratives that produce and/or reinforce patterns of discrimination and inequality, as well as examine alternative models proposed within critical legal scholarship.
Prerequisite: GWS 111 and one GWS course at the 200 level.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Johnson
GWS 331 - Studies in American Prose II 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: ENG 331 when taught as Feminist Memoirs. A study of contemporary memoirs by feminist writers. In addition to critically analyzing the memoir as a literary form, students will examine how feminist writers have used memoir to describe both personal and political experiences, to theorize from these experiences, and to develop concepts of feminist subjectivity. Readings will include a diverse range of memoirs, as well as critical essays on memoir, autobiography, and feminist/queer theory.
Prerequisite: GWS 249
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Henry
GWS 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Queer Theory 4 credits (Fall)
This course surveys the complex and unusual body of thought that has been known since the early 1990s as “queer theory.” Students will explore what critics have meant by “queer,” and how this concept has been used to rethink questions of sex, identity, and social norms in contemporary life. This class will cover foundational texts as well as current debates, including recent work on temporality, affect, biopolitics, and the posthuman. Particular attention will be paid to how queer theory articulates not only with scholarly traditions, but also with activist struggles around the politics of sexualtiy, gender, race, capital, empire, and ability.
Prerequisite: GWS 249 .
Instructor: Lewis
GWS 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Sex and Nation 4 credits (Spring)
This course explores histories and present realities of sex in national, international, and transnational contexts. The central question is: How are gender and sexual identities related to citizenship and national belonging? The course will examine how conceptions of family, gender, sexuality, race, and reproduction are central to definitions of citizenship and nationhood, and how hierarchies of nations are represented and reproduced within the international community. It will also examine how hierarchical categories of belonging within and among nations are negotiated and contested.
Prerequisite: GWS 249 .
Instructor: Sanders
GWS 395-01 - Advanced Speical Topic: Gender, Sexuality, and the Politics of Emotion 4 credits (Spring)
Scholars across disciplines have shown growing interest in the role of affect (or emotion)in shaping social and political life. This class surveys recent work in the “affective turn” of gender and sexuality studies, but is also traces a longer history of critical thinking about relationships between power and feeling, drawing from activist and popular writings, literature, and film. Students will consider how affect has informed work on a variety of issues, both devastating and more mundane, including slavery, AIDS, activist
burnout, and trigger warnings.
Prerequisite: GWS 249 .
Instructor: Lewis
GWS 495 - Senior Seminar 4 credits (Spring)
An advanced interdisciplinary senior seminar for students who are completing the major in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies. The course will provide an in-depth exploration of a topic with both historical and contemporary significance within the field of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: senior status; Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies Major; GWS 111 ; GWS 249 .
Instructor: Henry, Johnson
GWS 495-01 & 02 - Senior Seminar: Bad Feminists, Bad Critics 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines the work of second wave feminist critics in the 1960s and 1970s whose work was either dismissed when it was first published or is out of critical favor in the present. By looking at why some feminists’ work has been left out of the field’s accepted history, we will learn as much (if not more) than we would by repeating the narratives of political progress that are often told about the development of feminism. Throughout the course, we will read texts that have always been “difficult” for feminism such as Mary Daly’s Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism, which sparked a public debate about the role of race and racism in radical feminism. We will also examine authors who were labelled “bad” critics by the broader public, such as Kate Millett whose Sexual Politics was the subject of much derision in literary circles. As well, we will look at figures who have been bad for feminism, including Valerie Solanas and her little-known play Up Your Ass. Finally, we will close the semester with a unit on recent feminist interest in the 1960s and 1970s, and look at contemporary works that offer new ways of thinking about old histories.
Prerequisite: GWS 111 , GWS 249 , senior status, and Senior Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies major.
Instructor: AllenGeneral Literary Studies
GLS 135 - Philosophy and Literature 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See PHI 135 .
Note: Not offered every year.
GLS 201 - Dramatic Literature 1 4 credits (Fall)
See THD 201 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
GLS 202 - Dramatic Literature 2 4 credits (Spring)
See THD 202 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
GLS 203 - American Theatre 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See THD 203 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
GLS 227 - Topics in German Literature in Translation 4 credits (Spring)
See GRM 227 .
GLS 233 - Frames of Reference: Topics in German Cinema from 1920 to the Present 4 credits (Fall)
See GRM 233 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
GLS 242 - Classical Mythology 4 credits (Spring)
See CLS 242 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
GLS 247 - The Russian Short Story 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See RUS 247 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
GLS 248 - The Russian Novel 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See RUS 248 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
GLS 251 - Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See HUM 251 .
GLS 251-01 - Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature 4 credits (Fall)
See HUM 251-01 .
Prerequisite: A course in English or another course in literature.
Instructor: Herold
GLS 251-01 - Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature 4 credits (Spring)
See HUM 251-01 .
GLS 261 - History of Russian Film 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See RUS 261 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
GLS 277 - Modern China through Literature and Film (in Translation) 4 credits
See CHI 277 .
Note: Not offered every year.
GLS 279 - Modern Japanese Fiction and Film 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See JPN 279 .
GLS 281 - Major Russian Writers 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See RUS 281 .
Note: Plus-2 option available in Russian.
GLS 291 - Perspectives in 20th-Century Central and Eastern European Literature 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See RES 291 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
GLS 303 - Studies in Drama I 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See THD 303 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
GLS 304 - Studies in Drama II 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See THD 304 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
GLS 346 - Studies in Modern Prose 4 credits (Fall)
See ENG 346 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
GLS 349 - Medieval Literature 4 credits (Fall)
See ENG 349 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
General Science
SCI 125 - Introduction to Earth System Science w/lab 4 credits (Fall)
See ENV 125 .
SCI 295-01 - Special Topic: Refugees in Complex Emergencies: Leadership and the Humanities Dilemma 1 credits (Spring)
See SST 295-03 .
SCI 350 - Freedom and Authority: The Control of Reproduction 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: HUM 350 and SST 350 How do social, biological, and cultural constraints affect decisions about reproduction? How do social institutions set and enforce the boundaries of what is possible and permissible? How do practices of reproduction generate meaning for human existence? This seminar examines conflicts between the freedom of the individual to make decisions about reproduction and the internal and external authorities of biology, evolution, the family, the state, health care systems, criminal justice systems, and religious hierarchies.
Prerequisite: Third-year or senior standing and completion of a four-credit course at the 200-level or above creditable to a major in the division of registration.
Note: Not offered every year
Instructor: StaffGerman
GRM 101 - Introductory German 5 credits (Fall)
Acquisition of German language skills through listening, speaking, reading, and study of grammar. Students will develop communication skills such as the ability to talk about themselves and their interests. Practice of oral skills with a native German-speaking assistant.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
GRM 102 - Continuing German 5 credits (Spring)
Continuation and completion of oral-aural study of grammatical structures. Increased emphasis on developing oral fluency. Introduction to the literature and culture of Germany through reading and analysis of modern short stories and expository prose. Practice of oral skills with a native German-speaking assistant.
Prerequisite: GRM 101 .
Instructor: Staff
GRM 212 - German Conversation 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Focus on development of conversation skills. Discussion based on a variety of cultural topics. May be repeated once for credit.
Prerequisite: GRM 102 .
Note: Does not count toward major. S/D/F only.
Instructor: Staff
GRM 221 - Intermediate German I 4 credits (Fall)
Review of selected topics in German grammar, accompanied and followed by continued practice in speaking, reading, and writing.
Prerequisite: GRM 102 .
Instructor: Staff
GRM 222 - Intermediate German II 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Reading and discussion of literary works of intermediate difficulty. Reading content designed to acquaint students with important aspects of recent German culture and to develop skill in the analysis and comprehension of modern German prose.
Prerequisite: GRM 221 .
Instructor: Staff
GRM 227 - Topics in German Literature in Translation 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 227 . Texts selected from a wide variety of literary (and some nonliterary) texts by German-speaking authors. Readings and discussion in English. May be repeated once for credit when content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
GRM 233 - Frames of Reference: Topics in German Cinema from 1920 to the Present 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: GLS 233 . Readings and discussions in English. Seminal readings from film theory combined with a survey of German cinema from its inception to the present. Variable thematic concerns include the aesthetics of power, the real and the imaginary, representations of subjectivity, and the construction of national identity. German majors write in German.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Gueneli
GRM 295-01 - Special Topic: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Modern Europe 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: GWS 295-01 . This course explores the relationship between race, gender, and sexuality in Modern Europe. We will examine common tropes such as that of the “Oriental Harem” and “the effeminate Jew,” decadence, and degeneration. It focuses on the racialized and gendered discourse of nationalism from the late nineteenth century to its culmination in National Socialism. We will investigate gendered ideologies of race that justify the maintenance of European Empires, including “Orientalism” and the “Civilizing Mission.”
Prerequisite: GWS 111 .
Instructor: Samper Vendrell
GRM 295-01 - Special Topic: Youth Cultures in Germany (Jugendkulturen in Deutschland) 4 credits (Fall)
This course examines how youth has been understood in German history and how it is experienced today. Youths have rebelled against the strict norms enforced upon them, against sexual repression, or against the lack of community that modern life brings about. Fictional and nonfictional texts will help us generate discussion about these issues. In addition to learning about contemporary German issues, we will explore complex historical questions through the lens of youth. Taught in German.
Prerequisite: GRM 222 .
Instructor: Semper Vendrell
GRM 302 - Core Seminar I: From Culture to Nation 4 credits (Fall)
Conducted in German. Study of German literature, history, and culture from 1750 to 1871 through literary and historical texts, documentaries, and films.
Prerequisite: GRM 222 .
Instructor: Staff
GRM 303 - Core Seminar II: German Identity Through Wars and Reconciliations 4 credits (Spring)
Conducted in German. Study of German literature, history, and culture from 1871 to the present through literary and historical texts, documentaries, and films.
Prerequisite: GRM 222 .
Instructor: Staff
GRM 310 - Topics in German Language and Culture 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Advanced language course with special emphasis on oral and written proficiency in German. Pertinent cultural and sociopolitical issues of German-speaking countries are used as a basis for short essays and discussions. Predominantly non-literary texts are chosen.
Prerequisite: GRM 222 .
Instructor: Staff
GRM 331 - The German Cultural Heritage: From Tacitus to Goethe 4 credits
Conducted in German. An introduction to German culture from the Germanic tribes to the Enlightenment. Topics to be examined include political organizations, gender issues, and religion, with readings from the pre-middle ages, the medieval period, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the Storm and Stress movement. All readings in modern German.
Prerequisite: GRM 302 and GRM 303 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Byrd
GRM 343 - Cultural and Intellectual Revolution from Classicism Through Realism 4 credits
Conducted in German. A study of literature and thought from the late 18th century through 1880. Literary texts will be placed within the philosophical, historical, and socio-linguistic context. Variable topics.
Prerequisite: GRM 302 and GRM 303 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Byrd
GRM 350 - Contested Subjects: German Culture from the Avant-Garde to Postmodernism 4 credits
Conducted in German. An exploration of German-speaking identities through their formulations and contestations in literature, architecture, cinema, music, cabaret, and political culture. Tracing the artistic epochs from Naturalism to Postmodernism, the course will examine ideologies of self and Other as they relate to ethnicity, race, class, gender, and geography.
Prerequisite: GRM 302 and GRM 303 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Reynolds
GRM 354 - The Turbulent Century: Literature and Culture in 20th-Century Germany 4 credits
Conducted in German. A study of responses in literary and other texts to historical, political, and social events such as World War I, the Weimar Republic, World War II, postwar reconstruction, the German Democratic Republic, and unification. Variable topics.
Prerequisite: GRM 302 and GRM 303 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Gueneli
GRM 372 - Recent Trends in German Literature 1 or 2 credits (Spring)
Close reading and analysis of recent German works from a contemporary cultural perspective. Conducted by the German writer in residence. All readings and discussion in German. May be repeated once for credit.
Prerequisite: GRM 302 .
Instructor: Staff
GRM 495 - Advanced Seminar in German Studies 4 credits (Spring)
Critical reading and close analysis of selected texts in German literature and culture for students with a solid background in the study of German. Topics vary, and texts include both primary and secondary sources. Course may be repeated once for credit when content changes.
Prerequisite: Senior standing or special permission for third-year students.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: StaffGlobal Development Studies
GDS 111 - Introduction to Global Development Studies 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
This course adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of contemporary issues in the economic development of less-developed countries. Course reviews the leading theories of economic, political, and social change that have been adopted by anthropologists, economists, and political scientists, and considers how these theories have shaped past and current debate on the definition and goals of the development process. Course compares and contrasts the approaches adopted by international institutions and alternative development organizations to the “practice” of development.
Prerequisite: One course in Anthropology, or Economics, or Political Science, or Sociology. ECN 111 is strongly recommended.
Instructor: Brottem, Roper
GDS 154 - Natural Hazards and Disasters 4 credits (Spring)
See ENV 154 .
GDS 251 - Water, Development, and the Environment 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: ENV 251 . This course explores international water issues, focusing on the environmental, social, economic, and political implications of water scarcity. Emphasis will be on three interrelated topics: water scarcity as a constraint on development; water scarcity as a source of domestic and international conflict; and, in particular, the environmental implications of water supply projects and their social and economic consequences. Water management policy and the implications of changing climate on regional water availability will also be considered.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: P. Jacobson
GDS 261 - Climate Change, Development and the Environment 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: ENV 261 . This course introduces the basic science of climate change, focusing on the environmental, social, economic, and political implications of such change, as well as the institutions and associated policies engaged in negotiating a response, both locally and globally. Students will conduct in-depth examinations of key regions and ecosystems exemplifying how climate change is closely intertwined with development and natural resource management. The difficulties of predicting regional shifts in climate will be considered, along with the challenges associated with defining policy in the face of uncertainty.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: P. Jacobson, Brottem
GDS 346 - Sustainable Development in the Modern World System 4 credits (Spring)
Interdisciplinary social science examination of theories and issues concerning “sustainable development.” Historical consideration of the goals of development along with how and why the concept of sustainability became prevalent in the dominant discourse, and the contested meanings applied to this concept. Focus then given to several key issues (varying by year) at the boundary of economic/social development, natural resource management, and environmental degradation (such as population growth, agrarian reform, international environmental treaties, climate change, deforestation, agribusiness, tourism, etc.). Can count as anthropology seminar when taught by Roper.
Prerequisite: GDS 111 and ANT 238 , ECN 230 , ECN 233 , ECN 240 , EDU 217 , POL 251 , POL 257 , POL 259 , SOC 220 , SOC 240 , or SST 230 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: RoperHistory
HIS 31x - Advanced Studies in American History 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
In any academic year, students may choose from among six to eight 300-level seminar courses. For current course descriptions, prerequisites, and instructors, please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
HIS 32x - Advanced Studies in Latin America and the United States 4 credits
In any academic year, students may choose from among six to eight 300-level seminar courses. For current course descriptions, prerequisites, and instructors, please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
HIS 33x - Advanced Studies in Western European and British History 4 credits
In any academic year, students may choose from among six to eight 300-level seminar courses. For current course descriptions, prerequisites, and instructors, please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
HIS 34x - Advanced Studies in Russian History 4 credits
In any academic year, students may choose from among six to eight 300-level seminar courses. For current course descriptions, prerequisites, and instructors, please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
HIS 35x - Advanced Studies in Historiography and Ancient History 4 credits
In any academic year, students may choose from among six to eight 300-level seminar courses. For current course descriptions, prerequisites, and instructors, please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
HIS 36x - Advanced Studies in African & Middle-Eastern History 4 credits
In any academic year, students may choose from among six to eight 300-level seminar courses. For current course descriptions, prerequisites, and instructors, please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
HIS 37x - Advanced Studies in Asian History 4 credits
In any academic year, students may choose from among six to eight 300-level seminar courses. For current course descriptions, prerequisites, and instructors, please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
HIS 100 - Introduction to Historical Inquiry 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Introduces students to historical analysis and argumentation. Individual sections focus on different topics and time periods. In all sections, students will investigate a range of sources, methods, and approaches that historians use to interpret the past. Required of all majors and appropriate for all students. For current course content, please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
HIS 100-01 - Introduction to Historical Inquiry: The Spanish Conquest of America 4 credits (Spring)
This course provides an introduction to issues of historical causation, argumentation, and evidence through the lens of the first major episode of European colonization. In tandem with discussions of historical methods we will examine accounts of Spanish experiences in the Caribbean, in Mexico, and in the Andes. Using primary and secondary sources, students will learn the skills necessary to analyze historical scholarship and be introduced to the various means by which historians conduct research and write about the past.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Silva
HIS 100-01 - Introduction to Historical Inquiry: U.S. in the Age of Transatlantic Revolution 4 credits (Fall)
This course provides an introduction to issues of historical causation, argumentation, and evidence, through the lens of U.S. History in the age of the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions (1763-1815). After introductory units on historical methods and the concept of transatlantic history, we will spend the bulk of the semester considering U.S. history in a global context to understand how Revolutions shaped politics, culture, social relations, race, and gender. Students will work intensively with primary sources.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Purcell
HIS 100-02 & 03 - Introduction to Historical Inquiry: European Revolutions 4 credits (Spring)
This course provides an introduction to issues of historical causation, argumentation, and evidence through the lens of European revolutions between the late eighteenth century and the early twentieth. After introductory units on historical methods and the phenomenon of revolution itself, we examine the French Revolution, the Revolutions of 1848-49, and the Russian Revolution as both profoundly local and decidedly transnational events. We work closely with primary sources and consider the political, social, cultural, intellectual, and psychological ramifications of these dramatic ruptures for their participants and subsequent generations.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Maynard
HIS 100-03 - Introduction to Historical Inquiry: The Rise and Fall of New World Slavery 4 credits (Fall)
This course provides an introduction to issues of historical causation, argumentation, and evidence, through the lens of the foundings and practices of New World slavery, as well as the social movements that abolished the institution. After an introductory unit on historical methods, we will use our exploration of slavery as it developed in Brazil, the Caribbean, and mainland North America as a window on issues of power and exploitation, outsiders and insiders, the construction of race, the connections between freedom and slavery, the early stages of consumer-driven economics, and the promise and limitations of social reform. A central theme in the course will be the way in which “progress” and freedom depended on the enslavement of Africans.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Lacson
HIS 100-04 - Introduction to Historical Inquiry: Europe under the Great Dictators 4 credits (Fall)
This course provides an introduction to issues of historical causation, argumentation, and evidence, through the lens of two of the most repressive dictators in all of world history–Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. After an introductory unit on historical methods, we will use a variety of primary and secondary texts to investigate the workings of the Nazi and Stalinist dictatorships, examining subjects like everyday life in a dictatorship, the personal role of Hitler and Stalin in determining state policy, the use of state terror and the secret police, the rise of the leader cult, the origins of the Holocaust, and the nature of Stalin’s Great Purges.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Cohn
HIS 201 - Colonial Latin America 4 credits (Spring)
A general survey of Latin American history from the Columbian encounter through independence. The course will focus on the patterns of European conquest and colonization, the complexity of race relations in the region, and the problems of colonial administration.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Silva
HIS 202 - Modern Latin America 4 credits (Fall)
A general survey of Latin American history from independence to the present day. The course will focus on problems of political instability, economic development, and the role of the United States in the region.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Silva
HIS 204 - Radical Movements in 20th-Century Latin America 4 credits
During the 20th century, Latin America has witnessed both peaceful leftist mobilizations and violent revolutions. All of these movements aimed at redressing inequalities and creating more just societies. This course will consider several of these movements in comparative perspective.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Silva
HIS 212 - Democracy in America, 1789–1848 4 credits (Fall)
Examines the tensions caused by the simultaneous development of political democracy in the United States and the demands for rights by those who continued to be excluded from various forms of power. Topics include: the creation of party politics, reform movements, economic growth, class conflict, expansionism, race, slavery, gender, and material culture.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Purcell
HIS 214 - The American Civil War and Reconstruction 4 credits (Spring)
Surveys the causes, progress, and consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Examines American history from the mid-1840s through the late 1870s with a focus on race, politics, economics, gender, and military conflict to uncover how and why the United States tore itself apart, whether the fundamental conflicts of the war were solved by Reconstruction, and why the Civil War has occupied such an important place in American history and imagination.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Purcell
HIS 220 - U.S. Environmental History 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines some of the central issues and debates in American environmental history, ranging from the era of pre-contact to the present day. Key topics will include: the shifting patterns of land use and resource management among Native American and settler communities; the ecological transformations wrought by commercial agriculture and industrial capitalism; the evolution of environmental policy; and the changing ways in which people have conceptualized and interacted with the natural world around them.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Guenther
HIS 222 - The History of Women in the United States 4 credits (Spring)
Examines basic themes and issues that have dominated the lives of women in the United States since the colonial period. Focuses on the interaction of economics and ideology; relationships between production, reproduction, and sexuality in defining women’s status; development of female culture and feminism; and the role of race, class, and ethnicity in shaping women’s experiences.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Lewis
HIS 223 - American Medical History 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course examines the history of medical care in America from the colonial period through the 20th century. Students consider how social factors, as well as personal, political, and professional agendas, influenced medical knowledge and practice. Students explore the constructed meanings of disease and health, and the individuals, technologies, and scientific discoveries that shaped them. Special attention is given to themes of public health, personal agency, and professional authority.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Lewis
HIS 225 - Native American History, 1491–1865 4 credits (Fall)
This course offers a social, environmental, political, and cultural history of early America from the perspectives of Native Americans. From the point of view of Native Americans, we will examine many familiar topics, such as European exploration of North America, the founding of European colonies, warfare among European powers, slavery, and the American Revolution.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Lacson
HIS 227 - African American History 4 credits (Spring)
A survey of the African American experience in slavery and freedom, with a primary emphasis on the struggle for racial justice and equality since the Civil War. Assignments stress primary sources as well as scholarly studies, films, and recordings.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Lacson
HIS 229 - American Economic History 4 credits
See ECN 229 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
HIS 232 - Sex, Gender, and Family in Europe, 1300-1700 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
What did it mean to be a child, woman, or man in Europe between 1300 and 1700? This course explores the experiences of exemplary and deviant sorts including nuns, courtesans, sodomites, peasants, witches, slaves, and conquistadors. It examines the construction of identity and sexual familial relationships in a period of social change and increasing entanglement with non-Christian cultures. Students will examine primary sources, historical debates, and film and develop a virtual museum exhibition.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Pollnitz
HIS 233 - Renaissance, Reformations, Explorations 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Examines the crucible of forces that turned Europe from a geographcial location into a powerful cultural idea. We will explore the cultural movement of the Renaissance and the subsequent transformation of natural philosophy, the religious reformations that divided Christendom and catalyzed years of sectarian warfare, and Europeans’ increasing engagement with the wider world. Students will study primary sources and historical debates, and practice communicating history to a public audience.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Pollnitz
HIS 234 - Tudors and Stuarts, 1485-1707 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Tudor and Stuart monarchs were some of the most intriguing characters to walk on the world’s stage. Their reigns were characterized by major changes in British and Irish political, religious, economic, and cultural life; these transformations shaped the politics and denominational diversity of the modern, Anglophone world. Students will examine manuscripts, rare books, portraits, and architecture, intervene in major historical debates about the period, and recreate an evening in Elizabeth I’s court.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Pollnitz
HIS 235 - Britain in the Age of Enlightenment 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course examines the dramatic transformations that took place in the British world during the “long eighteenth century” (1688-1832), ushering in new forms of industry and imperialism, family life and socialbility, work and leisure, literature and science, politics and civil society. Students will explore how these transformations helped create many of the patterns of our modern world while also examining the new spaces and settings–such as the coffeehouse or the laboratory–in which they unfolded.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Guenther
HIS 236 - Modern Britain and the Empire 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course examines the expansion and contraction of the British world order in the 19th and 20th centuries, and considers how modern British political institutions, social and economic structures, and cultural identities developed in a global context. Special attention will be given to the evolving relationships between power and protest, and between metropole and colony.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Prevost
HIS 237 - The Spectacle of Modern France 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Beginning with a detailed analysis of the French Revolution as the foundation for the making of modern France, this course concentrates thereafter on pivotal issues including transnational relationships with countries like Germany, Algeria, and the United States; consumerism and urban spectacle; the lure of bohemia and the fin-de-siècle crisis of bourgeois values; the interplay of so-called elite and mass cultures; and the collapse and recovery of democratic institutions in the twentieth century. We highlight perspectives of class, race, and gender and focus upon the power of culture and ideas in shaping the French nation.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available in English or French.
