Apr 28, 2024  
2018-2019 Academic Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course List by Subject


For information on Course Numbering and Special Topics Click Here:  General Provisions and Special Topics  

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: Bourgeois Parsons
  • 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.
    Note: Half-semester deadlines apply. 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 writing as a tool of analysis and critical thinking. Some required writing and revision.

    Prerequisite: WRT 101  
    Note: Half-semester deadlines apply. 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: Second-year standing.
    S/D/F only
    Instructor: Carl
  • 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: Scott
  • 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 their relationship to racism.

    Prerequisite: one 100-level Humanities or Social Studies course.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in any language for +2 only.
    Instructor: Gibel Mevorach
  • AMS 275 - Topics in American Culture

    4 credits (Fall)
    An interdisciplinary investigation of selected problems, trends, or themes in American culture, such as regionalism, popular culture, mass communication, minority cultures, women’s lives, and other engaging issues central to American experience.

    Prerequisite: AMS 130  and second-year standing. American Studies Concentrators have first priority.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Staff
  • AMS 275-01 - Topics in American Culture: American Journey

    4 credits (Fall)
    What do an Ex-radical Black Panther member (Kesho Scott) and an Ex-International athlete  (Will Freeman) have in common and how did a chance luncheon change them? This course will answer that question.  It is a sharing of journeys as well as a survey of the power of the American Journey to the American experience and identity.  Come join us! Why do we explore what is out there?  What is your story, your journey thus far? How have previous road trips shaped you? How do our journeys help us answer the larger questions of meaning and purpose in our lives? This course is an interdisciplinary examination of journey and road trips through deep introspection, self-discovery, and transformation narratives.   American journeys and road trips find themselves in history, literature, psychology, film, and popular culture.  Through these disciplinary lenses, students will compare and contrast, and critically examine the journeys and road trips of both groups and individuals like J.B. Grinnell, Joseph Campbell, Lewis and Clarke, Daniel Boone, Thoreau, Lindbergh, Heat-Moon, Kerouac, Strayed, Mills, Steinbeck, and the larger journeys of women and slaves in this country’s history.  Even the journeys of YOUR professor will be examined. The themes of the course include: Defining the Journey-The Hero’s Journey and Learning about ourselves through our journeys; Tourist Vs Traveller; Individual and Collective Journeys and how they have shaped us; Gender Dynamics and the Road Trip; The Intersection of Risk, Transformation, and National Identity; Self-Development through the Road Trips-How our journeys define us; Building Community through journeys across generations.

    Prerequisite: AMS 130  and second-year standing.
    Instructor: Scott, W. Freeman
  • AMS 295-01 - Special Topic: Politics of Cuisine and Consumption of the Other

    4 credits (Spring)
    See ANT 295-01 .

  • 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 - Anthropological Inquiries

    4 credits (Fall)
    Community. This course considers the origin, development, and transformation of human social groups over time and space.  It begins with attention to early human ancestors and evolving relationships among social organization, subsistence strategies, and environmental conditions.  It then considers variation in forms and functions of social communities and the multiplicity of meanings communities have for kin, local, linguistic, ethnic, religious, national, and transnational groups and institutions.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: B. French
  • ANT 104-01 - Anthropological Inquiries

    4 credits (Spring)
    What Makes Us Human? We can all classify “human” vs. “nonhuman” when we see one.  However, what are our criteria? Is it our physiology (e.g., bipedalism), our DNA (e.g., 26 chromosomes), our stuff (e.g., tools), our language (e.g., “mama”), our culture (e.g., religion)?  We will examine how anthropology addresses this issue and where the different anthropological approaches over-lap.  Students will conduct selected hands-on research addressing various aspects of the “what makes us human” question.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Bentley-Condit
  • ANT 104-02 & 03 - Anthropological Inquiries

    4 credits (Spring)
    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 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 201 - Leading Innovation and Entrepreneurship

    4 credits (Fall)
    Cross-listed as: SST 201 . This course, sponsored by the Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership, takes a case-study approach to understanding leadership and management of innovations, or generating solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems, using case studies by alumni innovators. We start, of course, with Grinnell’s most famous entrepreneur, Robert Noyce. This course covers a broad range of fields, bringing in new case studies each year. Many of the alumni from whom we draw case studies will visit class.

    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 202 - Sustainability and Social Responsibility in Organizations

    4 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: SST 202 . Sponsored by the Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership. The concepts of ecological, economic, and social sustainability in organizations will be examined in detail. Similarly, we will examine the expanding practice of corporate social responsibility, which was pioneered by Howard Bowen, President of Grinnell College from 1955 to 1963. We will find these practices of sustainability and social responsibility require leadership and innovation, practices embedded in Grinnell culture.

    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 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 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in any language for +2 only.
    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 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 Racism & 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 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 268 - Language, Gender and Sexuality

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course provides an overview of the major themes and issues related to language and gender, and sexuality research from anthropological and discursive perspectives. In particular, the class focuses on relationships between language and consciousness, gender socialization through language, cultural models and power-based models of gender difference in language use, and identity performance/enactment through discourse practices. It examines foundational feminist scholarship and contributions from queering the study of language, gender, and sexuality.

    Prerequisite: ANT 104 , LIN 114 , or SOC 111 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Foreign Language option available in Spanish.
    Instructor: French
  • ANT 277 - Anthropology of Global Migrations

    4 credits (Spring)
    The course offers an overview of relevant topics in the field of international migration including: the distinctions between economic migrants, political refugees as well as populations currently being displaced by environmental disasters; explanations for why migration occurs; and its social, political, economic, and cultural impacts.

    Prerequisite: ANT 104  or SOC 111 .
    Instructor: Escandell
  • 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 (Fall or 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 - Applied Research for Community Development

    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 evaluations, or some other research in coordination with and on behalf of a Grinnell community organization.

    Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
    Note: Not offered every year
    Instructor: Roper
  • ANT 295-01 - Special Topic: Politics of Cuisine and Consumption of the Other

    4 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: AMS 295-01 . In our era of both romanticizing and rejecting the realities of globalization, food is an object and political issue that can exacerbate or diffuse conflict. This course considers ways food intersects with the construction and management of “identities.” We will contextualize the intersections of cuisine and consumption within broader concerns about representations of difference and consumer culture; examine different forms in which food mediates recognition and respect, and explore culinary tourism and question of voyeurism. This course will include two Sunday field trips to Des Moines that will take place after spring break.

    Prerequisite: ANT 104 AMS 130 , or SOC 111  and any 200-level course from any division.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Gibel Mevorach
  • ANT 295-01 - Special Topic: Health, Inequality and Social Justice

    4 credits (Fall)
    In this course students will examine the complex relationship between health and inequality through anthropology’s holistic, comparative and cross-cultural lens. Students will examine the biocultural and environmental roots of health, disease, and treatment. More specifically, students will examine the ways in which sociocultural categories like race, gender, citizenship, sexual orientation, class, etc.,  play in the existing health disparities around the globe. Drawing from critical medical anthropological and disasters research, students will analyze the biocultural and environmental  roots of illness such as cholera, hypertension, HIV-AIDS, substance abuse, among others. The course will also have an applied focus. Students will be required to use theories, methods and case studies to design applicable solutions to a concrete health equity issue in the community.

    Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
    Instructor: Kulstad
  • ANT 295-02 - Special Topic: African Archaeology

    4 credits (Spring)
    African Archaeology is an overview of human material culture from approximately 3 million years ago up through the 20th century on the African continent. By the end of this course, students will have engaged with: archaeological perspectives on being human, human-environment interactions, technological innovation and spread, the effects of globalism on African material culture, indigenous African states and chiefdom, and African as a continent with a robust and varied archaeological record.

    Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
    Instructor: McGrath
  • ANT 295-02 - Special Topic: Archaeology of Sex and Gender in Antiquity

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course will apply theories of sex and gender in archaeology to examine bodies, texts, material objects, and spaces in order to learn about women in the ancient world. The course is organized thematically to investigate various aspects of women’s experiences relating to work, power, religion, violence, and more.  Case studies will be drawn from various regions of the Old World to survey several ancient  civilizations, including Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Mycenaens, Greeks, Etruscans, Romans, and others.

    Prerequisite: ANT 104 .
    Instructor: Staff
  • ANT 295-03 - Special Topic: Mapping Antisemitism

    4 credits (Spring)
    This seminar maps themes which inform anti-Jewish attitudes and have been channeled into a “new anti-Semitism” focused exclusively on Jewish nationality and nationalism, terms which will also be explored during this semester. Cumulatively, the readings provide a loose overview of theological anti-Semitism, racial anti-Semitisim, and political anti-Semitisim. Political anti-Semitism offers up important corollary questions concerning the relationship(s) between identities, power and knowledge, the consequences of globalization on stereotypes and (mis)representation of people/places, and importantly, the role of academic activism and its political consequences.

    Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Gibel Mevorach
  • 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 355 - Collective Memory in Anthropological Perspective

    4 credits (Fall or 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. It begins by addressing foundational theories and builds to consider: relationships between nationalism and memory, possibilities of representing violence, contestations and embodies performances of public memories. Particular attention is paid to language and semiotic systems in memory work.

    Prerequisite: ANT 265 , ANT 280 , or ANT 285  
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: French
  • 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 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: Comparative Primate Skeletal Morphology

    4 credits (Fall)
    In this course we will work very closely with authentic primate skeletal materials – both human and nonhuman.  Students will become familiar with and, ultimately, know these bones at a glance  by the end of the semester.  We will think about, discuss, and write about skeletal materials from comparative and evolutionary perspectives. Students will master the techniques needed to conduct skeletal research and collect comparative data.  They will use their data in a final project.

    Prerequisite: ANT 104  and ANT 205 ANT 221 ANT 225 ANT 227 ANT 280 ANT 290 , ANT 321 , or ANT 325 , or a strong biology background.
    Instructor: Bentley-Condit
  • ANT 399 - Directed Research

    4 credits
    See Directed Research.  

    Instructor: Staff
  • Art

  • ARH 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
  • ARH 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 and participation in an intensive 5 day, 1/2 credit course prior to first day of classes.
    Instructor: Wright
  • ARH 211 - Arts and Visual Cultures of China

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    This course explores the arts and visual cultures of China from the Neolithic period through the nineteenth century. We will consider diverse media including painting, prints, textiles, ceramics, metalwork, jade, and architecture, as well as works in the College Art Collection. A central theme will be the role that various (non-Han Chinese) ethnic groups played in shaping  the arts of the Chinese court, with special emphasis on cultural exchange with Central Asia and the Steppe.

    Prerequisite: ARH 103 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Shea
  • ARH 212 - The Global Mongol Century: In the Footsteps of Marco Polo

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    In this class, we will explore the arts and visual cultures of Mongol-controlled lands in Eurasia at the turn of the fourteenth centruy. Loosely following Marco Polo’s travels, we will travel from Italy to China, recreating the visual landscape of particular urban centers. Using primary sources and visual material, including illuminated manuscripts, textiles, paintings, ceramics, and metalwork, we will come to a clearer understanding of the interwoven networks in Eurasia during this period.

    Prerequisite: ARH 103 
    Instructor: Shea
  • ARH 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: ARH 103 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • ARH 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: ARH 103 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • ARH 222 - Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

    4 credits
    A study of major artists, works, and issues in European Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting (ca. 1865–1900). Specific movements include Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, and Art Nouveau.

    Prerequisite: ARH 103 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in French or German for course and +2.
    Instructor: Anger
  • ARH 225 - The Baroque Imaginary

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    The Baroque has fascinated - and incensed - artists, historians, cultural critics, and philosophers from Heinrich Wölfflin, Walter Benjamin, and Erwin Panofsky to Gilles Deleuze, Hubert Damisch, and Peter Greenaway. 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: ARH 103 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • ARH 226 - Gender, Race and Fashion in Western Portraiture, 1500-1950

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    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 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 Velázquez to Qing China, Viceregal Mexico, nineteenth-century Paris, and post-war New York.

    Prerequisite: ARH 103 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • ARH 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: ARH 103 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in French or German for course and +2.
    Instructor: Anger
  • ARH 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: ARH 103 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in French or German for course and +2.
    Instructor: Anger
  • ARH 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: ARH 103 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Anger
  • ARH 248 - Greek Archaeology and Art

    4 credits (Spring)
    See CLS 248 .

    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
  • ARH 250 - Roman Archaeology and Art

    4 credits (Spring)
    See CLS 250 .

    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
  • ARH 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: ARH 103 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Wright
  • ARH 295-01 - Special Topic: Contemporary Architectures

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course explores issues in contemporary architecture, looking at architectural theory and production globally. Exploring examples of architecture from the 1960s to today, we discuss topics including postmodernism, deconstructivism, semiotics, gentrifications, suburbanization, and  the global city. Students will analyze the built  environment, visual representations of the built environment, and critical texts by prominent architects and architectural theorists.

    Prerequisite: ARH 103 .
    Instructor: Rivera
  • ARH 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
  • ARH 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Ancient Greek Sculpture: Style, Context, and Ownership

    4 credits (Spring)
    See CLS 395-01 .

  • ARH 395-02 - Advanced Special Topic: Theory and Methods of Art History

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course studies the theory and methods of art history. We will explore historical and philosophical approaches as well as contemporary methods. The point is to  think through how and why we apprpoach art and architecture the way we do and to learn to do so more conscientiously and fruitfully.

    Prerequisite: ARH 103  and third or fourth-year standing.
    Instructor: Anger
  • ARH 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
  • ARH 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 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: Digital Image and Video Production

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course will address the moving image within the contexts of both art history and contemporary visual culture. We will begin with a brief history of video art from the 1960s onward to establish our foundation, then delve into the more current practices of artists dealing with video - widely apanning from experimental video art to narrative works to the mainstream cinema. Techniques in video, sound, and software editing platforms will be taught through technical demos, in-class assignments, and larger projects. We will cover basic and advanced video editing in Adobe Premier Pro, capturing and manipulating sound (in Premiere and Audition), video lighting and studio practice, greenscreening, digital screencapturing , and other techniques associated with video production.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Christmas
  • 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 237 - Chemistry of Artists’ Materials

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    Cross-listed as: SCI 237 . This team-taught course will examine the physical properties of various artists’ materials and will use these materials to generate new creative work. Examples of materials to be investigated may include, but not be limited to: paper, plaster, paint binders, pigments and dyes. The class will be a combination of in-class discussion, laboratory, and studio practice; it will be a rare opportunity for students to learn from two inquiry-based disciplines in two different locations on campus.

    Prerequisite: ART 111 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Running, Trimmer
  • 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)
    Students develop sculptural forms with traditional and contemporary ceramic materials, processes and techniques. Focus is on volumetric form, surface texture, and various surface treatments  emphasizing ceramics materials, processes and techniques within contemporary art. While respecting global ceramic craft traditions, students concentrate on experiential inquiry to encourage innovation and adaptation within the expanding ceramic field (including the use of  digital tools). Students read, write, observe, present, experiment and construct within the studio setting to research and develop ceramic sculpture resulting in a small portfolio that reflects each student’s inquiry in individual and group work.

    Prerequisite: ART 111 .
    Instructor: Chen
  • 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 295-01 - Special Topic: Contemporary Photography

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course is an introduction to basic photographic techniques, and will help students develop skills such as composition, exposure controls, recording techniques, digital file management, image manipulation, lighting and studio practice, sequencing, and printing. Conceptual approaches will be cultivated through assignments, critiques,  reading, and research. Furthermore, this course will explore photography as contemporary art and how the medium is intimately connected to our critical engagement with culture and identity. Throughout the course, an emphasis will be placed on students developing an understanding of the complex nature of photography as both a document torn between truth and fiction and a mode of expression.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Christmas
  • ART 295-01 - Special Topic: Figure Drawing

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course will explore all elements of drawing the figure. The class will work from direct observation, and through this will develop an understanding of anatomy and the human form. Students will explore multiple media and will develop technical skill as well as a body of creative work.

    Prerequisite: ART 111 .
    Instructor: Running
  • ART 295-02 - Special topic: Sculpture: Multiples

    4 credits (Fall)
    In this course students will explore replication of form in sculpture. Using rigid and flexible moulds as well as direct casting we will work with a variety of materials including plaster, concrete, wax, paper, ceramic, fabric, latex, and rubber. Students will work with traditional and innovative practices to develop original creative work.

    Prerequisite: ART 111 .
    Instructor: Running
  • 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 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

  • THD 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Studies in Performance Art

    4 credits (Spring)
    In this course, we will investigate the theory and practice of Performance Art, exploring the dynamic intersections between theatre, photography, sculpture, painting, music, film, and new media. Studies will generate a series of solo and group performances that explore duration, ritual, space, light, and sound. Course readings will focus on 20th and 21st century artistic movements including Futurism, Dadaism, Surrealism, happenings, action planning, butoh, body art, and immersive theatre.

    Prerequisite: THD 217 THD 225 THD 235 THD 240 ART 236 ART 238 ART 242 , or ART 246 .
    Instructor: Quintero
  • 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, Trimmer
  • BCM 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Modern Proteomics

    4 credits (Spring)
    Proteins are the workhorses of the cell. They perform a wide variety of functions, including catalyzing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, transcription, transporting macromolecules, and driving signal transduction pathways. In this course, we will examine modern proteomic strategies and techniques that are used to study proteins and post-translational modifications on a large scale. Students will learn about a variety of different methods used in the analysis of proteomes, and they will conduct their own experiments to construct a protein interaction network and to quantify post-translational modifications using mass spectrometry.

    Prerequisite: BCM 262 .
    Instructor: M. French
  • Biology

  • 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 - Introduction to Biological Inquiry

    4 credits (Fall)
    Prairie Restoration. As a way to explore how biologists ask questions and develop answers to them, this class will focus on the biological problems involved in the restoration of tallgrass prairies. It will be taught in “workshop” format at Grinnell College’s Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA), where we will use the college’s prairie and savanna restorations as our laboratory. Students will be required to formulate research questions based on readings of the scientific literature, design experimental or observational studies to test these hypotheses, and communicate the results of these studies after the conventions of professional biologists. Papers resulting from a substantial independent project will be published in the class journal, Tillers.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Brown
  • BIO 150-01 - Introduction to Biological Inquiry

    4 credits (Spring)
    Genes and Toxins. The ways in which an organism responds to different drugs or toxins can be heavily influenced by its genetics. In other words, genotypes determine phenotypes. In this course, we will conduct research exploring the interplay between genes and chemicals using the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker’s yeast) . We will investigate how well different yeast mutants are able to survive exposure to a variety of chemicals . In the course of designing our experiments and analyzing our results, we will discuss the molecular biology behind the relationship between genes and drugs. We will also explore how the knowledge about genetic and chemical interaction can be exploited to understand human diseases and to design therapeutic strategies.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Bailey
  • BIO 150-02 - Introduction 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 150-02 - Introduction to Biological Inquiry

    4 credits (Spring)
    “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: Villarreal
  • 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 - Introduction 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 150-04 - Intro to Biological Inquiry

    4 credits (Fall)
    Plant Genetics and the Environment. The physical and behavioral characteristics of living organisms are largely determined by their genetic makeup and their environment. This course is designed to allow us to ask questions about the relationship between genetics and the environment and to explore the mechanisms plants use to acclimate and adapt to changes in their environment. Using the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana, we will examine the influence of different environmental factors on the growth and development of ‘wild-type’ and mutant individuals. Students will design and perform experiments to address questions about the effect of genetic mutation on plant responses to the environment. After careful analysis of experimental results, students will communicate their findings in various scientific forms.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: DeRidder
  • BIO 150-04 - Introduction to Biological Inquiry

    4 credits (Spring)
    The vast majority of functions and reactions in a cell are carried out by proteins. Proteins can adopt a variety of different shapes and sizes, and they often act as regulatory switches to turn a particular pathway or process “on” or “off.” In this course, we will examine the nature of one such important switch, which occurs when two enzymes bind to each other to change the three-dimensional shape and stability of a protein that is critical for cell division. Using an in vitro system with proteins purified from bacteria, we will set out to understand how this regulatory switch works. Students will learn to carefully design and perform their own experiments, and they will learn to effectively analyze and communicate scientific results in a variety of different formats.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: M. French
  • BIO 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Global Medicinals: England, Japan, and the United States

    4 credits (Spring)
    See HIS 195-01 .

