110. Black Women and Liberation
4 hours, 4SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
This seminar investigates the various ways that Black women of the 1960s and 1970s in the U.S. and South Africa have led their communities and their freedom movements (e.g., civil rights, anti-apartheid) with an important array of skills, resources, and vision. Students will be asked to think critically about the properties of women's leadership and political consciousness. We will use autobiographies and other secondary sources, develop research skills, and explore the bridge between community-based activism and intellectual life. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Brooks

111. Words That Matter
4 hours, 4HU, WRi
First Semester.
Through intensive study of poetic language—language, that is, at its most concentrated, deliberate, and artful—we will seek to become more critically aware of language in general. How do words matter? How do they shape our sensory, emotional, and social experience? Readings will include lyric poems, some critical essays, and a few novels, including Gardner's Grendel, Kingston's The Woman Warrior, and Maclean's A River Runs Through It. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Bryan

112. Globalization Politics
4 hours, 4SS, WRi
First Semester.
This course will explore the issue of globalization through an examination of classical and contemporary debates about the nature of the international political economy. We will examine such topics as the historical development of the world market; competing theoretical explanations of its rise including liberal, state-centered and Marxist approaches; the impact of global forces on the nation-state; alternatives and sources of resistance to the globalization process such as nationalism and transnational social movements. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Crowley

113. Re-envisioning Russia: A Task of Mythic Proportions
4 hours, 4HU, CD, WRi
First Semester.
Faced with the daunting task of creating new myths and symbols for the "New Russia," how do contemporary filmmakers contribute to ongoing ideological and spiritual debates? This course focuses on post-Soviet cinema as a projection of and reflection upon such controversial issues as the divide between the center and the periphery, the wars in Chechnya, the rise of the nouveau riche, and the legacy of the Soviet past. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Forman

114. Origins and Treatment of Cancer
4 hours, 4NS, WRi
First Semester.
This seminar examines the science underlying cancer research and treatment. An understanding that cancer is the result of a series of mutations has emerged from a quarter century of successful cancer research. We will assess the strengths and weaknesses of this description of the origins of cancer, and we will examine the impact of this description on the treatment of cancer. Chemical and biological principles will be developed as needed. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Fuchsman

115. The Literatures of Atlantic Slavery
4 hours, 4SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
This course examines explorations of Atlantic slavery by African and African Diasporic writers. Students will be exposed to several responses to the circumstances of Western chattel slavery through slave narratives, poetry, novels, essays and film, including those of people who lived as slaves and those who attempt to re-imagine enslavement for a 21st-century audience. We will discuss issues of gender, nationality, race, sexuality, and the politics of abolition. Authors discussed will include Toni Morrison, Sherley Ann Williams, Fred D'Aguiar and Esteban Montejo. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Gadsby

116. Field-Based Writing: Ecology of the Vermilion River Watershed
4 hours, 2HU, 2NS, WRi
First Semester.
This course will examine the natural processes of autumn using the methodologies of ecology, the study of interactions between organisms and their environment. We will focus on the changes that occur on the Vermilion River watershed through frequent field trips and research into its history and animal and plant life. Writing and sketching will be our means of recording our observations. Weekly writing assignments will be discussed in class and with the instructors during individual appointments. Note: P/NP grading only. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Cooper, Ms. Garvin

117. Uses of Metaphor
4 hours, 4HU, WRi
First Semester.
This seminar will address the fascinating complexity of metaphorical language-how metaphors are used by writers and how they are interpreted by readers. We explore metaphors in poetry and fiction as well as in films, religion, medicine, politics, and art. We will be asking questions such as: How do metaphors inform and direct our thoughts and imaginations? How have metaphors changed over the centuries? Is metaphor an appealing ornament to plain speech, or is it inherent in language itself? Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Hobbs

119. The First Amendment and the Internet
4 hours, 4SS, WRi
First Semester.
Constitutional law cases are used to study the impact of the Internet on First Amendment rights of speech, dissent, political organization, academic inquiry, and the right of privacy and security. Topics: What constitutes political, offensive, pornographic, indecent, hateful, harassing, and subversive speech? Are principles of freedom of expression transformed when applied to the Internet? Should, and can, such speech be regulated on the Internet? Note: This course counts toward the Law and Society and Politics Majors. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Kahn

