Artistic and Humanistic Perspectives

This course introduces selected monuments produced by the civilizations of the pagan ancient Mediterranean and the Near East, medieval Christian Europe, and the world of Islam, from ca. 3000 BCE to ca. 1300 CE. The course examines a wide range of material - from colossal monuments built for the powerful to humble objects used by commoners, from works of awesome religious significance to lighthearted artifacts of the secular realm - to understand the role art played in the various societies of the ancient world. Emphasis is placed on how the monuments functioned within their cultural contexts and how they expressed political, social, and religious meanings. To facilitate the inquiry, the course also introduces terms and principal methods of art historical study.

This class introduces students to artistic works created in Western Europe and the Americas from circa 1300 to the present. Students will learn to discuss how art communicates, while pursuing larger questions of meaning related to the social, cultural, and artistic context in which the works were created. While students will learn to identify stylistic characteristics, particular emphasis is given to how the works complement and/or reflect particular political, spiritual, scientific, or philosophical issues. Discussion and writings stress the interpretive methods of the discipline of art history.

This course is a survey of the major artistic traditions of Asia, primarily of China, India, and Japan, from prehistoric times to the turn of the twentieth century. It examines important monuments and emphasizes the interaction of art and society, specifically, how different artistic styles are tied to different intellectual beliefs, geographical locations, and other historical contexts. The course includes a field trip to the Seattle Asian Art Museum.

This course introduces the arts of Mesoamerica and Mexico from 1200 BCE to the present. Architecture, sculpture, pottery, textiles, and painting of the pre-Columbian, Viceregal, and modern periods are examined with their ritual functions in mind, focusing on the political and religious contexts of the works. Style is analyzed throughout the course as a product of cultural intersection and transmission, reflecting ongoing adaptation and assimilation rather than the hegemonic expression of one particular culture. Readings and discussions on art and material culture from the 16th century to the present include the reception of "New World" images and objects by European and North American audiences, as well as a fundamental investigation of the power of art to create, confirm national and local identity, or reject views of other cultures. Counts toward Latin American Studies minor.

This course explores the artistic trends in the West from 1900 to the present focusing on the relationship of artists and movements to historical and cultural events that shaped the period. Theoretical readings inform the study of painting, architecture, sculpture, photography, printmaking, installation and performance art from the modernism of the early twentieth century to current artistic movements.

This course offers an overview of works created throughout the Italian peninsula, from Naples to Genoa, and Venice to Rome from the thirteenth through the fifteenth century. In addition to the well-known artists who generally define the period (Giotto, Donatello, Botticelli) the course covers a variety of artists, media, and sites that broaden students' understanding of the early Renaissance, examining formal transformations within social, political, and religious contexts. Students focus particularly on how art was used in the civic structure of both republics and courts, and how individual patrons shaped the visual arts in Italy from the early fourteenth-century innovations of Giotto to the late fifteenth-century innovations of Leonardo and Michelangelo. In addition to understanding how visual images communicate by developing skills of formal analysis of art and architecture, students focus on the interpretation of how and what particular styles conveyed in society. Writing assignments include the critical analysis of art historical writing, analysis of style, and a research paper.

Islamic culture is truly global, encircling the planet from the Islamic Center of Tacoma, WA to the Kaaba in Mecca, to the myriad mosques of Xinjiang Province in China. The history of the Islamic world is equally vast, spanning over a millennium. This course focuses on the history of Islamic visual culture from the 7th through the 17th century and explores works of art in a variety of media (e.g., architecture and monumental decoration, book illuminations, ceramics, metal-works, textiles, etc.) both from the religious and the secular realms. Artworks are examined with particular attention to their original function, context, and intended audience, and are presented from a range of methodological perspectives. Topics of special interest include: formation of Islamic art; function and decoration of Islamic religious artifacts and architecture; development of regional styles; interactions of text and image; visual expressions of power and authority; reflections of gender; garden culture.

The civilization of ancient Greece has an important place in the formation of Western culture and in the development of Art History as a discipline. This course examines the art produced in Greece and the Greek world from the Early Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period (ca. 3000 BCE to 1st c. BCE), with particular emphasis on artistic production of the 8th through the 1st century BCE. Works of art are examined with particular attention to their original function, context, and intended audience, and are presented from a range of methodological perspectives. Topics of special interest include: gender and the body; images of women; power and visual propaganda; function and decoration of painted pots; narrative strategies; architecture and decoration of sanctuaries; votive statues; funerary monuments; art of the domestic sphere; the history of the study of Greek art.