  • 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: Plus-2 option available. 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: 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 or spring)
    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 355 - Developmental Genetics

    4 credits (Fall or 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 252  or BCM 262 .
    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)
    This course examines the structure, physiology and genetics of microorganisms. Emphasis is placed on studying of the diversity of microbes and exploring how microbes shape the environments they inhabit. A significant component of this course will be the critical evaluation of primary literature, along with an emphasis on written and oral communication skills. In the laboratory, students conduct independent research projects involving culture-dependent and culture-independent techniques. Two lectures and one laboratory each week.

    Prerequisite: BIO 252  or BCM 262 .
    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 252  or BCM 262 .
    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 375 - Principles of Pharmacology

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    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, excretion) and pharmacodynamics (mechanisms of drug action, receptor theory, dose response relationships, genetic interactions with drugs). Some common drug classes will be examined to illustrate basic physiological and pharmacological principles. Aspects of drug discovery, development and policy may also be introduced. Three lectures and one scheduled laboratory each week.

    Prerequisite: BIO 252   or BCM 262 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Sandquist
  • 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: Staff
  • BIO 390 - Readings in Biology

    2 credits (Fall or Spring)
    In this variable content course, students will explore a selected area of biology via a seminar format that emphasizes reading, discussion, and writing about primary literature. 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: BIO 252 .
    Instructor: Staff
  • BIO 390-01 - Readings in Biology

    2 credits (Fall)
    The Ubiquitin System: Protein Degradation and Beyond. The abundance of most proteins in the cell is tightly regulated by the rate of protein synthesis (translation) and the rate of protein degradation. In eukaryotic cells, proteins that are damaged, misfolded, aggregated, or unwanted  are degraded by two distinct pathways, the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and the autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP). The small polypeptide ubiquitin plays a central role in controlling both of these degradative pathways.  In this course, we will learn about the enzymes that are responsible for the ubiquitin  conjugation and deconjugation reactions, and we will explore the different mechanisms through which ubiquitin controls the protein degradation process. We will also examine non-degradative functions of ubiquitin, and we will link defects in ubiquitin-dependent pathways to human health and disease. A combination of classical and current research papers from the primary literature will be used to introduce established principles and explore current challenges within the field.

    Prerequisite: BIO 252 .
    Instructor: M. French
  • BIO 390-01 - Readings in Biology

    4 credits (Spring)
    Eukaryotic organisms exhibit two types of cellular division: mitosis and meiosis. Meiosis is a specialized form of division that occurs only in the sex cells and is essential for the formation of the gametes.  Somatic cells, by contrast, duplicate via mitotic divisions. Cells have in place a variety of structures and regulatory systems that work to ensure faithful division. In this course, we will read a mix of classic and current research that has advanced our understanding of these dynamic and vital cellular events. In particular, we will focus on the cytoskeletal elements that provide the force necessary to drive both nuclear and cytoplasmic division, as well as the signaling pathways governing M phase entry and exit. We will also place cell division into a broader context by exploring the biological consequences of division gone awry.

    Prerequisite: BIO 252 .
    Instructor: Sandquist
  • BIO 390-02 - Readings in Biology

    2 credits (Spring)
    Conservation Biology. The science of sustaining biological diversity is fundamentally associated with ecology and population biology, but it also applies concepts and approaches from other biological disciplines (such as genetics, reproductive physiology, and epidemiology) and grapples with 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: Jackie Brown
  • BIO 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Immunology

    4 credits (Spring)
    An introduction to the cellular and molecular basis of vertebrate immune systems. Topics include the components and organization of the immune system, development of the immune system, studies of how organisms mount an immune response, and how the immune response itself can cause disease. A significant component of this course will be the critical evaluation of primary literature and case studies of immune dysfunction, along with an emphasis on written and oral communication skills.

    Prerequisite: BIO 252  or BCM 262 BCM 262  recommended.
    Instructor: Hinsa-Leasure
  • BIO 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Insect Field Ecology

    4 credits (Fall)
    Insects impact almost every ecosystem, due to their exceptional range in form and function, and their interactions with each other and other taxa. Insect ecology examines how insects interact with their environment, and how these  interactions influence their resident biome.  Throughout this course, students will learn how to identify common insects, and relate the morphological and behavioral adaptations of important families with their functional role in Iowa prairies.

    Prerequisite: BIO 252 .
    Instructor: Villarreal
  • BIO 399 - Directed Research

    2 or 4 credits
    See Directed Research. 

    Instructor: Staff
  • Chemistry

  • 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: Staff
  • 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 240 - Environmental Chemistry

    4 credits Spring
    Cross-listed as: ENV 240 . 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 (Spring)
    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 (Spring)
    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 340 - Aquatic Geochemistry

    4 credits (Spring)
    Thermodynamics and kinetics of chemical processes controlling the biogeochemical cycling of major and trace elements in freshwater and marine systems. Special emphasis on quantitative modeling of processes occurring at the mineral-water interface (precipitation/dissolution, solute adsorption, oxidation-reduction). Two classes and one laboratory per week.

    Prerequisite: CHM 221  and CHM 210  or CHM 363 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Graham
  • 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 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Enzyme Engineering

    4 credits (Spring)
    The application of enzymes to catalyze selective organic reactions is a sustainable approach to synthetic chemistry. This multidisciplinary course will investigate classic and cutting-edge approaches to re-engineering natural enzymes to create suitable catalysts for abiological reactions and new metabolic pathways. Exemplary enzymes will include those containing metal/organic cofactors. In the laboratory, students will learn techniques that enable laboratory evolution of enzymes and apply those techniques evolve an enzyme as part of an independent research project.

    Prerequisite: BIO 251  and CHM 222 .
    Instructor: Key
  • 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: Tang
  • 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: Tang
  • 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
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Feng, Tang
  • 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 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: Tang
  • 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: Tang
  • 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
  • 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, Kojima
  • 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, Kojima
  • JPN 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Fashion and Lifestyle in Japan

    4 credits (Fall)
    Cross-listed as: EAS 195-01 .  In addition to video games, anime, and manga, a key factor of Japanese pop culture that has influenced people throughout the world is fashion. This course offers a brief historical overview of clothing in Japan and consider related issues. Students will explore how clothes influenced society, cultural  expectations and developed as a mean to express people’s identity in Japan.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Kojima
  • 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: Schimmel, Kojima
  • 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: Schimmel, Kojima
  • 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 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, Kojima
  • 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: Schimmel, Kojima
  • 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: Staff
  • Classics

  • 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  recommended.
    Note: Not offered every year. Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in Greek and Latin.
    Instructor: Mercado
  • CLS 248 - Greek Archaeology and Art

    4 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: ARH 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: ARH 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.
    Instructor: M. Cummins
  • 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: M. 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: M. Cummins
  • CLS 263 - Political Theory I

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    See PHI 263 .

    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
  • CLS 270 - Indo-European Language and Culture

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    Cross-listed as: LIN 270 . 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 aspects of its speakers’ 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 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Mercado
  • CLS 295-01 - Special Topic: Democracy and Empire in Ancient Athens

    4 credits (Fall)
    In the fifth century, Athenians both managed a complex empire and maintained a democracy that wrested power from aristocratic elites and ensured the poorest citizens a political voice. Elite and popular perspectives on the imperial democracy are found in sources as  varied as history, philosophy, entertainment,  archaeological evidence, and inscriptions.  Considering these sources, this class examines the origins, ideology, and institutions of Athenian democracy.

    Prerequisite: Second-year standing. HUM 101  recommended.
    Instructor: Dixon
  • CLS 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Ancient Greek Sculpture: Style, Context, and Ownership

    4 credits (Spring)


    Cross-listed as: ARH 395-01 . An interdisciplinary course exploring classical Greek sculpture: its ancient context, style, and function; its ownership in modern times and its place in museum culture.  Students will engage in stylistic analysis of architectural marbles from the temple of Zeus at Olympia, the Parthenon in Athens, and the temple of Apollo at Bassae. The class will travel to London and Greece over spring break, conduct a public campus debate regarding ownership of antiquities, and write research papers. Students will be required to pay a $400 participation fee (most other required travel expenses will be covered). This fee will be added to the student tuition bill and is due by the first day of classes. 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.

    Students must also submit an application through https://travel.global.grinnell.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=37563. An interview may also be required.

    Prerequisite: ARH 103 ARH 195-01 ARH 248 ARH 250 , CLS 242 , CLS 248 CLS 250 CLS 255 GLS 242 HIS 235 , or HIS 255 .
    Instructor: Cummins, Wright

  • 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: Staff
  • 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: Staff
  • 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
  • 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: Staff
  • 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 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  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  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  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  and HUM 101 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • 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: Staff
  • Computer 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 (Data Science)

    4 credits (Fall)
    In these sections of CSC 151, we will ground our study of functional problem solving in approaches related to the practice of data science. In particular, we will explore and develop algorithms and programs that gather, reorganize, filter, combine, analyze, and visualize both structured and unstructured data. The course employs a workshop format: In most class sessions, students will collaboratively explore a variety of problems and collections of data. Includes formal laboratory work.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Curtsinger, Hamid
  • CSC 151-01 & 02 - Functional Problem Solving (Digital Humanities)

    4 credits (Spring)
    In this section of CSC 151, we will ground our study of functional problem solving in approaches related to the digital humanities, investigating ways in which computing changes the ways in which people write and analyze texts. In particular, we will examine models of documents, develop dynamic narratives, and design algorithms and visualizations that help us explore and analyze corpora and individual texts. The course employs a workshop format: In most class sessions, students will collaborate on a variety of problems. Includes formal laboratory work.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Rebelsky, Hamid
  • CSC 161 - Imperative Problem Solving with Lab

    4 credits (Fall and Spring)
    CSC161 emphasizes concepts 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: Johnson, Walker, Weinman
  • 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 - Object-Oriented Problem Solving, Data Structure, and Algorithms

    4 credits (Fall and Spring)
    An introduction to the ideas and practices of object-oriented 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 151  and CSC 161 .
    Instructor: Osera, Vostinar
  • CSC 208 - Discrete Structures

    4 credits (Fall and 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  . Prerequisite or co-requisite: CSC 161 .
    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
  • 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  and CSC 208 MAT 208 , or MAT 218 .
    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  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: Evolutionary Algorithms and Artificial Life

    4 credits (Fall)
    Evolutionary Algorithms and Artificial Life are subfields that study the use of evolution in computational contexts. Evolutionary algorithms can be used to improve  solutions to engineering problems past what humans have been able to do and artificial life is used to model and predict the evolutionary dynamics of natural systems. In this course, students will complete projects covering a range of cutting-edge research in these fields.

    Prerequisite: CSC 207 .
    Instructor: Vostinar
  • CSC 301 - Analysis of Algorithms

    4 credits (Fall and Spring)
    Study methods for designing, analyzing, and implementing algorithms and data structures. The course explores formal and precise mechanisms for analyzing efficiency and verifying correctness and both iterative and recursive algorithms.  Studies also cover a variety of fundamental  algorithms, abstract data types, and data structures. Algorithm design strategies included greedy, divide-and-conquer, exhaustive search, and dynamic programming. Additional topics may include approximation, parallel, or randomized  algorithms.

    Prerequisite: CSC 207  and either MAT 218 CSC 208  or MAT 208  
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Rebelsky, Vostinar
  • 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, Osera
  • CSC 324 - Software Design and Development

    4 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. 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 substantial code base suitable for  inclusion in a professional portfolio. Includes  laboratory work.

    Prerequisite: CSC 207 .
    Instructor: Rebelsky, Vostinar, Osera
  • CSC 326 - Software Development Leadership

    2 credits (Fall and Spring)
    Students lead teams that develop software for a community organization, supported by a faculty adviser and an alunmi technical mentor. Students will gain experience mentoring and supervising peers and working with a client. Offered simultaneously with CSC-324. Students in this course serve as the leaders on the CSC-324  projects. Includes laboratory work.

    Prerequisite: CSC 324 .
    Instructor: Rebelsky, Vostinar, Osera
  • CSC 341 - Automata, Formal Languages, and Computational Complexity

    4 credits (Fall and 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 207  and either MAT 218 ,   or MAT 208 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Osera, J. Stone
  • CSC 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Advanced Operating Systems

    4 credits (Spring)
    Students will build on their experience from CSC 213 by exploring prior work in operating systems research, and conducting their own OS research project. Readings will be drawn from classic and recent papers in OS research. Meanwhile, students will work in small teams to identify an important problem in the field, design and develop a solution to that problem, evaluate their work, and present their findings.

    Prerequisite: CSC 213 .
    Instructor: Curtsinger
  • CSC 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Molecular Programming and Nanoscale Self-Assembly

    4 credits (Fall)
    Molecular programming is an interdisciplinary field that aims to program both the function and structure of matter at the nanoscale. The primary focus of this course is an overview of the most  prevalent molecular programming language: the chemical reaction network. We will explore their ability to compute, how they are programmed, and how to compile them into physical molecules. We will also survey methods of self-assembly, including DNA origami and DNA tile self-assembly.

    Prerequisite: CSC 161  and CSC 208 .
    Instructor: Klinge
  • East Asian Studies

  • EAS 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Fashion and Lifestyle in Japan

    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.
  • 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. Topics include: managing in competitive, monopolistic, and oligopolistic markets; strategic 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: McGavock
  • 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: Staff
  • 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 Economics

    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: MAT 124  or MAT 131 , second year standing and one additional economics course numbered between 205 and 250.
    Instructor: Brouhle, McGavock
  • 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: MAT 124  or MAT 131 , 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: ECN 111 , second-year standing, and STA 209  (previously offered as MAT 209), STA 309  (previously offered as MAT 309), STA 310  (previously offered as MAT 310),  MAT 335 , or STA 335 ECN 280  or ECN 282  recommended.
    Instructor: Graham, Lee
  • ECN 295-01 - Special Topic: Money and Banking

    4 credits (Fall)
    An examination of the role of money, banking, and financial institutions in the economy. Topics include interest rate determination, money creation in the banking system, the role of Central Banks and monetary policy. Case studies on banking and financial crisis and policy responses will also be analyzed.

    Prerequisite: ECN 111 .
    Instructor: Mehra
  • 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 .
    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 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 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: ECN 286 , MAT 336 , or STA 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 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: ECN 286 , MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    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 280 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: ECN 286 , MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: McGavock
  • 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 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: ECN 286 , MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Mutti
  • 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 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: ECN 286 , MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Mutti
  • 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 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: ECN 286 , MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    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 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: ECN 286 MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    Instructor: Graham
  • ECN 379 - Seminar in the Economics of Crime

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    This course is designed to increase student’s understanding of the determinants and consequences of criminality. We will explore all levels of crime and punishment from societies optimally choosing deterrence mechanisms to prisoners making behavioral decisions while incarcerated. 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  and ECN 286 , MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    Instructor: Lee
  • 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 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: ECN 286 MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    Instructor: Staff
  • 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 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: ECN 286 MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    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 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: ECN 286 MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Montgomery
  • ECN 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Behavioral and Experimental Economics

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course is an introduction to the tradition and methods of behavioral economics, including the use of experiments. Behavioral economics applies insights from psychology to improve our understanding of the decision making process and generate better predictions about the behavior of economic actors. Behavioral economists have developed a variety of theoretical tools supported by laboratory experiments as well as empirical findings from large data sets, field experiments and even “natural” experiments.

    Prerequisite: ECN 280 .
    Instructor: H. Chen
  • ECN 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Seminar in Causal Inference

    4 credits (Spring)
    In this seminar, students will learn how economists use data to answer cause-and-effect questions. Students will work to understand and implement the five most common methods in modern applied econometrics: randomized controlled trials, regression, instrumental variables, difference-in-differences, and regression discontinuity. Students will then explore how these modern empirical techniques are being used by leading-edge economists and apply the techinques as they investigate their own novel research question.

    Prerequisite: ECN 280 , ECN 282 , and ECN 286 .   
    Instructor: Ohrn
  • ECN 395-02 - Advanced Special Topic: Advanced Econometrics

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course expands upon the econometrics background provided by ECN 286, exploring the underlying properties of the estimators and learning to program their calculation in STATA. We will use matrix algebra to derive and calculate ordinary least squares, restricted least squares, generalized least squares, and instrumental variables, and use maximum likelihood estimation to explore, probit, logit,  tobit and sample selection models.

    Prerequisite: ECN 286 .
    Instructor: Montgomery
  • ECN 395-03 - Advanced Special Topic: Seminar in Global Factor Movements

    4 credits (Spring)
    An examination of the movement of factors of production across countries. Topics include labor migration, movement of financial capital, and the role of foreign direct investment and offshoring.

    Prerequisite: ECN 280  and ECN 282 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: ECN 286  or MAT 336 .
    Instructor: Mehra
  • Education

  • 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 115 - How to Learn Physics

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    Cross-listed as: PHY 115 . 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. The course also focuses on learning science as the refinement of everyday thinking. Occasional lectures will introduce a vocabulary to help students become more aware of everyday thinking and its subsequent refinement toward scientific understanding.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Hutchison
  • EDU 150 - Teaching Writing

    2 credits (Fall or Spring)
    See WRT 150 .

  • EDU 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: How Colleges Work: An Introduction to US Higher Education

    2 credits (Spring)
    This course provides an overview of how colleges work. It surveys the purpose of higher education, and examines US higher education from systemic, organizational, professional, economic, and  sociological perspectives. Encountering literature such as college leadership roles, faculty worklife, and student development, this course will introduce students to the study of higher education and some of the prominent authors and theories in the field.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Dates: January 23 to March 13. 1/2 semester deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Robinson
  • EDU 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Introduction to Participant Observation in Schools

    2 credits (Fall)
    This course will use a range of published work as well as practical activities to introduce participants to the principles of participant observation in school settings. It is a practical course, designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills required to immerse themselves in a school setting, to listen, to ask questions, and to  collect and analyze observational data. Fourteen hours of participant observation in schools is required.

    Prerequisite or co-requisite: EDU 101 .
    Instructor: Michaels
  • EDU 210 - Historical Perspectives on U.S. Education

    4 credits (Fall)
    Cross-listed as: HIS 210 . 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: P. Hutchison
  • 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: Jakubiak
  • 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: Jones
  • 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.
    Note: Foreign language option available in any language.
    Instructor: Michaels
  • EDU 218 - Place-Based Education

    4 credits (Fall or 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: P. 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: Jakubiak
  • EDU 295-01 - Special Topic: Critical Literacy for Diverse Learners

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course will examine literacy and literacy education from historical, theoretical, critical, and pedagogical perspectives. Guiding questions include: How do schools define literacy?  To what extent do schools draw upon variously situated students’ home-based and community-based literacy practices? How do students acquire literacy in a second language if they do not possess literacy in their primary home language? What is the relation between critical literacy practices (e.g., media literacy, new literacies) and school-based, academic literacy?