120. The Collision of Cultures in North America, 1492-1700
4 hours, 4SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
Once celebrated as a heroic episode in the providential expansion of Western civilization, the European "discovery" and colonization of North America between 1492 and 1700 has more recently been portrayed as an imperialistic enterprise that wrought a holocaust upon native peoples and promoted the spread of slavery in the Atlantic World. This seminar attempts to move beyond sweeping generalizations and simple moral judgments to explore in detail the complex interactions of Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans in different regions of North America during the 16th- and 17th-centuries. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Kornblith

123. Representation and Reality in Contemporary Culture
4 hours, 4HU, WRi
Second Semester.
Images pervade our environment to a degree never experienced before. We are inundated by representations in the form of photography, film, television, the internet, and advertising. Yet few of us recognize the effects of such representations on our environment, our culture, or ourselves. Through analyses of various forms of the visual, we examine the largely concealed and naturalized assumptions underlying our cultural values and beliefs as they are produced and reinforced in the visual representations that surround us. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Mathews

125. American Mixed Blood
4 hours, 4SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
From the coyote and the half-breed to the ‘tragic' mulatto, people of mixed ethnic and racial heritage occupy a conflicted and controversial place in American history. This course will chart the histories of people of mixed heritage from the colonial period to the present, exploring the relationship between the historical experiences of mixed heritage and broader trends in American history including slavery, imperialism, legal transformation, and changing cultural patterns. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Mitchell

127. William Butler Yeats: The Last Romantic
4 hours, 4HU, WRi
First Semester.
A study of the poetry, autobiographical prose, and several of the plays of William Butler Yeats in the context of his late Victorian and Modernist contemporaries. The influence of writers such as Oscar Wilde, T.S. Eliot and Pound on Yeats' poetic practice and theory will be assessed. In Yeats' work we will focus on the poetry collections "Responsibilities," "The Wild Swans at Coole," "The Tower," "The Winding Stair and other Poems," and "Last Poems," and plays such as Cathleen ni Houlihan, The Words Upon the Window-Pane, The Death of Cuchulain and Purgatory. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Olmsted

128. Media and Memory
4 hours, 4HU, WRi
First Semester.
Beyond offering different sorts of content and engagement for their audiences, various artistic forms and techniques can be understood to provide alternative models for individuals and groups to filter and process experience in general. This course will look at multiple artistic forms (e.g., painting, photography, film, literature), in light of their own technical developments and contrasts with each other across time, in order to develop a greater sense of the many ways medium matters. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Pence

129. Coming of Age in African Literature
4 hours, 2HU, 2SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
This course focuses on African writing, examining a non-western body of work from a non-western perspective. A major theme is the challenges facing youth in colonial and postcolonial Africa: the struggle to balance tradition and change; the quest for education; the development of political awareness. Several books offer an African approach to what in the west is called a "Bildungsroman," or novel of youth's coming of age. Texts include Laye's L'Enfant Noir, Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions, and Achebe's No Longer at Ease. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Podis, Mr. Saaka

133. Science and the Mind
4 hours, 4NS, WRi
First Semester.
The study of the brain and mind is one of the most exciting frontiers of science. We will discuss some fundamental aspects of science including reasoning, review the basic principles of evolution, learn about brain structure/function, and then explore some of the exciting areas of research in brain and mind. Broad topics include: How does the brain work? What does brain damage tell us about how the mind works? How much of what we perceive is ‘real'? Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Thornton

134. Crossing Borders: The Mysteries of Identity
4 hours, 4HU, WRi
First Semester.
In Western cultures, identity has tended to be defined in binary terms: an individual is either black or white, male or female, straight or gay, and so on. This seminar will seek to explore the nature of identity by focusing on fiction, essays, and films in which categories of identity–specifically those of race, gender, and sexuality–are represented as fluid and ambiguous rather than as fixed and polarized. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Walker

136. Ways of Seeing; Ways of Knowing
4 hours, 4HU, WRi
First Semester.
Is seeing believing? Do you see only what you know? Through discussion and writing we'll address such questions, focusing on the literal and metaphoric perspectives we bring to narratives and other creative work and how such work projects or plays with perspective and "truth." We'll examine prose narratives by O'Connor, Morrison, Fitzgerald and others, essays on identity and hoax, the graphic narrative Maus, The Wizard of Oz (film and novel), Orson Welles' F for Fake, and selected works of visual art. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Zagarell

138. Class
4 hours, 4SS, WRi
First Semester.
Class is not part of our national conversation the way identities—gender, race, ethnicity, nation—are. Yet it involves at least as much exploitation, oppression and inequality. We lift (and explain) this veil. We ask what class is, utilizing anthropological, economic, historical, political, psychological and sociological perspectives. We analyze cases from various locales and moments. Finally, students produce research papers honing in on an aspect of class that interests them. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Blecher