Instructor: Maynard
HIS 238 - The Making of Modern Germany 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course traces the rise of the modern German nation from the accession of Frederick the Great through the Cold War. We examine the gradual decline of Habsburg dominance; the ascent of a powerful economic, military, and intellectual “Germany” dominated by Prussia by 1870; the rupture of World War I and the ensuing radicalism of the Weimar Republic; the rise and fall of the Third Reich; and Germany’s recovery from the catastrophes of the early twentieth century. We address the role of geography, culture, and ethnicity in the construction of national identity and the ongoing interplay between politics and culture.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available in English or German.
Instructor: Maynard
HIS 239 - Tyrants and Tunesmiths: Opera, Politics, and Society in Modern Europe 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course examines the complex relationship between operatic production and political power in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in several national contexts including France, Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union. We consider specific interactions among composers, politicians, and institutions and seek to understand how such engagements shaped both the works themselves and the political and social realities around them in the processes of inception, performance, and reception.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available in English, French, or German.
Instructor: Maynard
HIS 241 - Origins of Modern Russia 4 credits (Fall)
Focusing upon the medieval origins of early East Slavic societies and the formation of the Muscovite state and Russian Empire, this course examines the political, economic, and social components of pre-revolutionary Russia from the 10th through the 19th centuries. The dynamics of ethnicity, the multiple forms of state-building, and the role of gender, class, and ideology receive special attention.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing. Option of doing some work in Russian.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Cohn
HIS 242 - The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union 4 credits (Spring)
Examines the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, from the appearance of the revolutionary movement in the 19th century to the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1991. Key topics will include the origins of the revolution, the workings of the Stalinist dictatorship, the push to create a “New Soviet Man,” the reforms of Nikita Khrushchev, and the causes of the 1991 collapse. Option of doing some work in Russian.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Cohn
HIS 244 - Ivan and Fritz Go to War: World War II on the Eastern Front 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course examines the war between Nazi Germany and the Stalinist U.S.S.R. along World War II’s Eastern Front. Although it will include an overview of the war’s main military events, it will focus on the conflict’s social and political significance. Major themes will include the experiences of the troops, the political working of each wartime regime, the reasons for the unusually high level of brutality, the war’s relationship to the Holocaust, and the Soviet myth of the war.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Cohn
HIS 255 - History of Ancient Greece 4 credits (Fall)
See CLS 255 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: M. Cummins (Classics)
HIS 257 - The Roman Republic 4 credits (Fall)
See CLS 257 .
Note: Not offered every year.
HIS 258 - The Roman Empire 4 credits (Fall)
See CLS 258 .
HIS 261 - Southern Africa 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An introduction to the 10-country region, with an emphasis on the Republic of South Africa. Regional geography along with culture and politics are principal themes, including the rise and fall of the South African apartheid state.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Prevost, Drake
HIS 262 - Modern Africa from the Sahara to the Zambezi 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An introduction to West, Central, and East Africa during the colonial and post-colonial periods, focusing on the local, regional, and international dynamics of state-building, social and economic change, religious transformation, cultural identity, nationalism, and globalization.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option Available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Prevost
HIS 266 - History of the Modern Middle East 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course charts the development of the modern Middle East, exploring the contestations, negotiations, and exclusions that characterize the transformation of life in the region from 1798 through today. We will guide our exploration with pointed questions: How did the nation become an organizing principle for collective life? How did capitalism take root? How did secularism become a question of concern? How, for whom, and to what effect did modernity become a specific concern in the region?
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Elfenbein
HIS 267 - Islam in the Modern Era 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: REL 267 . This course explores Islamic traditions during the modern period (post-1800), focusing especially on the way that modern colonialism and imperialism transformed life in Muslim communities in South Asia and the Middle East. We will explore this general issue through more specific topics such as historical change in Islamic legal traditions and in the place of religion in economic and political life in Muslim communities.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 , REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Elfenbein
HIS 268 - Islam and Gender 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: REL 268 . This course explores Islamic discourses about wo/men and gender in Islam, focusing attention on the processes by which the Muslim community has articulated and policed gender-specific ideals over time, particularly as they relate to: community identity, conceptions of cultural authenticity, the interpretation of the foundational sources of Islam and legal traditions. We will give significant attention to these issues as they pertain to 19th and 20th century debates about “re-forming” Muslim women.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 , REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Elfenbein
HIS 271 - Imperial Collisions in the Asia-Pacific 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course is intended to introduce students to the modern history of East Asia. We will focus primarily on empire, or the construction of large-scale political, economic, and military structures through which human populations and other resources of statecraft were mobilized in the service of expansionist agendas throughout the modern age. Case studies will focus on the Qing empire, the British and French empires, the Empire of Great Japan, and Cold War-era Pacific alliances. In the latter case, we will also debate whether empire or imperial systems have survived into the present day - a question with important consequences for how we think about our own relationship to earlier historical moments. Finally, this course will address the relationship between national revolutions and anti-imperial agendas, as well as recent (and some not-so-recent) events which have shaped East Asia’s contemporary economic resurgence.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Johnson
HIS 275 - China’s Revolutions 4 credits (Fall)
Revolutions taking place in 1911, 1927, 1949 have massively impacted the evolution of state-society relationships in China today. Each week, we will examine the forces which pushed forward China’s revolutionary process, the obstacles which revolution encountered, and the inequalities it created and re-created. Through close reading of primary documents we will answer questions such as - What does revolution mean? How can this concept be meaningfully applied to China? What are its contemporary legacies?
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Johnson
HIS 277 - China’s Rise 4 credits (Spring)
In 1949, Mao Zedong declared that “the Chinese people have stood up.” Twenty years later, Mao’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution brought China’s people to the precipice of disaster. Fast forward another twenty years, and China has once again “stood up” in the international community. How can we account for these changes? By focusing on foreign policy, political economy, and lived experience, this course addresses and evaluates China’s rise to great power status.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Johnson
HIS 281 - Science and Society 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course focuses on the rise of modern science in Europe and the Americas from roughly 1650 to 1900, exploring how revolutionary developments in the physical, biological and human sciences were connected to profound changes in the social and political world, such as the Enlightenment, the industrial revolution, new forms of imperialism and statecraft, work and leisure, democratic politics, and the growing emphasis on racial and sexual difference.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 , or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Guenther
HIS 295-01 - Special Topic: Native American History (1877 to Present) 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines the struggles of Native peoples in asserting indigenous sovereignty while simultaneously acknowledging their connections to the United States. Focusing on some well-known events and people, like Little Big Horn and Geronimo, and many lesser-known people and events, like Thomas Sloan and the Indian Reorganization Act, this course examines persistence and change as Native peoples in the United States grappled with issues of sovereignty and citizenship from the 1870s to the present.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Lacson
HIS 295-01 - Special Topic: Sex in American History 4 credits (Fall)
This course moves thematically through the American past, from the colonial era through the 20th century, to explore the history of the American sexual experience. Students will consider changes, contradictions, and continuities in sexual ideals as well as the complicated realities of sexual experiences. Topics include the invention of sexualities, courtship and marriage customs, sexual citizenship, sex work, deviant desires, visions of alternate sexual systems, sexual violence, and more.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Lewis
HIS 295-02 - Special Topic: Global Cultural Encounters, 1419-1788 4 credits (Fall)
After 1419 new technologies of navigation, trade, communication, and warfare facilitated increasing contact and conflict between culturally distinctive peoples. This course will explore significant encounters between conquistadors and warriors, diplomats and merchants, missionaries and mandarins, slaves and aristocrats, translators and inquisitors, and men and women, in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. How did these meetings shape the dawn of the global age?
Prerequisite: HIS 100 or second-year standing.
Instructor: Pollnitz
HIS 314-01 - US Civil War: History and Memory 4 credits (Fall)
Students in this seminar will complete major research projects about the U.S. Civil War and/or its presence in public memory. The Civil War was a major watershed event, and students will study a number of important recent trends and debates in its historiography before defining their own topics of research. We will consider new approaches to analyzing the military, economic, social, gender, and racial dimensions of the war as well as topics such as popular culture, geography, immigration, and transnational history. In addition to studying the war itself, students will also consider how Civil War commemorations continued to shape U.S. history and culture during Reconstruction and beyond.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 and HIS 214 .
Instructor: Purcell
HIS 322-01 - 20th Century American Sexualities 4 credits (Spring)
Students in this seminar will explore the history of sex and sexuality in the twentieth century United States. We will identify changes, contradictions, and continuities in sexual ideals as well as the even more complicated realities of Americans’ sexual experiences. Topics will include desire, pleasure, violence, marriage, dating, identity, laws, cultures, and more. Students will begin the semester by engaging in a close reading of historical texts, both primary and secondary, to establish a shared foundation in the historiography of this period. Students will conclude the semester by producing a 20-page research paper and a 15-minute presentation of their original historical research into this era. Shorter writing assignments will be completed throughout the semester. Students will be expected to mine digital archives as well as traditional collections in order to locate sufficient primary sources for their project.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 and HIS 222 , HIS 295-01 , or GWS 211 .
Instructor: Lewis
HIS 325-01 - American Indian Reservations 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines the history of American Indian reservations from the late-nineteenth century to the present. The common readings will introduce students to the origins and major historical problems of reservation history, especially the tricky task of defining the relationship between American Indian reservations and the United States. Specifically, we will examine the end of treaty-making between the United States and Indian tribes, allotment of Indian land, federal assimilation programs, boarding schools, the meaning of U.S. citizenship for Native peoples, and the opportunities and challenges of casinos.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 and any 200-level history course.
Instructor: Lacson
HIS 331-01 - Making Knowledge in Early Modern Europe 4 credits (Spring)
A knowledge explosion took place in Europe between 1450 and 1700. Its powder keg was stocked with newly recovered ancient texts, with stories from Europeans’ encounters with the New World, and with the results of the observation and experimental interrogations of nature. Independent research projects will examine the effects of the media revolution-the development of print culture-which ignited and sustained the blast of this “information age” in Europe and beyond.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 and HIS 232 , HIS 234 , or HIS 281 . With permission, students may substitute HIS 232, 234,281 with relevant coursework in classics, renaissance, or early modern studies.
Instructor: Pollnitz
HIS 334-01 - Decolonization 4 credits (Spring)
In the decades following the Second World War, the political status of more than a quarter of the world’s land mass and population was transformed from colonies into nation states with surprising speed and far-reaching ramifications. In this seminar we will explore some of the debates surrounding the timing, causality, character, and consequences of this phenomenon and consider how historical actors impacted and were impacted by the changing relationship of metropolitan centers and colonial peripheries. Themes will include anti-colonial nationalism; labor militancy; agrarian change; settler colonialism; migration and displacement; post-colonial identities; and the roots of global development. Common texts and student research projects will focus on the political, social, intellectual, and cultural dimensions of the end of empire in British Africa and South Asia, as well as in Britain itself; students with relevant background may also pursue a topic related to another national/geographic context.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 and HIS 235 , HIS 236 , HIS 261 , HIS 262 , or HIS 266 .
Instructor: Prevost
HIS 336-01 - The European Metropolis 4 credits (Fall)
This seminar takes as its starting point the explosion of large cities in Europe from the mid-nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries. As the narrative goes, parallel political and economic revolutions made possible-–even inevitable-–the blossoming of entirely new spaces characterized by unprecedented population density and diversity, radical shifts in architecture and infrastructure, and vertiginous social and cultural developments. We examine this phenomenon by concentrating upon the ways in which artists and intellectuals in London, Paris, Vienna, and Berlin (and occasionally elsewhere) grappled with the idea and the experience of the metropolis. Our investigations include political developments, social theory, the visual arts, film, literature, architecture, consumer culture, and music. Among the myriad of qualities and tensions inherent in the modern urban experience, we consider community and alienation, the fluidity of the self, spectacle and entertainment, disease and criminality, gender, and class.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 and HIS 236 , HIS 237 , HIS 238 , HIS 239 , or HIS 241 .
Instructor: Maynard
HIS 342-01 - Stalinism 4 credits (Fall)
This seminar will examine the political, social, and cultural history of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, with a particular focus on the 1930s. The first half of the course will feature a series of common readings on topics such as the rise of Stalin’s dictatorship, the Great Terror of the 1930s, and the drive to collectivize Soviet agriculture and industrialize the economy; we’ll discuss the nature of everyday life and social identity under Stalin, look at the impact of propaganda and revolutionary ideology on the values and mindset of the population, and debate whether Stalinism represented the continuation of the revolution or a divergence from its ideals. After looking at a set of representative primary sources (such as oral histories, memoirs, and diaries), students will then produce a research paper in the second half of the semester, delving into some aspect of Soviet society and politics under Stalin.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 and HIS 242 or HIS 244 .
Instructor: Cohn
HIS 371-01 - Propaganda! Political Persuasion and Communication in the Modern World 4 credits (Fall)
The history of propaganda requires study across numerous regions and disciplines. While conventional understandings of the term refer to the content of ideologies and worldviews, in this course we will be examining the structures, policies, and research agendas which have shaped propaganda as a tool of modern politics. To study propaganda is to open a unique door onto the connections between government, military affairs, and social institutions. Because “propaganda” is also a label used to discredit the truth claims of rival political and social actors, we will also be examining a variety of case studies including, but not limited to, public relations, advertising, perception management, information operations, psychological warfare, political communication and other systems of human behavioral engineering which have emerged during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. As we will see, one of the enduring questions which haunts this field is whether propaganda actually works, under what conditions, and how these effects may be convincingly measured. While this is not a course on communications theory per se, it is one which will require an open mind, an ability to think comparatively across a wide range of historical and disciplinary contexts, and a willingness to consider carefully what the sources tell us about past and present politics in the information age.
Prerequisite: HIS 100 and one 200-level non-U.S./Europe history course.
Instructor: Johnson
HIS 382 - Advanced Tutorial: Modern Classics of Historical Writing 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course surveys of some great works of historical scholarship. It will be useful to students who are considering graduate studies, but it is intended for all students who would like to improve their ability to write analytically and argue persuasively. The course will be taught in Oxford tutorial style, in small group meetings with the instructor, and will involve frequent short writing assignments. It will also serve as useful preparation to all advanced seminars in history.
Prerequisite: Two 200-level History courses.
Instructor: Staff
HIS 499 - Mentored Advanced Project 2 or 4 credits
A history MAP allows students to undertake advanced research and produce original knowledge on a topic of historical significance, and often follows work begun in a 300-level history seminar. To have their projects approved, students must demonstrate that they are already familiar with the most important scholarly works published in their proposed field of inquiry and identify the primary source base that will comprise the core of their research. MAP proposals, which must be submitted to the history department chair at least one week before they are due at the Office of the Registrar, should include an essay of 1,200–1,500 words to explain the historical problem to be investigated and the questions left open by existing research in the field, a bibliography detailed enough to demonstrate that the project is feasible, and the final form the project will take. With permission, the 499 may be used to fulfill the second 300-level requirement for the major, provided supervision takes place under a different professor than the student worked with in the other 300-level seminar, and the results are presented satisfactorily to a colloquium of students and faculty.
Prerequisite: See additional information on Mentored Advanced Projects.
Instructor: StaffHumanities
HUM 101 - Humanities I: The Ancient Greek World 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A foundation for further study in the liberal arts, developing skills of critical reading, writing, and imaginative thinking through the study of selected works from ancient Greece. Readings include Homeric epic, tragic drama, Platonic dialogues, Thucydides’ History and Aristotle’s Poetics.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
HUM 102 - Humanities II: Roman and Early Christian Culture 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Major works of Roman and early Christian culture, exploring private and public paths to happiness from Cicero’s ideal commonwealth to the City of God. Readings include Virgil’s Aeneid, Stoic and Epicurean philosophy, satire and drama, Christian scripture, St. Augustine, and Boethius. Emphasis on close reading, discussion, and short essay assignments.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
HUM 140 - Medieval and Renaissance Culture: 1100–1650 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: SST 140 . This interdisciplinary course explores European culture and the social and political forces that shaped it between 1100 and 1650, paying special attention to feudalism and the Crusades, the intellectual efflorescence of the 12th and 13th centuries, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the advent of the Scientific Revolution. In our exploration of medieval and Renaissance culture we will draw on art, science, literature, political theory, philosophy and theology, music, the writings of mystics, and advice manuals for heads of households and would-be courtiers.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
HUM 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: An Introduction to Museum Studies 4 credits (Fall)
See ART 195-01 .
HUM 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Origins of Liberal Education 4 credits (Spring)
For over 2000 years, liberal education has shaped cultural, political, religious, and economic life in the west. This course will interrogate its global development and ask whether ancient texts offer new perspectives on contemporary debates about the value of the liberal arts and sciences. Students will analyze literature, visual arts, architecture, and public spectacles created between 500BC-1800AD. The class will travel to Italy and Spain during Spring Break and Mexico and Peru after exams.
Prerequisite: TUT-100. Prerequisite or co-requisite: SPN-105 or higher level Spanish. Preference will be given to students who have taken or are taking courses in Modern European Languages, History, Classisc, or Art History.
Note: An application will be required during Fall 2015.
Instructor: Perez, Pollnitz
HUM 195-02 - Introductory Special Topic: Tolerance and Intolerance: What is Enlightenment Today? 4 credits (Spring)
Contemporary Europe seems to be facing a new wave of intolerance: religious extremism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and outbreaks of violence against people of different beliefs and cultures. Some have compared the violence to the Religious Wars of the sixteenth century. Others have called for a renewed commitment to the Enlightenment values of the eighteenth century. In this first-year seminar, we will look at the history of intolerance in Europe, with a particular focus on Germany and France, beginning with the Reformation and continuing to the present. We will consider the arguments articulated in favor of tolerance by writers like Montaigne, Locke, Voltaire, Kant and Mendelsohn. We will look at how concepts of nation, race, ethnicity, secularism, and language continue to shape today’s debates, such as those about immigration, the headscarf, and Charlie Hebdo. We will also consider the differences and similarities between Western Europe and the United States. Our goal is to try to understand the opportunities, as well as the dilemmas, that face societies that have a hetergeneous population. At the end of the semester, the students will travel with instructors to sites in France, Germany, and Austria to gain more in-depth knowledge of these issues.
Prerequisite: First-year standing.
Instructor: Reynolds, Harrison
HUM 251 - Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 251 . This course takes a theoretical approach to canonical and contemporary children’s literature. Content is variable, but may include The Young Adult Problem Novel, Dystopian Fiction for the Young Adult Reader, and Constructions of Race, Slavery, Class and Gender in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: A course in English or another course in literature.
Instructor: Staff
HUM 251-01 - Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: GLS 251-01 . This course will take a theoretical approach to canonical and contemporary children’s literature. In 2015, “Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature” will focus on the “problem novel” for teens (ages 13-18), its evolution in the United States, and its manifestations in other cultures and nations. This year we will consider translated teen fiction from Scandinavia after reading and discussing the American problem novel and its development in the twentieth century. Are the concerns of teenagers presented universally to readers of different cultures? Or do national or cultural mores take precedence when writing for teens?
Prerequisite: A course in English or another course in literature.
Instructor: Herold
HUM 251-01 - Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 251-01 . This course takes a theoretical approach to canonical and contemporary children’s literature. This section will focus primarily on the history of constructions of race and gender in American children’s literature.
Prerequisite: A course in English or another course is literature.
Instructor: Greene
HUM 295-01 - Special Topic: Gender, Power and Peace
See SST 295-06 .
HUM 295-02 - Special Topic: Race, Cinema and the National Imaginary
See SST 295-07 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
HUM 295-02 - Special Topic: Sustainable Journal Publishing 4 credits (Spring)
See SST 295-06 .
HUM 295-03 - Special Topic: Gender, Power and Peace 4 credits (Spring)
See SST 295-07 .
HUM 295-03 - Special Topic: Learning Leadership from Literature 1 credits (Fall)
See SST 295-08 .
HUM 295-04 - Special Topic: Race, Cinema, and the National Imaginary
See SST 295-08 .
HUM 295-05 - Special Topic: Ethnographic Film
See SST 295-09 .
HUM 350 - Freedom and Authority: The Control of Reproduction 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: SCI 350 and SST 350 . How do social, biological, and cultural constraints affect decisions about reproduction? How do social institutions set and enforce the boundaries of what is possible and permissible? How do practices of reproduction generate meaning for human existence? This seminar examines conflicts between the freedom of the individual to make decisions about reproduction and the internal and external authorities of biology, evolution, the family, the state, health care systems, criminal justice systems, and religious hierarchies.
Prerequisite: Third-year or senior standing and completion of a four-credit course at the 200 level or above creditable to a major in the division of registration.
Note: Not offered every year
Instructor: StaffLatin American Studies
LAS 111 - Introduction to Latin American Studies 4 credits (Spring)
This discussion-based, interdisciplinary Latin American studies course approaches “culture” broadly to include a wide spectrum of everyday experiences, and provides students with a solid foundation for subsequent academic work in the region. The course begins with an overview of definitions of “Latin America” and of its current state as an object of interdisciplinary study, and then explores contemporary issues (i.e. state repression, human rights, immigration) via various disciplines (humanities and social sciences) and genres (i.e., academic essays, narrative journalism, testimonio).
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Aparicio, Benoist
LAS 221 - Introduction to U.S. Latin@ Studies 4 credits (Fall)
This interdisciplinary course explores the varied historical, cultural, and political experiences of Latin@ in the United States. Some of the main organizing themes include immigration and the construction of immigrant-based communities and identities, gender and sexuality, racial/ethnic constructions, language, and popular culture and media representations. In an effort to place the experience of diverse Latin@ populations in social, political, historical, and cultural/national perspectives, students will review a wide variety of readings and conduct their own research projects. Taught in English.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
LAS 499 - Senior Research 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An interdisciplinary senior research project for students completing the concentration in Latin American Studies. Credits earned each semester must fulfill program requirements as specified in program description. May be repeated in consecutive semesters by a student pursuing a single research project.
Prerequisite: Permission of the concentration committee required.
See additional information on Mentored Advanced Projects.
Instructor: Staff Linguistics
LIN 114 - Introduction to General Linguistics 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
What is language and how is it studied scientifically? This survey course provides an introduction to the core subfields of linguistics - phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics - and how these areas integrate with one another in the study of language and society, language acquisition, language technologies, and language change. Our goal is to determine what it means to ‘know’ a language and to examine how language is acquired, produced, and processed.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
LIN 205 - Computational Linguistics 4 credits (Fall)
See CSC 205 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
LIN 216 - Syntax 4 credits (Spring)
This course investigates the syntax of human language, or the portion of language knowledge that deals with the structure and word order of sentences. We will examine the ways in which we can create scientific models to explain these structures, and we will attempt to use these models to make predictions about the representation of language in the mind.
Prerequisite: LIN 114 .
Instructor: Hansen
LIN 250 - Language Contact 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See ANT 250 .
LIN 295-01 - Special Topic: Introduction to Indo-European 4 credits (Spring)
See CLS 295-01 .
LIN 317 - Language Change 4 credits (Spring)
This course investigates the nature of language change and the principles developed by linguistics to account for these changes. We will examine the various domains in which change occurs (phonological, morphological, syntactic, and lexical/semantic), and the social and linguistic motivations for change. The course will address the methods used to determine the earlier profile of a language or its parent language; students will use these methods in their own research projects.
Prerequisite: LIN 216 , LIN 295-Lingustic Typology (offered Fall 2014), or LIN 295-01 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Hansen
LIN 397 - Independent Study 2 credits
(see Courses of Study: Individual Study )
LIN 499 - Senior Research Project: Mentored Advanced Project 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An interdisciplinary senior research project for students completing the concentration in linguistics. Besides the principal mentor, there will be one or, upon recommendation of the concentration committee, two additional readers. A public presentation is required for it to be counted as an advanced core requirement.
Prerequisite: See additional information on Mentored Advanced Projects.
Instructor: StaffMathematics and Statistics
MAT 115 - Introduction to Statistics 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Cross-listed as: SST 115 . Introduces the notions of variability and uncertainty and such common statistical concepts as point and interval estimation and hypothesis testing. Data-oriented, with real-world examples chosen from the social and biological sciences. The computer is used for data analysis and to illustrate probabilistic and statistical concepts. A student who takes MAT-115 cannot receive credit for MAT 209 .
Prerequisite: Two years of high school algebra and second semester of first-year standing.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 123 - Functions and Differential Calculus 4 credits (Fall)
An introductory course in mathematics and the first in a two-course sequence. This first semester is an introduction to the differential calculus of functions of one variable with an extensive review of precalculus topics such as algebra and functions. This review, together with an emphasis on developing problem-solving skills, is designed to help students learn to do mathematics at the college level. MAT 123-MAT 124 has the same calculus content as MAT 131 .