    Prerequisite: EDU 101 .
    Instructor: Jones
  • EDU 295-01 - Special Topic: Issues in Latinx Education: Unerrepresented, Underserved, and Unheard

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course explores the historical and contemporary issues that have contributed to or limited Pre-K to higher educational Latina/o access, participation, and retention in education. In addition to looking at Latina/o student’s experiences nationwide, we also will explore the Latina/o educational experience in the Midwest, with a special focus on the state of Iowa. Using what the students learn in the course, they will have an opportunity to develop a research paper drawing from both primary and secondary sources. 

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Staff
  • EDU 295-02 - Special Topic: Incarcerated Literacies: Voices From the Inside.Special Topic:

    2 credits (Spring)
    This course seeks to examine the prison industrial complex through the writings of incarcerated persons. To understand mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex, this course will privilege the voices from those who have, or still are, serving time within the penal system. The course will also include theories of critical literacy and punishment with an aim to interrogate the ways in which incarceration impacts us as individuals and as a society.

    Prerequisite: EDU 101 .
    Instructor: S. Jones
  • 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 observation 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: Jones
  • 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: Staff
  • 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 (Fall)
    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: Staff
  • English

  • 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 & 02 - Literary Analysis

    4 credits (Spring)
    Global Modernism and its Legacies. What, exactly, is literature? What determines if it is good? How can we engage its richness with rigor and joy? Through our study of post-1900 prose, poetry, plays, radio programs, and film, this course will introduce you to techniques for literary analysis and master the tools needed to craft well-argued written critiques. In turn, we will work with supplemental materials such as book reviews, critical essays, interviews, newspapers, and digital sources to situate literary texts in their cultural, economic, and socio-historical context.  Part of this exploration will involve a foray into the field of literary theory which examines how currents in political, social, and philosophical thought alter the way writers perceive their worlds and in turn affect the style of writing they use to represent it. We will consider work by E. M. Forster, Langston Hughes, Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Woolf, Sergei Eisenstein, Mulk Raj Anand, Una Marson, Wole Soyinka, Catherine Mansfield, Lu Xun, Bertolt Brecht, and Naguib Mahfouz.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Sutaria
  • ENG 120-01 & 05 - Literary Analysis

    4 credits (Fall)
    In the Library of Fun Home. In his essay “Literature as Equipment for Living,” Kenneth Burke proposes that works of literature can help guide us through everyday life by providing readers with “strategies for dealing with situations.” In the spirit of Burke’s approach, we will explore the literary strategies and  genres writers have adopted, invented, and deployed to confront personal, social, and political conflicts. The course readings are  structured intertextually around Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home; that is, we will begin and end with Bechdel’s book, filling out the middle by reading many of the writers and works alluded to in the graphic memoir-including Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Camus’ The Stranger, Woolf’s A Room of  One’s Own, and Wilde’s The Important of Being Earnest -and by examining the critical issues and theories these writers invite us to engage.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Phan
  • ENG 120-02 & 03 - Literary Analysis

    4 credits (Fall)
    This section will explore texts in which a main character or group of characters is dead from the beginning of the narration. Our primary texts will span a multitude of historical eras and literary forms, from drama to film, from the novel to poetry both contemporary and medieval. We will read how various theorists and critics have grappled with the ways in which death, loss, and nostalgia function in literature and in cultural life. Along the way, we will encounter questions of how art, religion, and social groups seek language for representing what no one has seen. Students will develop analytical skills through discussion and through writing their own critical essays.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Lorden
  • ENG 120-03 - Literary Analysis

    4 credits (Spring)
    This section will explore texts in which a main character or group of characters is dead from the beginning of the narration. Our primary texts will span a multitude of historical eras and literary forms, from drama to film, from the novel to poetry both contemporary and medieval. We will read how various theorists and critics have grappled with the ways in which death, loss, and nostalgia function in literature and in cultural life. Along the way, we will encounter questions of how art, religion, and social groups seek language for representing what no one has seen. Students will develop analytical skills through discussion and through writing their own critical essays.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Lorden
  • ENG 120-04 - Literary Analysis

    4 credits (Fall)
    Global Modernism and its Legacies. What, exactly, is literature? What determines if it is good? How can we engage its richness with rigor and joy? Through our study of post-1900 prose, poetry, plays, radio programs, and film, this course will introduce you to techniques for literary analysis and master the tools needed to craft well-argued written critiques. In turn, we will work with supplemental materials such as book reviews, critical essays, interviews, newspapers, and digital sources to situate literary texts in their cultural, economic, and socio-historical context. Part of this exploration will involve a foray into the field of literary theory which examines how currents in political, social, and philosophical thought alter the way writers perceive their worlds and in turn affect the style of writing they use to represent it. We will consider work by E. M. Forster, Langston Hughes, Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Woolf, Sergei Eisenstein, Mulk Raj Anand, Una Marson, Wole Soyinka, Catherine Mansfield, Lu Xun, Bertolt Brecht, and Naguib Mahfouz.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Sutaria
  • 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: Simpson
  • ENG 121-01 - Introduction to Shakespeare

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course will pay particular attention to how Shakespeare’s global imagination expands his plays and poems far beyond the space of London. Applying key terms and concepts for the study of literature, we will read representative works  that help us see how his vision was informed by England’s sense of the larger world and how, in turn, his work has later been adapted in international communities. Together, we will build skills in close-reading and will consider questions of performance – both in Renaissance theater and in contemporary film.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Garrison
  • ENG 121-01 - Introduction to Shakespeare

    4 credits (Spring)


    As we closely read some of Shakespeare’s most  intellectually challenging plays, our major focus will be on analyzing elements of stage performance, learning about acting and theatrical production both in Shakespeare’s time and today. In fact, we will see the plays that we study come to life on stage during the semester. Over Spring  Break, we will engage in course-embedded travel to trace Shakespeare’s footsteps in the contemporary United States. First, we will travel to Washington, DC, to examine rare books at the Folger Shakespeare Library and to see two live plays there. We will then interact with actors and creators at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA, where we will see plays at the Blackfriars Theater that replicates Shakespeare’s very own indoor theater as it had been in Renaissance London.

    This course includes required travel over spring break. Students will be required to pay a $250 participation fee (most other required travel expenses will be covered). This fee will be added to the student tuition bill and is due by the first day of classes. If payment of this fee causes you financial concern , please contact Gretchen Zimmerman in the Financial Aid Office to discuss loan options to cover this additional cost for attendance.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Garrison

  • ENG 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Baseball as Liberal Art: The Art of Fielding and the Craft of Reading

    4 credits (Spring)
    “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball, the rules and realities of the game,” wrote Jacques Barzun in 1954. Many Americans do know the rules, at least enough to organize a game in a vacant lot on the spur of the moment.  But what of the “realities” of the game itself?  As late afternoon shadows lengthen on the national  pastime, how much do we really know in regard to what has been considered fair and foul over the course of the game’s history?  In order to explore some of the social realities of the game, we will focus on six baseball-themed novels.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Students may not receive credit for both ENG-195-01 and ENG-120.
    Instructor: Andrews
  • 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: Phan, 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: Bakopoulos, 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 third-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Staff
  • ENG 210-01 - Studies in Genre

    4 credits (Spring)
    Saints and Superheroes. Superhuman heroes of different eras reflect and exaggerate the ideals of the worlds that produce them. Exploring the lives of these saints and superheroes, we will consider how sensational details shift, are censored, or are exaggerated for a given audience or by a given author, and how their fabulous adventures interact with genres such as romance, heroic literature, poetry, and history. Alternating between the distant and more recent past, we will discuss how the surprising adventures of supernatural figures reflect both otherwordly ideals and the worldly ideologies of the authorities and institutions who promoted them. We will read scholarship on both eras, questioning our assumptions of both past and present and what their impossible ideals may have to tell us about the lived history of their authors and audiences.

    Prerequisite: ENG 120  or ENG 121  for majors; or for non-majors, ENG 120  or ENG 121  or third-year standing.
    Instructor: Lorden
  • ENG 215 - Reading and Writing Youth and Youth Cultures

    4 credits (Spring)
    See EDU 215 .

    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Jones
  • 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 third-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Arner
  • ENG 223-01 - The Tradition of English Literature I

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course surveys works of English literature in conversation with the historical circumstances, social dynamics, and other texts that shape how traditions are written and understood. We will talk about how these texts came about, and what factors lead to their prominence and continuing influence upon those that come after them. With this in mind, we will read familiar works–Beowulf, Paradise Lost, selections from The Canterbury Tales–with texts written contemporaneously to complicate our ideas of what the tradition is and how it is formed.

    Prerequisite: ENG 120  or ENG 121  for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120  or ENG 121  or third-year standing.
    Instructor: Lorden
  • 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 third-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Simpson
  • ENG 224-01 - The Tradition of English Lit II

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course will offer a grounding in both major and representative British works of literature from the Restoration through the nineteenth century and may include works by Aphra Behn, Jonathan Swift, William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Christina Rossetti, Bram Stoker, among others.  We will discuss these texts in the context of the social changes occurring during this period, paying particular attention to gender and sexuality, the rise of the British Empire, the writers’ relationship to the natural world, and changes in literary style. There will be three points at which students will choose to take an exam or write a paper. Students must take at least one exam and write at least one paper during the course of the semester.  There will also be regular written responses.

    Prerequisite: ENG 120  or ENG 121  for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120  or ENG 121  or third-year standing.
    Instructor: C. Jacobson
  • 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 third-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Kapila
  • ENG 225-01 - Introduction to Postcolonial Literature

    4 credits (Spring)
    Postcolonial Literature: Where Aesthetics Meets Politics. Literary critics have often employed the term postcolonial to describe the consequences of occupation during and after colonization. The rise and fall of the British Empire contributed significantly to cultural hybridity, migration, political tension, national sovereignty, and socio-economic inequity that shapes the world as we know it today. Through short lectures, extensive discussion, and intensive writing assignments, we will cover the key concepts and categories used in postcolonial theory to help us investigate the relationship between colonial experience and the content, form, and style of the literature written to understand and comment upon it. Our course will begin by examining texts such as Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Daniel Defeau’s Robinson Crusoe, as a spring board to talk about how modernist and contemporary literature emerged as a product of and response to colonization. We will draw from a range of literary genres, covering work by English, Irish, Caribbean, South Asian, African, Australian, Maori, and Middle Eastern writers.

    Prerequisite: ENG 120  or ENG 121  for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 ENG 121 , or third-year standing.
    Instructor: Sutaria
  • 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 third-year standing.
    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 third-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Andrews
  • ENG 227-01 - American Literary Traditions I

    4 credits (Fall)
    A City, a House, and the Overlook Hotel: American Gothic. The city is Philadelphia. The house has seven gables and a secret past. The hotel?  Why, that’s our shining city on a hill.  Here’s Jack, to show us around the grounds.  Welcome to Eng. 227! In this course we foreground the impact that slavery and the settlement of the frontier has had on our national literary culture, with particular attention focused on what is called “American gothic.”  Being mindful of the intersections of race, class, gender and sexuality, we will explore the personifications and demonizations-literary, legal and political-that haunt the clearings in which violence and slave labor were so often instrumental. In addition to focusing on novels by Charles Brockden Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Stephen King, we will also read works by Anne Bradstreet, Mary Rowlandson, Harriet Jacobs, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Susan Fenimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. The course concludes with a viewing of Stanley Kubrick’s cinematic version of The Shining. Grades will be based on class discussion, collaborative presentations, several short responses and two medium-length papers.

    Prerequisite: ENG 120  or ENG 121  for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120  or ENG 121 , or third-year standing.
    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 third-year standing.
    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 third-year standing.
    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 third-year standing.
    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. 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 third-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Staff
  • 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 third-year standing.
    Instructor: Phan
  • ENG 232-01 - Traditions of Ethnic American Literature

    4 credits (Spring)
    This survey course examines how contemporary ethnic American writing negotiates the contradictions, ambiguities and anxieties embedded in questions of national identity at the intersection of race and citizenship. We will examine works by Maxine Hong Kingston, Edwidge Danticat, Louise Erdrich, Anna Deavere Smith, Claudia Rankine, and Eduardo C. Corral, amongst others. Reading a wide selection of fiction, poetry, essays, and a graphic memoir within and against their specific cultural and historical contexts, we will explore how these works use literary form and language as a way to articulate alternative histories of the nation, national identity, and belonging, and to envision new democratic futures. As a survey, the objectives of this course are to give students an introduction to an array of literature engaged with issues of race and ethnicity in the U.S. and beyond; to help students develop a deeper understanding of the evolving issues involved in defining the American canon and in the national discourses on race and ethnicity; and to encourage the reading of literature with a fine critical understanding and aesthetic appreciation.

    Prerequisite: ENG 120  or ENG 121  for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120  or ENG 121  or third-year standing.
    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 third-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    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 sexuality, 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 third-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Staff
  • 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 third-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Staff
  • ENG 295-01 - Special Topic: Creative Writing: Global Perspectives

    2 credits (Fall)
    A creative writing workshop offered in conjunction with the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program (IWP). This seminar-style course will be led by a  writer/scholar of international distinction. Students will read and discuss eclectic texts representing a diverse range of global contemporary literature and write short creative works influenced by these readings and discussion.

    Prerequisite: ENG 205 , ENG 206 , or ENG 207 .
    Instructor: Ganieva
  • ENG 295-01 - Special Topic: The Doctor as Writer

    4 credits (Spring)
    A medical humanities course, but with an emphasis on the doctor as writer. What can literature offer the pursuit of healing? The Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University remarks, “The care of the sick unfolds in stories. …Medicine  practiced with narrative competence is a model for humane and effective medical practice.” We will explore the narrative competence of such doctor-writers as Richard Selzer, Oliver Sacks, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Damon Tweedy, and Qanta Amhed.

    Prerequisite: ENG 120 ENG 121 , or third-year standing.
    Instructor: Savarese
  • ENG 295-02 - Special Topic: The Grinnell Writer’s Workshop

    2 credits (Spring)
    An advanced fiction class modeled on the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Students will write, workshop, and revise original works of fiction under the guidance of Lan Samantha Chang, director of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. The class includes critiques from the instructor and will end with a field trip to literary Iowa City.

    Prerequisite: ENG 205  or ENG 206 .
    Note: Dates: February 1 to March 15. 1/2 semester deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Staff
  • 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)
    Mapping the Absent in Shakespeare’s Plays. This course will intensively study four of  Shakespeare’s plays: Antony and Cleopatra, As You Like It, Coriolanus, and A Winter’s Tale. In order to understand the resonances of these texts in Shakespeare’s time and in their afterlives, we will trace their sources, contemporaneous  influences, and their adaptations in recent film and televison. Our particular focus will be on what is absent on the Renaissance stage and in later adaptations. In turn, mapping these unseen elements will help us better understand how Shakespeare meditates on an increasingly globalizing world. 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: Garrison
  • 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 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 ENG 225 ENG 227 , or ENG 228 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Lobban-Viravong, Simpson
  • 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 325-01 - Studies in Ethnic American Literature

    4 credits (Spring)
    Translation Matters: The Task of the Ethnic American Writer. In this seminar, we will explore the literary, linguistic, and cultural matters of  translation in ethnic American literature and examine how and why translation matters for reconceptualizing the relationship between “the  ethnic” and “the American.” Drawing on the  insights of translation theory, from Walter  Benjamin’s “The Task of the Translator” to recent critical interventions by Lawrence Venuti, Gayatri Spivak, and Emily Apter, we will consider questions concerning the complex interplay between language, culture, and identity. Authors will likely include: Jhumpa Lahiri, Maxine Hong  Kingston, Richard Rodriguez, Gloria Anzuldua,  Aleksandr Hemon, Leslie Marmon Silko,Theresa Hak  Kyung Cha, Eduardo C. Corral, amongst others. For the final project, students will have the option of writing a longer research paper on a specific matter of translation in ethnic American literature or producing their own translation of a literary work, accompanied by a critical introduction. Students will be encouraged to read, think, and write across disciplinary boundaries, drawing on their own foreign language knowledge, academic studies, and cultural backgrounds-in short, to translate in their own terms what it means to be American, ethnic and  otherwise.

    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 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 223  ,ENG 224 , ENG 225 ENG 227 , or ENG 228 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    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 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 330-01 - Studies in American Prose I

    4 credits (Spring)
    Manifest Displacements: Piracy, Slavery and the Limits of Self Possession. In the 18th century, literary or maritime piracy was as common in the transatlantic commercial world as were barnacles on hulls shipwrecked along the Spanish Main. By 1820, Congress defined the slave trade itself as a form of piracy.  Shift the word “pirate” to its synonym “freebooter,” and by the mid-19th century the seafaring pirate becomes the land-grabbing filibuster. Even more recent avatars of the pirate are the data hacker, the patent pirate, and, potentially, DNA data providers. These intersecting modes of piracy will enable us to look askance at American cultural production, the better to recognize the constitutive role that various forms of theft and their disciplinary correctives continue to play in the constitution of American selves. Course readings may include accounts of 18th century pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read; a “memoir” by Jean Lafitte; James Fenimore Cooper’s The Red Rover; Lord Byron’s The  Corsair; Herman Melville’s “Benito Cereno”; R.L. Stevenson’s Treasure Island; Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; William Gibson’s Neuromancer; Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life  of Henrietta Lacks; and Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous. We will conclude with a viewing of  Paul Greenglass’s 2013 film, Captain Phillips. Grade to be determined by class discussion, collaborative group work, one mid-length paper and the equivalent of a 15-page final research project. N.B.: this course has been designed and scheduled to be team-taught with Prof. Kapila’s ENG 395. Since both classes will convene together for approximately ten class sessions, we recommend that you leave open whichever seminar slot is not taken by the course you enrolled in (if MW, reserve TTH, and vice-versa).  We have also designed these courses to complement each other but to be different enough in content and approach so as to leave open the possibility of enrolling in both courses simultaneously.

    Prerequisite: ENG 227 ENG 228 ENG 229 ENG 231 ENG 232 , or ENG 273 .
    Instructor: Andrews
  • 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: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • ENG 331-01 - Studies in American Prose II

    4 credits (Spring)
    Neuroliterature. In a recent article in N+1, the critic Marco Roth describes the emergence of a new kind of literary work, the “neuronovel,” in which the protagonist sports an atypical brain. Whether Tourette syndrome or autism or Capgras syndrome or facial agnosia or paranoid schizophrenia, this difference, says Roth, offers the novelist an opportunity to reflect on the impact of scientific knowledge on the culture at large. Roth detects a shift from mind to brain in the province least likely to accede to a mechanistic understanding of human existence: namely fiction. In this course we will expand Roth’s term to include both memoir and poetry, and we will bring a disability studies perspective to the questions at hand. Possible literary texts include The Echo Maker; Motherless Brooklyn; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime; Lowboy; Twitch and Shout; Songs of a Gorilla Nation; and How Can I Talk If My Lips Don’t Move?

    Prerequisite: ENG 227 , ENG 228 , ENG 229 , ENG 231 , ENG 232 , or ENG 273 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Savarese
  • 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: ENG 223 ENG 224 ENG 225 , ENG 227 , or ENG 228 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Jacobson, Simpson
  • ENG 332-01 - The Victorians

    4 credits (Fall)
    Going to Town: Urbanization and Victorian Literature. Massive and rapid migration to still-developing urban centers during the Victorian period led to decaying rural areas and catastrophically congested cities. Industrialization affected all facets of nineteenth-century life, and we’ll explore a number of them, focusing on class and gender dynamics during this period.  We will read a variety of works of fiction and nonfiction including Charles Dickens’s Bleak House, Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South, and Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor. Students will submit two papers over the course of the semester, along with an annotated bibliography and regular short written responses.