139. Political Leadership
4 hours, 4SS, WRi
First Semester.
In the American democracy, political leadership requires a willingness to seek tentative answers to questions that may have no final, unambiguous answer. These include: Does political leadership require certain personal qualities? Can you lead without political power? Without increasing governmental authority or decreasing personal liberty? This seminar deals with these and related questions through reading and discussing various case studies and other analytical perspectives and through writing and rewriting many essays over the semester. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Dawson

140. Religion, Politics, and Ethnicity in South Asian History
4 hours, 4SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
This seminar analyzes the historical developments leading up to independence in South Asia, when religious and ethnic identities became prime politically mobilizing factors in many competing anti-colonial movements. The violent 1947 partition of South Asia led to the creation of the Islamic republics of Pakistan and Bangladesh; while officially secular, India has also moved recently toward religiously defined nationalism. Cross-cutting these religiously defined communities, however, are powerful ethnic identities, including regional nationalisms and "caste-based" parties. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Fisher

143. Sports Matters in America
4 hours, 4SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
This class examines sports as an important lens for understanding historical and contemporary constructions of race, class, gender and sexuality. It challenges students to engage with different historical topics, and to read, think and write critically about a wide range of issues related to sports including: economic systems/practices, media representations, local/national communities and identities, social justice movements, state politics/policy, and the impact of war, terrorism and mass violence. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Estes

147. Genesis: Myth, Saga, and Novella
4 hours, 4HU, WRi
First Semester.
The book of Genesis narrates the opening drama of a divine/human encounter. Foundational to Jewish and Christian scriptures, this ancient text has generated centuries of interpretation and appropriation. This course will examine the Genesis narrative through progressive historical lenses: its relationship to ancient Mesopotamian mythology, its place in ancient Israelite religion, its appropriation and transformation within early Jewish and Christian interpretation, and finally its place within political, legal, and social disputes in the modern U.S. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Chapman

148. Experimental Economics and Human Behavior: Free Riders and Hollywood Handshakes
4 hours, 4SS, WRi
First Semester.
Experimental economics, sometimes known as "behavioral economics," tests hypotheses of economic interest using controlled laboratory experiments with human subjects. The seminar begins with a series of classroom experiments designed to illustrate important aspects of human behavior: buying/selling objects of value; trading in illegal substances; pollution of the environment, and reactions to minimum wages. The second will be "real-world" experiments run by the class. This year the topic will be Free Riding and Blind Trust. Note: P/NP grading only. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Piron

149. War and Power: U.S. Foreign Relations and the Axis of Evil
4 hours, 4SS, WRi
First Semester.
By looking at U.S. relations with the three countries (Iraq, Iran, and North Korea) identified by President Bush as the "Axis of Evil," students will analyze material and debates drawn from international relations theories concerning power, norms, and identity as well as complete background reading on the three case studies. Students will complete skill-building, research assignments and several short papers. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Sandberg

150. Contemporary East Asian Cinema 4 hours
4HU, CD, WRi
Second Semester.
This course compares the emergence of "New Cinema" in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea since the 1980s. We will examine the major cultural and socio-political contexts in which each cinematic movement is produced, and pay attention to the specific issues raised in individual films. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Deppman

153. Worldview and History: Approaches to the History of the World
4 hours, 4SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
This course critically examines approaches to world history and narratives of the rise of the West, European expansion, the discovery of the New World, and the like. What unexamined metageographical conceptions are implicated in Eurocentric assumptions about world historical developments? Readings include critical works suggesting new approaches, so that we may develop a critical perspective on material and cultural exchange and diffusion from a global perspective. This course shows how ‘globalization' has been a relevant term for over 500 years. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Kelley

154. Vienna: Artists, Intellectuals, and Anti-Semites at the Fin-de-Siècle
4 hours, 4SS, WRi
First Semester.
The Vienna where Freud penned the founding texts of psychoanalysis was the site of unprecedented intellectual and cultural ferment. It was also the birthplace of modern anti-Semitism and the home of the dictator who would destroy much of Europe: Adolf Hitler. How do we connect this political turmoil and intellectual and artistic creativity? In this class, we will explore the politics, culture, and intellectual life of this extraordinary city at this extraordinary moment in history. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Sammartino

155. Information, Knowledge and the Internet
4 hours, 4NS, WRi
First Semester.
This course will look at ways in which technology is making, or is reputed to be making, fundamental changes in the way we think and learn. Along the way we will look at techniques for evaluating information and for presenting it clearly and effectively, both on paper and electronically. Students in this course will develop web pages, write papers and undertake research projects using both print and electronic references. No prior computer experience is necessary for this course. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Geitz