Prerequisite: Two years of high school algebra.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 124 - Functions and Integral Calculus 4 credits (Spring)
A continuation of MAT 123 . An introduction to the integral calculus of functions of one variable. Topics include the definite integral, techniques of integration, and applications of the integral. Successful completion of this course prepares students for MAT 133 .
Prerequisite: MAT 123 .
Instructor: Staff
MAT 131 - Calculus I 4 credits (Fall)
The first in a two-course sequence. An introduction to the differential and integral calculus of functions of one variable. Also introduces a few concepts and methods of differential equations.
Prerequisite: Good preparation, including trigonometry, or departmental placement.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 133 - Calculus II 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A continuation of MAT 131 . Topics include functions of more than one variable: partial and total derivatives, multiple integrals, vector-valued functions, and parametrized curves. Additional topics may include applications to differential equations, line integrals, and Green’s Theorem.
Prerequisite: Mathematics MAT 124 or MAT 131 .
Instructor: Staff
MAT 208 - Discrete Structures 4 credits (Spring)
See CSC 208 .
MAT 209 - Applied Statistics 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
The course covers the application of basic statistical methods such as univariate graphics and summary statistics, basic statistical inference for one and two samples, linear regression (simple and multiple), one- and two-way ANOVA, and categorical data analysis. Students use statistical software to analyze data and conduct simulations. A student who takes Mathematics 209 cannot receive credit for MAT 115 .
Prerequisite: MAT 124 or MAT 131 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 215 - Linear Algebra 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A unified study of the concepts underlying linear systems and linear transformations and of the techniques for using them. Topics: matrix algebra, rank, orthogonality, vector spaces and dimension, eigenvectors and eigenvalues. Typical applications: fitting lines and curves to data, Markov processes, linear differential equations.
Prerequisite: MAT 133 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 218 - Combinatorics 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
An introduction to the basic objects, numbers, and techniques of combinatorics. Includes combinations, permutations, partitions, and graphs; binomial and other coefficients; inclusion-exclusion, recurrence relations, and generating functions and series. The course will emphasize proof writing and basic logic.
Prerequisite: MAT 215 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 220 - Differential Equations 4 credits (Spring)
First and second order differential equations; series solutions and Fourier series; linear and nonlinear systems of differential equations; applications.
Prerequisite: MAT 215 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 222 - Geometry 4 credits (Fall)
A study of Euclidean geometry and various non-Euclidean geometries. All topics will be motivated from an axiomatic standpoint, then specific models satisfying certain sets of axioms will be studied. The course will emphasize proof writing and basic logic.
Prerequisite: MAT 215 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 246 - Elementary Number Theory 4 credits (Spring)
The course covers divisibility questions among integers, elementary properties of prime numbers, the unique factorization theorem of positive integers, congruences, the Chinese remainder theorem, Fermat’s little theorem, Diophantine equations, and quadratic reciprocity. The course will emphasize proof writing and basic logic.
Prerequisite: MAT 215 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 271 - Problem-Solving Seminar 1 credits (Fall)
Students solve challenging mathematics problems and present solutions. Prepares students to take the Putnam Examination, if they wish. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite or co-requisite: Completion of, or concurrent registration in
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 295-01 - Special Topic: Differential Geometry 4 credits (Fall)
Einstein showed that gravity may be viewed as curvature of space-time. Curvature makes sense when we view a surface from outside, but how can we understand or study curvature from within a space? This course will introduce the tools mathematicians use for such study, and will thus serve as the mathematical background needed for understanding General Relativity. Topics will include tangent spaces and vector fields, differential forms, tensors, Lie derivatives, geodesics, and the Riemannian connection.
Prerequisite: MAT 133 and MAT 215 .
Instructor: French
MAT 306 - Mathematical Modeling 4 credits (Spring)
An introduction to the process and techniques of modeling “real-world” situations, using topics from linear algebra and differential equations. Appropriate mathematics, including numerical methods, developed when needed. Models drawn from both the social and natural sciences.
Prerequisite: MAT 220 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year. Offered in alternate years.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 309 - Design and Analysis of Experiments 4 credits (Spring)
In addition to a short review of hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and 1-way ANOVA, this course incorporates experiments from several disciplines to explore design and analysis techniques. Topics include factorial designs, block designs (including latin square and split plot designs), random, fixed, and mixed effects models, crossed and nested factors, contrasts, checking assumptions, and proper analysis when assumptions are not met.
Prerequisite: MAT 209 or MAT 336 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year. Offered in alternate years.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 310 - Statistical Modeling 4 credits (Fall)
This course will focus on investigative statistics labs emphasizing the process of data collection and data analysis relevant for science, social science, and mathematics students. This course incorporates case studies from current events and interdisciplinary research, taking a problem-based approach to learn how to determine which statistical techniques are appropriate. Topics will typically include nonparametric tests, designing an experiment, and generalized linear models.
Prerequisite: MAT 209 or MAT 336 .
Instructor: Staff
MAT 314 - Topics in Applied Mathematics 4 credits (Spring)
Topics include, but are not limited to, one of the following: Chaos and Fractals (one- and two-dimensional discrete dynamics, iterated function systems, fractal dimension), Fourier Analysis (fast Fourier transform, Fourier series, wavelets), or Partial Differential Equations (heat and wave equation, eigenfunction expansions). May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Varies depending on topic.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Offered in alternate years.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 316 - Foundations of Analysis 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A thorough study of the topology of the real line and of limits of functions of one real variable. This theory is then used to develop the theory of the derivative and integral of functions of one real variable and also sequences and series of real numbers and functions.
Prerequisite: MAT 218 , MAT 222 , or MAT 246 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 321 - Foundations of Abstract Algebra 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
The study of algebraic structures, with emphasis on formal systems such as groups, rings, and fields.
Prerequisite: MAT 218 , MAT 222 , or MAT 246 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 324 - Algebraic Number Theory 4 credits (Spring)
An exploration of the use of algebraic techniques to answer questions in number theory. The course studies ideals, quotients, and factorization properties of the integers and their generalizations. The Gaussian integers and the rings of integers in quadratic and cyclotomic number fields, along with the unique factorization of ideals into prime ideals, will be emphasized.
Prerequisite: MAT 321 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 326 - Field Theory 4 credits (Spring)
The study of fields, algebraic extensions, finite and cyclotomic fields, geometric constructions and Galois theory.
Prerequisite: MAT 321 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 331 - Topology 4 credits (Fall)
General and/or metric topology. Fundamental theorems on continuous mappings and on compact and connected sets. Particular emphasis on the real line and Euclidean n-space.
Prerequisite: MAT 316 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year. Offered in alternate years.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 335 - Probability and Statistics I 4 credits (Fall)
An introduction to the mathematical theory of probability and statistical inference. Discrete and continuous distributions, as well as sampling distributions and the limit theorems of probability, will be introduced. The importance of randomization and simulation for computing statistical probabilities will be explored.
Prerequisite: MAT 215 ; and MAT 209 , or MAT 218 , or MAT 220 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 336 - Probability and Statistics II 4 credits (Spring)
A systematic treatment of mathematical statistics based on probability theory. Topics will include: principles of estimation and hypothesis testing, chi-square tests, linear models including regression and analysis of variance, and nonparametric inference. A variety of applications will be considered.
Prerequisite: MAT 335 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 338 - Complex Analysis 4 credits (Fall)
Theory of analytic functions of a complex variable, based on a preliminary study of the complex number system.
Prerequisite: MAT 316 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year. Offered in alternate years.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 444 - Senior Seminar 4 credits (Spring)
Advanced course with varying content. Strongly recommended for students considering further work in mathematics and statistics. May be repeated for credit when content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Will vary depending on topic.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
MAT 444-01 - Senior Seminar: Mathematical Logic 4 credits (Spring)
The study of first-order logic using the tools of mathematics, together with applications of first-order logic to mathematics itself. We will study both syntactic and semantic notions of implication, and prove the Soundness and Completeness theorems connecting these concepts. We will also explore basic model theory, such as definability, back-and-forth arguments, and the Lowenheim-Skolem theorem. Applications to random graphs, algebraically closed fields, and nonstandard analysis will be included. Finally, we will develop some axiomatic set theory (with an emphasis on ordinals, cardinals, and the Axiom of Choice), and end with a discussion of the First Incompleteness Theorem.
Prerequisite: MAT 321 . MAT 316 is also strongly recommended.
Instructor: MiletiMusic
MUS 101 - Practicum: Performance Ensembles 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
The study of musical repertory, technique, and expression through regular ensemble rehearsals and public performances. One credit is awarded for each participation in a musical organization directed by the department. Does not count toward music major. Practicum may be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Note: Students may participate in MUS 101 without registering, with permission of instructor. A maximum of eight practicum credits may count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 are included in the 48-credit maximum in the department. S/D/F only.
Instructor: Staff
MUS 101-02 - Oratorio Society 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Singing in the Oratorio Society is an excellent way to develop your musical skills, and once you have refined those skills in singing, in listening to others, in reading pitches and rhythms, choral singing can be a rewarding activity for your entire lifetime. The Oratorio Society draws together students, faculty, and staff of the college, people from the town of Grinnell, and nearby cities such as Newton and Malcolm. In recent years, the Oratorio Society has performed many of the masterpieces from the choral literature, such as the Brahms Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem and Grand Mass in C Minor, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Bach’s Magnificat, Verdi’s Requiem, and Britten’s monumental War Requiem. In addition to performing these major works, the choir also has expanded its activity beyond the confines of classical music. In the spring of 2012, for example, the Oratorio Society participated in thrilling performances of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts, in collaboration with the Grinnell Jazz Ensemble. In the 2012-13 season, we presented The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass, by Carol Barnett, in collaboration with an outstanding bluegrass string band from Minneapolis, Monroe Crossing, and Orff’s Carmina Burana, in collaboration with the Grinnell Singers, Grinnell Symphony, and Ottumwa Symphony. Originally founded in 1901, the Grinnell Oratorio Society was, in the early decades of the 20th Century, one of Iowa’s most auspicious musical institutions. Edward Scheve (1865-1924), a composer of symphonies, concertos, oratorios, and chamber music, established the choir as an outgrowth of the music conservatory that was then part of Grinnell College.
Prerequisite: None.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Rommereim
MUS 101-03 - Collegium Musicum 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
The Collegium Musicum is dedicated to the performance of Early Music (the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, & Classical periods of Western European music history) using historically appropriate techniques and instruments. It provides a hands-on way of learning about music history, exploring the beautiful but less often heard music of earlier periods while developing aural skills such as sight-reading. The ensemble includes both singers and instrumentalists, divided into several groups according to repertoire and experience level. Each group meets for approximately one hour per week. Instrumentalists perform on the College’s outstanding collection of replica period instruments. Since many of these are ancestors of modern instruments, students can often transfer their knowledge of modern technique fairly easily. Both group and individual instruction is provided.
Prerequisite: Ability to read music notation; no prior knowledge of Early Music required. Audition required.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Brown
MUS 101-04 - Grinnell Singers 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
The Grinnell Singers is a select ensemble that performs distinguished choral music from a wide variety of traditions, with repertoire that spans five centuries – from Brahms to Bluegrass, from Renaissance England to twenty-first century New York. Each year brings new, adventurous projects. Highlights for 2012-13 included: hosting one of Cuba’s foremost professional choirs, performing Carol Barnett’s celebrated Bluegrass Mass, traveling on a Spring-Break tour to Chicago, Ann Arbor, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, and New York, and participating in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. This year’s season will include a collaboration The Lyra Consort, a professional period-instrument orchestra from Minneapolis, in a performance of Handel’s oratorio, Esther. The ensemble has also commissioned major composers, including Pulitzer Prize winner Steven Stucky and, in 2012, the rising star Mohammed Fairouz. For more enterprising musicians, the ensemble affords excellent opportunities for leadership. The assistant conductor and section leaders play important roles, and thereby the students gain valuable experience in conducting and rehearsal management. An elected choir council actively shapes the choir’s work. In addition to their ambitious musical activities, the Grinnell Singers pursue service projects, and they aspire to create a supportive, cohesive organization that serves as a positive force both for its members and for the community at large.
Prerequisite: Ability to read music notation. Audition required.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Rommereim
MUS 101-06 - Grinnell Symphony Orchestra (Fall and Spring)
The Grinnell Symphony Orchestra is a full symphonic ensemble comprised of student musicians representing all disciplines within the college who are unified by a love of music and a dedication to the art of orchestral performance. The GSO typically gives from five to seven performances each season, including a wide range of music from the Baroque era to the 21st Century. Full orchestra rehearsals are held on Monday and Wednesday afternoons and one-hour sectional rehearsals for strings, woodwinds, and brass are held on Wednesday evenings. Woodwind, brass, and percussion players are often only needed in rehearsal for a portion of the rehearsal time each week. Specific schedules are distributed at the beginning of each week
Prerequisite: Ability to read music notation. Audition required.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: McIntyre
MUS 101-07 - Latin American Ensemble 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
The Latin American Ensemble of Grinnell College was founded in the fall of 2001. Primarily comprised of college students, the Ensemble has performed a variety of styles of latin music including bolero, bossa nova, cha cha cha, tango, and Brazilian folk song. In addition to the end-of-semester concerts, the ensemble has performed for a variety of local organizations: as part of “cruise night” at the retirement and nursing home community; as a complement to a Brazilian art exhibit at the Faulconer Gallery; for the Cinco de Mayo celebration at a local restaurant; and as part of the annual talent show organized by the College’s International Student Organization.
Prerequisite: Ability to read music notation (except for singers/percussionists). Audition required.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Espinosa
MUS 101-08 - Percussion, Marimba, and Steel Pan Ensemble 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
The Grinnell Percussion, Marimba, and Steel Pan Ensemble is dedicated to exploring the world of music through the eyes of percussion. Grinnell is home to one of the largest and most diverse collections of percussion instruments in the country. Beyond standard concert percussion instruments like marimba and xylophone, instruments from Brazil, to Ghana, to Trinidad can be found at Grinnell. It is because of this extensive collection of instruments that the ensemble has the ability to perform a wide variety of music. Whether performing a Bach Chorale transcribed for Marimba, an avant-garde work written for percussion by John Cage, a Bob Marley classic on the sweet sound of Steel Pans, or a Radiohead tune completely played on percussion instruments, there is something for everyone in this ensemble. The ensemble meets every Tuesday from 7-9 p.m. in BCA 103 and culminates in a concert at the end of the semester. Under new direction as of the fall 2012 semester, the ensemble expects to grow, developing a presence on campus and in the community. No previous experience in percussion or reading musical notation is required, although it is strongly encouraged that those with no experience consider pairing this ensemble with a weekly private lesson (MUS 120-08) to help further enrich your experience.
Prerequisite: No previous musical experience required. No audition required.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Bostwick
MUS 101-10 - YGB Gospel Choir 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
The Young, Gifted and Black Gospel Choir, open to students of all backgrounds, has a 45-year history on the Grinnell campus. The name of the choir was taken from a work entitled “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black” by the famous black writer Lorraine Hansberry. The choir has members from many different cultures, nationalities, and races, using diversity as a bond. YGB strives to create a place where “men will judge men by their souls, and not by their skins” (W.E.B. DuBois), while continuing the tradition of celebrating Black American culture through Gospel Music. Through a bond of “cultural uniformity,” the choir ministers to a variety of audiences with a wide selection of sacred music, including spirituals and traditional and contemporary gospel. The group sings for the monthly Black Church services at Herrick Chapel. It also performs concerts around campus; its 2012 tour included churches in Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi, and Texas.
Prerequisite: No previous musical experience required. No audition required.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Jones
MUS 101-14 - Chamber Ensembles 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Chamber Ensembles at Grinnell College explore music composed for small groups, performed without a conductor. Many composers from Mozart and Beethoven to Shostakovic and Philip Glass, have written some of their best compositions for small ensembles. String quartets and piano trios form the core of the repertoire, but there are many other possible combinations of strings, keyboards, and winds. Each player has an individual part and learns to be musically independent, while also being sensitive to the others in the group. Weekly coachings are supplemented by independent rehearsals, and culminate in two or more performances each semester. Visiting artists, such as the Pacifica, Brentano, American and St. Lawrence string quartets, give outstanding master classes.
Prerequisite: Ability to read music notation. Audition required.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: N. Gaub
MUS 101-17 - Jazz Ensemble 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
The Grinnell Jazz Ensemble is open to instrumentalists (and occasionally vocalists) who are interested in the study and performance of jazz works from the large ensemble tradition. The ensemble performs music from a wide variety of jazz-related styles, and frequently performs works by both veteran and contemporary jazz composers. Past concerts have included compositions by composers such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Sammy Nestico, Miles Davis, and Charles Mingus, Maria Schneider, Gordon Goodwin, Thad Jones and Oliver Nelson.Visiting artists, such as Matt Harris and Marcus Belgrave, give outstanding master classes and clinics.
Prerequisite: Ability to read music notation, competency on chosen instrument, and prior experience with jazz music. Audition required.
Note: The group rehearses 4 hours weekly and customarily performs twice per semester. S/D/F only.
Instructor: Espinosa
MUS 101-19 - Symphonic Concert Band 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
The Grinnell Symphonic Band is open to instrumentalists who are interested in the study and performance of the wind band medium in the large ensemble tradition. The group performs music from a wide variety of styles by both national and international composers. The band strives to develop advanced techniques of musical expression and interpretation. Past concerts have included works by composers such as Percy Grainger, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Philip Sousa, Eric Whitacre, Alfred Reed, Giovanni Gabrieli, Norman Dello Joio, Karl King, John Williams, and Felix Mendelssohn.
Prerequisite: Ability to read music notation, competency on chosen instrument, and prior experience with concert music. No audition required.
Note: The group rehearses Monday evenings: 7:00-9:00 pm and customarily performs twice per semester. S/D/F only.
Instructor: Lutch
MUS 101-20 - Zimbabwean Mbira Ensemble 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
The mbira is a handheld instrument with metal keys struck with the thumbs and right index finger played in the Shona community of Zimbabwe. In our ensemble, students will focus on instrumental instruction, but will also learn how to sing in the appropriate style and play the hosho, a set of gourd rattles, as their interests take them. There is no written music and everything is learned aurally. The primary goal is to learn the specifics of technique and style for this instrument and to play as a group. The mbira is a participatory instrument and is rarely performed solo, thus the rewards of collective music-making are emphasized. The mbira repertoire is a rich body of songs dedicated to the ancestral spirits for whom they are played. Learning the mbira with others can be a rewarding musical and social experience that will hopefully last longer than your College career.
Prerequisite: No previous musical experience required. No audition required.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Perman
MUS 109 - Musicianship 2 credits (Fall)
Teaches the basics of music notation (including reading and writing in treble and bass clef) and music fundamentals (including scales and intervals); also develops complementary aural skills. Includes aural and written exercises and creative projects in performance and composition. Prepares students to enroll in MUS 112 . Also recommended for those enrolling in music lessons and ensembles.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Cha
MUS 110 - Introduction to Western Music 4 credits (Fall)
A survey of Western art music from Gregorian chant to postmodernism, intended to enrich and inform listening experience. Examination of musical elements including rhythm, melody, and texture; and consideration of stylistic eras, representative composers, major genres, and forms. Emphasis on developing critical listening skills.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: E. Gaub
MUS 111 - Aural Skills I 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Development of aural understanding through singing, dictation, conducting, and improvisation. Topics include identification and singing of diatonic intervals and triads, singing of diatonic melodies using “moveable do” solfège, notation of diatonic melodies and chord progressions by dictation, improvisation of short melodic patterns, and basic conducting patterns.
Prerequisite: None. Normally taken in conjunction with MUS 112 , this course may also be taken separately.
Instructor: Staff
MUS 112 - Harmony 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
The study of how individual chords are combined to create a piece of tonal music. Focuses on developing the ear and analytical/creative skills to enhance appreciation, performance, and compositional imitation of Western music of the 18th and 19th centuries. Required keyboard lab meets outside regular class time. Students enrolling in MUS 112 should be able to read and write music notation fluently in both treble and bass clefs and have a working knowledge of intervals, scales, triads, and major/minor keys. All students wishing to take MUS-112 must take the Music Theory Placement Test offered before the beginning of each semester.
Co-requisite: MUS-112 Lab
Prerequisite or co-requisite: MUS 111 .
Instructor: Cha
MUS 116 - Music, Culture, Context 4 credits (Spring)
This course explores our globalized musical present and the major forces (social, political, economic, technological) that have shaped it over the last few centuries. Attention is focused on music-making as a form of human activity within and between cultures. Course content ranges over musics of diverse times and places. No prior experience in music is needed.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Perman
MUS 120 - Performance: Private Instruction 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Private lessons in instrumental or vocal music, intended for beginning to intermediate students. Weekly 30-minute private lessons totaling seven hours of instruction per semester. Practice expectation: minimum of 30 minutes per day. One credit for each area studied, e.g., voice, piano, flute, etc. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Credits earned for music lessons are NOT counted in the number of credits that determine whether a student is liable for an “overload” fee (over 18 credits). For music lesson fees, see Expenses and Financial Aid. A maximum of 16 credits in Music 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 will count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 are included in the 48-credit maximum in the department.
Instructor: Staff
MUS 122 - Performance: Group Instruction 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Group lessons in instrumental, vocal music, world hand drumming, flute, etc. intended for beginning to intermediate students. Weekly 60-minute small-group lessons totaling 14 hours of instruction per semester. Practice expectation: minimum of 30 minutes per day. One credit for each area studied, e.g., world hand drumming, flute, etc. Does not count toward the music major. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Credits earned for music lessons are NOT counted in the number of credits that determine whether a student is liable for an “overload” fee (over 18 credits). For music lesson fees, see Expenses and Financial Aid. A maximum of 16 credits in Music 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 will count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 are included in the 48-credit maximum in the department.
Instructor: Staff
MUS 201 - Topics in Music and Culture 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Detailed study of the relationship between music and a particular aspect of culture. Possible areas to be covered include music and ritual, music and language, music and technology, music and politics, gender and music, and mythology and music. May be repeated for credit if content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Consult registration materials for prerequisites.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
MUS 201-01 - Topics in Music and Culture: Music, Sexuality and Other “Dangerous” Things 4 credits (Spring)
Music has been a sociocultural forum for producing, reproducing, circulating, and consuming ideologies of sexuality, gender, body, and desire. This course explores how music in Western culture has been associated with these “dangerous” things, drawing on readings in musicology, music theory, semiotics, feminist theory, queer studies, and other related disciplines. The topics to be covered include (but are not limited to): music and society; music and body; castrati; feminine and masculine music; lesbian and gay music; and music as a locus for negotiating gender, sexuality, and identity. (Each participant in this course is required to lead a class discussion, to write a critical book review, and to write and present a research paper on a topic of her or his choice.)
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Cha
MUS 201-02 - Topics in Music and Culture: Listening to Music 4 credits (Spring)
In this course we examine the music listening experience from a broad range of perspectives, consider strategies and approaches designed to hone greater listening skills, and explore the way music listening functions as an essential part of shared human experience. Students will read articles in fields such as music theory, philosophy, neuroscience, and psychology, paired with group discussions and guided listening sessions of a broad range of musical styles. Written assignments include a listening journal, short response essays, and in-class listening exams. Our inquiry will explore the perspectives of composers, performers, audio engineers, promoters, and critics and their relationship with music listeners. The class will also consider specific topics, such as the dominance of text/lyrics in popular music, emotional expression, and the roles that individual elements such as timbre, rhythm/meter, and musical form play in conveying musical meaning.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: McIntyre
MUS 202 - Topics in American Music 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Detailed study of a particular musical tradition in the United States. Possible areas to be covered include rock music, Latino music, music of black Americans, and American popular music. May be repeated for credit if content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Consult registration materials for prerequisites.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
MUS 202-01 - Topics in American Music: Popular Music 4 credits (Fall)
This course examines the confluence of popular music, culture, and society in North America from 1890 to present. The class is primarily organized around genre - itself a key concept in popular music studies - moving from late 19th-Century minstrelsy through blues, country, rock and roll, punk, and contemporary hip hop. As we explore the musical development of each genre, we will use music as a means to begin to unravel the web of racialized, gendered, sexualized, and class-based relationships that have characterized North American culture through the twentieth century and into the twenty-first.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Laver
MUS 202-02 - Topics in American Music: Sound Material, Sound Art 4 credits (Fall)
This interdisciplinary studio course explores sound as an artistic medium. Through a series of creative prompts, the course investigates the unique opportunities and challenges that this “immaterial material” affords. From musique concrète to investigations of the boundaries between noise, silence, and music, we will explore how diverse historical movements and moments have shaped the relatively new and necessarily broad contemporary field described as ‘sound art’.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Aresty
MUS 203 - Regional Studies in World Music 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An exploration of music and its linkages to other facets of life in a particular geographic/cultural region of the world. Possible regional foci include Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. May be repeated for credit if content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Prerequisites will vary depending on topic. Consult registration materials for prerequisite.