    Prerequisite: ENG 223 , ENG 224 , ENG 225 , ENG 227 , or ENG 228 .
    Instructor: Jacobson
  • 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: Staff
  • 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: Staff
  • 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)
    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 , 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: 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 (Fall)
    The Ethics of Humanitarianism in the Aftermath of Empire. Critics reading literature through a postcolonial lens tend to examine how texts represent human rights violations caused by colonial domination or resistance and humanitarian efforts to stop these abuses of power. While some activists have successfully employed Human rights discourses when vying for the dignity and security of many formerly colonized communities, others, particularly those from the global South and indigenous communities, have critiqued this perspective, claiming it is rooted in Western Enlightenment notions of individualism. In this course, we will investigate how texts read through postcolonial frameworks illuminate the successes and failures of human rights discourses to help us generate more inclusive, ethical models that promote equity while honoring the socio-cultural, religious, or intellectual outlooks of diverse communities. We will begin by reading various Declarations of independence and political manifestos to provide a context for reading post 1900 literary, radio, filmic, and online texts about the aftermath of colonization. Our case studies will come from East Africa, Australia, India, Britain,  Burma, Guatemala, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Palestine, and the United States.

    Prerequisite: ENG 224 ENG 225 ENG 226 , or ENG 229 .
    Instructor: Sutaria
  • 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: Phan, Savarese
  • ENG 388 - Writing Seminar: Screenwriting/Television Writing/Variable Genre

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    This course examines creative writing with a focus on digital, emerging, and hybrid genres-namely writing for television and film. In some semesters, the course may focus on other emerging genres depending on the research interests of the instructor. Students will spend much of the semester discussing the craft and construction of existing texts and applying knowledge gained to the completion of significant creative project of their own. For current course content please see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.

    Prerequisite: ENG 205 ENG 206 , or ENG 207 .
    Instructor: Bakopoulos, Nutting, Savarese
  • ENG 388-01 - Writing Seminar: Screenwriting

    4 credits (Spring)
    A seminar on the conception, writing, and production of low-budget, place-based independent films. Students will study acclaimed independent films while writing their own screenplays.

    Prerequisite: ENG 205 , ENG 206 , or ENG 207 .
    Instructor: Nutting
  • 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: Any 200-level English course.
    Instructor: Andrews, Kapila
  • ENG 390-01 - Literary Theory

    4 credits (Fall)
    Identity/Politics/Poetics: The Culture Wars and the Ends of Theory, 1966-1996. In this course, we will trace out the connections and disjunctions between a lecture delivered at Johns Hopkins in 1966, Native Americans’ attempts to regain tribal status in the 1970s and 80s, a Nazi-tinged scandal in 1988, the obscenity trial of 2 Live Crew in 1990, and a hoax perpetrated by a scientist in 1996.  Each implicates in significant ways aspects of literary or cultural  theory in the hotly contested contact zone of politics, identity, and poetics that came to be  known as “the culture wars.”  We will take a historicist approach to exploring the impact of post-structural theories on American culture and the academy in the 1980s and 90s.  By way of discussing the particulars of these and other cases, and in order to better tease out the cultural issues that animate them, we will explore essays or excerpts by various critics and  theorists including Houston Baker, Allan Bloom,  Judith Butler, James Clifford, Kimberle Crenshaw, Paul de Man, Jacques Derrida, Stanley Fish, Henry Louis Gates Jr., David Hirsch, Steven Knapp and Walter Michaels, Catharine MacKinnon, and Alan Sokol.  Grades will be based on class discussion, two collaborative presentations, a critical reading journal, and a short paper (6 pages) at mid-semester and a final research paper of approximately 15 pages.

    Prerequisite: Any 200-level English course.
    Instructor: Andrews
  • ENG 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Piracy in Indian Ocean World

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course studies piracy as intimately related to colonial commerce, monarchial authority, and articulations of legitimate or unlawful trade. In the maritime world, South-East Asia maintained an informal economy of piracy that was a counterpoint to colonial trade in the 18th and 19th centuries in the Indian Ocean World.  In that period piracy signified a challenge to untrammeled mercantilism and can also be seen to be a challenge to the rise of intellectual property.  Describing Daniel Defoe’s understanding of piracy, Srinivas Aravamudan argues that Defoe’s was the first published use of the word ‘to pirate’ to mean appropriating the work or invention of another without authority. In an age, when appropriation of literary work was becoming an issue, piracy could be understood as describing intellectual property as much as it both challenged and was a parodic representation of mercantilism. This rich nexus of ideas of appropriation, theft, and interrogation of mercantile trade especially as deeply complicitous with colonialism is the lens through which we will read 18th and 19th century literature together with more recent fiction.  Readings for the course may include Daniel Defoe’s Captain Singleton, Walter Scott’s, The  Pirate, Lord Byron’s The Corsair, R. L. Stevenson’s, Treasure Island, Joseph Conrad, The Rover and The Malay Novels, (An Outcast of the  Islands and Almayer’s Folly), and Amitav Ghosh’s, Sea of Poppies. We will also read A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea (2010) by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty. The film based on this book,  Captain Phillips, will also be part of our discussions. We will conclude with two contemporary books, Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal  Life of Henrietta Lacks and the novel, Autonomous by Annalee Newitz. N.B.: this course has been  designed and scheduled to be team-taught with Prof. Andrews’s ENG 395. Since both classes will convene together for approximately ten class sessions, we recommend that you leave open whichever seminar slot is not taken by the course you enrolled in (if MW, reserve TTH, and  vice-versa).  We have also designed these courses to complement each other but to be different enough in content and approach so as to leave open the possibility of enrolling in both courses simultaneously.

    Prerequisite: ENG 224 ENG 225 ENG 226 , or ENG 229 .
    Note: Plus-2 available.
    Instructor: Kapila
  • Environmental 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
    Instructor: Staff
  • 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 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: This Land is Your Land: Agrarian Ethics in the 21st Century

    1 credits (Spring)
    Aldo Leopold said “… a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it.” How would human society behave if it observed an ethic based on the health of our communal landscape?   We examine dilemmas faced by those who grow our food. Using the career struggles of the instructor as case study material, students explore a principled reunion of ecology and economics.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Dates: February 12 to February 28. Short course deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Staff
  • ENV 240 - Environmental Chemistry

    4 credits (Spring)
    See CHM 240 .

  • 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: The Anthropocene

    4 credits (Fall)
    In the three and-a-half billion year history of life on Earth, there has been no species quite like Homo sapiens. Through our use of symbolic language, memes, religions, nation-states, and capital, humans have forged a new geological Epoch in Earth’s history: the Anthropocene, an inflection point in the trajectory of life on Earth. We have warmed the atmosphere to the extent that humans have prevented (or at least delayed) the next Ice  Age. We are causing Earth’s sixth great  extinction event, creating a future that may be  attenuated of biodiversity and bereft of wilderness and at the same time preventing Earth’s seventh great extinction event by developing the technology to divert the next killer asteroid. The domestication and exchange of species between continents have created strange new ecosystems. By manipulation of their genetic code, we have created new species. We have created the first known extraterrestrials, from Apollo moon-walkers to microbes hitchhiking on Mars landers. Every student at Grinnell College will be coming of age during the Anthropocene. This course will explore what’s in store for them.

    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: Open to Junior and Senior Environmental Studies Concentrators.
    Instructor: Staff
  • ENV 495-01 - Senior Seminar: Gondwanaland

    4 credits (Spring)
    When the southern hemisphere protocontinent of Gondwanaland broke apart, it gave rise to South America, Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica. Today these continents share a common geological and biological heritage that explains some of the  enduring conundrums of biogeography.  The countries on these continents have some of the greatest biological diversity on Earth - and the least. They are some of the richest countries on Earth - and the poorest. They have suffered from colonialism and have been colonizers. Their citizens are among the least significant contributors to global climate change - and the most. The Seminar will examine the reasons for these similarities and contrasts.

    Prerequisite: Open to Junior and Senior Environmental Studies Concentrators.
    Instructor: Campbell
  • European 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: Staff
  • Film 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: Staff
  • 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: Staff
  • 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: Staff
  • French 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
  • ARB 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Advanced Arabic: Language and Culture

    4 credits (Fall)
    Conducted in Arabic. An integrated approach to the development of aural-oral, reading and written skills. Class activities include phonetic exercises, oral exposes, advanced-level grammar, composition, and the analysis of cultural documents and poetry.

    Prerequisite: ARB 222  or equivalent as approved by instructor.
    Instructor: Youssef
  • ARB 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Advanced Arabic: Language and Culture II

    4 credits (Spring)
    Conducted in Arabic. An integrated approach to the development of aural-oral, reading and written skills. Class activities include phonetic exercises, oral exposes, advanced-level grammar, composition, and the analysis of cultural documents and literary texts.

    Prerequisite: ARB 395-01 Advanced Special Topic: Advanced Arabic: Language and Culture .
    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 Conversation Through Media

    1 credits (Fall and Spring)
    Using contemporary films, television shows, news program, music and other media, this course develops the ability to speak and understand everyday French. Students also develop their cultural knowledge of France and the French-speaking world. The course provides good practice for students preparing to study abroad or complete a French-language internship. 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 Reading & Written Expression

    2 credits (Fall or Spring)
    Conducted in French. This course is designed to prepare students for written work at the advanced level in French. It includes an intensive review of grammar and emphasizes the writing process through composition exercises and multiple revisions.

    Prerequisite: FRN 222 .
    Note: Half semester deadlines apply.
    Instructor: P. Moisan
  • FRN 302 - Phonetics and Advanced Oral Expression

    2 credits (Fall or Spring)
    Conducted in French. This intensive course is designed to enhance students’ aural and oral skills in order to prepare them for discussion and presentations at the 300 level. Class activities include phonetic exercises, oral exposés, debates, and dictations.

    Prerequisite: FRN 222 .
    Note: Half semester deadlines apply.
    Instructor: P. 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: P. 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 - Social Climbers and Rebels

    4 credits (Fall)
    Conducted in French. This seminar explores the depiction of social conventions - and their subversion - during the reign of the Bourbon kings (Henry IV, Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI). This is an historical period that raises questions about individuality, taste, pleasure, social ascension, women’s rights, and what it means to live a good life. We will examine a variety of cultural materials, including some contemporary representations, in an attempt to define both the delights and discomforts of “fitting in.”

    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: P. 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: P. Moisan
  • 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 and Civilization

    4 credits (Spring)
    Masculine/Feminine in French Literature and Film. Explores concepts of the masculine and the feminine from the Romantic era to the present in literature, art and film. Examines topics such as desire, ambition, sexuality, paternity, maternity, and the writing of the self. Authors and directors to be studied include Chateaubriand, Stendhal, Sand, Rachilde, Colette, Godard, Truffaut, Duras, Jaoui, Denis, Toussaint, and Houellebecq.

    Prerequisite: FRN 312  or FRN 313 .
    Instructor: Moisan
  • Gender, 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 affected 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 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Global Disabilities: Art, Architecture, and Activism

    4 credits (Spring)
    See SOC 195-01  or THD 195-01 .

  • 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: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • GWS 235 - Feminism and Popular Culture

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course examines various popular cultural forms using feminist criticism/theory as a critical lens. Through an intersectional 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, Staff
  • 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: Allen, Staff
  • GWS 295-01 - Special Topic: Disability & Race

    4 credits (Spring)
    In this course, we will study the intersections of race and disability in their historical production, systemic overlap as ableism and racism, cultural representation, and political experiential dimensions. Through interdisciplinary examples, we will discuss the production of whiteness through definitions of health and disease, the role of race in the medicalization of physical, mental, and intellectual difference, and the ”fantasies of identification” that attempt to fix embodied social identities.

    Prerequisite: GWS 111 
    Instructor: Koch-Rein
  • GWS 295-01 - Special Topic: Introduction to Disability Studies

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course will introduce students to the scholarly and activist field of disability studies, which has developed an understanding of disability as a historical, socio-cultural, and political formation. Focusing on how disability and ableism intersect with race, gender,  sexuality, and class, the course will examine how disabled people and communities have challenged dominant constructions of disability, understood and experienced disability as a vector of oppression, and created disabled identities, communities, politics, and theory.

    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, Staff
  • 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. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • GWS 331-01 - Studies in American Prose II

    4 credits (Fall)
    See ENG 331-01 .

  • GWS 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Queer and Trans Literatures

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course surveys 20th and 21st-century queer and trans literatures through contemporary queer and feminist theory. In addition to reading the works of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer authors, we will inquire into the implications of studying and categorizing literature in relation to gender and sexuality. We will examine representations of queer and trans identities and themes through a variety of literary forms including novels, short stories, plays, poems, graphic novels, and semi-autobiographical fiction.

    Prerequisite: GWS 111  and GWS 249 .  
    Instructor: Allen
  • GWS 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Queer Oral Histories

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course will introduce students to the practice, theory, and interpretation of oral history as a method of studying LGBTQ history. The first half of the semester will focus on examining US LGBTQ  history through oral histories. The second half will focus on the theory and practice of oral histories, and students will conduct a class oral history project focusing on LGBTQ history at Grinnell.

    Prerequisite: GWS 111  and GWS 249 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    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: Staff
  • 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 labeled “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: Allen
  • General 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 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 281-01 - Major Russian Writers: Tolstoy

    4 credits (Spring)
    See RUS 281-01 .

  • 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 303-01 - Studies in Drama I: Shakespeare’s Comedies and Romances

    4 credits (Spring)
    See THD 303-01 .

  • GLS 304 - Studies in Drama II

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    See THD 304 .

    Note: Plus-2 option available.
  • GLS 349 - Medieval Literature

    4 credits (Fall)
    See ENG 349 .

    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
  • 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, primarily picture books.

    Prerequisite: A course in English or another course in literature.
    Instructor: Greene
  • General Science

  • SCI 125 - Introduction to Earth System Science w/lab

    4 credits (Fall)
    See ENV 125 .

  • General Studies

  • GEN 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Grinnell Scholar’s Seminar

    1 credits (Fall)
    Discussion seminar focused on the research and theory of learning, and on the personal and environmental factors that impact these processes. Students will practice evidence-based strategies and apply them to the students’ existing courses with opportunities for reflection and feedback. Open to first-year students and to others with instructor permission.

    Prerequisite: Open to first-year students and others with instructor permission.
    Note: Instruction is available without credit (from the Academic Advising Office) to students who cannot take the course or who need only occasional assistance. Meets September 3 to October 15. 1/2 semester deadlines apply. S/D/F only.
    Instructor: Backous
  • GEN 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Grinnell Scholar’s Seminar

    1 credits (Spring)
    Discussion seminar focused on the research and theory of learning, and on the personal and environmental factors that impact these processes. Students will practice evidence-based strategies and apply them to the students’ existing courses with opportunities for reflection and feedback.

    Prerequisite: Open to first-year students and to others with instructor permission.
    Note: Instruction available without credit (from the Academic Advising Office) to students who cannot take the course or who need only occasional assistance. Dates: January 28 to March 11. 1/2 semester deadlines apply. S/D/F only.
    Instructor: Backous
  • German

  • 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: Staff
  • 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: Byrd
  • 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: Reynolds, Samper Vendrell
  • 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, Samper Vendrell
  • 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: Samper Vendrell
  • 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 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Social Inequality

    4 credits
    This course introduces students to classical sociological thinking on inequality from Germany and elsewhere, including the works of Rousseau, Marx, Weber, and Bourdieu. Students will examine how social differences in categories of wealth, class, education, gender, race, religion, and more form cleavages in society, leading use to ask whether inequality is merely a founding issue of sociology or a crucial term for understanding increasing global problems should be discussed in the final part of the course. Taught in German.

    Prerequisite: GRM 302  and GRM 303 .
    Instructor: Sparschuh
  • 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: Staff
  • Global 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 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 295-01 - Special Topic: 9 Billion People: Inquiries into Impacts and Opportunities

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course combines discussion and data analysis activities on a set of global challenges that impact developing countries. The course will include modules on climate change, population growth, food security, and human migration. Data analysis exercises will use Geographic Information Systems (GIS), text-mining, visualization, and network analysis tools as means to investigate how rapid change in these four areas affect development prospects around the world by creating turbulence and instability. The course will be comprised of discussions, in-class exercises, and an independent project that utilizes one or more of the tools covered in the class.

    Prerequisite: GDS 111 .
    Instructor: Brottem
  • GDS 300 - Global Development Studies Internship

    2 credits
    Students participate in an 8-10 week full-time summer internship relevant to core themes of the GDS concentration. Internship sites are typically located in a low-income country or with an organization that works on issues in such locations. Organizations can be from any sector of society (e.g. government, non-government, for-profit). Students procure their own internships, and then apply for internship approval through the Center for Careers, Life, and Service. Each student must have a faculty sponsor associated with the concentration and will work with the sponsor to develop learning expectations and graded assignments.

    Prerequisite: GDS 111  and declared GDS concentration.
    Instructor: Staff
  • GDS 320-01 - Applied Policy Analysis

    4 credits (Fall)
    See PST 320-01  or POL 320-01 .

  • 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 , or SOC 240 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Roper
  • History

  • HIS 30x - Advanced Studies in Latin America 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 31x - Advanced Studies in United States 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 United States 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 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 38X - Advanced Studies in Comparative and Transregional History

    4 credits (Fall or 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 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 (Fall)
    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 & 02 - Introduction to Historical Inquiry: U.S. in the Age of Transatlantic Revolution

    4 credits (Fall & Spring)
    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.
    Note: Section 02 in the fall, section 01 in the spring.
    Instructor: Purcell
  • HIS 100-02 - 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: Europe under the Great Dictators

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course provides an introduction to issues of historical causation, argumentation, and evidence by examining European history under 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 under totalitarianism, 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 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Global Medicinals: England, Japan, and the United States

    4 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: BIO 195-01 . This Global  Learning Program Tutorial will explore diverse medical belief systems that have existed and continue to exist worldwide, looking at the rise of “Western” medicine and it’s seeming contrast to those systems that are now labeled “herbal,” “traditional,” or “alternative.” In addition to guest speakers and regional field trips, this GLP Tutorial class will travel to England and Japan during spring break and early summer to learn more about the historical and contemporary medicinal beliefs and practices in those locations.First-year students interested in this coursewill need to complete an application in additionto doing the normal registration process. The application materials are available on GrinnellShare (Academics>Centers>Center for International Studies>Global Learning Program). Students selected to participate in the Global Learning Program will be required to pay a $400 participation fee (most other required travel expenses will be covered). This fee will be added to the student tuition bill and will be due by the first day of classes. 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 of attendance.

    Prerequisite: TUT-100 and application. Open to first-year students only.
    Instructor: Lewis, Sandquist
  • 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: Not offered every year.
    Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in Spanish or Portuguese for course and +2.
    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.
    Foreign language option available in Spanish or Portuguese for course and +2.
    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 210 - Historical Perspectives on US Education

    4 credits (Fall)
    See EDU 210 .

  • 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 - Women in American History

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course examines the history of women in the United States from the colonial period through the 1970’s. Students consider the role of race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality in shaping women’s experiences, as well as the tensions between gender expectations, gender performance, and gender identities. Special attention is paid to women’s efforts to expand their access to equal rights, full citizenship status, and bodily autonomy.

    Prerequisite: HIS 100  or second-year standing.
    Instructor: Lewis
  • HIS 223 - Health and Medicine in American 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 224 - Sex in American History

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    This course explores the history of American sexual experiences, desires, and identities. Students will consider changes, contradictions, and continuities in ideals as well as the complicated realities of lived experiences. Topics include the invention of sexualities, courtship and marriage customs, sexual citizenship, sex as work, sexual violence, and more.

    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 226 - Native American History, 1871 to Present

    4 credits (Spring)
    From the end of treaty-making with the United States in the late-nineteenth century through to the present, this course examines the struggles of Native people in asserting tribal sovereignty while simultaneously acknowledging 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, this course examines persistence and change as American Indians in the United States grappled with issues of sovereignty and citizenship.