156. The Ethics of Biotech
4 hours, 2HU, 2NS, WRi
First Semester.
Science generates biotechnological advances with a rapidity that frequently outpaces our understanding of their ethical ramifications. To make sense of such recent advances as stem cell research, cloning, novel biomedical therapies, bio-terrorism, conservation measures, and others, we will first examine the underlying science, then discuss attendant ethical issues for religious and secular traditions of thought. Students will be trained in expository writing, analysis, argumentation, and use of source materials. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Cruz, Ms. McClure

158. Taoism
4 hours, 4HU, CD, WRi
First Semester.
An exploration of Taoist themes and motifs based on its philosophical classics and religious traditions. The philosophical texts include the Tao-te ching (Lao Tzu), the Chuang Tzu, and the Lieh Tzu. In addition, Taoism's extensive mythology, complex pantheon, ideal of personal transformation, array of physical and religious practices, and distinctive lifestyle will be explored in their cultural and historical context. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Dobbins

162. Cold War in Asia
4 hours, 4SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
The collapse of the Soviet Union brought the Cold War to an abrupt end. This course investigates the cultural, social, and political history of the Cold War in Asia. While we will be examining the ideological and security dimensions of U.S.-Soviet relations in detail, the emphasis will also be to explore the political, economic and ideological impact of the Cold War on Asian societies, with a particular focus on China, Japan, and the two Koreas. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Jager

163. She Works Hard for the Money: Women, Work and the Persistence of Inequality
4 hours, 4SS, QPh, WR
First Semester.
In the U.S. women earn less, on average, than men and are more likely to be part-time employees. Gender-based discrepancies impact the social positions of women and men in society. Further, racial/ethnic discrepancies within and between gender categories of labor persist as well. Students will learn about the U.S. labor market, the effects of globalization, theories that explain stratification and the causes and consequences of labor market inequalities. Topics will include: occupational segregation, comparable worth, gender-based job queuing, and the association between paid and unpaid labor. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. John

165. Feeding the World
4 hours, 4NS, QPh, WR
First Semester.
This course examines issues of population and food production. World population structure, the history of agriculture, global impacts of the green revolution, and genetically modified foods will be discussed. The intent of the class is to raise profound issues that we will study while practicing skills associated with research including interpreting and manipulating data. The results of these projects will be presented to the class through papers and organized discussions. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Laskowski

167. Who Was a Jew? Boundaries of Identity
4 hours, 4SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
"Jew" is a far more an ambiguous term than many assume. This course explores cases from antiquity to contemporary times where the boundaries of identity were ambiguous or contested and ways in which inclusion or exclusion was decided over the course of Jewish history. Cases studied include: early followers of Jesus who also considered themselves Jews; crypto-Jews (Marranos) of the Iberian Peninsula and New World who, while outwardly Catholic, preserved Jewish beliefs and practices in secret for generations; Jews of China, India, Africa; Freud; Disraeli; socialists of late Tsarist Russia who adamantly asserted a secular form of Jewishness. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Magnus

172. The Religious Thought of Mohandas Gandhi
4 hours, 4HU, CD, WRi
First Semester.
Mohandas Gandhi was among the most radical religious and social thinkers in the twentieth century. His non-violent resistance to colonial rule, as well as his commitment to asceticism, truth and self-reliant egalitarian communities, won him many admirers and many critics. The course begins with a close look at his own writings from his autobiography and his newspaper articles. The second part of the course assesses his intellectual frameworks and strategies for non-violent non-cooperation from religious, historical, psychological, and political perspectives. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Richman

173. Europe in Revolution: 1848
4 hours, 4SS, WRi
First Semester.
In 1848, Europeans rose by the thousands from Ireland to Austria and Hungary to challenge regimes based on monarchy and aristocracy. The issues of 1848—nationalism, liberalism, and socialism, as inflected by issues of gender and ethnicity—have competed for the heart and soul of Europe ever since. The first half of the course emphasizes reading, discussing, and writing about primary documents, the second presenting and writing up group research. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Smith

176. Utopian Thought
4 hours, 4SS, WRi
First Semester.
This first-year seminar will read and discuss several works of utopian and dystopian (‘negative utopian') literature. Emphasis is on utopian thought more than actual utopian communities. The reading list will include some of the following: Plato, More, Fourier, Morris, Gilman, Bellamy, Skinner, Huxley, LeGuin, and Callenbach. Critical thinking will be encouraged through discussion of assigned texts, with frequent writing assignments. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Wilson