Instructor: Perman
MUS 203-01 - Regional Studies in World Music: African Music 4 credits (Fall)
This class introduces students to a diverse range of African musical practices from combined ethnomusicology and anthropological perspectives. Topics include music and spirituality, African Christianity, music, politics and the state, urbanization and popular culture, colonialism, and recent questions centered on modernity, globalization and music in Africa. We will examine the role of performance in political life, the nature of spirituality in performance, the relationship of modernity and tradition, and the role of music in shaping contemporary life in postcolonial Africa. We explore the diversity of musical practices on the African continent through intensive readings, engaged listening with audio and video recordings, and discussion.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Perman
MUS 204 - The Jazz Tradition in America 4 credits (Spring)
The history of jazz traces the development of jazz from its African and European roots to contemporary style. Through reading and listening assignments, major styles and prominent musicians will be discussed. Primarily examines jazz from a sociocultural perspective.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Espinosa
MUS 212 - Aural Skills II 1 credits (Spring)
Development of aural understanding through singing, dictation, conducting, and improvisation. Topics include identification and singing of chromatic intervals and harmonies, singing of chromatic melodies using “moveable do” solfège, notation of chromatic and modulating melodies and chord progressions by dictation, improvisation of phrase and period structures, conducting patterns, and aural analysis of binary and ternary forms.
Prerequisite: MUS 111 or placement test. Normally taken in conjunction with MUS 213 , this course may also be taken separately.
Instructor: N. Gaub
MUS 213 - Form and Analysis 4 credits (Spring)
Examines the structure of 18th- and 19th-century music and completes the study of harmony begun in MUS 112 . Includes critical analysis of entire movements and composition based on tonal models.
Co-requisite: Concurrent registration in MUS 212
Prerequisite: MUS 112
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: E. Gaub
MUS 214 - Advanced Aural Skills 1 credits (Fall or Spring)
Development of aural understanding through singing, dictation, conducting, and improvisation, according to the needs of students as established through a diagnostic exam. Topics may include chromaticism, modes, atonality, and score reading, as well as topics from Music 111 and 212 on which students need additional work. May be repeated once for credit.
Prerequisite: MUS 111 , or MUS 212 , or placement test.
Instructor: Staff
MUS 215 - Introduction to Composition 4 credits (Fall)
Students learn and apply recent techniques of composition. Expands on the compositional experiences of MUS 112 by opening students to the exploration of contemporary tonal, serial, and experimental musical styles and dealing with matters of orchestration and music form.
Prerequisite: MUS 112 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: E. McIntyre, Rommereim
MUS 216 - Jazz Improvisation 4 credits (Fall)
An integral part of the jazz tradition, improvisation is a necessary skill for the successful performer in the jazz idiom. This course will serve to familiarize the student with the basics of jazz harmony and improvisation, including the reading of chord symbols, basic jazz repertoire, stylizing melody, and the correlation between the ear and performance in jazz. In addition, this course will serve as an introduction to the various styles commonly employed in jazz (including swing, latin, and ballad) and as a means to explore the application of skill in jazz improvisation to the performance of current forms of popular music (rock, pop, funk, etc.). The basics of protocols for performance in a jazz setting will also be covered.
Prerequisite: MUS 112 .
Instructor: Staff
MUS 217 - Conducting 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An introduction to the art of conducting with emphasis on advanced score reading and analysis, fundamental physical technique, rehearsal techniques, and ensemble leadership. Students will have opportunities to conduct ensembles of various types and sizes, including readings with the Grinnell Symphony Orchestra.
Prerequisite: MUS 213 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: E. McIntyre, Rommereim
MUS 219 - Electronic Music 4 credits (Spring)
History and techniques of electronic and computer music. Topics include compositional aesthetics, recording technology, digital and analog synthesis, sampling, MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), and computer-assisted composition. Focuses on the creation of finished works to be presented in public concert.
Prerequisite: MUS 112 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Rommereim
MUS 220 - Performance: Advanced Private Instruction 2 credits (Fall and Spring)
Private lessons in instrumental or vocal music, intended for intermediate to advanced students. The study of performance combined with considerations of history, analysis, and style. Weekly 30-minute lessons totaling seven hours of instruction per semester. Practice expectation: minimum of one hour per day. Performance requirement: at least one performance in a department-sponsored recital or repertoire class per semester. Two credits for each area studied. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Note: Credits earned for music lessons are NOT counted in the number of credits that determine whether a student is liable for an “overload” fee (over 18 credits). For music lesson fees, see Expenses and Financial Aid. A maximum of 16 credits in Music 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 will count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 are included in the 48-credit maximum in the department.
Instructor: Staff
MUS 221 - Performance: Advanced Private Instruction 2 credits (Fall and Spring)
Private lessons in instrumental or vocal music, intended for intermediate to advanced students. The study of performance combined with considerations of history, analysis, and style. Weekly 60-minute lessons totaling 14 hours of instruction per semester. Practice expectation: minimum of one hour per day. Performance requirement: at least one performance in a department-sponsored recital or repertoire class per semester. Two credits for each area studied. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Note: Credits earned for music lessons are NOT counted in the number of credits that determine whether a student is liable for an “overload” fee (over 18 credits). For music lesson fees, see Expenses and Financial Aid. A maximum of 16 credits in Music 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 will count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 are included in the 48-credit maximum in the department.
Instructor: Staff
MUS 261 - Western Music to 1750 4 credits (Fall)
An intensive survey of Western European music from the time of the Ancient Greeks to the death of Bach, designed as a foundation for more advanced study of music. This course explores both canonical and off-the-beaten-path repertory through intensive listening and musical analysis. It also examines the historical events and intellectual/aesthetic ideas that influenced musical composition/performance and the changing roles music played in society. Students develop their ability to put into words what their ears are hearing, to analyze and interpret primary and secondary source documents, and to correlate aural and written forms of data. The course introduces students to the principal research tools and methods in the field of musicology, and provides hands-on application of historical information through in-class performances and demonstrations using Grinnell’s outstanding collection of historical instruments.
Prerequisite: MUS 112 and MUS 213 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Brown
MUS 262 - Western Music From 1750 to the Present 4 credits (Spring)
An intensive survey of Western European and American music from the early 18th century to the present, designed as a foundation for more advanced study of music. This course explores both canonical and off-the-beaten-path repertory through intensive listening and musical analysis. It also examines the historical events and intellectual/aesthetic ideas that influenced musical composition/performance and the changing roles music played in society. Students develop their ability to put into words what their ears are hearing, to analyze and interpret primary and secondary source documents, and to correlate aural and written forms of data. The course introduces students to the principal research tools and methods in the field of musicology, and provides hands-on application of historical information through in-class performances and demonstrations using Grinnell’s outstanding collection of historical instruments.
Prerequisite: MUS 112 and MUS 213 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Brown
MUS 322 - Advanced Studies in Music History and Literature 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
In-depth study of a particular area of the field broadly known as musicology, which comprises music history, ethnomusicology, music theory, and various subdisciplines such as performance practice, music cognition, semiotics, aesthetics, editing and source studies, and criticism. Possible topics include Music of the English Renaissance, Baroque Improvisation, Mozart’s Operas, Late Beethoven, Music and Nationalism, Music and Meaning, Music and the Colonial Experience, Rhythm Theories, Mathematical Theories of Music, and Feminist Musicology. May be repeated for credit if content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: MUS 112 and either MUS 261 or MUS 262 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
MUS 323 - Orchestration 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course will focus on practical exercises in arranging pre-existing music for orchestral instruments. Students will learn about the techniques and capabilities of modern orchestral instruments through the study of representative scores, demonstrations of musical instruments by Grinnell students and faculty, and orchestration exercises in a variety of compositional styles from the classical period to the present. Students will learn to use music notation software for producing professional quality scores and parts.
Prerequisite: MUS 112 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: E. McIntyre
MUS 324 - Tonal Counterpoint 4 credits (Fall)
A study of 18th-century contrapuntal techniques through writing and analyzing two- and three-voice counterpoints, two- and three-part inventions, and three- and four-part fugues. The course will focus on the keyboard works of J. S. Bach, in which tonal counterpoint reached its highest level of sophistication. Work for class includes readings in the textbook, listening and analysis, frequent written exercises, and two larger projects as well as midterm and final exams.
Prerequisite: MUS 112 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Cha, Rommereim
MUS 325 - Composition Seminar 4 credits (Spring)
A course for students who wish to develop their skills and possibly prepare for graduate study or professional work as composers. In addition to composition assignments, students will engage in thorough analysis of important works, discussions of compositional aesthetics, and explorations on a broad range of professional topics, including career options, performance opportunities, grant-writing, and commissions.
Prerequisite: MUS 215 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: E. McIntyre, Rommereim
MUS 326 - Jazz Composition and Arranging 4 credits (Spring)
This course will serve to familiarize the student with the basic concepts and techniques used in modern jazz composition and arrangement. The most prominent areas covered in this course will include jazz theory and harmony, instrumental transpositions, techniques in part harmonization (starting from two-part and ending with five-part writing), understanding the extended techniques of each instrument and the application of the skills covered in the course to music styles outside of jazz (pop, rock, funk, etc.). These objectives will be reached through detailed study of basic jazz composition and related texts, the listening and transcription of existing arrangements/compositions within the jazz idiom and the practical application of acquired skills in the creation of student compositions and arrangements.
Prerequisite: MUS 112 and MUS 213 .
Instructor: Staff
MUS 420 - Performance: Recital 2 credits (Fall or Spring)
An advanced and intensive study of music literature through private tutorial instruction in a single area of instrumental or vocal music. The study of performance related to advanced studies in criticism, history, analysis, and style. Weekly 60-minute lessons totaling 14 hours of instruction per semester. Practice expectation: minimum of 60 minutes per day. Performance requirement: a full recital. May be repeated once for credit.
Prerequisite: Third-year or senior standing, MUS 220 or MUS 221 in the semester prior to registration, instructor’s consent, and signature of department chair.
Note: Credits earned for music lessons are NOTE counted in the number of credits that determine whether a student is liable for an “overload” (over 18 credits). For music lesson fees, see Financial Regulations. A maximum of 16 credits in Music 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 will count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, and 420 are included in the 48-credit maximum in the department.
Instructor: StaffNeuroscience
NRS 250 - Neuroscience: Foundations, Future, and Fallacies 4 credits (Spring)
This course introduces the historical and theoretical foundations of neuroscience. Topics will range broadly from questions at the molecular and cellular level to those of organismal behavior; and consideration will be given to how traditional disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and psychology have helped inform the field. The course will trace the development of neuroscience, considering both its successes and failures, as a means for appreciating its future directions. Three classes, one laboratory per week.
Prerequisite: Two 100-level science courses (with laboratories); must be from two different departments.
Instructor: Tracy
NRS 495 - Neuroscience Seminar 4 credits (Fall)
The seminar provides the culmination of the neuroscience concentration. As a recapitulation of the interdisciplinary nature of the field, a significant problem in the field will be chosen for study, and students will be exposed to multiple approaches to address this problem. The course will focus on analysis of relevant primary literature with an emphasis on student-led discussion. A major writing project in the course will integrate the student’s coursework in the concentration.
Prerequisite: NRS 250 , completion of or concurrent enrollment in the cross-divisional elective, and senior standing. Limited to neuroscience concentrators.
Instructor: LindgrenPhilosophy
PHI 101 - Logic 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An introduction to the formal rules of reasoning, with extensive practice in identification and analysis of types of argument and in evaluation of the validity of arguments. Topics include: the construction of arguments, the relation of ordinary language to standard logical form, inductive reasoning (including hypotheses, generalization, analogy, and probability), deductive reasoning, the syllogism, validity, truth, formal fallacies, nonformal fallacies, and practical applications of the rules of logic. An introduction to complex syllogisms and to symbolic notation may be included, but extensive treatment of these topics is reserved for PHI 102 .
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: J. Cummins, Neisser
PHI 102 - Symbolic Logic 4 credits (Fall)
A study of the formalization of complex arguments, in particular those involving quantification and relations, using principles of deduction in sentential and predicate logic. Course may also explore the semantics of the formal system.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Fennell
PHI 106 - Contemporary Ethical Issues 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Designed to develop the ability to think philosophically about moral issues by examining ethical problems. Topics may include gender, abortion, class, race, affirmative action, and the environment. The course also examines some leading ethical and/or social theories in conjunction with these topics.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Dobe, Neisser, Nyden
PHI 111 - Introduction to Philosophy 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Designed to develop the habit of philosophical thinking by pursuing perennial problems as raised and developed throughout the history of philosophy. Readings include selections from Plato, Descartes, Hume, Kant, and other thinkers, including an introductory section on some basic principles of logical thinking.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
PHI 135 - Philosophy and Literature 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 135 . A general introduction to philosophical issues and topics through works of fiction. Readings include novels, short stories, and drama by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Voltaire, Goethe, Dostoevsky, Ibsen, Sartre, Camus, Borges, Kafka, Duras, Piercy, and others.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
PHI 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: The Nature of Money 4 credits (Spring)
Money can be anything in human culture that functions as a unit of account, store of value, and medium of exchange. But this makes the following question notoriously difficult to answer: what is money? In this course, we investigate the nature of what has been called money, making use of historical, philosophical, and anthropological materials to approach the metaphysical, epistemological, and political problems caused by the ambiguous nature of money.
Prerequisite: None
Instructor: Ramey
PHI 215 - Existentialism 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
A study of the major existentialist thinkers of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Camus, and others. Readings will include philosophical and literary texts that explore issues including the nature of the self and its relations with others, freedom and responsibility, anxiety, transcendence, ambiguity, and the absurd.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Neisser
PHI 231 - History of Ancient Philosophy 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: CLS 231 . A study of the philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome. Traces the growth of Western philosophy from its origins in the sixth century BCE through the third century CE. Includes examination of the Presocratics, Sophists, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicureans, Stoics, Sceptics, and Plotinus.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 or HUM 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: J. Cummins
PHI 233 - History of Early Modern Philosophy 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
A study of the intellectual world of the early modern period. Readings may include works by Descartes, Hobbes, Anne Conway, Princess Elizabeth, Leibniz, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. Particular attention will be given to the complex relations between philosophy, science, religion, and politics during this period.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option in English or Foreign Language available.
Instructor: Nyden, J. Dobe
PHI 234 - 19th-Century Continental Philosophy 4 credits (Fall)
Survey of the major figures in 19th-century philosophy, emphasizing themes that lead to developments in 20th-century phenomenology, existentialism, and poststructuralism. Readings include selections from Hegel’s Phenomenology, Kierkegaard’s writings, Marx’s philosophical and political works, several texts of Nietzsche, and short works from the hermeneutic tradition.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option in English or Foreign Language available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ramey
PHI 235 - 20th-Century Continental Philosophy 4 credits (Spring)
Examination of the major themes in phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, poststructuralism, and feminism. Readings may include works by Husserl, Heidegger, Habermas, Merleau-Ponty, Sartre, Beauvoir, Derrida, Foucault, Lyotard, and Cixous. Special attention will be focused on connections between philosophy and recent developments in humanities and social sciences.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option in English or Foreign Language available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ramey
PHI 242 - Ethical Theory 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Examination of several problems that arise in ethical theory. Questions included for consideration are the identity of the moral self, the issues of moral relativism and how to ground norms, the question of the nature of the virtues and their relationship to one another, and the question of whether gender might be morally significant.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: J. Dobe
PHI 245 - Philosophy of Art 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Designed as a survey of theories of art and beauty, this course acquaints students with influential aesthetic theories in the history of Western philosophy and relates them to more recent theoretical developments in the arts.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 ; courses in the arts emphasizing theoretical issues may substitute for PHI 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: J. Dobe
PHI 253 - Philosophy of Mind 4 credits (Fall)
Examination of several issues in philosophy of mind. Topics include the metaphysics of mind (the mind-body problem, dualism, functionalism, eliminativism, and the computer paradigm), intentionality (internalism and externalism), and consciousness (subjectivity, the nature of qualitative experience). Readings from Descartes, Ryle, Smart, D. Lewis, Putnam, Dennett, Quine, Davidson, Searle, Churchland, Fodor, and Nagel.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Fennell, Neisser
PHI 254 - Metaphysics 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Examination of several issues in metaphysics, with an emphasis on contemporary discussions in the Anglo-American tradition. Topics may include, among others: freedom and determinism, personal identity, causality, materialism vs. idealism, realism vs. anti-realism, mereology (part vs. whole), modality (necessity and possibility), universals and particulars, substance, time and identity. On occasion, the semester may be devoted to a more extensive examination of a single metaphysical problem. Readings will vary depending on the problems addressed. With approval from the department chair, may be taken more than once if the topic has changed sufficiently.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Fennell, Neisser, Nyden
PHI 255 - History of Scientific Thought 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course focuses on scientific change in 16th and 17th-century Europe — what is often called “the scientific revolution.” Particular attention will be paid to the relationships between science, philosophy, religion, and politics. We will focus on three incompatible alternatives to the Aristotelian science taught in the universities: that of Bacon, Galileo, and Descartes. Next we will turn our attention to Boyle, who attempted to consolidate these alternatives into one coherent program called mechanical or corpuscular philosophy. We will end our historical study with an examination of arguably the most important scientific figure of the period, Isaac Newton. The course will end with the larger philosophical question of what a scientific revolution is and whether the events of early modern Europe qualify.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Nyden
PHI 256 - Philosophy of Language and Cognition 4 credits (Spring)
A survey of the major issues in contemporary philosophy of language, as well as an examination of the major assumptions of empirical theories of language and cognition. Readings include works by Frege, Russell, Carnap, Ayer, Wittgenstein, Kripke, Putnam, Quine, Davidson, and Chomsky. Topics include theories of meaning, the nature of reference, and the cognitivist approach to mind and language.
Prerequisite: PHI 102 or PHI 111 , or LIN 114 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Fennell
PHI 257 - Philosophy of Science 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An examination of the foundations of scientific inference (induction and confirmation), the nature of scientific explanation, the structure of theories, and scientific methodology. Discussion includes the possibility of objective knowledge and the nature of scientific revolutions.
Prerequisite: PHI 102 or PHI 111 , or background in a science.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
PHI 258 - Classical and Contemporary American Pragmatism 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
A study of the major figures in classical and contemporary American pragmatism. Topics included for consideration are: what is the pragmatic method; how does it engage traditional philosophical questions; and what is its relation to other key philosophical approaches, such as logical positivism and realism. Readings may include selections from Peirce, James, Dewey, Mead, C.I. Lewis, Carnap, Ayer, Quine, Davidson, Rorty, Putnam, and Nagel.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Fennell
PHI 261 - Philosophy of Race and Gender 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course examines the relationship between modern conceptions of race and gender from philosophical perspectives that may include historical materialism, phenomenology, critical theory, postcolonial theory, and whiteness studies. We will study the social construction of race and gender, as well as the way these concepts inform theories of the subject. Finally, we will consider how race and gender identities have become sites for pleasure, creativity, and productivity.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
PHI 263 - Political Theory I 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: POL 263 and CLS 263 . A selective introduction to the major concepts and themes of Western political philosophy from classical Greece to the Renaissance. Topics may include: human nature, the basis of society, the purpose and justification of government, types of government and their relative merits, the function of law, political virtues, and the civic role of religion.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 , POL 101 , HIS 255 , CLS 255 , HIS 257 , CLS 257 , HIS 258 , CLS 258 , HUM 101 , HUM 102 , HUM 140 , or SST 140
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: J. Cummins
PHI 264 - Political Theory II 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: POL 264 . A study of the central themes and concepts articulated by political theorists since Machiavelli. Focus will be on theories of human nature, social relationships, conceptions of justice, and the operations of power. May be repeated once for credit when content changes.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 or POL 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option in English or Foreign Language available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Meehan
PHI 265 - Psychoanalysis and the Intersubjective Constitution of the Self 4 credits (Fall)
This class will consider the psychic/social processes of the constitution of the self. We will read highly theoretical texts from the psychoanalytic tradition, including works by Freud, Jessica Benjamin, Judith Butler, Hortense Spillers, Steven Mitchell, and Cornelius Castoriadis. We will study the way gender, race, and class become aspects of our individual and collective psychic identities, consider the role of power in the constitution of identity, and search for possibilities of individual and social psychic resistance.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Meehan
PHI 268 - Cultural Critique: Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, and Beyond 4 credits (Fall)
Students begin by examining several key texts of the 19th century by Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud that lay the groundwork for the “Critique of Ideology” that has evolved in the 20th century into the interdisciplinary field of “Cultural Critique.” Focusing on thinkers who have fused the critical perspectives of Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud, students explore the works of the Frankfurt School (Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin), structuralism (Althusser, Bataille), and poststructuralism (Foucault, Deleuze, Agamben, Butler).
Prerequisite: PHI 111 ; and one 200-level course in Philosophy, Political Science, or History.
Note: Plus-2 option in English or Foreign Language available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ramey
PHI 271 - Neurophilosophy 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course examines the current “neuroscientific image” of mind and person, investigating the conceptual and ethical issues it raises. Neurophilosophy involves both the application of neurobiological findings to philosophical questions and the application of philosophical critique to the findings of neuroscience. Questions include: What is the neural basis of mental representation, consciousness, and the self? Is psychology reducible to neurobiology? What legal and ethical issues attend the new techniques of neural monitoring and intervention?
Prerequisite: PHI 111 ; courses in neuroscience may substitute for PHI 111 with consent of the instructor.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Neisser
PHI 295-01 - Special Topic: Personal Identity: East and West 4 credits (Spring)
What makes a particular person that person? Is personal identity preserved over time? How do persons experience “self”? What role does cultural experience play? How do neurological differences affect experiences of self and other? We will examine texts from the history of Asian and European philosophy, as well as from more recent Analytic and Continental thinkers. Examples of philosophers discussed may include Mencius, Hsün-Tzu, Chuang-Tze, Dogen, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, Parfit, Nagel, Gadamer, Dubois, and Anzaldúa.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 .
Instructor: Nyden
PHI 295-01 - Special Topic: Politics and Aesthetics 4 credits (Fall)
Beginning with an exploration of the Frankford School critique of the early entertainment industry (Benjamin, Horkheimer and Adorno), this class explores the shifting relations in the 20th and 21st century between sensory experience and political ideology. Topics include the role of the artistic avant-garde in revolutionary politics, capitalism as a culture of “spectacles,” the role of games and play in social life, and the politics of the digital interface and big data. Authors may include, Plato, Marcuse, Debord, Foucault, Baudrillard, Zizek, Rancière, Wark and Galloway.
Prerequisite: One 100-level philosophy course.
Instructor: Ramey
PHI 295-02 - Special Topic: Intersubjectivity: Communication and Recognition 4 credits (Spring)
Where do our notions of the right and the just come from? Can they be defended when criticized? How are they rearticulated, reformulated, or renewed in the course of time? In this course we will study Jurgen Habermas’ and Axel Honneth’s answers to these questions. Habermas, Frankfurt school author of many books including The Theory of Communicative Action, analyzes the structure of human communication and develops a theory of justice, and Honneth, building on Habermas’s work, develops a theory of social recognition. Together they offer theoretical resources that can be helpful when thinking about complex national and trans-national questions about social justice, equality and difference. In this course we will study the fundamentals of their theories. Readings will include a range of Habermas’ and Honneth’s books including The Theory of Communicative Ethics, Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action, The Unfinished Project of Modernity, The Critique of Power: Reflective Stages in Critical Social Theory, The Struggle for Recognition, The We in the I, and Freedom’s Right.
Prerequisite: PHI 111 , PHI 264 , or POL 264 .
Instructor: Meehan
PHI 336 - Contemporary French Philosophy 4 credits (Spring)
A detailed study of French philosophy since 1960. Possible topics include structuralism, deconstruction, poststructuralism, and postmodernism. Focus on issues of interdisciplinary concern, addressing questions of textuality, psychoanalysis, and politics. Readings may include works by Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze, Lyotard, Cixous, and Irigaray, among others. May be repeated for credit if content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: PHI 234 , or PHI 235 , or PHI 268 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ramey
PHI 336-01 - Contemporary French Philosophy 4 credits (Spring)
“Politics After Deleuze and Guattari.” This seminar will begin with a close reading of the 2-volume “Capitalism and Schizophrenia” project undertaken by French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari during the 1970’s and in response to the social and political upheavals of May, 1968. Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus will be carefully read in conjunction with key background texts in anthropology, psychoanalysis, and political economy. The course will then proceed to investigate a number of contemporary political and economic problems from this perspective, including the hegemony of neoliberal ideology, the rise of the security state, the ethics and politics of debt and austerity, and the rise of new social movements since the 2008 financial crisis. Critics and commentators on the work of Deleuze and Guattari will be read during the second half of the seminar.