    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 - Medieval Europe, 400 - 1400

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course will introduce students to Europe and the Mediterranean world from 400 to 1400, with particular attention to the legacies of the Roman Empire: Western Christendom, the Byzantine  Empire, and the rise of Islam. This course will also explore how contemporary men and women understood their own era, and how subsequent  generations have relied upon the ‘Middle Ages’ as both foil and inspiration.

    Prerequisite: HIS 100  or second-year standing.
    Instructor: Chou
  • HIS 233 - Renaissance, Reformations, Explorations

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    Examines the crucible of forces that turned Europe from a geographical 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: Chou
  • 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: Chou
  • 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 paid to the evolving relationship between Britain “at home” and Britain’s empire overseas (particularly in South Asia).

     

    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.
    Foreign language option available in German for course and +2.
    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.
    Foreign language option available in English, French, or German for course and +2.
    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.
  • 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, culminating in a historical reenactment of conflict resolution.

    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 and Modernity

    4 credits (Fall)
    Cross-listed as: REL 267 . This course examines the relationship between traditions of Islam and traditions of modernity, first by investigating the nature of “traditions” and then by seeking to understand how debates at the heart of modernity - including those surrounding secularism and capitalism - take shape over time in Muslim communities. We will give special attention to the effects of colonialism and imperialism in the Middle East and South Asia, particularly regarding the relationship between religion and public life.

    Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
    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)
    See REL 268 .

  • 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: Staff
  • 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: Staff
  • 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: Staff
  • 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: Cold War Latin America

    4 credits (Spring)
    During the Cold War, Latin America was seen as an important site of both ideological and military conflict. As a result, the region was profoundly shaped by the the struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. This course will examine some of the political, social, and cultural effects of the Cold War on Latin America by studying various important episodes including the Cuban Revolution, Anti-communist dictatorships, and US interventions.

    Prerequisite: HIS 100  or second-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Silva
  • HIS 295-01 - Special Topic: When the World Becomes Global: Early Modern Empire, Expansion, and Exchange

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course will explore how and why the world became integrated, interdependent, and ‘global’ through 1)processes of colonization and expansion; 2)the emergence of modern capitalist instruments and market; 3)intensified voluntary and forced migration; and 4)intellectual, cultural, scientific, and biological exchange. We will engage with scholarship that has redefined the field of world history by de-centering the role of Europe and distinguishing the heterogeneous imperialism of the early modern era from the Western hegemony of the nineteenth through the twentieth centuries.

    Prerequisite: HIS 100  or second-year standing.
    Instructor: Chou
  • HIS 295-02 - Special Topic: Digital History: Investigating the Past

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course will introduce students to methods used in the digital humanities, with a special emphasis on applications to historical studies. Students will create projects and study existing digital projects, with a special focus on U.S. History in a global context. Readings will include primary sources as well as recent contributions to theory in digital humanities. We will learn general principles of working with humanistic data as well as techniques such as building online exhibitions, digital mapping, and computational analysis of text. No technical skills or experience in digital humanities work are required, but willingness to gain both are fundamental to the class.

    Prerequisite: HIS 100 .
    Instructor: Purcell
  • HIS 295-02 & 03 - Special Topic: Live in HD: Contextualizing the NY Met Operas

    2 credits (Fall and Spring)


    This course is a 2-credit, 200-level variable topic research class linked to the New York Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series. Students choose one of the operas scheduled for broadcast and research its historical context, formal characteristics, and scholarly treatment.  In addition to cultivating skills in historical literacy and contextualization, students incorporate their own areas of interest into their research and analysis. Working alone or in small groups, students prepare and deliver  pre-broadcast public lectures.

     

    Prerequisite: HIS 100  or second-year standing.
    Note: Section -03 in the fall semester and section -02 in the spring semester
    Instructor: Maynard

  • HIS 295-03 - Special Topic: Defense Against the Dark Arts: Social Scares in Chinese History

    4 credits (Spring)
    Magic in pre-modern China provides a way to understand how people thought about their societies and reacted to changes. Concerns and anxieties regarding the supernatural illuminate important  structures of power, including political authority, gender, family politics, and social stratification. In this class, we will examine Chinese magical practices, the labeling of the “dark arts,” accusations of sorcery and witchcraft, and encounters with the modern West and its foreign categories: science and religion.

    Prerequisite: HIS 100  or second-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 Foreign Language Option Available
    Instructor: Luo
  • HIS 295-04 - Special Topic: History of Asian Thought

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course examines the ideas of social justice in Asia as the regional inflections of a global history. We examine the different philosophical and ideological positions, and the particular historical contexts in which they emerged and changed. How did Chinese, Hindu, and Buddhist  thinkers understand just societies, responsible  power, fairness, and other ethical issues? How were ideas shared and changed by cultural and institutional frameworks? And how do they inform dialogues with “the West”?

    Prerequisite: HIS 100  or second-year standing.
    Instructor: Luo
  • HIS 295-04 - Special Topic: The Crusades in the Middle East

    4 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: REL 295-06 . What did it feel like to get crusaded? In this course, we will examine the roughly two-century period from the First Crusade in 1095 to the final expulsion of Latin Crusaders from the Middle East in 1291. Our explorations will center on the perspectives of the invaded, rather than the invaders. How did Muslims, Jews, and Easter Christians of the medieval Middle East respond to the presences of the Frankish invaders from Europe?

    Prerequisite: HIS 100 REL 101 REL 102 , REL 103 , REL 104 , REL 105 , or second-year standing. 
    Instructor: Saba
  • HIS 295-05 - Special Topic: Violence Past and Present

    1 credits (spring)
    This short course invites students to consider the utility of studying historical ideas and practices relating to conflict, violence, and peace, particularly for those interested in these themes as they pertain  to the present. Students will explore this question via a consideration of the medieval European past, as well as the way that the past relates to and is received and deployed by the present. Over the course of this class, students will participate in weekly discussions, write two written responses to weekly readings, and write a short final paper in which they will lay out their answer to the course’s driving question.

    Prerequisite: HIS 100  or second-year standing.
    Note: Meets February 6 to March 13. Short-course deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Palmer
  • HIS 309-01 - Latin America and the U.S.

    4 credits (Spring)
    As the saying goes, Latin America lies too far from God and too close to the United States. This proximity has affected Latin American economics, demographics, culture, and politics. The seminar will begin with common readings. This year those common readings will focus on US attempts–both official and unofficial–to democratize and modernize the region. Students will then write a research paper using primary documents. These papers could focus on any one of a number of issues that were central to US-Latin American relations such as hemispheric security, economic affairs, democracy, and socialism. A reading knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is helpful but not required.

    Prerequisite: HIS 100  and HIS 201  or HIS 202 .
    Instructor: Silva
  • 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 323-01 - American Women Since WWII

    4 credits (Spring)
    Students in this seminar will explore the history of American women since the Second World War. The postwar decades and late twentieth century witnessed enormous changes in the lives of American women, including both expanding opportunities as well as rising expectations. We will consider how American women fomented and navigated these changes, paying careful attention to the significance of race, class, sexuality, and citizenship status in shaping their experiences. 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, in the theoretical basis of women’s history as a field, and in the special considerations of doing contemporary history. Students will conclude the semester by producing an article-length research paper and a 15-minute presentation of their historical research into this era. 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  or HIS 224 .  
    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 330-01 - Politics of Food in Early-Modern England

    4 credits (Spring)
    Through an examination of the conflicts surrounding the purchase, consumption, and production of food, as well as the processes by which food became politicized, classed, and gendered, this class offers a chronological and thematic look at the ‘century of revolutions’ in England beginning with Elizabeth I’s ‘second reign’ in 1590 and ending with the Act of Union in 1707. We will utilize case studies about food to explore how an early modern ‘moral economy’ and an ideology of governance centered on the person of the monarch gave way to a modern, commercialized economy and parliamentary politics. Students will develop a substantial research project over the course of the semester.

    Prerequisite: HIS 100  and HIS 233 , HIS 234 , HIS-295 Global Cultural Encounters, or HIS-295 When the World Became Global.  
    Instructor: Chou
  • 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 - Human Rights in Asia

    4 credits (Spring)
    Few things are more prominent in contemporary political discourse than discussions of human rights. But which ideals are included at the core of this concept and what kinds of practices give it expression?  In this seminar, students will first engage with the history of human rights as a category by exploring key foundational and contemporary texts. From there, we will explore the related  concept of “international human rights”, a powerful idea in our time, but also the focus of numerous controversies. We will discuss issues of international law and political interests, universal standards and cultural relativism, civil society and social norms, and the challenges of contemporary advocacy. With these twin foundations established, students will embark on a series of case studies exploring the question of human rights in various Asian contexts, such as torture and capital punishment, religious freedom, economic justice, minority rights, gender equality, and freedom of  expression. Along the way students will conceive and execute a research paper on a case study of their own choosing, with ample opportunity to workshop their research and writing in the context of the seminar’s ongoing readings and discussion.  

    Prerequisite: Any 200-level Asian History course.
    Instructor: Luo
  • 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.
    Note: This course does not satisfy research seminar requirement.
    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 should be submitted to the history department chair at least one week before they are due at the Office of the Registrar, must 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: Staff
  • Humanities

  • GLS 251-01 - Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature

    4 credits (Spring)
    See HUM 251-01 .

  • 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 ARH 195-01 .

  • HUM 200 - Creative Careers: Learning from Alumni


    See SST 200 .

  • 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.
    Note: Foreign language available in Russian or French.
    Instructor: Staff
  • HUM 295-01 - Special Topic: Generational Memory in Rural Iowa

    4 credits (Fall)
    Due to expanded life expectancies, changing experiences of age have become prominent in our daily life. The generational concept is useful to  understand social change: What exactly is change, and how does it work from one generation to the other other in respect to values, life style, routines, etc? The aim of the course is to examine these questions in theory and at the same  time conduct practical research collecting interviews with people from different families/family generations living in rural Iowa. Taught in English.

    Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
    Instructor: Sparaschuh
  • HUM 295-01 - Special Topic: Journal Publishing: Discovering Diversity

    4 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: SST 295-01 . This course will involve students in all steps in producing the Spring 2019 issue of Rootstalk: A Prairie Journal of Culture, Science, and the Arts.  This semester a specific goal is to involve students, faculty editors, staff advisors and alumni mentors in an effort to further develop the journal as a tool for reaching out to the full diversity of populations in our region, and for the development of content for future issues.

    Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Andelson, Staff
  • HUM 295-02 - Special Topic: Tolerance and Intolerance: What is Enlightenment Today?

    4 credits (Spring)
    Contemporary Europe faces ongoing manifestations of intolerance in the form religious extremism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and outbreaks of violence against people of different beliefs and cultures. The present moment recalls for many the long history of religious and racial intolerance in Europe from the time of the Reformation to the demands for tolerance issues during the Enlightenment. This course examines the long history of and present of intolerance and its challenges to Enlightenment ideals of tolerance, rational debate, and human rights. This course includes travel over summer break. Students will be required to pay a $400 participation fee (most other required travel expenses will be covered). This fee will be added to the student tuition bill and is due by the first day of classes. 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: Second-year standing. Prerequisite or co-requisite: FRN 222  or GRM 222 .
    Instructor: Harrison, Reynolds
  • HUM 295-02 & 03 - Special Topic: Dis/Unity and Difference

    2 credits (Fall and Spring)
    Difference is a reality of community life-as is disagreement about how to respond. Does focusing on unity paper over difference? Does focusing on  disunity undermine the possibility of solidarity?  We will explore such questions through Center for the Humanities programming, including the work of  visiting scholars, film screenings, and select performances. Topics may include (but will likely not be limited to) race, religion, public health, and national identity. 

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Section -02 in the fall. Section - 03 in the spring. S/D/F only
    Instructor: Roberts
  • Latin 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: Petrus
  • 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 228 - Linguistic Typology

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    How are languages the same and how are they different? Which characteristics are universal to all languages and which ones are rare? In this course, students will learn to evaluate what is unusual and what is expected in a language. We will determine the range of possible sound inventories, word order patterns, grammatical categories, and lexical categories found within the world’s languages.

    Prerequisite: LIN 114 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Hansen
  • LIN 250 - Language Contact

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    See ANT 250 .

  • LIN 270 - Indo-European Language and Culture

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    See CLS 270 .

  • 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 270 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Hansen
  • LIN 375 - Advanced Linguistic Analysis

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course will expand on the linguistic analysis skills developed in previous coursework, looking specifically at the sub-disciplines of phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics and the ways they interact. Each unit will focus on a specific sub-discipline and how it interfaces with another, e.g. morpho-phonology, morpho-syntax, and the syntax-semantics interface. Students will work with data from a variety of languages in order to examine the structural components of language and the various cross-linguistic realizations of these components.

    Prerequisite: LIN 216 , LIN 228 LIN 270 , or CLS 270  OR LIN-295 with permission of instructor.
    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: Staff
  • Mathematics 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 STA 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 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 - Discrete Bridges to Advanced Mathematics

    4 credits (Fall and Spring)
    Discrete Bridges to Advanced Mathematics courses prepare students for the 300-level foundations courses through careful attention to mathematical proof writing and creative problem solving. Skill building is a fundamental component: skills include working with fundamental tools of logic to write convincing arguments, grappling deeply with difficult mathematical problems, and reading upper-level undergraduate mathematical texts. Math 218 addresses counting techniques and other discrete topics needed for computer science. May be repeated once for credit when content changes 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: MAT 215 .
    Instructor: Staff
  • MAT 218-01 - Discrete Bridges to Advanced Mathematics: Number Theory

    4 credits (Spring)
    Number theory is one of the oldest branches of mathematics, far older than Calculus. The subject, at its most basic, asks questions about the integers. For instance, how are the prime numbers distributed among the integers?  What are integer solutions to a particular polynomial equation? Which integers can be expressed as the sum of two squares? We will learn about topics such as divisibility, congruences, and quadratic reciprocity, which will help us answer questions like these. Along the way, we will discuss counting techniques and related discrete topics. Proof writing and creative problem solving will be heavily emphasized.

    Prerequisite: MAT 215 .
    Instructor: Paulhus
  • MAT 218-01 & 02 - Discrete Bridges to Advanced Mathematics: Graph Theory

    4 credits (Fall and Spring)
    A graph consists of a set of vertices and a set of edges - you can draw a graph simply by placing some dots on a page to represent vertices, and then connecting certain pairs of dots with lines to represent the edges. Graphs are useful for understanding any kind of networks - the internet itself could be viewed as a graph, with links between pages representing edges; in fact Google’s PageRank algorithm makes heavy use of ideas from graph theory.  In this course, we will use graphs as a means to develop problem solving skills and to improve our ability to construct logical mathematical arguments. After beginning with basic topics including the chromatic number, planarity, trees, Euler circuits, and Hamiltonian cycles.

    Prerequisite: MAT 215 .
    Note: Fall: Sections 01 & 02. Spring: Section 02
    Instructor: Uzzell
  • 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 - Bridges to Advanced Mathematics

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    Bridges to Advanced Mathematics courses prepare students for 300-level foundations courses through careful attention to mathematical proof writing and creative problem solving. Skill building is a fundamental component: skills include working with fundamental tools of logic to write convincing arguments, grappling deeply with difficult mathematical problems, and reading upper-level undergraduate mathematics texts.  May be repeated once for credit when content changes 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: MAT 215 .
    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 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 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 when content changes. For current course content see the variable topic course listing below or search the online live schedule of courses.

    Prerequisite: Varies depending on topic.
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Offered in alternate years.
    Instructor: Staff
  • MAT 314-01 - Topics in Applied Mathematics: Partial Differential Equations

    4 credits (Spring)
    Partial Differential Equations. This is a first course in partial differential equations. The development of the theory and techniques will revolve around several classical equations: Laplace’s equation, the  heat equation (heat flow and diffusion), and the wave equation. Techniques will include separation of variables, Fourier analysis,  Sturm-Liouville problems, and existence/uniqueness results.

    Prerequisite: MAT 220 .
    Instructor: Chamberland
  • 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  or MAT 222 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Staff
  • MAT 317 - Advanced Topics in Analysis

    4 credits (Fall)
    Analysts seek to understand mathematical entities, such as numbers, vectors, and functions, through approximation, convergence, and representation. This approach has yielded important insights in pure mathematics, in areas like differential equations, geometry, and number theory, as well asapplications in areas like signal processing, data analysis, and quantum theory.  This course will build on the foundations of analysis, exploring an advanced topic in this area.  The course will regularly provide an opportunity to pursue research. 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: MAT 316 .
    Instructor: Staff
  • MAT 317-01 - Advanced Topics in Analysis: Experimental Analysis

    4 credits (Fall)
    The pure mathematician has traditionally solved problems by “paper and pencil.” While the use of computers has changed our world in many respects, this has not (with few exceptions) come back to  help mathematicians in their research. This course will show how computers can be used to study problems connected to analysis, including problems with integrals, infinite series, difference equations, chaos theory, and root finding. The common thread is using the computer for discovery; symbolic, numerical and visual. Students will master a computer algebra system, learn some recently developed algorithmic tools, and work on a research project. Previous experience with a computer algebra system is not required.

    Prerequisite: MAT 316 .
    Instructor: Chamberland
  • 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  or MAT 222 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Staff
  • MAT 322 - Advanced Topics in Algebra

    4 credits (Spring)
    Algebraists study sets with operations, such as matrices under addition and multiplication. Algebraic structures are central in modern mathematics, arising in areas like number theory and combinatorics, topology and geometry, and also finding applications in fields like cryptography and coding theory - even data analysis and music theory.  This course will build on the foundations of abstract algebra, exploring an advanced topic in this area.  The course will regularly provide an opportunity to pursue research. 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: MAT 321 .
    Instructor: Staff
  • MAT 322-01 - Advanced Topics in Algebra: Elliptic Curves

    4 credits (Spring)
    Elliptic curves play a crucial role in modern mathematics from pure mathematics (the proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem) to applied mathematics (elliptic-curve cryptography). These surprisingly  sophisticated objects are solutions to cubic equations. To be able to understand how these curves are used, we need to develop their algebraic properties, particularly a beautiful group structure we can create on the solutions. There will be a research component to the class.

    Prerequisite: MAT 321 .
    Instructor: Paulhus
  • MAT 335 - Probability and Statistics I

    4 credits (Fall)
    Cross-listed as: STA 335 . 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 STA 209  (previously offered as MAT 209), MAT 218 , or MAT 220 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Staff
  • MAT 336 - Probability and Statistics II

    4 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: STA 336 . 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  or STA 335 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    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: Geometric Group Theory

    4 credits (Spring)


    Despite its role as a cornerstone of abstract algebra, group theory is an intrinsically geometric subject. From the work of Klein in the late 19th century to Gromov’s foundational results nearly a century later, geometry has proven to be a powerful tool and a natural way to understand groups. The connections between these two areas, together with subjects such as topology, combinatorics, and formal language theory, form the basis for the field known as geometric group theory. 

    In this course we will take an in-depth tour of several topics in geometric group theory, focusing especially on the interactions between groups and graphs. As part of the course, students will have the opportunity to complete a research project which explores a chosen topic in detail, including its relevance to geometric group theory and neighboring fields.

    Prerequisite: MAT 321 . Recommended - MAT 316 .  Exposure to combinatorics will be useful, but not required.
    Instructor: Dougherty

  • STA 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 Statistics 209 cannot receive credit for MAT 115  or SST 115 .