180. Exploring Chicago
4 hours, 4SS, WRi
First Semester.
Chicago is often imagined as the home to infamous gangsters like Al Capone or a city beset by bitter racial and political violence. This first-year seminar explores these and other popular and scholarly images of Chicago through readings from anthropology, history, sociology and literature to explore the history and present of a city that was once regarded as a "social laboratory" for American social scientists and urban reformers. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Pérez

181. Selfishness or Altruism? The Evolution of Sociality in Humans and Other Animals
4 hours, 4NS, WRi
First Semester.
This course explores the ability of evolutionary theory to explain social behavior in humans and other animals. Can natural selection favor cooperation in non-human animals in spite of their "selfish genes"? Perhaps so, but can evolutionary theory account for elaborate social phenomena that seem restricted to humans–for example, religion, economic exchange, and political alliances? Discussions of these and other topics will lead us to ask "Are humans truly unique?" Note: P/NP grading only. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Tarvin

182. Traditions of Health and Disease in Folk and Conventional Medicine
4 hours, 4NS, WRi
Second Semester.
This seminar explores scientific and cultural dimensions of diseases, as well as approaches to their treatment taken by a number of societies, ancient and modern. Topics will include: definitions of health and disease; merits of folk remedies, ranging from botanicals and mineral baths to maggots and leeches; challenges of modern drug discovery; and self-medication efforts of animals. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Allen

184. Don Quixote Against Reality
4 hours, 4HU, CD, WRi
First Semester.
Don Quixote's strategy for handling reality is one of the keys to understanding modernity in Western society. The novel has served as a model for many interactions between an individual's idea of the world and the world he/she would like to impose it on. In the light of these thoughts, this course proposes a close reading of "Don Quixote" in the historical context of the different Early Modern medical, magic and aesthetic theories that might have affected and influenced the most widely read work of fiction ever written. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Pérez de León

187. Death and the Art of Dying
4 hours, 4HU, CD, WRi
First Semester.
If death is not upon us now, says Hamlet, then it will come later, and if not later, then now: being ready is what counts. But is there really an arsmoriendi, an art to dying well, and does our understanding of death shape the way we live? Works of literature, philosophy, and visual art provide models of death for a comparative reflection on how different representations can lead us to re-imagine our own life and death. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Deppman

188. Non-Violent Strategies of Conflict
4 hours, 4SS, WRi
First Semester.
Examines the ethical and strategic utility of nonviolent forms of action. Often underestimated as a tool of political and social transformation, nonviolent resistance on numerous occasions has achieved what force often cannot: successful, legitimate regime change. Through readings of classic literature, modern political theory and case studies, the course explores issues including the concept and utility of violence; moral and strategic arguments for nonviolent forms of action; and practical methods of applying nonviolent action. Examines cases of successful and unsuccessful use of nonviolent resistance in Nazi-occupied Europe, India, the United States, and recent democratizations in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Mani

190. Rationality, Objectivity, and Truth in Science
4 hours, 4HU, WRi
First Semester.
cience is often hailed as a paragon of rational and objective inquiry, a rigorous way of seeking knowledge which can overcome the potentially distorting influence of social, political, and moral values and help us get closer to truly comprehending the hidden operations of nature. In this course we will examine the extent to which this idealization offers an appropriate interpretation of scientific practice. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Ganson

193. Destination: L.A.
4 hours, 4HU, CD, WRi
First Semester.
Weaving together various depictions of the "City of Angels," and drawing from an array of sources, this course will explore how differing images of Los Angeles reveal critical and unresolved questions about America's ever-evolving demographic and ever-shifting cultural and social geography. Authors may include James Ellroy, John Fante, Anna Deavere Smith, Joan Didion, Sandra Tsing Loh, and Walter Mosley; possible films include Chinatown, Better Luck Tomorrow,Boyz in the Hood, and L.A. Confidential. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Liu

195. Dances for America, Choreography by George Balanchine
4 hours, 4HU, WRi
First Semester.
George Balanchine, the Russian émigré choreographer, created more than 400 ballets, mostly for the New York City Ballet, the company he founded. Yet Balanchine also made dances for Broadway musicals, Hollywood films, and on at least one occasion, circus elephants. We will examine the variety of the dances Balanchine produced and examine the peculiar problems this ephemeral art form poses for researchers, including issues of establishing, preserving, and reconstructing the dance text. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Mr. Scholl