Prerequisite: PHI 234 , PHI 235 , or PHI 268 .
Instructor: Ramey
PHI 352 - Philosophy of Religion 4 credits (Spring)
See REL 352 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
PHI 391 - Advanced Studies in Continental Philosophy 4 credits (Spring)
An advanced investigation of a single author, text, issue, or problem in continental philosophy. Content of the course announced each year. With permission of instructor, may be repeated for credit when content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Prerequisites will vary depending on topic; at least one 200-level course.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Meehan, Ramey
PHI 392 - Advanced Studies in Anglo-American Philosophy 4 credits (Fall)
An advanced investigation of a topic, text, or author in the analytic or Anglo-American tradition. Content of the course announced each year. With permission of instructor, may be repeated for credit when content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Prerequisites will vary depending on topic; at least one 200-level course.
Instructor: Fennell, Neisser
PHI 392-01 - Advanced Studies in Anglo-American Philosophy: Sellars and his Legacy (Fall) 4 credits (Fall)
A philosopher’s philosopher, Wilfred Sellars is among the most influential (and difficult) figures of twentieth century philosophy. Works such as Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind signaled a sea change in the analytic tradition, pushing it beyond its initial commitment to logical positivism. Sellars’ legacy is his powerful synoptic vision of philosophy, sometimes called Inferentialism, which juggles metaphysical naturalism with a commitment to normativity. His ideas have been taken up by other leading figures such as John McDowell, Robert Brandom and Richard Rorty. In this seminar we will investigate Sellars’ views, both in their original context and in their continuing relevance today.
Prerequisite: PHI 253 , PHI 254 , PHI 256 , PHI 257 , or PHI 258 .
Instructor: Neisser
PHI 393 - Advanced Studies in History of Philosophy 4 credits (Fall)
An advanced investigation of a single author, text, issue, or problem in the history of philosophy. Content of the course announced each year. With permission of instructor, may be repeated for credit when content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Prerequisites will vary depending on topic; at least one 200-level philosophy course.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: J. Cummins, Nyden
PHI 393-01 - Advanced Studies: Descartes and Cartesianism 4 credits (Fall)
This course will examine Descartes’ philosophical system, paying particular attention to his metaphysics, epistemology, and how they lay the groundwork for his physics. We will begin with The World and Treatise on Man, and then spend the bulk of the semester doing an in-depth reading of The Principles. The course will end with readings from and about several of his earliest followers.
Prerequisite: PHI 233 .
Instructor: Nyden
PHI 394 - Advanced Studies in Theories of Value 4 credits (Spring)
An advanced investigation of a single author, text, issue, or problem that addresses theories of value (ethics, politics, aesthetics, interdisciplinary studies). Content of the course announced each year. With permission of instructor, may be repeated for credit when content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Prerequisites will vary depending on topic; at least one 200-level philosophy course.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Meehan
PHI 491 - Senior Essay 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
The preparation and writing of an original piece of philosophical work, not to exceed 7,500 words in length, based upon primary or secondary sources. Seniors must obtain approval of a department member as adviser for the essay and the department chair before the end of the semester preceding that during which the essay will be written.
Prerequisite: Senior standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: StaffPhysical Education
PHE 100 - Physical Education Activity Instruction (Practica) Variable credits (Fall or Spring)
1/2 or 1 credit (See schedule of courses for credit option)
| Aerobics |
Introductory Kayaking |
| Advanced Baseball |
Lifeguard Training |
| Advanced Racquetball |
Pickleball |
| Advanced Tennis |
Power Walking |
| Advanced Weightlifting |
Rock Climbing |
| Basketball Skills |
Spinning |
| Beginning Racquetball |
Standard First Aid |
| Beginning Swimming |
Swimming Technique |
| Beginning Tennis |
Training for Your First 5K |
|
|
Triathlon Training |
| Bowling |
Volleyball |
| Cardio Core |
Water Aerobics |
| Conditioning |
Wellness |
| Floor Hockey |
Women’s Health |
| Golf |
Yoga |
| Indoor Soccer |
|
Note: May be taken without credit. S/D/F only.
PHE 101 - Sport Performance: Intercollegiate Competitive (Practica) 1/2 per season credits (Fall and Spring)
| For men: |
|
For women: |
|
| Baseball |
Indoor Track |
Basketball |
Soccer |
| Basketball |
Outdoor Track |
Cross Country |
Softball |
| Cross Country |
Soccer |
Golf |
Swimming |
| Football |
Swimming |
Indoor Track |
Tennis |
| Golf |
Tennis |
Outdoor Track |
Volleyball |
Note: May be taken without credit. S/D/F only.
PHE 112 - Outdoor Leadership 2 credits (Spring)
This 1/2 semester course course focuses on the more theoretical aspects of outdoor leadership. It does not cover activity skills. Topics include trip planning, minimum impact, learning theory, group dynamics, thinking critically in the outdoors, skill matching, risk management, and navigation. There will be labs in navigation and teaching.
Prerequisite: None. Speaking with the professor prior to registration is suggested.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Zeiss
PHE 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Off the Grid 2 credits (Spring)
Backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail, sailing across an ocean, living in a small African village, building a tiny house after you graduate from college; these may sound mostly unrelated, but a their heart, they all require off-grid living. This course will explore simple, individual, affordable technologies and methods that can be used to either live off the grid completely or decrease one’s reliance on the grid when living minimally.
Prerequisite: None.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Zeiss
PHE 200 - Organization and Administration of Athletics 4 credits (Fall)
Lecture and discussion concerning the function, organization, and administration of an athletic program. Includes philosophy and psychology of coaching.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Arseneault, Wallace
PHE 201 - Sport Theory Courses 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Fundamental principles and problems of coaching the designated sport and specific administrative considerations. Methods and techniques relevant to the sport, as well as management of equipment, facilities, practice sessions, and the game. Each unit is 14 class hours in length. Some sports have a double unit. Coaching certification requires at least one of these courses.
Unit 1. Football (Spring) - Staff.
Unit 2. Soccer (Fall) - Jaworski.
Unit 3. Volleyball - Staff.
Unit 4. Basketball (Fall) - Arseneault.
Unit 5. Baseball (Spring) - Hollibaugh.
Unit 6. Softball (Spring) - Staff.
Unit 7. Golf (Spring) - Wallace.
Unit 8. Cross Country and Track and Field (Spring) - W. Freeman.
Unit 9. Tennis (Spring) - Hamilton.
Prerequisite: none.
Note: Not offered every year
Instructor: Staff
PHE 202 - Coaching Methods 4 credits (Spring)
A comprehensive study of the components of coaching. Areas of emphasis include: philosophy of coaching; sport psychology; exercise science; practice planning; athletic management; and sport-specific training of tactics and techniques. Geared toward coaching youth and high school athletes. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a coaching endorsement from the American Sport Education Program (ASEP).
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Hollibaugh
PHE 211 - Foundations of Athletic Training 4 credits (Spring)
Specific to rehabilitation and the care and prevention of athletic injuries. Lectures plus laboratory sections.
Prerequisite: CPR/First Aid.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
PHE 213 - Lifeguard Instructor Training 2 credits (Spring)
This course is an advanced American Red Cross course providing students American Red Cross Instructor Authorization for Lifeguarding. Upon successful completion, student will be trained to teach basic-level Lifeguarding (including First Aid), Lifeguard Management and CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer.
Prerequisite: Current American Red Cross Lifeguarding certification
S/D/F only
Instructor: Hurley
PHE 235 - Psychological Foundations of Sport 4 credits (Spring)
An overview of various psychological concepts underlying sports performance. Pertinent social and philosophical issues also addressed. Topics include personality, anxiety and arousal, motivation, self-efficacy and confidence, individual and group dynamics, cohesion, and various cognitive intervention strategies.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: W. Freeman
PHE 236 - The Role of Sport in Society 4 credits (Spring)
The study of sport can be accomplished in many ways. At Grinnell College we approach the task from a social studies method. The faculty members who teach the sport courses are members of the physical education department, a part of the College’s social sciences division. The goal of the course is to offer students a theoretical base to study sport from a sociological standpoint and then to provide opportunity for students to engage in that study through various topics and exercises. At any given iteration of this course, there may be two or three professors teaching it and taking the students down different paths, depending on the background and interest areas of the faculty members. Topics of current focus are sport sociology theory and research, sport and the media, sports and athletic experience through the lens of gender, sex, and sexuality, the changing face of sport in 1960s America (race and class), the role of international sport and the Olympics, competition vs. cooperation.
Prerequisite: PHE 100 or second-semester standing.
Instructor: Freeman, HamiltonPhysics
PHY 109 - Physics in the Arts 4 credits
An investigation of a variety of physical principles that have interesting applications to musical acoustics and the visual arts. Topics include simple vibrating systems, musical instruments, Fourier analysis, light and color, optics, and photography. Intended primarily for nonscience majors. Laboratory work allows students to investigate phenomena firsthand. Three lectures, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Cunningham
PHY 116 - The Universe and Its Structure 4 credits (Fall)
Descriptive astronomy, covering the tools and methods of astronomy, the solar system, the stars, and the structure of the galaxy and the universe.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Kempton
PHY 131 - General Physics I 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
This course is the first part of a yearlong, calculus-based introductory physics sequence, focusing on the application of physical principles, logical reasoning, and mathematical analysis to understand a broad range of natural phenomena related to force and motion. Topics include Newtonian mechanics, conservation principles, gravity, and oscillation. This course meets for six hours each week and involves both classroom and laboratory work.
Prerequisite or co-requisite: MAT 124 or MAT 131 .
Instructor: Staff
PHY 132 - General Physics II 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
This course is the second part of a yearlong, calculus-based introductory physics sequence, focusing on the application of physical principles, logical reasoning, and mathematical analysis to understand a broad range of electromagnetic phenomena. Topics include electricity, magnetism, light, and early atomic theory. This course meets for six hours each week and involves both classroom and laboratory work.
Prerequisite: PHY 131 and MAT 124 or MAT 131 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: MAT 133 is recommended.
Instructor: Staff
PHY 180 - Bridges, Towers, and Skyscrapers 4 credits (Spring)
An investigation of large man-made structures (e.g., Brooklyn Bridge, Eiffel Tower, and Hancock Tower/Chicago), considering structural, social, and aesthetic aspects. The relationship between a structure’s form and its function is examined. Concepts from physics necessary for the quantitative analysis are presented. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: MAT 124 or MAT 131 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Cunningham
PHY 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Energy Strategies for the Future 1 credits (Spring)
For the past century, the world has thrived upon the incredible energy density of fossil fuels. The burning of which has released gases that warm the atmosphere, this means climate change is predominantly an energy challenge. We will investigate what efforts are needed to decarbonize our society and whether it is possible to do with increasing world consumption and population. We will profile alternative energy options and how these may fit in a decarbonized future.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Dates: April 5 to April 21. Short course deadlines apply.
Instructor: Staff
PHY 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: How to Learn Physics 4 credits (Fall)
See EDU 195-01 .
PHY 220 - Electronics 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
A course in modern electronics, emphasizing the use of integrated circuits. Topics include analog electronics, primarily the design of circuits based on operational amplifiers; digital electronics, including logic circuits, counters, and timers; and microcontroller interfacing using software written in low-level languages and C. Two lectures, two laboratories each week.
Prerequisite: PHY 132 , and some computer programming experience, and second-year standing.
Instructor: Tjossem
PHY 232 - Modern Physics 4 credits (Fall)
For students with an introductory physics background who wish to extend their knowledge of atomic, nuclear, and solid-state physics. Emphasis on the basic phenomena and fundamental physics principles involved in special relativity and quantum mechanics and their subsequent application to atomic, nuclear, and solid state models. Three classes, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: PHY 131 and PHY 132 Prerequisite or co-requisite: MAT 215
Instructor: Cunningham, Willig-Onwuachi
PHY 234 - Mechanics 4 credits (Spring)
A study of analytical mechanics, including Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms of particle dynamics, rigid body motion, and harmonic oscillations.
Prerequisite: PHY 131 and PHY 132 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: MAT 220 .
Instructor: Staff
PHY 295-01 - Special Topic: Mathematical Methods of Physics 4 credits (Spring)
An introduction to several mathematical techniques used in physics, including Hilbert spaces, general topological vector spaces, operator algebras, spectral theory and measure theory.
Prerequisite: MAT 215 .
Instructor: Gadella
PHY 310 - Computational Physics 2 credits (Fall)
An active-learning introduction to computing in physics. Class is taught in the laboratory, with each class session dedicated to a particular topic. These topics include investigations of numerical algorithms for integration, matrix manipulations, Fourier transforms, data fitting, and Monte Carlo methods.
Prerequisite: PHY 234 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
PHY 314 - Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
A study of thermodynamics from classical and statistical points of view. Applications of Maxwell-Boltzmann, Fermi-Dirac, and Bose-Einstein distributions are used to provide an introduction to solid-state physics and quantum optics.
Prerequisite: PHY 232 and MAT 220 .
Instructor: Kempton
PHY 335 - Electromagnetic Theory 4 credits (Fall)
An advanced treatment of electric and magnetic fields and potentials, including the laws of Coulomb, Ampere, and Faraday, Maxwell’s equations, and electromagnetic waves.
Prerequisite: PHY 234 .
Instructor: Staff
PHY 337 - Optics Wave Phenomena 4 credits (Spring)
A wide variety of physical problems — including one- and two-dimensional mechanical oscillating systems, sound, and optical phenomena — are examined using the theory of waves. The primary emphasis is on physical optics (interference and diffraction phenomena). Three lectures, one laboratory each week.
Prerequisite: PHY 335 .
Instructor: Cunningham, Willig-Onwuachi
PHY 340 - Astrophysics 2 credits (Spring)
An introduction to topics in theoretical and observational astrophysics, including stellar structure and evolution, the physics of interstellar material, galactic structure and dynamics, cosmology and observational technology and techniques. The course also includes a very brief survey of other topics, including the solar system and areas of current research interest.
Prerequisite: PHY 232 .
Instructor: Kempton, Rodriguez
PHY 360 - Solid State Physics 2 credits (Fall)
An introduction to the physics of crystalline solids, such as metals, semiconductors, and insulators. This course presents models of the crystal lattice, lattice vibrations, and electronic band structures, as well as a brief survey of selected topics of current research interest.
Prerequisite: PHY 232 .
Instructor: Cunningham
PHY 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Galactic Astrophysics and Cosmology 4 credits (Spring)
An introduction to the subject of galactic astrophysics and cosmology from a theoretical and observational perspective. Topics covered include the structure and dynamics of the Milky Way galaxy, galaxy evolution, and the early history and cosmological expansion of the universe. The course will also touch upon relevant areas of current research in astrophysics.
Prerequisite: PHY 232 .
Instructor: Christensen
PHY 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Theory of Classical Fields 2 credits (Spring)
An introduction to the theory of classical fields, including calculus variations and the action principle, the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian descriptions of fields, applications to the electromagnetic field.
Prerequisite: PHY 234 .
Instructor: Gadella
PHY 399 - Directed Research 2 or 4 credits
See Directed Research.
Instructor: Staff
PHY 456 - Introduction to Quantum Theory 4 credits (Fall)
Introduction to the physical and mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics with application to simple physical systems.
Prerequisite: PHY 232 , MAT 220 , and PHY 335 .
Instructor: Case, Wickramasekara
PHY 457 - Advanced Quantum Theory 2 credits (Spring)
Application and implications of the quantum theory. Perturbation theory and other approximation techniques are used to examine various quantum systems. Fundamental questions of interpretation of the quantum theory will also be considered.
Prerequisite: PHY 456 .
Instructor: Case, Wickramasekara
PHY 462 - Advanced Laboratory 2 credits (Fall and Spring)
Experiments bear a closer resemblance to research than do the experiments in more elementary courses. There is a wide range of activities to meet individual needs and interests. Two afternoons of laboratory or reading each week.
Prerequisite: senior standing and at least three 200- or 300-level physics courses. Special permission for well-qualified third-year students.
Instructor: Tjossem, Willig-OnwuachiPolicy Studies
PST 220 - Foundations of Policy Analysis 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: ECN 220 or POL 220 . This course explores principles of policymaking, with applications. It opens by examining theoretical rationales for policy, including those premised on ideology or market failure. It proceeds to investigate institutional context and processes relevant to policymaking, using case studies. With this foundation, the course explores specific policy problems and solutions related to important problem areas, such as economic growth, health care, monetary policy, education, and environment. Students will be encouraged to investigate policy areas of interest for case studies and papers.
Prerequisite: ECN 111 or POL 101 , and second-year standing.
Instructor: Ferguson, Hess
PST 320 - Applied Policy Analysis 4 credits (Fall)
Topic changes each year. This course will apply fundamental policy ideas from Policy Studies 220 to specific policy problems. Students will analyze policy problems and propose solutions. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: PST 220 , POL 220 , or ECN 220 . Other prerequisites may apply depdending on staff teaching.
Instructor: Staff
PST 320-01 - Applied Policy Analysis 4 credits (Fall)
This course will explore pharmaceutical policies, the issues that influence them, and the impacts that they have from a number of perspectives, informed by a range of disciplines, including chemistry and economics. Topics to be examined include, but are not limited to, the funding and function of the drug development process, intellectual property rights for pharmaceuticals, generic drugs, pharmaceutical safety regulation, and affordability and access to essential drugs. While the focus will be on pharmaceutical policies of developed countries, the course will also consider the impact of these policies upon the developing world, as well as the challenges and considerations that developing countries face in formulating and implementing their own policies. The course will build on prior course work in policy studies. Core elements of the seminar include learning how policies and programs can be evaluated, asking if that information influences policy making, the role scientific research plays, and applying evaluation to the giving of policy advice.
Prerequisite: PST 220 , POL 220 or ECN 220 .
Instructor: B. Graham, Sieck
PST 420 - Advanced Policy Research 2 credits (Spring)
In this course students will use the techniques of policy analysis they studied in PST 320 to conduct an independent research project. Normally these projects will be related to the student’s major or other curricular interest. During the first several course meetings students will identify and refine their policy area for in-depth study. This course will meet once per week during the spring semester, and will culminate with individual presentations of the policy research.
Prerequisite: PST 320 .
Instructor: StaffPolitical Science
POL 101 - Introduction to Political Science 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Designed to provide a general introduction to the major concepts and themes of the discipline of political science, using examples from contemporary American, comparative, and international politics.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
POL 216 - Politics of Congress 4 credits (Fall)
A study of the politics of Congress, including such topics as congressional elections, party leadership, floor voting, congressional committees, congressional policymaking, and reform proposals. Emphasis placed on understanding theories of legislative behavior.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Instructor: Hess
POL 219 - Constitutional Law and Politics 4 credits (Fall)
This course examines the critical role that the U.S. Supreme Court has played in shaping the American political landscape over time. We will learn various methods of constitutional interpretation, and use them to read and analyze many of the Court’s landmark decisions. Specifically, we will explore how the court has policed controversial power struggles in American government, and developed into a powerful political institution.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Instructor: Staff
POL 220 - Foundations of Policy Analysis 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: PST 220 . This course explores principles of policy making, with applications. It opens by examining theoretical rationales for policy, including those premised on ideology or market failure. It proceeds to investigate institutional context and processes relevant to policy making, using case studies. With this foundation, the course explores specific policy problems and solutions related to important problem areas such as economic growth, health care, monetary policy, education, and environment. Students will be encouraged to investigate policy areas of interest for case studies and papers.
Prerequisite: POL 101 and second-year standing.
Instructor: Hess
POL 222 - American Immigration Politics 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Debates over the perceived costs and benefits of immigration have long been a familiar part of American political rhetoric, but immigration also raises bigger questions about global justice, state sovereignty, what it means to be an American, and what newcomers should have to do to become one. We will explore these contemporary controversies in American immigration politics, and ask ourselves: What is the ‘problem’ and can it be fixed? In the process, we will learn lessons about how American politics works more generally.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Instructor: Staff
POL 237 - Political Parties 4 credits (Fall)
An examination of the political party in U.S. politics. Considers the party at three levels: the individual, the organization, and the system. Topics include the development and evolution of parties, candidates and elections, third parties, and the role of parties in the U.S. political system.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Trish
POL 239 - The Presidency 4 credits (Spring)
Consideration of the modern presidency as an institution and the president as a critical political actor in politics. Topics include leadership, institutional change, executive-legislative relations, decision-making, and presidential selection.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Instructor: Trish
POL 250 - Politics of International Relations 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
A study of the evolving relations between nations in the period since 1939, focusing on U.S. foreign policy. The crucial decisions of the Cold War and post-Cold War evaluated against standard of the rational national actor, taking into account distortions caused by bureaucratic, bargaining, personality, psychological, societal, momentum, and communications factors.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Moyer
POL 251 - International Political Economy 4 credits (Fall)
Introduction to the study of political economy through the examination of the pursuit of wealth and power in the international system. Evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of different theoretical approaches as applied to the issues of trade, international finance, and foreign investment.
Prerequisite: POL 101 . ECN 111 is highly recommended.
Instructor: Driscoll
POL 255 - The Politics of New Europe 4 credits (Spring)
This course provides a survey of contemporary European politics. It examines the European geopolitical dynamics in the 20th century, the variations among European polities in political institutions, parties, electoral politics, and public policy; and the institutionalization and policy processes in the European Union. Some thematic issues are the varieties of democracies and capitalist systems, transitions to democracy, the role of the state in the economy, and enlargement and deepening of the European Union.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Instructor: Sala
POL 257 - Nationalism 4 credits (Fall)
This course explores the definition of states and nations and the relationship between them. It analyzes the forces that motivated the appearance and spread of nation-states, and that formed national identities. It also studies the relationship between capitalism, communism, decolonization, globalization, and nationalism. It explains the emergence of secessionist claims, ethnic violence, and the ability of institutions in channeling national conflict. Cases include France, United States, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Quebec, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia, India, or Rwanda.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Instructor: Sala
POL 258 - Democratization and the Politics of Regime Change 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
What is a democracy? Which factors contribute to democratic transitions and the survival of democracy over time? What happens when democratization fails? What is the role of international factors in democratic development? We will explore these questions through an analysis of democratization in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, with a particular emphasis on developments from the past twenty years.
Prerequisite or co-requisite: POL 101 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lussier
POL 259 - Human Rights: Foundations, Challenges, and Choices 4 credits (Spring)
This course will familiarize students with the international human rights regime and will analyze a series of case studies which illustrate the challenges to the realization of human rights and the choices for human rights advocates and policymakers. Topics for discussion include universality or relativity of human rights, the interplay between civil and political rights and economic and social rights, the impact of sovereignty, monitoring, and compliance. Cases will include humanitarian intervention, the U.S. domestic response to 9/11, religious accommodation and equality of rights, human rights and development, and climate change and human rights.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Moyer
POL 261 - State and Society in Latin America 4 credits (Fall)
Examination of the diverse and common dilemmas facing Latin America, using social scientific approaches. Topics include economic development and political uncertainty.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Willis
POL 262 - African Politics 4 credits (Spring)
A study of typical Third World politics in an African context. A study of behavior of political elites constrained both by the international context and by limited resources. Topics include personalistic leadership, corruption, military coups, civil wars, mass-elite interactions, and peasant autonomy.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Instructor: Driscoll
POL 263 - Political Theory I 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See PHI 263 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
POL 264 - Political Theory II 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See PHI 264 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
POL 273 - Politics of Russia 4 credits (Spring)
This course analyzes the politics of contemporary Russia, focusing on the country’s post-Soviet political and economic transformation, as well as its changing place on the global stage. Questions we will explore include: what was the Soviet Union and why did it collapse? What kind of political regime has since taken root in Russia? How do Russians view their political system? and What role does Russia play in a multi-polar world?