    Prerequisite: MAT 124  or MAT 131 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Previously offered as MAT-209.
    Instructor: Staff
  • STA 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: STA 209  (previously offered as MAT-209), MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year. Offered in alternate years.
    Instructor: Staff
  • STA 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: STA 209  (previously offered as MAT 209), MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    Instructor: Staff
  • STA 335 - Probability and Statistics I

    4 credits (Fall)
    See MAT 335 .

  • Music

  • MUS 100 - Introduction to Music Studies

    4 credits (Fall)
    Music is an essential component of human life. In this course, students will examine the ways in which music moves people, creates meaning, forms knowledge, and shapes social life as an expression of history, culture, identity, and creativity. Using examples from multiple styles, time periods, and geographic origins, students will learn to engage with the sonic dimensions of music through live performance, recordings, and written forms. Students will consider how different modes of writing and thinking about music both inside and outside of the academy intersect with multiple ways of making music, whether through collaborative performance, improvisation, composition, or amateur music-making. Beyond developing skills of critical listening, thinking, and writing, students will learn and reinforce the skills necessary to continue studies in music. Lab work required.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Students with prior music notation and keyboard experience should take the music placement exam during New Student Orientation to determine if they can test out of the lab.
    Instructor: Staff
  • 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. Practicum may be repeated for credit.

    Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
    Note: All participants in musical ensembles are required by the Registrar to register for the course, either for credit (1 cr) or for audit (0 cr) (Please note: credits earned in MUS 101 are NOT counted in the number of credits that determine whether a student is liable for an “overload” fee). Students registering as an audit should use the current degree-seeking Audit Registration Form. Faculty, staff, and community should use the non-degree-seeking students Audit Registration Form. 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, 320, 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.
    Note: Note offered 2018-2019. 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: Ramirez
  • MUS 101-09 - Fresh Flute Ensemble

    1 credits (Fall and Spring)
    Fresh Flutes at Grinnell is one of the Music Department’s small ensembles open to intermediate and advanced flutists.  The ensemble plays music for multiple flutes (piccolo, C flute, alto, and bass) that comes from all musical styles and eras.  Our musical goal is to expand your knowledge of repertoire and extend your playing skills: this includes improving traditional tone and technical playing as well as acquiring contemporary or extended techniques on the instrument. Development as chamber musicians is a high priority in the group. Skills include increased sensitivity to listening, adjusting to ongoing ideas coming from each member, flexibility in moving from one type of flute to another, and understanding how to contribute individual abilities to create a musical and social whole that transcends each person.  We perform at least one concert per semester, with combinations of duo, trio, quartet, quintet, and the entire ensemble.  Repertoire ranges from Boismortier to Ian Clarke, Derek Charke, Cynthia Folio and other contemporary composers; we also feature works composed for the group by Grinnell faculty and students.  Fresh Flutes meets officially once a week for 1 hr 30 minutes, and outside this time for independently arranged sessions with the smaller groups.  The College has a collection of instruments that ensemble members may borrow free of charge. Fresh Flutes is a wonderful place to explore challenging music but is also a special community to bond with and find your identity as a flutist at Grinnell.

    Prerequisite: Fluent in reading music. Audition required.
    S/D/F only.
    Instructor: Anderson
  • 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 - Music Fundamentals

    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, Loeb
  • 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, Loeb
  • MUS 112 - Music Theory I

    4 credits (Spring)
    The study of how individual chords are combined to create a piece of tonal music in a variety of styles from Bach to contemporary popular music.  Focuses on developing aural, analytical, and creative skills to enhance appreciation, performance, and composition. Lab work required.

    Prerequisite: MUS 100 .
    Instructor: Cha, E. Gaub
  • 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). A maximum of 16 credits in Music 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 will count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, 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., voice, piano, 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). A maximum of 16 credits in Music 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 will count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 are included in the 48-credit maximum in the department.
    Instructor: Staff
  • MUS 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Ngoma Dance, Drumming, and Singing from Zimbabwe

    1 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: THD 195-02 . Taught by master musician and dancer, Musekiwa Chingodza, students in this course will learn to sing, dance, drum, and/or play mbira together in the tradition of Zimbabwe’s Shona community. Students will sing in Shona, learn the basic dance steps and drum patterns in aurally, as is traditionally done in Zimbabwe. The class will likely culminate in some form of public presentation.

    Prerequisite: None
    S/D/F only.
    Instructor: Perman
  • MUS 201 - Intermediate Music Studies

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    Cross-listed as: Depends on topic. Possible topics include: Music, Mind, and Brain; Music, Society, and Gender; Listening to Music; Music, Capitalism, and Consumption; Laptop Composition; Music, Theatre, Opera; Race and Musical Taste. May be repeated for credit if content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listings below or search the online live schedule of courses.

    Prerequisite: Varies according to topic. Consult registration materials for prerequisites.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Staff
  • MUS 201-01 - Intermediate Music Studies: Music, Mind and Brain

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course explores the rapidly growing field of the psychology of music. What would the evolutionary origins of music be? How does music evoke emotions in listeners? How do musical behaviors emerge and mature? What are the neural underpinnings of human musicality? What underlies our perceptual and cognitive response to music structure? What are the psychological and neurological processes involved in composition, improvisation, and performance? In an attempt to  answer such questions, we will examine scientific foundations of how humans perceive, understand, and create music in light of the advances in psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, philosophy, and music theory.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Cha
  • MUS 201-01 - Intermediate Music Studies: Music, Society, and Gender

    4 credits (Spring)
    Music has been a cultural forum for producing, reproducing, circulating, and consuming ideologies of society in general and of gender and sexuality in particular. This course  explores how music in Western culture-including  classical, jazz, and popular examples-has interacted and intersected with values and issues related to society, gender, and sexuality. Drawing on readings in musicology, sociology, cultural studies, semiotics, feminist theory, queer studies, and other related disciplines, we will examine such topics as 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.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Cha
  • MUS 201-02 - Intermediate Music Studies: Digital Music-Making

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course is intended to provide students with the skills and understanding to compose and perform music in a variety of styles using technology. Students will use the equipment available in the Electronic Music Studio, and the Ableton Live and Max for Live programs to create original musical works that combine live performance with digital materials.  Exercises that explore the basic techniques used in a variety of popular musical styles (Hip-Hop, Trap Music, House Music, Dubstep, video game music, Rock Music) will serve to develop and expand the toolset available to the student. In addition to examining a wide range of interactive strategies, the course will include techniques for mastering and polishing tracks, and it will culminate in a concert of the students’ work.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Rommereim
  • 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 203 - Topics in Ethnomusicology

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    Detailed study of music as an element of social and cultural life, as understood within the field of ethnomusicology. Possible topics include: Music in Religious Experience; Zimbabwe: Music, Culture, and Colonialism; Theory and Method in Ethnomusicology; Popular Music and the Black Atlantic. May be repeated for credit if content changes. For current course content please see the variable topic course listings below or search the online live schedule of courses.

    Prerequisite: Prerequisites will vary depending on topic. Consult registration materials for prerequisite.
    Instructor: Perman
  • MUS 204 - Jazz Traditions

    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 205 - African Music

    4 credits (Fall)
    Music in Africa shapes political life, religious piety, social understanding, and connects communities on the continent with the rest of the world through complex histories of interaction tied to slavery, colonialism, and post-colonial engagement. This class introduces students to a diverse range of African musical practices from combined ethnomusicological and anthropological perspectives and contextualizes these practices within global political, spiritual, historical, and social contexts. We explore race, colonial history, African modernity, and expressive community through Africa’s musical diversity.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Perman
  • MUS 212 - Aural Skills II

    1 credits (Fall)
    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 112 .
    Note: Normally taken in conjunction with MUS 213, this course may also be taken separately.
    Instructor: N. Gaub
  • MUS 213 - Music Theory II

    4 credits (Fall)
    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: Cha, E. Gaub
  • 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 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    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: None.
    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). A maximum of 16 credits in Music 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 will count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320 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). A maximum of 16 credits in Music 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 will count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 are included in the 48-credit maximum in the department.
    Instructor: Staff
  • MUS 261 - Music in Europe to 1750

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    Much of the world’s music produced before the development of recording technology in the 20th century is lost to us. The major exception is Europe, where a system of written notation emerged 1200 years ago, preserving a musical legacy of incredible beauty. This course explores music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque. Through intensive listening and musical analysis, close reading of historical texts, and interrogation of socio-political institutions and cultural forces, students develop broad musical and academic skills that enrich and facilitate further studies both in the field of music and across disciplines. Introduces the principal research tools and methods in the field of musicology, and provides hands-on application of historical information using Grinnell’s outstanding collection of historical instruments.

    Prerequisite: MUS 112 MUS 213  highly recommended.
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Brown
  • MUS 262 - Music in Europe and the Americas from 1720 to the Present

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    This course explores the sounds of “classical” music and the ideas that shaped them as aesthetic trends shifted from Enlightenment rationalism in the 18th century to 19th-century Romanticism and the experiments of the 20th and 21st centuries. Through intensive listening and musical analysis, close reading of historical texts, and interrogation of socio-political institutions and cultural forces, students develop broad musical and academic skills that enrich and facilitate further studies both in the field of music and across disciplines. Introduces the principal research tools and methods in the field of musicology.

    Prerequisite: MUS 112 . MUS 213  highly recommended.
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Brown
  • MUS 320 - Performance: Shared 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 shared recital with one other student who is also registered for MUS-320 the same semester. 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 NOT counted in the number of credits that determine whether a student is liable for an “overload” fee (over 18 credits). A maximum of 16 credits in Music 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 will count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 are included in the 48-credit maximum in the department.
    Instructor: Staff
  • MUS 322 - Advanced Studies in Music

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    In-depth study of a particular area of music research, including musicology, 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: Will vary depending on topic.
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • MUS 322-01 - Advanced Studies in Music: Baroque Improvisation

    4 credits (Spring)
    The art of improvisation - a vital aspect of music-making in many types of music today (e.g.  jazz, North Indian classical music) - has virtually died out of Western classical music. Yet in earlier periods, the ability to improvise was an essential skill learned by every Western musician; J. S. Bach was famously able to improvise fugues for hours on end. In this course, we will study historical sources from the Baroque period (such as treatises and examples of  written-out improvisation) plus the work of recent scholars and performers who have studied these sources. Students will then apply these ideas to their own performance medium. They will learn to ornament a melody in various Baroque styles, build variations over a standard harmonic pattern, realize a figured bass, and work towards improvising whole pieces. They will also complete a research paper that investigates the primary and secondary sources available for interpreting a selected piece of music.

    Prerequisite or co-requisite: MUS 112 MUS 213 , and facility on any instrument (including voice). Recommended: MUS 215 MUS 216 MUS 261 , or MUS 324 .
    Instructor: Brown
  • 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 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, 320, and 420 will count toward graduation. Credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 may not exceed a total of six in any one semester. Students should note that Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 are included in the 48-credit maximum in the department.
    Instructor: Staff
  • Neuroscience

  • 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: Staff
  • 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: Staff
  • Peace and Conflict Studies

  • PCS 101 - Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    This course will introduce students to the interdisciplinary field of Peace and Conflict studies. We will take multiple disciplinary perspectives to understand the factors that lead to conflict or aggression, from the individual to a group and to a societal level.  We will explore how identities, ideologies, and values, as well as political, social, economic or environmental structures and conditions foster conflict or peace and the mechanisms through which they are sustained.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Staff
  • PCS 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Realizing the Right to Food: Social Movements, Innovation and Conflict

    1 credits (Spring)
    Grinnell College is near the US center of power and discourse about agricultural innovation. However, there are other important centers and different types of innovation. This short course briefly reviews ideas about hunger, and moves on to explore sites of innovation involving social movements. For examples, peasant farmers and indigenous peoples are leading debates on the right to food at the United Nations while social movements have begun to end hunger in Belo Horizonte Brazil. Sponsored by the Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Dates: February 26 to March 14. Short course deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Staff
  • PCS 230 - Conflict Analysis

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course examines theories and perspectives on issues of conflict, violence, and conflict management in contemporary societies, with attention to the role of third parties in conflict resolution and peacemaking. Topics include alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques, restorative justice, peace processes in wars and ethnic conflicts, and principles of conflict management at the micro and macro levels.

    Prerequisite: ANT 104 , POL 101 , or SOC 111 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • Philosophy

  • 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: J. 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 161 - The Nature of Money

    4 credits (Fall or 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
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Ramey
  • PHI 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Introduction to Asian Philosophy

    4 credits (Spring)
    This survey course covers philosophical traditions stemming from China, Japan, and India. Our goal is to gain a basic understanding of Confucian, Taoist, Chan/Zen Buddhist and Advaita Vedanta philosophies with some insight into their historical context and philosophical opponents. We will read writings by Confucius, Mencius, Hsun-tzu, Lao-tzu, Chuang-tzu, Hui-neng, Linji, Dogen, and Sankara.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Nyden
  • PHI 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Self, Others, & Society

    4 credits (Fall)
    What is the relationship between the self, others, and society? How can you live with others in society and yet stay true to yourself? What is authenticity? We will investigate these and other questions concerning the complicated and often fraught relations between the self, others, and society. Resources include both Western and non-Western perspectives, as well as considerations drawn from the philosophy of race and gender.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Koo
  • 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 available.
    Foreign language option available in French or German for course and +2.
    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: Not offered every year.
    Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in French or Russian for course and +2.
    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: Not offered every year.
    Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in French, Dutch or Latin for course and +2.
    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: Fennell, Neisser, Nyden
  • 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: Not offered every year.
    Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in any language for course and +2.
    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: Not offered every year.
    Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in any language for course and +2.
    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: Reading Arendt

    4 credits (Fall)
    Cross-listed as: POL 295-01 . Hannah Arendt is one of the most famous thinkers of the 20th century. In this class we will begin with her earliest work on St. Augustine, follow the development of her arguments through The Origins of Totalitarianism and Eichman in Jerusalem and conclude by reading her essays on segregation, violence and the role of truth in politics.

    Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
    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 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: Davidson

    4 credits (Fall)
    In this seminar we will investigate the views of the contemporary American philosopher, Donald Davidson, on meaning, interpretation, knowledge, action and mind. The course will divide into three sections: the first will fill in Davidson’s philosophical background in Quine and Tarski and examine his theory of meaning paying particular attention to the following questions: whether a Tarski-style theory of truth can do service as a theory of meaning, how such a theory can be empirically tested, and whether it can provide an adequate semantic representation of natural language. The second considers the supposed anti-sceptical epistemological consequences of his theory of meaning. The third will be concerned with his conception of the relation between reasons and causes for action and his theory of ‘anomalous monism’ in the philosophy of mind.

    Prerequisite: PHI 253 , PHI 256 , PHI 257 , or PHI 258 .
    Instructor: Fennell
  • 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: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: J. Cummins, J. Dobe, 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 394-01 - Advanced Studies in Theories of Value: Habermas

    4 credits (Spring)
    This class will be devoted to the work of Juergen Habermas, a world renowned political theorist who works from within the tradition of German Critical Theory. We will begin with his early work on the student movements in the 1960’s where he develops his critique of the legacy of the Enlightenment, move to his middle period where he more fully works out the framework of discourse ethics, and then move to his defense of the universality of reason and its link to law and the norms of justice. We end the course with selections from his most recent work on multiculturalism and the place of religion in national and international politics.

    Prerequisite: PHI 234 PHI 235 PHI 263 PHI 264 , or PHI 268 .
    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: Staff
  • Physical 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
    Beginning Weightlifting
    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 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)
    From an overnight backpacking trip, to ocean sailing to the tiny house movement, this course will explore off grid technologies and techniques to stay warm, purify water, find your way and otherwise live without benefit of most modern conveniences. This course will consist of lectures, some labs and student presentations on a topic of choice.

    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, Pedersen, Madara
  • 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
    Note: Not offered every year. 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, Hamilton
  • Physics

  • 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 115 - How to Learn Physics

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    See EDU 115 .

  • 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, Christensen
  • 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, Kempton
  • 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, Cunningham
  • 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 w/Lab

    4 credits (Spring)
    A study of analytical mechanics, including Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms of particle dynamics, rigid body motion, and harmonic oscillations. Numerical methods laboratory taught in python.

    Prerequisite: PHY 131  and PHY 132 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: MAT 220 .
    Instructor: Christensen
  • 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: Tjossem
  • 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: Hasegawa
  • 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 - Topics in Astrophysics

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    An examination of topics in astrophysics from theoretical and observational perspectives with an emphasis on student engagement with current research. Topics include, but are not limited to,  combinations of the following: planetary astrophysics, stellar astrophysics, compact stellar remnamts, galactic astrophysics, relativity and gravitational waves, and cosmology. 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: PHY 232 .
    Instructor: Christensen, L. Rodriquez
  • PHY 340-01 - Topics in Astrophysics: Galactc 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 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: Geometry of Spacetime

    2 credits (Spring)
    The aim of this course will be to gain a fundamental understanding of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity (GR) from its formulation and solutions to its applications. GR describes the gravitational field as the metric tennsor of a Riemannian manifold. This Reimannian manifold is also referred to as the fabric of spacetime. Thus, the relevant language of GR is Riemannian  Geometry or Differential Geometry. This language and its use in GR will not be pre assumed knowledge, but students should have a fundamental knowledge of sophomore level modern physics, calculus and linear algebra.

    Prerequisite: PHY 232 MAT 133 , and MAT 215 .
    Note: Dates: April 2 to May 9. 1/2 semester deadlines apply.
    Instructor: L. Rodriguez
  • 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: Staff
  • 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: Staff
  • 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-Onwuachi
  • Policy 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 depending on staff teaching.
    Instructor: Staff
  • PST 320-01 - Applied Policy Analysis

    4 credits (Fall)
    Cross-listed as: GDS 320-01  or POL 320-01 . Food Insecurity. This course will serve as a joint policy studies and global development studies seminar. It will take an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to considering relevant food security concerns and possible solutions in the US and low income countries. Each student will engage in a major case study and employ methods common to policy studies and international development work to identify, weigh, and propose a policy to enhance food security.

    Prerequisite: Third-year standing and either PST 220 POL 220 , ECN 220  OR GDS 111  and one course from the GDS Macro requirement.
    Instructor: Hess, Roper
  • 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: Staff
  • Political 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 or Spring)
    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 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Hanson
  • 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: Dawkins
  • 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 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 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 21st 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, the former 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: POL 101 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. 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 to 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: Staff
  • POL 262 - African Politics

    4 credits (Spring)
    The major events and themes in the study of politics in sub-Saharan Africa. Part 1 is historical. We travel through pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial histories to understand Africa’s present political landscape. Part 2 is thematic. We use this historical knowledge to answer major questions in African politics concerning: political order, the strength of states, political economy of development, political culture, ethnicity, and gender.

    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 (Fall or 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 - Special Topic: Political Psychology

    4 credits (Spring)
    Using tools drawn from cognitive and social psychology, the course examines how individuals construct attitudes, engage in political decision-making, and interact with others in the public sphere. The course provides an overview of the subfield, as it delves into the key issues and controversies in the study of the political psychology.

    Prerequisite: POL 101 .
    Instructor: Dawkins
  • POL 295-01 - Special Topic: Reading Arendt


    See PHI 295-01 .

  • POL 295-02 - Special Topic: Politics of Gender in Developing Countries

    4 credits (Spring)
    We have seen the rise of strong female political leaders like Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, and in Rwanda 64% of seats in the lower house of the National Legislature belong to women. Yet discrimination against women in terms of legal, political, and social rights persists. This course is designed to investigate the complexities of gender and women in developing countries through topics like gendered conflict and violence; economic development; and political participation.