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lussier
POL 295-01 & 02 - Special Topic: Introduction to Network Analysis 2 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: SST 295-02 & 03 . Network analysis is a long-standing analytical tool–used by a variety of disciplines–to explore patterns of relationships. It is used to examine such varied phenomena as friendship and communication, the spread of disease, terrorism and linguistics. This short course will introduce basic network theory and examine academic applications. It will familiarize students with a prominent network analysis software package, and it will explore tenets of data visualization, as well as practical applications of network analysis in personal and vocational settings. Through it all, the course will consider whether network analytic approaches enhance our understanding of phenomena and our experiences as social beings, consumers, and citizens.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Dates: section 01-August 27 to October 13; section 02-October 17 to December 10. 1/2 semester deadlines apply.
Instructor: Trish
POL 295-03 - Special Topic: Religion and Politics: US and Europe 2 credits (Fall)
The course will examine the intersection of religion and politics in the west; we will focus on religion’s impact on political attitudes, electoral behavior, civil society activity and intergroup conflict.
Prerequisite: POL 101 .
Note: Dates: September 14 to October 9. Short course deadlines apply.
Instructor: Grey
POL 310 - Advanced Seminar in American Politics 4 credits (Fall)
A research-oriented course in American politics. Students examine research methods and their application to political questions/phenomena. Students then devise and conduct an intensive research project. Throughout the course, there is an emphasis on empirical political science.
Prerequisite: Third or fourth-year standing and MAT 115 or MAT 209 ; and POL 216 , POL 222 , POL 237 , POL 239 , POL 220 or PST 220 .
Instructor: Trish
POL 319 - Advanced Seminar in Constitutional Law 4 credits (Spring)
This course is an in-depth exploration of the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in American democracy, focusing on the question of how courts strike a balance between protecting democratic values and protecting the rights of vulnerable minorities. Students will read contemporary legal theory and write a research paper linking a particular topic of interest to them to larger questions about rights in a constitutional democracy.
Prerequisite: Third or fourth-year standing and POL 219 .
Instructor: Staff
POL 320 - Applied Policy Analysis 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: PST 320 . Topics change. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Prerequisite for POL-320: POL 216 , POL 220 , PST 220 , POL 222 , POL 239 , or POL 250 and third or fourth-year standing. Prerequisite for PST-320: PST 220 .
Note: Not offered ever year.
Instructor: Staff
POL 350 - International Politics of Land and Sea Resources 4 credits (Spring)
Analysis of the international politics of the conflict between the developed nations of the North and the developing nations of the South for control of the world’s resources and over trade and environmental issues. The impact of national decision-making processes, international organizations, cartels, and multinational corporations. Case studies.
Prerequisite: Third or fourth-year standing and POL 250 , POL 251 , or POL 259 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Moyer
POL 352 - Advanced Seminar on the U.S. Foreign Policymaking Process 4 credits (Fall)
An in-depth study of the U.S. foreign and defense policymaking process, emphasizing international relations theory; case studies of recent important decisions; discussion of the role, structure, function, and power of the National Security Council, State Department, Defense Department, and CIA; conflict between president and Congress; impact of press, public opinion, lobbies, and elections.
Prerequisite: Third or fourth-year standing and POL 250 , POL 251 , or POL 259 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Moyer
POL 354 - Political Economy of Developing Countries 4 credits (Fall)
Following a brief examination of the main theoretical approaches taken in the study of development, students apply these approaches to a comparison of several less-developed countries. Emphasis on the interplay between domestic and international factors in the path to industrialization.
Prerequisite: Third or fourth-year standing and POL 250 , POL 251 , POL 257 , POL 258 , POL 261 , POL 262 (offered 2013 Spring), or POL 273 . ECN 111 is highly recommended.
Instructor: Driscoll
POL 355 - Courts and Politics in Comparative Perspective 4 credits (Fall)
What do constitutions say and how do they become enforceable documents? This seminar focuses on the politics of constitutional choice and interpretation. It looks at the political aims of constitution and the role of courts in enforcing these documents. It analyzes the political factors involved in judicial decisions and the political strategies that derive from them, as well as how constitutional meaning evolves and changes. Cases include Germany, France, Spain, United States, Canada, Russia, Argentina, and Mexico.
Prerequisite: Third or fourth-year standing and POL 216 , POL 219 , POL 239 , POL 255 , POL 258 , POL 261 , or POL 273 .
Instructor: Sala
POL 356 - Islam and Politics 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course investigates the relationship between Islam and a variety of political outcomes, such as regime type, political violence, inequality, social tolerance, and political organization. Questions we explore include: what is “Islamism” and how did it arise as a political force? Why are so few Muslim-majority countries democratic? Are Islamic parties and organizations a threat or a resource for open politics? We take an empirical approach, examining scholarly analyses from a variety of methodological perspectives.
Prerequisite: Third or fourth-year standing and a 200-level course in comparative politics, MAT 115 or MAT 209 .
Instructor: Lussier
POL 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Voting Rights and Election Policy 4 credits (Fall)
This course examines the politics and history of voting rights and elections. Many essential aspects of a democracy are related to the fundamental right to vote. Voting rights will be defined broadly to include voter registration, ballot access, the casting of votes, and other matters of election administration. Principles of fair elections and the design of elections will also be covered. Attention will be primarily on the United States with some attention to other countries.
Prerequisite: POL 216 , POL 219 , POL 222 , POL 237 , or POL 239 .
Instructor: HessPsychology
PSY 113 - Introduction to Psychology 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
An introduction to principles of psychological science and inquiry. Major topics of psychology are covered with consideration of different approaches psychologists take to describe, predict, and explain behavior. Emphasis is placed on theory, research, and application. Laboratory work is required.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
PSY 214 - Social Psychology 4 credits (Fall)
Survey of contemporary experimental social psychology. Topics include: attribution theory, social cognition, stereotypes, attitudes, prosocial behavior, aggression, group processes, and applied social psychology. Attention given to interaction between theoretical development and empirical measurement. Laboratory work is required.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: MAT 115 /SST 115 or MAT 209 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Sinnett
PSY 220 - Decision-Making 4 credits (Spring)
An examination of human decision making under uncertainty. Topics include biases resulting from cognitive strategies, probability, utility theory, reasoning, prediction, and issues specific to group decisions.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 and MAT 115 /SST 115 or MAT 209 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Gibson
PSY 222 - Industrial Psychology 4 credits (Fall)
An investigation of individual differences, learning, and motivation in the context of the work setting. Topics include testing theory, training techniques, and motivational theories.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 and MAT 115 /SST 115 or MAT 209 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lopatto
PSY 225 - Research Methods 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
This course describes experimental designs and attendant statistical techniques. Students learn to use quantitative methods to pose meaningful questions to data. Topics include between-group and within-group designs, analysis of variance for main effects and interactions, the adaptation of statistical inquiry to less than optimal situations, and critical thinking about research methods.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 and MAT 115 /SST 115 or MAT 209 .
Instructor: Staff
PSY 232 - Human-Computer Interaction 2 credits (Fall or Spring)
See CSC 232 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
PSY 233 - Developmental Psychology 4 credits (Spring)
A survey of psychological development from the prenatal period through adolescence. Major theoretical perspectives on the nature of developmental change are considered with a focus on empirical validation and application of each perspective. Topics include physical, cognitive, and social development. Laboratory work is required.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 and MAT 115 /SST 115 or MAT 209 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Ellis
PSY 243 - Behavior Analysis 4 credits (Spring)
The course studies behavior as it occurs in its environmental context. Topics in learning and motivation are analyzed through the experimental approach of behavior analytic psychology. Topics include classical and operant learning, choice, self-control, and extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Laboratory work is required.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 and MAT 115 /SST 115 or MAT 209 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Lopatto
PSY 246 - Physiological Psychology 4 credits (Fall)
An introduction to the physiological control of behavior. Course content: (a) general introduction to neuroanatomy and neurophysiology; (b) neuroregulatory systems, motivation, and emotion; (c) perceptual and motor systems; and (d) processes of learning, memory, and cognition.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 . One semester of biology is recommended.
Instructor: Rempel-Clower, Tracy
PSY 248 - Abnormal Psychology 4 credits (Spring)
The study of psychopathology. Emphasis is given to experimental models and the underlying psychological processes of abnormal behavior. Some attention is given to treatments. The course is structured around the categories of the DSM IV.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 . MAT 115 /SST 115 or MAT 209 is recommended.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Ralston
PSY 250 - Health Psychology 4 credits (Fall)
A survey of the psychological and social processes that contribute to health and illness. Topics include health-compromising and health-promoting behaviors, stress and coping, managing chronic illness, and patient-provider communication. Laboratory work is required.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: MAT 115 /SST 115 or MAT 209 .
Instructor: Seawell
PSY 260 - Cognitive Psychology 4 credits (Spring)
A survey of the experimental research on human thinking, knowing, and remembering. Topics include attention, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, and language. Laboratory work is required.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 and MAT 115 /SST 115 or MAT 209 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Gibson
PSY 295-01 - Special Topic: Sensation and Perception 4 credits (Fall)
This course will present a survey of theoretical frameworks and empirical findings addressing the questions of how the body detects sensory information and of how the mind integrates this incoming sensory information into a coherent understanding of experience. This course will provide a mix of disciplines and approaches, including attention to the physiology of natural systems (e.g., us) the engineering of smart devices (e.g., robots) and remaining challenges.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 . PSY 225 is recommended.
Instructor: D. Kelty-Stephen
PSY 311 - History of Psychological Theories 4 credits (Fall)
Historical and philosophical origins of contemporary schools of psychology are considered. The student analyzes the nature of psychological theory and the methods used to disconfirm theories, as well as the reasons for the emergence and decline of schools of psychological thought.
Prerequisite: Two psychology courses numbered 200 or above, and MAT 115 /SST 115 or MAT 209 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Lopatto
PSY 315 - Advanced Social Psychology 4 credits (Spring)
An advanced study of a particular social psychological topic. Emphasis will be placed on a critical analysis of theoretical approaches, experimental findings, and future directions. Topics will vary and may include: stereotypes, interpersonal relationships, cross-cultural psychology, or the social psychology of emotion. Laboratory work may be required.
Prerequisite: PSY 214 and PSY 225 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Sinnett
PSY 317 - Personality Psychology 4 credits (Spring)
A survey of classical and contemporary approaches to understanding healthy adult personalities. Emphasis will be placed on the trait approach, the coherence of personality across time and situations, beliefs about the self, social aspects of personality, and empirical research methods used to study personality. Laboratory work may be required.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 and two additional psychology courses numbered 200 or above.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Sinnett
PSY 332 - Advanced Developmental Psychology 4 credits (Fall)
An advanced investigation of substantive topics in developmental psychology. Emphasis is placed on theory and research. Laboratory work may be required.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 , PSY 233 , and one additional psychology course numbered 200 or above.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ellis
PSY 334 - Adult Development 4 credits (Fall)
A consideration of human development during adulthood with emphasis on models and empirical work that illustrate factors that constrain and optimize development. Topics are treated in-depth and include changes in social roles, wisdom, autobiographical memory, dementia, and death. Laboratory work may be required.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 and two psychology courses numbered 200 or above.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ellis
PSY 335 - Psychology of Motivation 4 credits (Fall)
In-depth investigation of a selected topic in the area of motivated behavior as addressed from a variety of psychological perspectives (e.g., physiological, behavioral, social, cognitive, developmental). The focus will be on critical analysis methodologies, empirical evidence, and theoretical approaches through examination of the primary literature. Laboratory work may be required.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 , and PSY 246 or NRS 250 plus one additional psychology course numbered 200 or above.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Tracy
PSY 336 - Advanced Behavioral Neuroscience 4 credits (Spring)
A laboratory-centered introduction to advanced topics in behavioral neuroscience and basic research techniques used to investigate brain-behavior relationships. Participants will gain experience in stereotaxic neurosurgery, psychopharmacology, and various behavioral measures. A research-team approach is used for both the literature discussion and the laboratory activities each week.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 and PSY 246 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Rempel-Clower
PSY 337 - Psychological Measurement 4 credits (Fall)
Students will learn about methods of test development, the statistical analysis of test data, and social implications of testing. In lab, students will develop testing instruments and learn multivariate data analysis. Topics covered include intelligence and personality testing, systems of behavioral observation, regression, factor analysis, and theories of test construction.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 and two additional psychology courses numbered 200 or above.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ralston
PSY 345 - Psychopharmacology 4 credits (Spring)
An investigation of the biological mechanisms and behavioral effects of psychoactive substances. Topics covered will include principles of pharmacology, research methods in psychopharmacology, mechanisms of drug action, drug abuse and addiction, and clinical applications. Required laboratory work using animal models will focus on the use of behavioral tools to characterize drug effects and the use of pharmacological tools for understanding brain-behavior relationships.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 and NRS 250 or PSY 246 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Tracy
PSY 348 - Behavioral Medicine 4 credits (Fall)
This course describes psychophysiological and behavioral principles and methods in the context of the biopsychosocial model of health and illness. Topics include behavioral pathogens, stress, pain, psychoneuroimmunology, and behavior management. Laboratory work may be required.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 and PSY 243 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Lopatto
PSY 349 - Counseling Psychology 4 credits (Fall)
A survey of major counseling theories and techniques, with emphasis on the key concepts, the role of the counselor, therapeutic goals, and the main techniques derived from each theory. Issues pertaining to the ethical application of counseling approaches to diverse populations will be a major focus throughout. Class time will focus on the merits of each approach through review of research literature. Further, students will learn basic counseling skills through observation, case study, and supervised role-plays. Laboratory work may be required.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 and PSY 248 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ralston
PSY 355 - Psychology of Language 4 credits (Fall)
An examination of experimental psycholinguistics. Topics include how humans perceive, comprehend, and produce language; research with brain-damaged individuals; language acquisition; and the role of memory and cognition on processing language. Laboratory work may be required.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 and PSY 260 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Gibson
PSY 360 - Advanced Cognitive Psychology 4 credits (Fall)
An in-depth examination of research on a specific area within cognitive psychology. Possible topics focus on implicit memory, memory in older adults, language in primates, conditional reasoning, and insight in problem-solving. Laboratory work may be required.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 and PSY 260 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Gibson
PSY 370 - Multicultural Psychology 4 credits (Fall)
This course surveys the psychological research on culture, ethnicity, race, and minority status in the United States. Emphasis will be placed on developing an understanding of the experiences of non-white ethnic minorities through the study of empirical research. Topics will vary and may include: racial identity, racism, acculturation, health disparities, and mental health issues.
Prerequisite: PSY 225 and two additional psychology courses numbered 200 or above.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Seawell
PSY 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Longitudinal & Time-Series Analysis 4 credits (Spring)
This course will present a survey of statistical models incorporating repeated and longitudinal measures, as well as for time series, into research designs for hypothesis testing. This course will couch a number of statistical concepts in the (often interdisciplinary) practical applications that inspired them and that they might address in the behavioral, medical, or psychological. The course will focus on mixed-effect elaborations of general linear modeling and on time-series analyses from linear and nonlinear perspectives.
Prerequisite: PSY 113 and PSY 225 .
Instructor: D. Kelty-Stephen
PSY 495 - Senior Seminar 4 credits (Spring)
A critical exploration of controversial topics of both historical and contemporary significance in psychology with intense interrogation of the field’s diverse perspectives and methods.
Prerequisite: Senior psychology majors.
Instructor: StaffReligious Studies
REL 101 - Studying Religion: Judaism and Christianity 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course introduces Religious Studies by exploring the diverse ways that Jews and Christians have sought to shape themselves, in body and soul, as individuals and as members of communities dedicated to God. We will make use of a wide range of primary and secondary sources to explore the histories, practices, texts, and ideas that constitute these religious traditions; to consider how Christians and Jews have represented themselves and how scholars today use historical, critical methods to understand and explain these traditions.
Prerequisite: First or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Roberts
REL 102 - Studying Religion: America 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course introduces Religious Studies by focusing on religious traditions in “America.” Students will gain knowledge about the history and development of some of the major religious traditions in the United States, such as Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism. Exploring “religion” and “America” as sites of contestation over meaning, identiity, and purpose, students also gain the skills to analyze perspectives, interests, and issues of representation.
Prerequisite: First or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Rietz
REL 103 - Studying Religion: the Middle East 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course introduces religious studies through examination of the Middle East. We will begin by exploring the intertwined development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam through topics such as myths or origin, the Crusades, and medieval interactions in the Mediterranean region. We will then turn to religion in the modern Middle East, focusing on issues like European colonialism, Christian missionary movements in the Middle East, and the development of the nation-state in the region.
Prerequisite: First or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Elfenbein
REL 104 - Studying Religion: India 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course introduces Religious Studies through Indian traditions, especially Hinduism and Buddhism. Together we will learn each religion’s basics so that we can ask bigger questions about self, society, and religion as such. That is, we want to know: what do religions teach us about religion itself and its role in society, history and individual lives? We will find answers by examining case studies such as Tibetan monks, Gandhi’s religious politics, Muslim healers, and American yoga. The course argues that studying religion is fundamental to becoming an educated, world citizen for the twenty-first century.
Prerequisite: First or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Dobe
REL 105 - Studying Religion: East Asia 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This course explores the dynamic cultural landscape of East Asia, providing an overview of religion as it has been constructed in the states that are today known as China, Japan and Korea. Moving beyond the paradigms of practice defined as the singular traditions of Confucianism, Daoism, Shintoism and Buddhism, the course delves into unnamed traditions, and practices that are across traditions, in order to provide students with tools to resist simplistic understandings of religious identity.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Holmes-Tagchungdarpa
REL 211 - The Hebrew Bible 4 credits (Fall)
The history, religion, and thought of the Hebrew-Jewish people as recorded in scripture. Special attention given to the formation of this literature and to the rise and development of major biblical motifs.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Rietz
REL 214 - The Christian Scriptures 4 credits (Spring)
The history, religion, and thought of early Christianity as recorded in the New Testament. Special attention to the formation of this biblical literature, the theology of the various writers, and the development of major New Testament motifs in relation to the Hebrew Bible.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Rietz
REL 216 - Modern Religious Thought 4 credits
A study of the way 19th- and 20th-century philosophers and theologians have criticized and reconceptualized religion in light of the intellectual currents, social changes, and historical events that continue to shape Western culture.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Roberts
REL 220 - The Traditions of Islam 4 credits
An examination of the spirit of Islam as presented in the Qur’an, the Sunna of the Prophet, Islamic law, theology, and mysticism. Special attention given to the status of women in Islam. Contemporary movements within the Islamic world discussed.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Elfenbein
REL 225 - The Buddhist Tradition 4 credits
An examination of the classical doctrines and practices of Nikaya and Mahayana Buddhism and their historical developments in various social and cultural contexts in Asia and the West.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Gilday
REL 226 - Religious Traditions of India 4 credits
Indian religion is marked by ongoing dialogues among the South Asian traditions we call Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Islam. The interaction between these traditions shows the ways each has defined itself independently and in response to challenges presented by the others. This course will introduce the historical and philosophical foundations for these traditions, as well as familiarize students with these intersecting traditions as living religions. The course will include special attention to the role of women and the links between religion and politics.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Dobe
REL 227 - Global Christianities 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Christianity has grown explosively in Africa, Latin America and Asia in recent time. This course explores these new Christian traditions and histories by focusing on one central question - Is Christianity a western religion? Answers will come harder than many assume. In today’s world, the phrase “white Christian” now is in fact as strange as “Swedish Buddhist” still sounds to many.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: T. Dobe
REL 228 - Gods of Bollywood 4 credits (Fall)
From the mystical Upanishads to the rain-drenched saris of Bollywood heroines, the sacred, the erotic and the spectacular have long been intertwined in South Asia. This course will explore themes of love, performance and identity in India both historically and by using Bollywood films as visual texts. We will examine religion’s intimate connections to culture, gender and meaning in the modern world as we ask, “What is Indian about Indian Cinema?”
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , or second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: T Dobe
REL 241 - Religion in U.S. Public Life 4 credits (Spring)
This course explores debates in the United States over the place of religious discourse in public and political life. Topics include the nature of public discourse, the role of the citizen as a religious and moral actor, ideas of fairness and justice, and interpretations of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Roberts
REL 266 - Apocalyptic “Sectuality” 4 credits
What is the meaning of this age? Are we standing at the dawn of a golden age in history? Or are we at the brink of global destruction and the end of history? In this class, we will take an interdisciplinary approach to examine selected apocalyptic movements and texts in an attempt to understand how meaning is constructed. We will discuss several early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic texts and communities as well as modern apocalyptic communities.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , or second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Rietz
REL 267 - Islam in the Modern Era 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See HIS 267 .
Note: Not offered every year.
REL 268 - Islam and Gender 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See HIS 268 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
REL 295-01 - Special Topic: Gender and Sexuality in Buddhist Communities 4 credits (Fall)
Seen as androcentric and misogynist by some, and liberating and non-judgmental by others, Buddhism and Buddhist institutional attitudes related to gender and sexuality have been imagined through complex interactions between ancient traditions and the different cultures. Buddhism has developed in as it has traveled. This course will explore some of these re-imaginings in India, China, Tibet, Japan, Thailand and Korea and will anchor these explorations in theoretical considerations of gender, sexuality and religion.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Instructor: Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa
REL 295-01 - Special Topic: Spiritual–Not Religious 4 credits (Spring)
Over the past two hundred years, the discourse of “spirituality” has moved from the edges of theological and philosophical reflection on the essence of religion and the intersection of western and eastern religions, to become a way of thinking and living beyond religion, as “spiritual, not religious”. Where did this idea come from? What are the various meanings it holds for people? How does it contemporary practices of selfhood, political engagement, and economic investment?
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Instructor: Roberts
REL 295-02 - Special Topic: Borderland Buddhism: Religion in Tibet and the Himalayas 4 credits (Spring)
At present Tibetan Buddhism is one of the most recognized forms of Buddhism globally, with the Dalai Lama occupying a unique position in pop culture along with red-robed monks, prayer flags, and prayer beads. These popular images flattens the diversity and historical complexities of the Buddhist traditions of Tibet and its surrounding borderlands. This course will provide an overview of these traditions, exploring their trajectories of dissemination interaction while also considering local differences and agency.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Instructor: Holmes-Tagchungdarpa
REL 295-02 - Special Topic: Empire and Religion in Asia and the Pacific 4 credits (Fall)
This course aims to offer methodological tools that encourage the incorporation of everyday, non-elite voices into the study of imperialism in Asia and the Pacific through focusing on religious experience in several case studies from China, India, New Zealand Aotearoa, Japan, Korea, and Tibet. Studying such voices disrupts depictions of imperialism as a straightforward, mono-directional process through suggestions of the implications of hybridity for colonized societies, and represents the potential for religion to act as a subversive as well as a complicit force.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Instructor: Holmes-Tagchungdarpa
REL 295-03 - Special Topic: Religion, Morality and Modernity in China 4 credits (Fall)
After a century of extraordinary political and social change, China is now a superpower. What has the human cost been, and how do people in China find meaning and locate themselves in modern cosmologies? This course will critically consider the role of religion in China’s public sphere, situating current discussions about China’s ‘moral crisis’ in a the context of history, and explore why religion is still such a powerful force in Chinese culture.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Instructor: Holmes-Tagchungdarpa
REL 295-04 - Special Topic: Being Muslim in America 4 credits (Spring)
This course investigates how American Muslim communities past and present have sought to live as Muslims in a non-Muslim land. Of particular interest is how race, class, and gender intersect with religious identity to create arguably the most dynamic and diverse national Muslim community in the world. Significant themes for course consideration may include the construction of community identities, religion in American public life, discourses of Islamophobia, and the particular challenges facing contemporary Muslim communities in the United States.
Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing.
Instructor: Elfenbein
REL 311 - Theory and Method in the Study of Religion 4 credits (Fall)
This seminar focuses on the history and assumptions of the comparative method in the study of religion and culture. This genealogical narrative involves a critical examination of a variety of sources and perspectives on religion leading up to and emerging from the European Enlightenment, including the development of various methodological and critical positions in the modern study of religion during the 19th and 20th centuries. Readings from a wide range of contemporary scholarship will illustrate the state of the field today.
Prerequisite: Third-year or fourth-year standing and declared major.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Gilday, Roberts
REL 326 - Anthropology of Religion 4 credits
See ANT 326 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
REL 352 - Philosophy of Religion 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: PHI 352 . How do we understand “religion” in the 21st century? Is the world becoming more secular? More religious? Does this distinction even work anymore? How might ideas like “saint” and “sacrifice” and “spiritual discipline” help us think and act ethically and politically in the contemporary world? This course explores the ways recent philosophers and theologians have answered such questions by turning to the resources of the Continental philosophical tradition (Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, Irigaray, etc.) in order to reconceptualize religion, philosophy, and ethics after the “death of God.”
Prerequisite: REL 216 and REL 311 , or two 200-level philosophy courses.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Roberts
REL 394 - Advanced Topics in Religious Studies 4 credits (Spring)
An advanced intensive seminar devoted to selected topics in religious studies. Topics have included mysticism, South Asian saints, and religion and democracy. This seminar may be repeated for credit if content is different. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: REL 311 ; additional prerequisites may vary depending on topic.
Instructor: Staff
REL 394-01 - Advanced Topics: Applying Religious Studies 4 credits Spring
This seminar is intended to create the context of a scholarly community in which participants explore how the study of religion may be applied to a variety of different phenomena. As a construct of the scholar, the category of religion may be applied as a lens to a variety of phenomena, including that which is commonly not considered to be religious.
Prerequisite: REL 311 .
Instructor: RietzRussian
RUS 101 - Beginning Russian I 5 credits (Fall)
Intensive treatment of elementary Russian grammar, with special emphasis on pronunciation, basic conversational ability, and thorough coverage of contrastive English-Russian grammar. Conducted primarily in Russian. Meets five times a week.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
RUS 102 - Beginning Russian II 5 credits (Spring)
A follow-up course to RUS 101 , stressing the further study of grammatical usage and the development of reading and speaking ability. Conducted in Russian. Meets five times a week.
Prerequisite: RUS 101 .
Instructor: Staff
RUS 200 - Conversational Russian 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Conversation on free and structured themes, with topics drawn from different aspects of Russian and American life. May be repeated once for credit when content changes.
Prerequisite: RUS 102 .
Instructor: Staff
RUS 221 - Intermediate Russian I 4 credits (Fall)
A reading and discussion course whose materials focus on contemporary culture with emphasis on the continuing study of grammatical concepts introduced in RUS 101 and RUS 102 .
Prerequisite: RUS 102 .
Instructor: Staff
RUS 222 - Intermediate Russian II 4 credits (Spring)
A continuation of RUS 221 . Materials focus on major aspects of Russian culture, with added emphasis on the study of more complex grammatical concepts.
Prerequisite: RUS 221 .
Instructor: Staff
RUS 247 - The Russian Short Story 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 247 . The development of the genre from its beginning in 18th-century Sentimentalism to the present. Authors could include Karamzin, Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Bulgakov, Babel, Olesha, Makanin, Tolstaya, and Sorokin. Conducted in English.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Vishevsky, Herold
RUS 248 - The Russian Novel 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 248 . Study of the Russian novel in the 19th century. Novels by Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostovesky, Turgenev, and Tolstoy considered. Conducted in English.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Greene, Herold
RUS 251 - The Theme of the African in Russian Literature and Culture 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
A survey of the varying cultural and racial perceptions of Africa and people of African descent as reflected in 19th- and 20th-century Russian literature. Examines tsarist and Soviet history of Russian intellectual contact with the African diaspora and the impact of this contact on the development of the “African” as a literary theme in Russian and Soviet literature. Conducted in English.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Greene
RUS 261 - History of Russian Film 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 261 . From Eisenstein to Tarkovsky and beyond. Through lecture, discussion, and film analysis, this course will examine the fascinating and controversial history of Russian film from Andrei Tarkovsky’s sophisticated Solaris to the daring films of the glasnost era; from chernukha (noir) films of the 1990s to contemporary cinema about the Russian mafia, New Russians and the dramatic search for a new Russian identity. Conducted in English.
Prerequisite: HUM 185 , HIS 241 or HIS 242 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Vishevsky
RUS 281 - Major Russian Writers 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 281 . This course examines the artistic oeuvre of a single major Russian writer within the context of his cultural and literary milieu. The following writers could be offered in alternating years: Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol, Chekhov, Nabokov. Conducted in English. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available in Russian.
Instructor: Staff
RUS 295-02 - Special Topic: Russian Conceptualism and Underground Soviet Culture 1 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: ART 295-06 . The Communist utopia, Conceptualist art, Samizdat, ‘black humor’, religious syncretism, dissidence, neo-Marxism, apolitical bohemianism, the pathos of freedom of individuality and the mechanics of painting are closely interlinked with the cultural mythology of the late Soviet epoch. Describing representations that, when taken together, form the contemporary understanding of the underground culture, we create a historial portrait of this environment and its leading aesthetic movement - Conceptualism. The official, liberal and nonconformist spheres of late Soviet life are three dimensions of intellectual activities of the intelligentsia in which the Conceptualist group worked. This course is not limited to one specific field of art or culture. Instead, it offers a unique chance to embrace the phenomenon of “anti-Soviet” culture as a whole, analyzing activities of one of the most essential artistic communities of the Soviet underground.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Dates: April 18 to May 6. Short course deadlines apply.
Instructor: Staff, Armstrong
RUS 313 - Present through the Past: Russian Cultural Traditions 4 credits (Fall)
A focused examination of the major cultural icons and clichés that have developed in Russian culture through the centuries, with an emphasis on what an educated speaker of the language should know, including the “enignatic Russian soul,” the Bronze Horseman, the Russian “troika,” the battleship Aurora, the communal apartment, Soviet bards, and Pussy Riot among other cultural phenomena. Advanced grammar study is combined with critical reading of a range of literary and cultural texts. Conducted in Russian
Prerequisite: RUS 222 .
Instructor: Staff
RUS 389 - Advanced Russian Seminar 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A cultural and linguistic study of a selected Russian cultural phenomenon from the 19th, 20th, or 21st century. Variable content, with discussion centered on a single author, genre, or literary period; intellectual history; popular culture; a cultural period; or analysis of an aspect of culture (film, theatre, music, etc.). Conducted in Russian. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: RUS 313 .
Note: May be repeated 3 times with varied content.
Instructor: Staff
RUS 389-01 - Advanced Russian Seminar 4 credits (Fall)
The focus of this seminar will be on 20th-century humorous fiction, with special attention to the short story. Each class will be devoted to discussion of one or several Russian stories, their literary and political themes, as well as to intertextual connections and cultural allusions. Students will also read critical works about humor in the Russian short story in Russian. Conducted in Russian.
Prerequisite: RUS 313 .
Instructor: Vishevsky
RUS 389-01 - Advanced Russian Seminar 4 credits (Spring)
This seminar examines contemporary Russian journalism and social media. We will pay particular attention to specialized vocabulary, syntax, and stylistics in both official and unofficial sources. Texts may come from magazines, newspapers, television news, websites, and social media platforms (Facebook, V kontakte, among others). Conducted in Russian.
Prerequisite: RUS 313 .
Instructor: HeroldRussian, Central & East European Studies
RES 291 - Perspectives in 20th-Century Central and Eastern European Literature 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 291 . This course examines and analyzes a number of 20th-century works in translation from several countries of Central and Eastern Europe (primarily, but not limited to, the former-Yugoslavia, Poland, and the former-Czechoslovakia). Attention is devoted to how writers, artists, poets, and others attempt to understand and respond to major events and issues in specific countries, and in the region in general: war, genocide, revolution, totalitarianism, political repression, clashes of religion and culture, and quests for (self-)identity.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Armstrong
RES 495 - Senior Research or Seminar 2 or 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An interdisciplinary senior seminar or senior research project for students completing the concentration in Russian, Central and Eastern European Studies. May be repeated in consecutive semesters by a student pursuing a single research project. Credits earned each semester must fulfill program requirements as specified in program description.
Instructor: StaffSocial Studies
SST 115 - Introduction to Statistics 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
See MAT 115 .
SST 140 - Medieval and Renaissance Culture: 1100–1650 4 credits (Spring)
See HUM 140 .
SST 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies 4 credits (Fall)
This course will introduce students to the interdisciplinary field of Peace and Conflict studies. Because no single field of study can provide a complete understanding of the issues covered in this field, this course will take multiple disciplinary perspectives as we try to understand the factors that lead to human conflict and aggression, including those that are psychological, sociological, anthropological, environmental, political, economic, religious, and historical in nature. This is a blended learning course which will be team-taught by Prof. Tim Dobe and Prof. George A. Lopez.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Dobe, Lopez
SST 195-02 & 03 - Introductory Special Topic: Introduction to Geographical Analysis and Cartography 2 credits (Fall)
This course offers an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS) for spatial analysis and mapmaking. Covers topics such as the nature of geographic information, GIS data models, georeferencing and map projections, cartographic design, as well as basic and intermediate spatial analysis skills. Focus on understanding the major underlying theories and concepts of GIS, which students put into practice using GIS software applications in a series of lab exercises.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Section 01 meets 08/27/15 to 10/15/15. Half-semester deadlines apply.
Section 02 meets 10/27/15 to 12/10/15. Half-semester deadlines apply.
Instructor: Brottem
SST 213 - Media and the Middle East 4 credits (Fall)
See HUM 213 .
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
SST 221 - Geographical Analysis and Cartography 4 credits (Fall)
This course offers an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS) for spatial analysis and mapmaking. Covers topics such as the nature of geographic information, georeferencing, GIS data models, cartographic design, geovisualization, the Global Positioning System, and basic and intermediate spatial analysis skills. Focus on understanding the major underlying theories and concepts of GIS, which students put into practice using GIS software applications in lab exercises and an independent research project.
Prerequisite: MAT 115 /SST 115 or equivalent.
Instructor: Carter
SST 230 - Health Geography 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines the geographical dimensions of health and disease, emphasizing global and domestic public health issues. Key approaches and themes include the human ecology approach to health; epidemiological mapping and spatial analysis; environmental health; the relationship among demographic change, economic development, and population health; the spatial diffusion of infectious diseases; the disease ecology approach to infectious and vector-borne diseases; and challenges of “global health” in the 21st century, with special emphasis on “emerging infectious diseases.”
Prerequisite: One 100-level course in social studies.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Carter
SST 295-01 - Special Topic: Sustainability: Managing Organizations and Innovations 4 credits (Spring)
See ANT 295-01 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
SST 295-02 - Special Topic: Creative Careers: Learning from Alumni 2 credits (Spring)
This course is sponsored by the Wilson Program in Enterprise and Leadership. Alumni with significant careers in the humanities, social sciences and sciences return to campus to talk about the ways that they shaped their successes and learned from their failures after graduation. Leadership and career-focused readings together with discussions with 18 or more alumni will help students think creatively about their possible futures. The second goal of this course is to help create a multi-generational network or community of Grinnell alumni, faculty, and current students in order to enhance our potential for changing the world to promoting the stewardship of Grinnell College.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Dates: February 5 to May 6. Half semester course deadlines apply.
Instructor: Caulkins
SST 295-02 & 03 - Special Topic: Introduction to Network Analysis 2 credits (Fall)
See POL 295-01 & 02 .
SST 295-03 - Special Topic: Refugees in Complex Emergencies: Leadership and the Humanitarian Dilemma 1 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: SCI 295-01 . We will explore the art and science of saving lives in complex emergencies - providing water, nutrition, security, and health care. The course will consider real world examples of operational challenges in emergency relief situations to examine what constitutes leadership where cultural dissonance, resource limitations and moral ambiguities complicate every decision. Sponsored by the Wilson Program in Enterprise and Leadership: taught by Neil Otto ‘72, Director, The Otto Family Foundation.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Dates February 23 to March 11. Short course deadlines apply
Instructor: Staff
SST 295-05 - Special Topic: Real Life Entrepreneurship: How to Build a Brand/Business 1 credits (Fall)
Students will gain insights into business realities and pitfalls. They will learn how to establish a company as an entrepreneur, and how to improve a business segment within an existing company as an intrapreneur. Through examination of real-life scenarios, students will become familiar with common sense approaches to business, with thinking-outside-the-box, and with the lowest-common-denominator method of thinking. Sponsored by the Wilson Program in Enterprise and Leadership; taught by Sanjay Khanna ‘85.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Dates: September 21 to October 12. Short course deadlines apply.
Instructor: Staff
SST 295-05 - Special Topic: Social Justice Issues Influencing American Business 1 credits (Spring)
American business has been phenomenally successful in generating economic gain. But increasingly business leaders are seeking “social” as well as financial returns in their businesses. In this course, we’ll study this trend and project where it is likely to lead into the future. We’ll examine innovative tools and processes that are being used in this “Social Enterprise” revolution, and what it means to folks who will soon enter the workforce. Finally, we’ll relate all this to Grinnell’s long-term interest in social justice.
Prerequisite: One course is the social studies division.
Note: Dates April 18 to April 27. Short course deadlines apply.
Instructor: Staff
SST 295-06 - Special Topic: Gender, Power and Peace 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: HUM 295-01 . The course examines the nexus of gender, power and peace in women Nobel Peace Prize laureates and selected other case studies. Beginning with Baroness Bertha von Suttner who influenced Alfred Nobel to constitute the prize and herself won it in 1905, to Sirleaf, Gbowee and Karman–three women from the Global South–who shared the prize in 2011, the course will engage students in examining the most innovative and successful paradigms for peace in the 21st century.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Arora
SST 295-06 - Special Topic: Sustainable Journal Publishing 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: HUM 295-02 . During 2014-2015, the Center for Prairie Studies founded Rootstalk, a multimedia interdisciplinary online journal examining cultural and natural aspects for the prairie region. Building on that success, students will learn editorial skills as they prepare the journal’s third issue and additionally will join instructors, Grinnell alumni from the publishing world, and Development Office staff to research models of publishing sustainability. We will explore grant writing, fundraising, subscription models, advertising, and more. The goal: to make Rootstalk self-supporting within three years.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Instructor: Andelson, Baechtel
SST 295-07 - Special Topic: Gender, Power and Peace 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: HUM 295-03 . The course examines the nexus of gender, power and peace in women Nobel Peace Prize laureates and selected other case studies. Beginning with Jane Adams who influenced Alfred Nobel to constitute the prize and herself won it in 1931, to Sirleaf, Gbowee and Karman–three women from the Global South–who shared the prize in 2011, the course will engage students in examining the most innovative and successful paradigms for peace in the 21st century.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Arora
SST 295-07 - Special Topic: Race, Cinema and the National Imaginary 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: HUM 295-02 . This course examines how race has been constructed through the medium of film and cinema’s myth making abilities for over a century, from Birth of a Nation (1915) to Selma (2014). Students will learn close, textual analysis of films and gain the ability to argue the ideological function of cinema in American race politics.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Arora
SST 295-08 - Special Topic: Learning Leadership from Literature 1 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: HUM 295-03 . Weaving timeless fictional characters with the biographies of coroporate visionaries, historian and entrepreneur Bruce Weindruch illuminates the role of strategic planning, sales, branding and corporate social responsibility in today’s 24/7 technology-driven workplace. In this “MBA for Liberal Arts Undergrads,” learn the “why it’s done” - as opposed to “how it’s done” - that distinguishes legendary leaders. Sponsored by the Wilson Program in Enterprise and Leadership: taught by Bruce Weindruch ‘78.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Dates: October 27 to November 19. Short course deadlines apply.
Instructor: Weindruch
SST 295-08 - Special Topic: Race, Cinema, and the National Imaginary 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: HUM 295-04 . This course examines how race has been constructed through the medium of film and cinema’s myth making abilities for over a century, from Birth of a Nation (1915) to Selma (2014). Students will learn close, textual analysis of films and gain the ability to argue the ideological function of cinema in American race politics.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Arora
SST 295-09 - Special Topic: Ethnographic Film 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: HUM 295-05 . Anthropologists have deployed the medium of film (and before that photography) to emphasize the socially constructed nature of cultural reality and the evolving nature of our understanding of any culture. This course will train students to read classic film ethnographies; delve into the debates on ethnographic films over the last century; place them in their historical and theoretical context and lastly to assess the position of the film-maker as an ethnographer of ones’ own and other’s cultures.
Instructor: Arora
SST 350 - Freedom and Authority: The Control of Reproduction 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
See HUM 350 .
Note: Not offered every year
Sociology
SOC 111 - Introduction to Sociology 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Introduction to basic concepts, theory, and methods concerning human behavior and social structure. Special attention is paid to the scope and limitations of sociological analysis and the major empirical areas of investigation in sociology.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
SOC 220 - Sociology of Global Development 4 credits (Fall)
Provides an overview of global development with a focus on the social consequences of development practices for people living in developing countries. Also examines the ways in which consumption patterns in industrialized countries affect global development. Case study approach used to consider the effects of general practices on specific locales, such as the role of powerful forces (economic, political, ideological, religious) in shaping living conditions at the local level.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Inglis
SOC 240 - Social Movements 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
This survey of contemporary social movements focuses on the processes of social and cultural change, collective group behavior, and the process and critiques of reform revolution and social movement change. We will examine definitions and theories of reform, revolution, and social movements and make comparative analyses of goals and ideologies and their development, inside and beyond the boundaries of the United States.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Oberlin, Scott
SOC 242 - Deviance and Social Control 4 credits (Fall)
Analysis of the causes and control of deviant behavior, e.g., alcohol and drug abuse, suicide, assault, and sexual deviance. Topics include how definitions of deviance change, how people become deviant, how deviant groups are organized, and how transactions among deviants occur.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Haenfler
SOC 248 - Self and Society 4 credits (Spring)
The study of human social interaction. Focuses on how people interact in small groups, change their beliefs, interpret behavior, develop a sense of identity, and construct their social worlds. Attention to the social psychology of collective behavior and of everyday life.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 or PSY 113 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
SOC 260 - Human Sexuality in the United States 4 credits (Spring)
How do individuals develop attractions, make sexual choices, and define and enact their own sexuality? How do institutions and organizations influence, shape, and constrain sexual attitudes and behaviors? This course will examine the social construction of human sexuality in the United States with particular attention to gender, sexual orientation, commercial sex, and sexual education.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Erickson
SOC 265 - Sociology of Health and Illness 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An examination of the social contexts of health, illness, and medical care, focusing on the debates and contrasting perspectives of medical sociology. Topics include the social, environmental, and occupational factors in health and disease; the politics surrounding breast cancer and the AIDS epidemic; the patient’s perspective on illness; the development of the health professions and the health work force; ethical issues in medicine as they relate to medical technology; and alternatives to current health care organizations. Emphasis is given to how the social categories of gender, race, social class, and sexual orientation affect both illness and health care.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Ferguson
SOC 270 - Gender and Society 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
A sociological analysis of how gender is constructed and transformed in American society. This course will explore how both men and women come to know themselves as gendered beings, how gender is produced through interactions, in the media, in the workplace, and in families.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Erickson
SOC 275 - Race and Ethnicity in America 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Introduces students to sociological perspectives on race, ethnicity, and racial inequality in American society. Examines the historical development of race-based barriers to achievement, the emergence and persistence of racial inequality, the character of racial beliefs, resistance to racial oppression, and current problems in American race relations. Emphasis on understanding individual attitudes and behaviors in relation to the structure of social institutions.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Scott
SOC 280 - Bound By Borders: A Sociology of Law and Migration 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Laws bind people to each other and to their territory, and this has far-reaching consequences for people’s life chances and identities. Migrants test these ties and have been the motivation for the emergence and reconfiguration of important laws governing who can come and go. How and why this happens interests not only policymakers, government officials, and judges, but also individuals included or excluded by borders and scholars trying to understand laws. This course takes a sociological view of global migration to explain the origins of law and its effects.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Cook-Martín
SOC 285 - Contemporary Sociological Theory 4 credits (Fall)
Contemporary sociological theory considered in light of classic theories. Emphasis on the conceptual adequacy and the logical consistency of major contemporary theoretical perspectives.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 and at least one 200-level sociology course.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Inglis, Haenfler
SOC 291 - Methods of Empirical Investigation 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: ANT 291 . An overview of the research process in sociology and the social sciences, with emphasis on problems of epistemology, research design, techniques of sampling, methods of data collection, principles of measurement, basic methods of data analysis, and ethical considerations. This course will explore these topics through hands-on experiences including guided work on research methods through lab exercises.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 or ANT 104 ; and at least one 200-level sociology course; and MAT 115 , SST 115 , or MAT 209 (preferred), or MAT 336 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Oberlin
SOC 292 - Ethnographic Research Methods 4 credits (Fall)
See ANT 292 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
SOC 295-01 - Special Topic: Deviance and Subcultures 4 credits (Fall)
This course explores a variety of youth-oriented subcultures labeled “deviant” by dominant/”mainstream” societies. We will examine how societies define deviance, why people engage in deviance, subcultural resistance, and societies’ reactions to deviant subcultures. We also think critically about issues of race, social class, gender, and sexuality, and how subculturists both resist and reinforce prevailing inequalities. Groups such as skinheads, punks, goths, skaters, Riot Grrrls, virginity pledgers, and gamers illustrate subcultural and deviance theories.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
Instructor: Haenfler
SOC 295-01 - Special Topic: Feminist & Critical Criminologies 4 credits (Spring)
Introduces students to traditional theories in deviance and criminology, then focuses on critiques raised by feminist and critical criminologists in the past two decades. Students read foundational and contemporary theoretcial texts in these latter traditions, examine their key empirical contributions, and use that knowledge in a literature review/research project exploring the criminological genealogy of a contemporary issue. Topics may include gendered (sex work, domestic violence, victimization), environmental, economic (state-corporate, white-collar), police, hate, and youth crimes.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
Instructor: Devine-Eller
SOC 295-02 - Special Topic: Analyzing Religion: A Sociological Agenda 4 credits (Spring)
Does religion oppress or liberate? Is it alienating , or a force of social solidarity? Are we becoming more secular? This is a course in the social scientific study of religion as a social institution. It examines behavior, belonging and belief, as well as the relationships and processes that sustain religious systems of meaning. Examines cults, new religious movements, capitalism, and the impact of religion on other social categories such as gender, sexuality, and ethnicity.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
Instructor: Snook
SOC 300 - Practicum in Applied Sociology 4 credits (Spring)
Students work 10 hours each week at internship sites in Grinnell or surrounding areas (personal transportation required). Class discussions and assignments focus on internship experiences from a sociological perspective. Students must request and submit an application for this course from the Sociology Department in November. Students needing assistance in securing an internship are encouraged to visit the Center for Careers, Life, and Service prior to fall break.
Prerequisite: Any two 200-level or above sociology courses and third-year or fourth-year student status with good academic standing.
Instructor: Chair of the Department
SOC 320 - The Family 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
A survey of the family from a sociological perspective, focusing on recent transformations of the family. Topics include historical origins of the family, traditional marriage and alternative processes of mate selection and family formation, parenting, divorce, family violence, racial-ethnic variations in family experience, and gay and lesbian families.
Prerequisite: Any 200-level or above sociology course.
Instructor: Ferguson
SOC 350 - NGOs: Organizing To Do Good 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
People often join together in nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations to accomplish good for themselves or others. This seminar focuses on how such organizations are structured and how they operate. We will explore how NPOs and NGOs resemble, and differ from, other organizational forms in mission, leadership, organizational change, environmental constraints, and effects on members. Attention to practical managerial challenges. Cases may include human service organizations, community action agencies, foundations and funding organizations, fraternal organizations, nonprofit colleges, and international humanitarian NGOs.
Prerequisite: At least two 200-level sociology courses and third-year or fourth-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Hunter
SOC 360 - Work in the “New” Economy 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
What is the “new” global economy and how has it transformed the landscape of the American economy in the last three decades? How do individuals experience the consequences of globalization in their lives, both as workers and consumers? This course will examine recent transformations in the U.S. economy — including deskilling, downsizing, and the rise of the service sector — and will consider how each of these “transformations” relate to issues of identity, community, family formation, structural inequality, and national culture.
Prerequisite: Two 200-level sociology courses.
Instructor: Erickson
SOC 370 - Members Only: A Political Sociology of Citizenship 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Citizenship is a legal tie between an individual and a particular state, but it is also a category to which rights are attached, a basis for identification, and a set of participatory practices. It is shaped and expressed in the political sphere (through schools, military service, museums, censuses, and surveillance), the economic sphere (in labor markets), and in the civil sphere (through conventional participatory practices such as voting and the emergence of new domains of political engagement such as grassroots movements). This course takes a comparative-historical approach and uses the lens of political sociology to examine cases across the globe.
Prerequisite: Two 200-level sociology courses.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Cook-Martín
SOC 390 - Advanced Studies in Sociology 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Seminar in current issues of sociological theory and research. Content of the course announced each year. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Varies; at least one 200-level sociology course and third-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
SOC 390-01 - Advanced Studies: School to Prison Pipeline 4 credits (Spring)
The “school-to-prison pipeline” describes the increasing flow of U.S. students from schools into the carceral system – for example, by involving police to arrest (disproportionately disadvantaged) “disruptive” students. We will read foundational theoretical texts (e.g., Foucault’s Discipline and Punish), examine the sociological, political, and educational literature on the phenomenon, and look critically at current media coverage of events. Assignments will include short memos, a critical review of the literature, and a mini-empirical project on current events.