    Prerequisite: POL 101 .
    Instructor: Schoenecker
  • POL 295-02 - Special Topic: Politics of South Asia

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course provides an overview of the political landscape of South Asia, including the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan. We will explore the differences in independence, political institutions, parties, elections, state building, and conflict. In particular we will ask about the role of religion, ethnicity, nationalism, and economic development in the countries of this region, and explore why and how countries with relatively similar pasts have developed differently.

    Prerequisite: POL 101 .
    Instructor: Schoenecker
  • 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 SST 115 , or STA 209  (previously offered as MAT-209); and POL 216 , 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 239 , or POL 250  and third or fourth-year standing. Prerequisite for PST-320: PST 220 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • POL 320-01 - Applied Policy Analysis

    4 credits (Fall)
    See PST 320-01  or GDS 320-01 .

  • 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 Development

    4 credits (Fall)
    Why are some countries poorer than others? Did Western countries get rich off the backs of poor countries? Are poor countries poor because they have backward cultures and ideas? Are poor countries just badly run by corrupt governments? We will study the politics of economic behavior in today’s poor countries. In Part 1 & 2, we will review the major concepts, theories and trends in development. In Part 3, we will read about the deep and proximate causes of poverty, such as colonialism, clientelism, weak property rights and natural resources. This equips us for Part 4: Solutions, in which we weight the evidence for various remedies for poverty, such as democracy, developmental states, good governance, and foreign aid.

    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, and MAT 115 SST 115 , or STA 209  (previously offered as MAT 209).
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Lussier
  • POL 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Advanced Seminar in Comparative Politics

    4 credits (Spring)
    A research-oriented advanced course in comparative politics. The first half of the course will examine a selection of primary theories and methodological approaches taken in comparative politics. In the second half of the course, students will develop an independent research project that builds on earlier work conducted at the 200-level. The course emphasizes empirical political science employing a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches.

    Prerequisite: Third-year standing and POL 255 POL 257 POL 258 POL 261 POL 262 , or POL 273 .  Completion of MAT 115 , SST 115 , or STA 209  (previously offered as MAT 209) strongly recommended.
    Instructor: Sala
  • POL 395-02 - Advanced Special Topic: Theories of the State: Modern, Postmodern, and Postcolonial Approaches

    4 credits (Spring)
    The state is arguably the most important institution organizing  modern society. Important questions on the state include what is state power? Can state theories developed in the Global North explain states in the Global South, and vice versa? In an attempt to begin and grapple with these questions, we will explore modern, postmodern, and postcolonial theories of the state through the writings of Max Weber, Theda Skocpol, Michel Foucault, and James Scott, among others.

    Prerequisite: POL 251 POL 255 , POL 257 POL 258 POL 261 POL 262 POL 263 POL 264 , or POL 295-02 .
  • Psychology

  • 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 STA 209  (previously offered as MAT-209).
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Sinnett
  • PSY 220 - Decision-Making

    4 credits (Spring)
    An examination of cognitive biases and heuristics that describe how people think about information when making decisions under uncertainty.  We examine social, emotional, and behavioral influences across laboratory and real-world situations such as medical decisions and jury verdicts, and tools for helping people make better decisions (e.g., computers, formulas, and decision trees).

    Prerequisite: PSY 113  and MAT 115 , SST 115 , or STA 209  (previously offered as 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 STA 209  (previously offered as 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 STA 209  (previously offered as MAT-209).
    Instructor: Staff
  • PSY 231 - Sensation and Perception

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course pursues the psychological questions of how the body detects sensory information and of how the mind integrates this information into a coherent interpretation of experience. This course will showcase psychological questions of perception that enlist approaches and perspectives possibly including, but not limited to, the physiology and behavior of natural systems (e.g., us), appreciation of art and music, the engineering of smart devices (e.g., robots), and remaining challenges. Laboratory work may be required.

    Prerequisite: PSY 113 Prerequisite or co-requisite: MAT 115 , SST 115  or STA 209  (previously offered as MAT-209).
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: D. Kelty-Stephen
  • PSY 232 - Human-Computer Interaction

    2 credits (Fall or Spring)
    See CSC 232 .

  • PSY 233 - Developmental Psychology

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course explores psychological development from the prenatal period through adolescence. Major theoretical perspectives on the nature of developmental change are considered with a focus on empirical research and application of each perspective. Topics include physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. Laboratory work is required.

    Prerequisite: PSY 113  and MAT 115 , SST 115 , or STA 209  (previously offered as 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 STA 209  (previously offered as MAT-209).
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Lopatto
  • PSY 246 - Brain and Behavior

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course examines the interaction of brain and behavior. Topics include: (a) general introduction to neuroanatomy and neurophysiology; (b) neuroregulatory systems, stress, and emotion; (c) sensory 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-5.

    Prerequisite: PSY 113 MAT 115 , SST 115 , or STA 209  (previously offered ast 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 STA 209  (previously offered as MAT-209).
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Staff
  • PSY 260 - Cognitive Psychology

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course explores the experimental research on human thinking, knowing, and remembering. Topics include attention, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, language, and individual and cultural differences in cognition. Laboratory work is required.

    Prerequisite: PSY 113  and MAT 115 , SST 115 , or STA 209  (previously offered as MAT-209).
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Gibson
  • PSY 295-01 - Special Topic: Cross-Cultural Psychology

    4 credits (Fall)
    Psychological findings are often presented as if they are universal. In this course we will interrogate theories and processes in cognition, perception, development, and mental health from a cross-cultural perspective. We will focus on examining universality and difference across groups and on the interactions between psychology subfields (e.g., the influence of language on cognition). Students will be evaluated on discussion, written reflections, and exams.

    Prerequisite: PSY 113 .
    Instructor: E. Kelty-Stephen
  • PSY 295-02 - Special Topic: Health Psychology Across the Lifespan

    4 credits (Fall)
    Students in this course will examine psychological and social processes that contribute to physical health and wellness across the life span. We will focus on the development of thoughts and behaviors, such as risk taking, eating, and physical activity that contribute to health outcomes. We will explore how stress, coping, and thriving contribute to physical health. We will examine psychological responses to chronic and terminal illness and strategies of health promotion.

    Prerequisite: PSY 113 .
    Instructor: Ellis
  • 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 STA 209  (previously offered as MAT-209).
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Lopatto
  • PSY 315 - Advanced Social Psychology: Cross-Cultural Differences in Self-Construal

    4 credits (Spring)
    This seminar focuses on the construction of independent versus interdependent selves in cultures descendent from East Asian versus Western European historical and philosophical traditions.  We will consider sources of these differences, as well as a variety of social consequences.  This will provide the foundation for examining lay theories about the causes of behavior and considering the extent to which behavior is differentially determined by the person or the situation in different cultural contexts.

    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 325 - Longitudinal & Time-Series Analysis

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course covers statistical models for pscyhological research designs drawing data from from the same participants over time. This course couches statistical concepts in the practical applications that inspired them and addresses how they help test psychological, behavioral, and health-medical, or psychological hypotheses. We will consider how different analyses of over-time data depend on theories of development and have implications for growing interest in data science. Laboratory work may be required.

    Prerequisite: PSY 225  and two additional PSY courses at the 200-level.
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: D. Kelty-Stephen
  • PSY 331 - Ecological Psychology

    4 credits (Spring)
    This is an advanced course in perception exploring how people learn to fit into their environment, and, in turn, reshape their environments to suit their goals. Perception depends on the way they physically act on our goals amidst environmental structure. This course blends with physiological, behavioral, and cognitive psychology but also takes an interdisciplinary approach ranging from physics  and biology of motor coordination to applications in engineering and robotics. Laboratory work may be required.

    Prerequisite: PSY 225  and PSY 231 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: D. Kelty-Stephn
  • 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 covered may include memory, dementia, personality, and social roles. 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 primary research on variable topics within cognitive psychology.  Past offerings of this course concerned applying the working memory model, specifically central executive functions, to issues concerning reasoning, attention, language, metacognition, aging, prospective memory, frontal lobe functioning, and mental disorders.

    Prerequisite: PSY 225  and PSY 260 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Gibson
  • PSY 495 - Senior Seminar

    4 credits (Spring)
    A critical exploration of 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: Staff
  • Religious 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, identity, 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)
    What is “religion” and why should we study it? In what ways does religion influence individuals and societies, and how, in turn, is it shaped by them? This course, which serves as an introduction to  religious studies, addresses these and other questions through case studies drawn from the traditions that originated in India (Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism). Using a wide range of sources, we will explore multiple dimensions of religion, such as the narrative, philosophical, ritual, experiential, and social.

    Prerequisite: First or second-year standing.
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Ferrario
  • 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: T. 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 240 - Religion is Everywhere

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    The course will use interdisciplinary approaches to explore and engage the world around us to create new knowledge. Categories, such as religion, that scholars use to organize and study the world will be applied to other aspects of human life. This course will examine things like sports, rock and roll and Coca Cola as religion, and, in turn, consider how that study helps us to think differently about what is commonly called religion.

    Prerequisite: REL 101 , REL 102 REL 103 REL 104 REL 105 AMS 130 , or second year standing.
    Instructor: Rietz
  • 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)
    Cross-listed as: HIS 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
  • REL 295-01 - Special Topic: Race and Religion in the U.S.

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course studies the complex relation between race and religion, particularly in the United States. The first half of the course explores the construction of racial categories-especially white and black-in the context of the Atlantic slave trade and colonial America. We then will narrow our attention to African-American religions in the US to explore how religion has served as both a tool of oppression and a resource for resistance against white supremacy.

    Prerequisite: REL 101 REL 102 REL 103 REL 104 REL 105 , or second-year standing.
    Instructor: Roberts
  • REL 295-01 - Special Topic: Religion, Healing, and Health

    4 credits (Fall)
    The course will focus onmultiple dimensions of the relationship between religion, healing, and health. We will make use of a wide range of primary and secondary sources to explore illness narratives, healing rituals, religious participation and longevity, religious aspects of the body and mind connection, and spiritual practices and disciplines. We also will explore the interpretations of healing in cross-cultural contexts.

    Prerequisite: REL 101 REL 102 REL 103 REL 104 REL 105 , or second-year standing.
    Instructor: Y. Chen
  • REL 295-02 - Special Topic: Religion, Philosophy, and the Good Life

    4 credits (Spring)
    What is the good life? A happy life, a meaningful or purposeful life, a virtuous life, a life of rich relationships with others? Some combination of all of these? And does inquiry into the good life help us achieve it? If so, how? In this course, we explore questions such as these by considering how different philosophical and religious  traditions have sought to understand and guide human life.  

    Prerequisite: REL 101 REL 102 REL 103 REL 104 REL 105 , or second-year standing.
    Instructor: Roberts
  • REL 295-02 - Special Topic: Women and Religion

    4 credits (Fall)
    The course will introduce women’s life and experience across a spectrum of religious communities. Special attention will be given to examining the roles of women described in traditional religious texts, the ordination of women, women’s rituals, and women’s  self-perception of gender. Course readings will consist of academic research from fields such as religious studies, gender studies, and sociology.

    Prerequisite: REL 101 REL 102 REL 103 REL 104 REL 105 , or second-year standing.
    Instructor: Y. Chen
  • REL 295-03 - Special Topic: Religion and Food

    4 credits (Spring)
    The course will introduce students to (1) food in major religious traditions, and (2) the food symbolism in sacred and secular contexts. By analyzing sources ranging from ancient texts to modern films and fictional accounts, students will explore food-related myths, beliefs, taboos, and practices of fasting and mindful eating from religious, sociological, and anthropological perspectives.

    Prerequisite: REL 101 REL 102 REL 103 REL 104 REL 105 , or second-year standing.
    Instructor: Y. Chen
  • REL 295-04 - Special Topic: Zen Buddhism

    4 credits (Spring)
    Zen is one of the most popular modes of Buddhist traditions. The course explores the history, doctrine, literature, institution, and art of Chan and Zen Buddhism in Asia and in the United States. It  includes reading and discussion of religious, cultural, and political issues related to the development and transmission of this renowned tradition. Topics include (1) Chinese Chan, (2) Japanese Zen, (3) American Zen, and (4) Zen arts.

    Prerequisite: REL 101 REL 102 REL 103 REL 104 REL 105 , or second-year standing.
    Instructor: Y. Chen
  • REL 295-06 - Special Topic: The Crusades in the Middle East

    4 credits (Fall)
    See HIS 295-04 .

  • 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 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 in a variety of different contexts.

    Prerequisite: REL 311 .
    Instructor: Rietz
  • Russian

  • 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: 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: Not offered every year.
    Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in Russian for course and +2.
    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: Not offered every year.
    Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in Russian for course and +2.
    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: Second-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Armstrong
  • 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 281-01 - Major Russian Writers: Tolstoy

    4 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: GLS 281-01 . Tolstoy’s artistic growth through the stages of the early autobiographical fiction, the major novels of the middle period, and the short works of his later life; spiritual development and crisis within context and structure of the literary works, including Childhood, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, the Death of Ivan Ilyich. Conducted in English.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Plus-2 option available in Russian.
    Instructor: Herold
  • RUS 295-01 - Special Topic: The Language of Media in Contemporary Russia

    2 credits (Spring)
    See RES 295-01 .

  • 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 “enigmatic 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)
    Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita will be the focus of this seminar. Each class will be devoted to discussion of several chapters: their literary and political themes, as well as intertextual connections and cultural allusions. Towards the end of semester students will also read critical works about the novel in Russian. Conducted in Russian.

    Prerequisite: RUS 313 .
    Instructor: Vishevsky
  • RUS 389-01 - Advanced Russian Seminar

    4 credits (Spring)
    This seminar examines contemporary Russian detective novels. In particular, it covers their development as a genre and their place in the new Russia’s literary landscape. This semester we will examine the writing of Boris Akumin. Conducted in Russian. 

    Prerequisite: RUS 313 .
    Instructor: Greene
  • Russian, 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: Not offered every year.
    Plus-2 option available.
    Foreign language option available in Polish for course and +2.
    Instructor: Armstrong
  • RES 295-01 - Special Topic: The Language of Media in Contemporary Russia

    2 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: RUS 295-01 . This Russian-language course, taught by a visiting journalist from Russia, will focus on the language of Russian media in a broad range of formats, including print and television. The course will address the question of how the media landscape has evolved in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union and provide students with language tools for assessing information from a range of media providers, including nongovernmental and state-run media outlets.

    Prerequisite: RUS 313  or equivalent.
    Note: Dates April 1 to May 8. 1/2 semester deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Staff
  • RES 295-02 - Special Topic: The Politics of Ideas and Symbols in Putin’s Russia

    2 credits (Spring)
    Today’s Russia is no longer Soviet, but what does it stand for? Though in recent years the Russian regime has become more ideological, the Kremlin’s stance is often evasive and inconsistent. In this course we will discuss Russia’s nation-building project, its new and old national holidays and heroes. We will look into why WWII is at the center of Russian national mythology and how the perception of the West has changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Dates: April 2 to May 9. 1/2 semester deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Staff
  • 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: Staff
  • Science, Medicine & Society

    No Active Courses Available

    Social Studies

  • SST 115 - Introduction to Statistics

    4 credits (Fall and Spring)
    See MAT 115 .

  • SST 125 - Introduction to Geographic Information System (GIS) Analysis

    2 credits (Fall)
    Geographic Information Systems (GIS) deals with the analysis and management of geographic information. This course offers an introduction to methods of managing and processing geographic information.  Emphasis will be placed on the nature of geographic information, data models and structures for geographic information, geographic data input, data manipulation and data storage, and spatial analytic and modeling techniques.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Brottem
  • SST 140 - Medieval and Renaissance Culture: 1100–1650

    4 credits (Spring)
    See HUM 140 .

  • SST 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: The Startup Ecosystem: Entrepreneurs and Investors

    1 credits (Fall)
    This course will expose students to the startup ecosystem by understanding how entrepreneurs and investors behave both on an individual and collective level. Through this course, we will examine the following: growth in startups, startup ideas & team formation, financing entrepreneurial ventures, international startup markets, and more. This course will benefit students who are considering starting a business, joining a startup, and/or are aspiring investors. The course will be taught using a blend of readings/case studies, short lectures, active discussions, and a final project. This course will be taught by Hemant Bhardwaj ‘07 and sponsored by the Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Dates: September 10 to October 3. Short course deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Bhardwaj
  • SST 195-01 & 03 - Introductory Special Topic: SPARK Social Innovation Challenge

    1 credits (Fall and Spring)
    This course provides a series of workshops to support participants in the SPARK Community-Based Social Innovation Challenge and others who are looking to build  their skills in researching and effectively presenting solutions to social problems. Fall and spring versions have distinct content. The SPARK challenge pairs Grinnell organizations and students to address poverty related challenges faced by the larger Grinnell community. The  challenge concludes in the spring with a pitch contest in which one proposal can earn up to $15,000 in implementation funding.  SPARK is  sponsored by the Wilson Center for Innovation and  Leadership and the CLS.  

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Section -03 Fall Dates: October 1 to December 10.
    Section - 01 Spring Dates: January 28 to April 22 S/D/F only.
    Instructor: Roper
  • SST 195-02 - Introductory Special Topic: Ethical Leadership in an Interconnected World

    1 credits (Spring)
    Ethical Leadership in an Interconnected World. This course addresses ethical issues from the perspective of disparate stakeholders related to the growing use of big data and the internet. Students will frequently discuss case studies, engage in group work, and prepare memos. Taught by Steve Weiss ‘77, retired general counsel and senior VP of MidAmerican Energy Company, and retired administrative law judge at Illinois Commerce Commission. Sponsored by the Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership.

    Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
    Note: Dates: April 1 to April 29. Short course deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Staff
  • SST 195-02 - Introductory Special Topic: Women in Leadership

    1 credits (Fall)
    What makes a leader? Is it the title or the person’s effectiveness? How does gender influence leadership success? What about race, ethnicity, culture, and organizational context? This course will consider different theories on leadership and apply these to exploring women - including  Aung San Suu Kyi - in leadership positions in different countries and roles. Each student will select and prepare a report on a female leader. This course will be taught by Grinnell College Trustee, Kathryn Mohrman ‘67, and is sponsored by the Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Dates: September 18 to October 4. Short course deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Mohrman
  • SST 195-03 - Introductory Special Topic: Entrepreneurship: How to Build a Business

    1 credits (Spring)
    Students will gain insights into business realities and pitfalls. They will learn the how to establiish 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. This is a Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership sponsored alumni short course; taught by Sanjay Khanna ‘85.

    Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
    Note: Dates: April 8 to April 24
    Instructor: Khana
  • SST 200 - Creative Careers: Learning from Alumni

    2 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: HUM 200  and SCI 200 .   This course is sponsored by the Wilson Center for Innovation 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: Plus-2 option available for Social Studies and Humanities only.
    Instructor: Caulkins
  • SST 201 - Leading Innovation and Entrepreneurship

    4 credits (Fall)
    See ANT 201 .

  • SST 202 - Sustainability and Social Responsibility in Organizations

    4 credits (Spring)
    See ANT 202 .

  • SST 213 - Media and the Middle East

    4 credits (Fall)
    See HUM 213 .

  • 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: Staff
  • SST 225 - Applied Geographic Information Systems Analysis (GIS)

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course will represent a continuation of SST 125 by enabling students who took that course to build upon and apply the skills they learned through an independent project of their choice. The course will also include a limited number of advanced labs as well as lectures on GIS conceptualization and project planning. Students will be expected to learn and implement intermediate to advanced GIS methods in their projects.

    Prerequisite: SST 125 . Prerequisite or co-requisite: MAT 115  or SST 115 .
    Instructor: Brottem
  • SST 295-01 - Special Topic: Journal Publishing: Building Community in the Prairie Region

    4 credits (Spring)
    See HUM 295-01 .