Prerequisite: At least one 200-level sociology course and third-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Devine-Eller
SOC 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Culture 4 credits (Fall)
Culture, in the field of sociology, “considers material products, ideas, and symbolic means and their relation to social behavior” (American Sociological Association). This course will cover a few narrow areas in depth, to give students basic theoretical competency and a sense of what cultural sociologists/sociologists of culture do. Topics to include: microsociology and macrosociology of culture; cultural consumption and reception; mass culture, subcultures and resistance; political culture; language as culture; and classification, boundaries and cognition.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 and one 200-level sociology course.
Instructor: Devine-Eller
SOC 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Political Economy of Neoliberalism 4 credits (Spring)
The term “neoliberalism” is typically associated with a set of initiatives and strategies intended to recognize the functions of the state in line with corporate interests, and which result in diminished life chances among poor and working people and increasing inequality, overall. But how did this shift in policy preferences come about? Where did it emerge, and why, and with what implications, domestic and global? What is “new” about neoliberalism? How does it differ from what came before? The course sets out to answer these questions beginning with a look into increased competition between industrial powers in the US and Western Europe in the 1970s and 1980s. The course continues with an assessment of the technological, financial, and communications innovations that followed, and which reverberate to this day. We will then seek to connect these innovations and related shifts in the functions of the state and actions of political and economic elites to a series of economic crises: Latin America in the 1980s; Asia in the 1990s; the United States, in 2008; and in Greece and China, more recently. Weekly analytical memos will be collected; students will also submit a final research paper approximately 10,000 -
12,000 words in length.
Prerequisite: SOC 111 , ANT 104 , ECN 111 , or POL 101 and one 200-level course in sociology, anthropology, economics, or political science.
Instructor: inglis
SOC 399 - Directed Research 2 or 4 credits
See Directed Research.
Instructor: StaffSpanish
SPN 105 - Introduction to the Spanish Language I 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Treatment of basic language elements with special emphasis on oral communication. Short readings of a historical, cultural, and literary nature.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Not regularly offered in the spring.
Instructor: Staff
SPN 106 - Introduction to the Spanish Language II 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Completion of the presentation of basic language elements with a special emphasis on oral communication. Short readings of a historical, cultural, and literary nature.
Prerequisite: SPN 105 .
Instructor: Staff
SPN 204 - Communication in Spanish I 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Work on improvement of speaking skills. Discussion and conversation based on various cultural materials, including current periodicals and satellite television. Conducted in Spanish.
Co-requisite: Concurrent enrollment in SPN 217 .
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Staff
SPN 205 - Communication in Spanish II 1 credits (Fall and Spring)
Work on improvement of speaking skills. Discussion and conversation based on various cultural materials, including current periodicals and satellite television. Conducted in Spanish.
Co-requisite: Concurrent enrollment in SPN 285 .
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Staff
SPN 217 - Intermediate Spanish 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Development of language skills through reading, oral practice, vocabulary building, grammar review, and short compositions. Materials include short literary, nonliterary, and visual texts. Conducted in Spanish. SPN 204 may be taken concurrently.
Prerequisite: SPN 106 or placement by department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
SPN 285 - Introduction to Textual Analysis 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Development of students’ critical and interpretive commentary on literary and cultural texts from Latin America amd Spain. Continued emphasis on language skills. Materials include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and film. Conducted in Spanish. SPN 205 may be taken concurrently.
Prerequisite: SPN 217 or placement by department.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
SPN 295-01 - Special Topic: Creative Writing 2 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: WRT 295-01 . This course, conducted entirely in Spanish, will function as a creative writer’s workshop. Students will practice using language strategically to craft original works of fiction, spanning from brief narrative studies to short stories. Students will spend ample time reading and writing from the storyteller’s perspective, constructing and deconstructing stories in order to learn how fiction works.
Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
Instructor: D. Perez
SPN 311 - Constructing Identities in Independent Latin America 4 credits (Spring)
A study of 19th- and early -20th-century literature in Latin America. Focus on the creation of national, racial, and gender identities in the newly independent republics through the analysis of narrative, poetry, drama, essays, and film. Conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Benoist
SPN 312 - Women and Gender in Spanish Literature 4 credits (Fall)
This course introduces students to the works of prominent Spanish women writers from the 17th to the 21st century. While we will focus primarily on short stories, drama, and poetry, we will also consider films by women directors. Our readings will provide a representative sample of how women have developed as writers and individuals in Spain and how they have crafted gender issues into their writing. Conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Pérez
SPN 314 - Studies in Modern Spanish Literature 4 credits (Fall)
A study of poetic, dramatic, and/or narrative texts from 18th- to 20th-century Spain. Topics of examination may include Romanticism; Realism; the poetic generations of 1898, 1927, and 1950; the novísimos; or contemporary narrative. Close readings and discussion focus on aesthetic, ideological, and historical aspects of the texts. Conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
SPN 315 - Creativity and Dissidence in Modern Latin America 4 credits (Spring)
A study of selected, representative works from the 1920s through the 1960s. Emphasis on texts manifesting social conscience and artistic experimentation; treatment of the culture of protest and imaginative cultural expression. Consideration of poetry, narrative, and visual arts. Conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Aparicio
SPN 316 - Advanced Spanish Language 4 credits (Spring)
A Spanish communication course designed to strengthen Spanish oral proficiency and to improve listening and comprehension skills. Emphasis on natural language use of the target language in social encounters and grammar concepts related to communication strategies. A variety of authentic materials will be used.
Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Valentín
SPN 317 - Readings in U.S. Latin@ Literature and Culture 4 credits (Fall)
This discussion-based course provides a broad approach to U.S. Latin@ literature. We will explore filmic and literary texts that voice the multiple and varied experiences of different generations of U.S. Latin@s from different national origins and cultures. We will pay particular attention to the construction of identity in terms of race, gender, sexuality, and class; bilingualism and code-switching; the experiences of the exile, the immigrant, and the refugee; the marketing of the U.S. Latin@ identity; and the construction of community. Texts and films may be in English (with some Spanish) while discussions and written work will be in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
SPN 320 - Cultures of the Spanish-Speaking World 4 credits (Fall and/or Spring)
Examines diverse cultures of the Spanish-speaking world, including Latin America, Spain and the United States. May focus on one or multiple regions. Possible topics include: food, cultures, immigration, visual cultures. May use academic articles, film, literary texts, music. Taught in Spanish. Variable content. May be repeated for credit when content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Staff
SPN 320-01 - Cultures of the Spanish-Speaking World 4 credits (Spring)
The Worlds of Spanish-speaking Immigrants. This course will focus on the cultures of Spanish-speaking immigrants moving from Latin America to the United States, Spain, and within Latin America. We will discuss and analyze their reasons for migrating, the challenges faced by these migrants, and the perceptions about immigrants in the countries of arrival. The course will include articles from various disciplines as well as films, documentaries, and web material.
Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
Instructor: Benoist
SPN 320-01 - Cultures of the Spanish-Speaking World 4 credits (Fall)
Visual Culture in Early Modern Spain and Spanish America. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the vast production of visual images in Early Modern Spain and its colonies. It is a course about images in cultural context, about the social and political uses to which they were put, the various ways they were thought of, and the kinds of responses they elicited. Students will become familiar with the works of El Greco, Velázquez, Zurbarán, Ribera and Murillo as well as painters active in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and Peru. Some of the key topics we will address are: the role of portraiture in the construction and reproduction of the Spanish Habsburg monarchy, the nature and uses of religious imagery, the intersections between painting and material culture, and the relationships of gender implicated in visual practice.
Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
Instructor: Pérez
SPN 343 - The Art of Language 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
Study of Spanish grammar to improve ability to express oneself with ease. Students will review and strengthen their understanding and use of morphological and syntactic aspects of Spanish while developing their competence to explain how the structure of Spanish functions.
Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Valentín
SPN 377 - Modernization and Innovation in Contemporary Latin America 4 credits (Fall)
A study of selected, representative works since 1960, including internationally respected literature of the “Boom,” subsequent fiction, and recent poetic revolutions. Conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPN 311 , SPN 312 , SPN 314 , SPN 315 , or SPN 317 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Aparicio
SPN 379 - U.S. Latin@ Identities and Sexualities 4 credits (Fall)
This interdisciplinary course focuses on Latin@ sexuality and identities. Students will explore contributions by Latin@ scholars and artists that disrupt the simplistic ways in which Latin@ sexuality has been taken up as exotic and radical. We will engage Chicana feminist theory as well as queer and performance theory as we consider the ways in which sexuality speaks to the production and representation of Latin@ identities. Our study will cut across literary genres to include fiction, poetry, testimonios, and performance among other expressions. Students are expected to engage sexuality in its plurality as they examine these texts and contemporary popular cultural production. Texts will be in Spanish, English or Spanglish. Class discussion and all written work will be in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPN 311 , SPN 312 , SPN 314 , SPN 315 , or SPN 317
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
SPN 383 - The Latin American Colonial World 4 credits (Fall)
A study of the texts and debates surrounding initial encounters between Spaniards, indigenous and African peoples in the “New World,” and the establishment of Colonial culture and society. Spanish, indigenous, mestizo, and African perspectives are considered through the study of myth, narratives, poetry, autobiography, and film. Conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPN 311 , SPN 312 , SPN 314 , SPN 315 , or SPN 317 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Benoist
SPN 384 - Spanish Dialectology 4 credits (Spring)
This course will examine the history and diversity of the Spanish-speaking world, from both historical and synchronic perspectives. The diachronic perspective will focus on the historical, cultural, social, and linguistic factors that were involved in the origin of different Spanish dialects. The synchronic perspective will provide a linguistic description (phonological, morpho-syntactic, and lexical) of various Spanish dialects as spoken today. Students will work with oral and written texts produced in different varieties of Spanish in order to recognize those varieties and identify the linguistic features that characterize each of them.
Prerequisite: SPN 343 or LIN 114 and permission of instructor.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Valentín
SPN 385 - Studies in Contemporary Spanish Literature and Film 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines Spanish narrative and film from the 20th and 21st centuries to explore the development of a modern, global Spain. Topics discussed include Franco’s dictatorship, the democratic transition, human rights, and the place of cultural production in social movements for “historical memory.” Conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPN 311 , SPN 312 , SPN 314 , SPN 315 , or SPN 317 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
SPN 386 - Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Spanish Literature 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines medieval and early modern literature in its cultural and historical context. The specific topic of the course may vary to focus on a specific genre, author, or theme. Conducted in Spanish. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: SPN 311 , SPN 312 , SPN 314 , SPN 315 , or SPN 317 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Pérez
SPN 386-01 - Studies in Medieval & Early Modern Spanish Literature 4 credits (Spring)
This advanced seminar focuses on the literature produced in Spain and the Spanish American colonies between 1492 and 1700. The course will address issues of race, class, identity, and gender in early modern poetry, theater, prose, and visual texts. Close attention will be paid to the cultural and historical context of the era. Conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPN 311 , SPN 312 , SPN 314 , SPN 315 , or SPN 317 .
Instructor: Pérez
SPN 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Designing Empire: Plazas, Power, and Urban Planning in Habsburg Spain and its Colonies. 4 credits (Spring)
Spanish Habsburg Monarchs employed the founding cities as a tool of imperial legitimacy in ways other emerging colonial powers did not, creating an “empire of cities” (Kagan). This course will approach the compartive issue of the city in the Habsburg world, focusing in particular in Spain, the Viceroyalty of Peru and New Spain, and the Spanish colonies in Asia. The common denomiator is the political construction and alteration of urban public space-how old communal spaces were remade into Baroque showcases of monarchaial power and how, in overseas territories, urbanism was the cornerstone of monarchial legitimacy.
Prerequisite: SPN 311 , SPN 312 , SPN 314 , SPN 315 , SPN 317 , SPN 295 Reading Post-Conflict Central America (offered Spring 2013), or SPN 295 Refashioning the Self: Hispanic Women’s Literature in the 20th Century (offered Spring 2014).
Instructor: PérezTechnology Studies
TEC 154 - Evolution of Technology 4 credits (Spring)
To make wise decisions about future technologies, we must understand the past and the present: what drives and influences technological change? How do technologies affect individuals and society? How do we make decisions about technology? Who decides? Although individual section offerings will consider different technologies and issues, all offerings will explore such questions through readings and case studies from a variety of disciplines, along with writing and discussion.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Staff
TEC 215 - Solar Energy Technologies 4 credits (Spring)
An investigation of the technology related to the utilization and storage of solar energy, including consideration of scientific, technical, economic, and social concerns. Study of the broad energy resource and use picture, including calculations, followed by an in-depth study of solar thermal conversion, photovoltaic devices, photochemical conversion, biomass, and wind power. Underlying principles and quantitative reasoning stressed.
Prerequisite: CHM 129 or PHY 131 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Swartz
TEC 232 - Human-Computer Interaction 2 credits (Fall or Spring)
See CSC 232 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Theatre and Dance
THD 100 - Performance Laboratory 1 or 2 credits (Fall and Spring)
Guided participation, for major theatre and dance productions, in theatrical performance, choreography, assistant directing, stage managing, dramaturgy, or design and crew work on sets, lights, props, costumes, or makeup. Qualified students examine problems of production in the theatre while solving these problems in rehearsal and performance. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Note: (A maximum of 8 practica credits may count toward graduation.) S/D/F only.
Instructor: Staff
THD 104 - Dance Technique I 2 credits (Fall and Spring)
Beginning dance technique; the principles, terminology, basic history, developing a physical and kinesthetic understanding of concert dance techniques. Areas of emphasis include but are not limited to ballet or modern dance. Consult the Schedule of Courses for the specific area of emphasis each semester. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Hurley
THD 111 - Introduction to Performance Studies 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An examination of dramatic performance in its broadest cultural contexts. This foundational course is designed to encourage critical thinking about the inclusive field of performance and how it is created, including orality, festivals, living history museums, trials, political conventions, and sporting events. Students explore both texts and performance events to analyze “What makes an event performance?” and “How is performance made and understood?” Because knowledge is embodied as well as textualized, students will both write and perform components of their final class projects.
Prerequisite: None.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Delmenico
THD 113 - Movement for the Performer 4 credits (Fall)
Practical exploration of movement and bodily-based trainings based on Nikolais and Laban techniques as an alternative means to theorize the integration of mind and body. Students develop greater physical awareness and articulation for stage, athletics and other applications. Studio-based exercises and activities investigate daily movement practices, improvisation and an introduction to composing in movement.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Miller
THD 115 - Theatrical Design and Technology 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A hands-on, experiential introduction to the design elements of theatre and dance production. Topics include a history of Western theatre architecture and stage forms, scene painting, properties, lighting, sound, drafting, makeup, and costuming. Emphasis is placed upon the design and implementation of theatrical scenes from a variety of historic eras and the analysis of the ways in which the design elements influence performance style.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Thomas
THD 117 - Introduction to Acting 4 credits (Fall and Spring)
A practice-based exploration of the theories and techniques of acting. Using Stanislavksi’s seminal text An Actor Prepares as the foundation, students develop their skills at transforming dramatic texts from the page to the stage. The course culminates in publicly staged scenes.
Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Delmenico, Quintero
THD 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Indian Theory of Drama/Theatre and Performance: Bharata’s Natyashahtra 1 credits (Fall)
See ENG 195-01 .
Instructor: Singh
THD 201 - Dramatic Literature I 4 credits (Fall)
Cross-listed as: GLS 201 . Study of major works in Western dramatic literature to 1850, with reference to cultural contexts, interpretive problems, and dramatic theory, beginning with Aristotle’s Poetics. Includes plays and performances (in translation) of Greek tragedy and Aristophanic comedy, English medieval cycle plays, Machiavelli, Marlowe, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Tempest, Webster’s White Devil, Ben Jonson, Spanish Golden Age, Racine and Moliere, a Restoration comedy, the Brook Mahabharata, and Goethe’s Faust.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Mease, Delmenico
THD 202 - Dramatic Literature II 4 credits (Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 202 . Study of major works in Western dramatic literature from 1850 to the present, with reference to cultural contexts, interpretive problems, and dramatic theory. From the “classic moderns” of realism and naturalism through the Symbolists, Expressionists, Surrealists and Absurdists; dramatists and theorists include Ibsen, Chekhov, Strindberg, Yeats, Synge, Shaw, Buechner, Kaiser, Artaud, Pirandello, Lorca, Brecht, Sartre, Genet, Beckett, Grotowski, Weiss, Pinter, Cixous, and Stoppard.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Mease
THD 203 - American Theatre 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 203 . A study of American theatre from the early 20th century to the present. Students examine a variety of different theatrical styles, ranging from plays by canonical authors (including O’Neill, Williams, Miller, Albee, Wilson, Mamet, and Shepard) to experimental works by artists who challenged the conventions of mainstream theatre (including Cage, Kaprow, Beck, Finley, and Wilson).
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Quintero
THD 204 - Dance Technique II 2 credits (Fall and Spring)
Intermediate and advanced dance technique; physical and kinesthetic study involving more complex movement patterns and sequences, phrasing, musicality, and stylistic considerations. Areas of emphasis include but are not limited to ballet or modern dance. Consult the Schedule of Courses for the specific area of emphasis each semester. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: THD 104 or equivalent experience.
Instructor: Hurley
THD 205 - Dance Ensemble 2 credits (Fall and Spring)
Dance Ensemble is a performing ensemble engaged in the development, rehearsal and production of contemporary dance works choreographed by faculty and guest artists. Exposure to diverse choreographic approaches provides the opportunity to expand technical, stylistic and interpretive range. Students gain collaborative skills through improvisation and the contribution of movement material to certain choreographic projects. Dance ensemble is open to students with previous dance and theatre background, and students interested in applying themselves as invested movers.
Prerequisite: Entry into Dance Ensemble takes place at an Audition/Informational Workshop held at the beginning of each semester. Course registration closes at end of Add/Drop period.
Note: (A maximum of 8 practica credits may count toward graduation.) S/D/F only.
Instructor: Miller
THD 210 - Contemporary Dance in a Global Context 4 credits (Fall)
Contemporary dance practices have been challenging deeply held beliefs on art and life since the early 19th century. This hard to define genre has roots in modern and post-modern dance theory, and draws from dance disciplines as diverse as Ballet, Modern, Bharantanatyam, Butoh, Hip-Hop; as well as other disciplines. This course explores origins, styles, icons, purpose, myths and key concepts of the form from a survey of work produced by contemporary choreograhers across the globe.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Miller
THD 211 - Performance Studies: Traditions and Innovations 4 credits (Spring)
This course examines non-naturalistic forms of theatre and performance-making. It explores the work of foundational avant-garde director/theorists and performance practices that have developed since the 1960s, including performance art and community-based theatre. It also focuses on non-Western performances, including textual and nontextual practices, and the ways in which Western and non-Western theatre have intersected interculturally during the last century.
Prerequisite: Any 100-level Theatre and Dance course.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Delmenico
THD 217 - Intermediate Acting 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An intensive performance laboratory for students to explore different modes of performance and further develop and refine their acting skills. With an emphasis on psychological realism, students stage a series of individual and group performances designed to enhance their critical engagement of performance as both the subject and method of their study.
Prerequisite: THD 117 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Quintero
THD 225 - Choreography: Developing Physical Ideas 4 credits (Spring)
This course focuses on the fundamentals and theories of choreographic processes explored through formal and experimental models and their socio-historical contexts. Improvisation and composition are used to explore the structural elements and movement vocabularies that are used to devise physical ideas for the stage that emerge as choreography and staged direction for theatrical works. Students will present their work in an end of the semester showing.
Prerequisite: THD 104 , THD 113 , or any 200-level Theatre and Dance course.
Instructor: Miller
THD 235 - Directing 4 credits (Fall)
A theoretical and practical investigation of the responsibilities and techniques of the director in the theatre. Classroom exercises are supplemented by readings addressing different theories of directing. The final project is the directing of a one-act play.
Prerequisite: THD 117 .
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Quintero
THD 240 - Design for Performance I 4 credits (Fall)
An exploration of the design fundamentals common to each facet of theatrical design: scenery, lighting, costumes, and makeup. Such elements as design procedure from conception to realization, research techniques and materials, period style, and design history are emphasized.
Prerequisite: THD 115 or ART 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Thomas
THD 245 - Lighting for the Stage 4 credits (Fall)
Introduces the student to the art of lighting design, process, and the practice of lighting the stage for the theatre, opera, dance, industrials, television, and video. Students develop the knowledge, vocabulary, and skills necessary to become a master electrician, assistant lighting designer, and beginning lighting designer.
Prerequisite: THD 115 or THD 240 , or ART 111 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Thomas
THD 295-01 - Special Topic: Costume Construction 4 credits (Spring)
This course is intended as an introduction implementation of a costume designer’s vision. Students will become familiar with the planning and problem-solving inherent in this implementation as well as various techinques used to construct costumes, from sewing and patterning to masks, makeup and millinery. In a practical laboratory environment, students will develop skills associated with sewing equipment as well as hand sewing techniques, surface treatments, dyeing, fiber and fabric identification, altering and re-purposing of material.
Prerequisite: One 100-level Theatre course.
Instructor: Howell-Gritsch
THD 295-02 - Special Topic: Contemporary African Theatre and Performance 4 credits (Spring)
In this course, students will examine contemporary theatre practices and theories from several of the many nations that comprise the African continent. Rather than observing - as the Economist did in 2011 and Time did in 1998 and 2012 - that “Africa is rising”, we will avoid these essentializing memes through careful historiographic work and local, national, and regional specificity.
Prerequisite: One 100-level Theatre course.
Instructor: Cima
THD 303 - Studies in Drama I 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 303 . A seminar-style course in dramaturgy, focusing on a central topic in the history and theory prior to 1850. The course will emphasize the development of methodologies and research strategies useful for the theatre practitioner and the researcher. Past topics for this variable-content course have included Greek Drama, Theory of Comedy (Aristophanes to Stoppard), English Medieval and Renaissance Drama; Hamlet and Revenge Tragedy, Shakespeare’s Comedies and Tragedies. May be repeated once for credit when content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: May vary depending on topic but can include 200-level coursework in English, foreign languages, Classics, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Anthropology, Art, Theatre or dramatic literature/criticism/theatre history.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Mease, Delmenico
THD 304 - Studies in Drama II 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
Cross-listed as: GLS 304 . A seminar-style course in dramaturgy, focusing on a central topic in the history and theory of theatre and performance. Studies in Drama II covers topics after 1850. The course will emphasize the development of methodologies and research strategies useful for the theatre practitioner and the researcher. Past topics for this variable-content course have included Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov; Beckett’s Prose and Plays; Beckett and the Theatre of the Absurd; British Drama since World War II; and Postcolonial Theatre. May be repeated once for credit when content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: May vary depending on topic but can include 200-level coursework in English, foreign languages, Classics, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Anthropology, Art, Theatre or dramatic literature/criticism/theatre history.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Mease, Delmenico
THD 310 - Studies in Dance 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
A combined seminar and practice course for advanced study of a selected topic in dance or contemporary performance that will be detailed each time the course is offered (topics are announced in the Schedule of Courses). The course will employ a variety of materials and methods for advanced research in dance as a cultural, social, historical, and artistic phenomenon. Topics could include: Dance and Technology, Community and Performance; Dancing Gender and Sexuality; and The Choreography of Political Protest. May be repeated once for credit. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.
Prerequisite: Any 200-level Theatre and Dance course.
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
THD 311 - Studies in Performance 4 credits (Fall or Spring)
An advanced-level, variable-topic course that combines theoretical and historical study with practical investigation. Possible topics include adaptation and performance of literature or nonfiction and devised or community-based performance. Students will work as individuals or within groups to research, create, and present a final performance project.
Prerequisite: THD 201 , THD 202 , THD 203 , THD 210 , or THD 211 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Staff
THD 317 - Advanced Performance 4 credits (Spring)
This variable topic course focuses on classical and contemporary modes of performance. Possible areas of emphasis include Greek, Elizabethan, French neoclassic, contemporary docudrama theatre, Asian theatre, and performance art. Course emphasis is on scene study, performance, and directing. May be repeated when content changes.
Prerequisite: THD 210 , THD 211 , THD 217 , or THD 235 .
Note: Not offered every year.
Instructor: Quintero
THD 340 - Design for Performance II 4 credits (Fall)
An in-depth exploration of designing for the stage, with the specific area of design (scenery, lighting, costumes) announced each time the course is offered. Emphasis is on script or dance “text” analysis and the evolution of design from first reading to first performance.
Prerequisite: THD 240 .
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Thomas
|
|
Print this Page