  • SST 295-01 - Special Topic: Political Polling: Analyzing the Grinnell College National Poll

    2 credits (Fall)
    This short course, taught by visiting professor Ron Rapoport (The College of William and Mary), will analyze soon-to-be-released data from the inaugural Grinnell College National Poll, a pilot project which pollster Ann Selzer is overseeing. Students will assess public opinion data on key political figures and policy issues with an aim of understanding the political landscape of the 2018 midterm elections. The course will lay the foundation for this analysis by focusing on the formulation, implementation and analysis of political and public policy surveys. Topics include the psychology of survey response, question formulation and testing, sampling, index construction, hypothesis formulation/testing and data analysis.

    Prerequisite: MAT 115 SST 115 STA 209  (previously offered as MAT 209).
    Instructor: Trish
  • SST 295-02 - Special Topic: Multi-Media Workshop through a Virtual Global Grinnell

    1 credits (Spring)
    This online course uses multi-media methods to foster engagement with peoples and places where students are studying, especially off-campus. Drawing inspiration from the tradition of ethnographic film and its concerns with styles and forms of representation, as well as with current scholarship about cross-cultural engagement through technology, the course pursues three objectives. First, students will develop skills with tools of representation including still images, audio, and short videos. Second, students will use their multi-media assignments and comparative discussion with Grinnellians in other locations to deepen ties with different peoples and places. Third, the course provides an online workshop space that experiments with a new form of global Grinnell learning community.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Dates: April 1 to May 17. 1/2 semester deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Larson
  • SST 295-03 - Special Topic: Radical Activism, Effective Leadership

    2 credits (Spring)
    How do you translate your passion for making change in the world into concrete actions? This course is a how-to on college campus activism for students, situated in a historical context and grounded in the social change model of student leadership. Consistent with a course on taking action, the main assignment for the semester will require developing and executing a specific project of campus change. In this way, we aim to explore through discussion and practice Grinnell’s social justice mission.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Instructor: Levandoski, Smith-Benanti
  • 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 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Global Disabilities: Art, Architecture, and Activism

    4 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: GWS 195-01  and THD 195-01 . How are understandings of disability socially constructed? What does it mean to perform disability? Why do people use their bodies to protest? How do we use art and architecture to create social change? Is the experience of disability global or is it locally defined? While many countries maintain disability activist communities, rhetoric in the United States often discusses legal protections for people with disabilities as though it is the world’s best.  However, our cultural understandings of disability and our political system often undermine the very rights of people with disabilities in the United States that we seek to protect. We will develop a comparison with Japan to highlight the ways in which understandings of disability are distinct, and is some ways more robust elsewhere. First-year students interested in this course will need to complete an application in addition to doing the normal registration process. The application materials are available at http://travel.global.grinnell.edu/ early in the fall semester. Students selected to participate in the Global Learning Program are required to pay a $400 participation fee (most other required travel expenses will be covered). This fee will be added to the student tuition bill and will be due by the first day of classes. 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 of attendance.

    Prerequisite: TUT-100 and application. Open to first-year students only.
    Instructor: Oberin, Thomas, Wilke
  • 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 235 - Class, Capital, and Inequality

    4 credits (Spring)
    In this course we will engage with traditional and contemporary debates on the role of class in allocating resources and influencing life chances within capitalist society.  We will necessarily interrogate the ways in which an individual’s class position informs and reflects experiences associated with race, gender, and sex, among other identities. Ultimately, we will consider the weight or force of class analytics in explaining social and economic inequality in the modern era.

    Prerequisite: SOC 111 , ECN 111 , or POL 101 .
    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: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Haenfler, 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 250 - Sociology of Religion

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    This course examines religion as a social institution that oppresses, liberates, mitigates social change, and intersects with other social institutions. In this course, we examine behavior, belonging and belief, as well as the relationships and processes that sustain religious systems of meaning. Among other things, we discuss atheism, cults, reenchantment, fundamentalism, new religious movements, capitalism, and the impact of religion on other social categories such as gender, sexuality, and ethnicity.

    Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Snook
  • 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. Plus-2 option available.
    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: Staff
  • 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 (Fall or 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 STA 209  (preferred, previously offered as MAT-209), MAT 336 , or STA 336 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Oberlin, Quinsaat
  • SOC 292 - Ethnographic Research Methods

    4 credits (Fall)
    See ANT 292 .

    Note: Plus-2 option available.
  • SOC 295-01 - Special Topic: Mass Media and Society

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course  takes a global and transnational approach to the  study of the production and consumption of mass media-including television, radio, books, film, and the Internet-in both developed and developing countries. The course will examine theories on the relationship between mass media and the  public sphere, the economic and social organization of media industries, the content and reception of media messages, and the growth of new media technologies. Lastly, students will learn methods and designs employed in current research and develop their own projects.

    Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
    Instructor: Quinsaat
  • SOC 295-01 - Special Topic: Sociology of Asian America

    4 credits (Spring)
    The course examines the experience of Asian immigrants and their children from a sociological perspective. Emphasis is on how the changing global capitalist and geopolitical landscapes have shaped the economic processes, political institutions, and social norms in U.S. society that, in turn, govern the interactions, roles, and expectations of Asian Americans. Students cover many key ideas in sociology, including the relationship between assimilation and transnationalism; intersection of race/ethnicity, gender, and class; discursive construction of  social groups; emergence and development of  oppositional consciousness; and place as abstract and physical sites, as they answer the question: What accounts for the paradox of being both a model and invisible minority at the same time?

    Prerequisite: SOC 111 
    Instructor: Quinsaat
  • SOC 295-02 - Special Topic: Afrofuturist Sociology: Race and Technology

    4 credits (Spring)
    In this course we will use Afrofuturism as a conceptual framework for investigating the social construction of race and technology through a wide range of topics, including: freedom, slavery and emancipation, Civil Rights, pan-Africanism, theories of modernity, postmodernity, and  technoculture, the Cold War and postcolonialism, cyborgs and posthumanism, as well as connections to speculative thought in literature, music, and film, sociology, and philosophy. Although race  is the primary lens through which we will study technology and socio-technological change, we will also consider the impact of gender, sexuality, social class, and ability as they relate to communities of color and the deep technological embeddedness of everyday life.

    Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
    Instructor: Crombez
  • SOC 295-02 - Special Topic: Environmental Sociology

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course will introduce students to the ways sociology engages with questions of environment  and place. The course focuses on a range of  themes including, capitalism, climate change, Indigenous environmental perspectives, gender, the development of the U.S. conservation movement, and environmental justice. Through active participation in this course students  will: 1)  Better understand sociological approaches to environmental issues; 2) Deepen skills to conduct sociological research on environmental problems; 3) Be able to reflect on key concepts, such as environmental justice and sustainability, and engage in meaningful discussions and writing; 4) Be able to apply course concepts in future courses, academic research, and practical situations such as internships and service-learning opportunities.

    Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
    Instructor: Staff
  • SOC 295-03 - Special Topic: Global Health

    4 credits (Spring)
    This course investigates global health from interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives. Using a comparatives global focus, we examine the global distribution of disease and illness, the patients’ perspective of illness in different cultural contexts, and the social organization of medicine in various countries. This course interrogates the nexus of global health care systems in terms of actual health outcomes, economic policy, and the state. Faculty from different disciplinary frames will guest lecture in the class. In addition, students will have the opportunity to research specific countries and study health care policy makers at the government level, the organization of health care providers including hospitals and clinics, and the global burden of disease. These observations will inform their final projects of the class.

    Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Ferguson
  • SOC 295-04 - Special Topic: Sociology of Emotions

    4 credits (Spring)
    What are emotions? How do they shape social life? And, how have social forces shaped our emotions? This 200-level sociology course will consider the various sociological approaches to the study of emotions. Some special areas of the course will include the emotions of politics and protest; intersections of identity and emotion; and the emotions of place and the environment.

    Prerequisite: SOC 111 .
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Bacon
  • 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, before spring semester registration begins. 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: Ferguson
  • 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.
    Foreign language option available in Spanish or Portuguese for course and +2.
    Instructor: Staff
  • 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 in Sociology: Intersectionality and Identity: Race, Gender, & Social Class Revisited

    4 credits (Fall)
    In this advanced sociology seminar, we will examine the interconnections among gender, social class, race-ethnicity, and other social categories at both the micro-level of identity and social interaction as well as at the macro-level of larger social structures, using the theoretical framework of intersectionality. Intersectionality, based on feminist theory and critical race theory, examines the multiple, fluid, and dynamic identities each person holds. Race, social class, and gender also structure our social world along various hierarchies of power and privilege that can reinforce or contradict each other, creating in turn both opportunities and oppression, as they shape identities and experiences of individuals. This seminar will address these issues and other dimensions of social inequality.

    Prerequisite: At least one 200-level sociology course and third-year standing.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Ferguson
  • SOC 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Decolonizing Sociology: Indigenous and Anti-Colonial Approaches to Sociology

    4 credits (Spring)
    How has colonialism shaped sociology as a field and what work has been done by Indigenous and anti-colonial scholars to confront and transform colonial legacies within sociology? This class focuses primarily on work being done in the United States and Canada but draws from anti-colonial and Indigenous sociology worldwide.

    Prerequisite: SOC 111  and two 200-level Sociology courses. SOC 285  is recommended.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Bacon
  • SOC 399 - Directed Research

    2 or 4 credits
    See Directed Research. 

    Instructor: Staff
  • Spanish

  • SPN 105 - Introduction to the Spanish Language I

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    This course is intended for students with no previous or very limited training in Spanish. Through total immersion in the target language, students will develop communicative competence in order to be active users of the language and gain confidence in speaking and interacting in real life situations. Students will gain cultural competence in the Spanish-speaking world, including the US, by reading cultural texts, researching cultural topics, and learning about customs and values of Spanish-speaking peoples.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Not regularly offered in the spring.
    Instructor: Staff
  • SPN 106 - Introduction to the Spanish Language II

    4 credits (Fall and Spring)
    This course is for students who completed SPN 105 or were placed at the 106 level by the Spanish Department. Through total immersion, students will develop communicative competence in order to become active users of the Spanish language and gain confidence in speaking and interacting in real life situations. Students will gain cultural competence in the Spanish-speaking world, including the US, by reading cultural texts, researching cultural topics, and learning about Spanish-speaking peoples and their societies, histories, and cultures.

    Prerequisite: SPN 105  or placement by department.
    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 audiovisual cultural materials. 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 audiovisual cultural materials. 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 and 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 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: Phillips
  • 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 317 - Readings in U.S. Latinx Literature and Culture

    4 credits (Fall)
    This discussion-based course provides a broad approach to U.S. Latinx literature. We will explore filmic and literary texts that voice the multiple and varied experiences of different generations of U.S. Latinxs 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. Latinx 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: Petrus
  • 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. Up to 8 credits may count toward the major. 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: Latinxs in the US: Issues for Social Change

    4 credits (Spring)
    This is an interdisciplinary course that brings awareness about issues that Latinxs face in the US and creates the cultural awareness needed to work effectively with them. Class discussions focus on the fields of health, law, immigration, education, and the economy. Within a cultural context, students also learn specialized vocabulary that is useful in professional settings. Experts in different fields share with students their professional and cultural experiences working with this population. Taught in Spanish.

    Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
    Instructor: Valentin
  • SPN 320-01 - Cultures of the Spanish-Speaking World

    4 credits (Fall)
    Power and Negotiation in the Visual Culture of Spain and the Spanish-American Colonies (15-17th  Century). This course provides an interdisciplinary and transatlantic approach in the analysis of the vast production of images in Spain and its colonies from the 15th to the 17th  century. It is a course on images in their cultural context, their uses to increase the power and influence of social and political institutions, the various ways in which they were  thought, and the kinds of responses that they  raised in their society. Students will become acquainted with the works of El Greco, Velázquez, Zurbarán, Ribera and Murillo, as well as painters working actively in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and Peru. Special attention will be paid to the colonial pictorial manuscripts produced by native Mesoamerican artists. Some of the key issues we are going to address are: the role of portraiture in the construction and reproduction of the power of the Spanish monarchy of the Habsburgs, the nature and uses of religious imagery, the intersections between painting and material culture, the image as text in indigenous codices, and gender relations involved in visual practice.

    Prerequisite: SPN 285 .
    Instructor: M. 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 , SPN 317 , or SPN-295 on literature.
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Aparicio
  • SPN 379 - U.S. Latinx Identities and Sexualities

    4 credits (Spring)
    This interdisciplinary course focuses on Latinx sexualities and identities. This course will focus on literary analysis of a variety of genres and cultural texts that have served as inspiration and influence for diverse communities of Latinxs. Students will explore artistic and theoretical contributions by Latinx scholars and artists related to the construction, the performance, and the questioning of gender roles. We will study the relation between literary works and the formation and conceptualization of Latinx and Chicanx identities and communities. Finally, we will focus on artistic-intellectual interventions that reflect the heterogeneity of more contemporary Latinx and Chicanx communities, with special attention to the diversity of thought on gender and sexuality. At the end of the course, students will present their research on gender roles, power, and sexual hegemonies based on literary analysis of Latinx cultural texts. Texts will be in English, Spanish, or Spanglish. Class discussion and all written work will be in Spanish. 

    Prerequisite: SPN 311 SPN 312 SPN 314 SPN 315 , SPN 317  or SPN-295 on literature.
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Petrus
  • 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 , SPN 317 , or SPN-295 on literature.
    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 , SPN 317 , or SPN-295 on literature.
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Phillips
  • 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 , SPN 317 , or SPN-295 on literature.
    Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
    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). In Europe, established urban centers underwent political change and spatial redesign, often at the expense of older commitments, while a new court capital, Madrid, was dramatically transformed. In the Americas, Mexico City was reshaped out of the violent demise of Tenochtitlan, while Lima was founded as a new viceregal capital and strategic alternative to the old Inca capital of Cuzco. This course will approach the comparative 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 denominator is the political construction and alteration of urban public space—how old communal spaces were remade into Baroque showcases of monarchical power and how, in overseas territories, urbanism was the cornerstone of monarchical legitimacy. Our end point will be the Baroque city of the seventeenth century and its transformed look, from grand public plazas to royal citadels and new fortifications. We will explore the political motives and economic implications of such spatial redesign. Our analysis of colonial cities in America and Asia will address indigenous representations of urban spaces in Mesoamerican códices and how these artistic forms were adopted and adapted in colonial documents. Students will understand how sacred indigenous spaces were repurposed and redesigned to enforce religious and political conversion in the recently conquered communities. The assignments in this class will introduce students to digital humanities software programs that will allow them to analyze text, map, visualize and exhibit the early modern world.

    Prerequisite: SPN 311 SPN 312 , SPN 314 SPN 315 , or SPN 317 .
    Instructor: Pérez
  • Statistics

  • STA 295-01 - Special Topic: Introduction to Data Science

    4 credits (Fall)
    This course introduces core topics in data science using R programming. This includes introductions to getting and cleaning data, data management, exploratory data analysis, reproducible research, and data visualization. This course incorporates case studies from multiple disciplines and emphasizes the importance of properly communicating statistical ideas.

    Prerequisite: STA 209  (previously offered as MAT 209). Suggested: CSC 151  or computer programming experience.
    Instructor: Jonkman
  • STA 336 - Probability and Statistics II

    4 credits (Spring)
    See MAT 336 .

  • Technology 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: Developing Performance Content from Environmental Data

    2 credits (Fall)
    Develop original, hand and digital tools for environmental data collection and field observation at the Conrad Environmental Research Area (CERA) to create visual content for a performance piece about the prairie environment to be developed at a later date. Natural history, field observation, and available technologies in environmental contexts come together to deepen the scope of field research and artistic practice. For students in arts, computer science, and biological sciences.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Dates: September 4 to September 20. Short course deadlines apply. S/D/F only.
    Instructor: Burch-Brown
  • THD 195-01 - Introductory Special Topic: Global Disabilities: Art, Architecture, and Activism

    4 credits (Spring)
    See SOC 195-01  or  GWS 195-01 .

  • THD 195-02 - Introductory Special Topic: Ngoma Dance, Drumming, and Singing from Zimbabwe

    1 credits (Spring)
    See MUS 195-01 .

  • THD 195-03 - Introductory Special Topic: Music and Dance in Bollywood: Critical Transformations

    1 credits (Spring)
    This three week course will introduce the students to dance, music and performance registers in Bollywood films, focusing on the critical transformations since the 1990s, a period marked by India’s economic liberalization and globalization. The course will cover a range of topics such as the deployment of playback voice in Hindi films songs; the vexed relationship between songs and film narrative; tensions between indigenous asethetics and global forms in Bollywood dance; the aesthetics of ‘remix’ and item numbers; and music and dance in Bollywood films as productive sites of desire, identity formation and moral anxieties.

    Prerequisite: None.
    Note: Dates: February 11 to February 27. Short course deadlines apply.
    Instructor: Staff
  • 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 choreographers across the globe.

    Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
    Note: Not offered every year.
    Instructor: Miller
  • THD 211 - Performance Studies Survey

    4 credits (Fall or Spring)
    Course content may include a range of topics in Performance Studies, focusing on verbatim/ethnographic plays, post-colonial and global performances, community-based theatre, or avant-garde performance practices. This survey course explores the theories and methodologies of contemporary non-traditional theatrical forms and culminates in student-created performances.

    Prerequisite: Any 100-level Theatre and Dance course.
    Note: Plus-2 option available.
    Instructor: Delmenico
  • THD 211-01 - Performance Studies Survey


    What does it mean to create performance from the words of real people? This class culminates in short student-created performances and examines contemporary verbatim plays produced in the US and elsewhere.  It includes ethnographic plays like The Laramie Project and Anna Deavere Smith’s work, verbatim and tribunal (trial) plays, and devised/immersive works. We will study the literature, theory, and embodied practices of creating this work individually and collaboratively. Prerequisite: Any 100-level Theatre and Dance course or permission of the instructor.

    Prerequisite: Any 100-level Theatre and Dance course.
    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 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 303-01 - Studies in Drama I: Shakespeare’s Comedies and Romances

    4 credits (Spring)
    Cross-listed as: GLS 303-01 . Study of Twelfth Night and selected comedies (MND, AYLI), so-called dark comedies (Measure for Measure, All’s Well) and late romances (including The Tempest) with reference to their sources in literature and folklore, intellectual backgrounds, cultural contexts, critical history, and ongoing life in landmark productions, including modern film performances. The seminar will pay close attention to dramatic structure and Shakespeare’s innovative experiments with genre, character, and language. Resources, both practical and critical, will include Granville-Barker, Northrop Frye (A Natural Perspective), Arden and critical editions, major scholarship on the plays. Our performance research seminar will complement the March Mainstage production of Twelfth Night. Seminar members are invited (not required) to participate in the production as actors, ADs, rehearsal assistants (scene study and scansion), management or crew.

    Prerequisite: HUM 101 HUM 102 HUM 140 ENG 121 SST 140 , or  200-level course in Humanities or Social Studies disciplines.
    Note: Plus-2 option available
    Instructor: Mease
  • 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 311-01 - Studies in Performance

    4 credits (Spring)
    Adapting and Performing Postcolonial Stories. In this class, we will learn how to adapt postcolonial short stories for the stage, centering on stories from Salman Rushdie’s East, West. All students will experience researching, writing, designing, directing, and acting in this course and draw on postcolonial, Brechtian, and adaptation theories and film as well as film and storytelling methodologies. We will explore adaptation as a way to expand the possibilities of theatre-making.

    Prerequisite: THD 201 THD 202 THD 203 THD 210 , or THD 211 .
    Instructor: Delmenico
  • 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