This course introduces selected monuments of the Etruscan and Roman civilizations from ca. the 8th c. BCE to the 4th c. CE. Through careful analysis of artworks, the course traces the emergence, flourishing, and eventual disappearance of the Etruscan civilization in Northern Italy in the 8th-3rd centuries BCE and follows the spectacular development of the city-state of Rome into the vast Roman Empire dominating the Mediterranean and Western Europe. Works of art are examined with particular attention to their original function, context, and intended audience, and are presented from a range of methodological perspectives. Topics of special interest include: interactions between the Greek, Etruscan, Egyptian, and Roman artistic traditions; copying; imperial art and visual propaganda; images of women; art of the non-elite; material culture of urban amenities (e.g., baths, arenas); material culture of religion; art in the domestic sphere; funerary monuments; development of Roman painting and mosaic styles; art of the provinces.

This course explores the artistic traditions of the Late Antique and Byzantine periods from the earliest surviving monuments of Christian art of the mid-3rd century to the monuments of the Late Byzantine Empire up to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The course examines how the interactions between the Greco-Roman, Jewish, and Christian traditions produced the art of Late Antiquity and Byzantium, and accentuates the visual, social, and religious continuities and ruptures between these traditions. Works of art are examined with particular attention to their original function, context, and intended audience, and are presented from a range of methodological perspectives. Topics of special interest include: the formation of Christian art; images of power and authority; representations of gender; the function and decoration of liturgical spaces; icons, image theory, and the Iconoclastic Controversy; depictions of the secular world; Byzantine art beyond the borders of the empire.

This course introduces the art of Medieval Western Europe from the Period of Migrations through the Gothic Era (7-14th century.) A fundamental social and cultural transformation of Western Europe followed the end of the Roman Empire characterized by the increasing dominance of the Christian Church, the interaction of various cultural and ethnic groups, the development of feudalism, and the eventual renascence of the Western Roman Empire. The intermingling of the Germanic, Greco-Roman, Early Christian, and Byzantine pictorial traditions produced a distinct visual culture that developed separately from the artistic tradition of the Byzantine East. Works of art are examined with particular attention to their original function, context, and intended audience, and are presented from a range of methodological perspectives. Topics of special interest include: the role of relics and pilgrimage; the visual expression of imperial and monastic ideology; revival and rejection of the classical style; function and decoration of liturgical spaces; the role of words and images in illuminated books; and representations of gender.

The period between 1780 and the end of the nineteenth century is marked by myriad social changes and scientific innovations, from revolutions across Europe and the Americas, enlightenment thought, and increasing emphasis on human rights, to the innovation of photography, steel construction, and paint in tubes. This course studies how artists and architects responded to these developments, focusing particularly on the shift from academic works to the rise of modernism and the avant-garde.

This course is an introduction to the foundations of Chinese art from the Neolithic period to the present. It covers the arts of ceramics, bronze, jade, painting, calligraphy, sculpture, and architecture. Emphasis is placed on the relationship of art forms and the socio-political forces and intellectual discourses that shaped them. Each class combines lecture and discussion. The course includes two hands-on sessions of Chinese calligraphy and ink painting.

This course is a survey of the visual arts of Japan from the Neolithic period to modern times. The course also examines the social, political, and philosophical atmosphere that shaped these arts. Architecture, sculpture, ceramics, and decorative arts are discussed, but painting and woodblock print is emphasized in the later periods.

This course examines Chinese art in the socially and politically tumultuous twentieth century, which has witnessed the end of Imperial China, the founding of the Republic, the rise of the People's Republic, and the impact of the West throughout the period. The focus is on the art and society from the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) to the 21st century.

This course is an introduction to the major monuments and movements of Buddhist art in Asia, including China, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Tibet. Emphasis is placed on the interaction of different Buddhist concepts/schools and diverse visual forms that represented them. Issues of examination include the evolution of the Buddha's image from aniconic to iconic representation, the development of Buddhist iconography in relation to other religious iconography and secular imagery, the role of patronage, and the relationship of pilgrimage and art production. Each class combines lecture and discussion.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the history and techniques of East Asian calligraphy as one of the supreme artistic accomplishments in China, Japan, and Korea. It combines the historical study of this art form with its hand-on practice as an art performance. Emphasis is put on the understanding of the multi-function of calligraphy in East Asian society.

In architecture, the concepts of "type" and "module" are often used to analyze the process of building (an idea, a structure, an argument). These ideas are particularly potent tools in getting at the deeper structures of "traditional Chinese architecture" in which both are pushed to brilliant and complex extremes.The course uses the route and history of the China's Grand Canal as a structure for exploring design achievements and intentions at both ends of this critically important man made waterway.

This course explores the history of museums, collecting and theories and practice of contemporary curating. Students learn the history of different types of exhibitions of material culture--both art and artifacts and objects/displays of the natural world. The class includes visits to regional museums, proper handling of art and artifacts, and guest presentations by professionals in the field. Students study the politics and ethics of collecting and curating and for the final project, plan an exhibition.

This course explores the history of the discipline of art history from the 16th through the 21st century and serves as an introduction to fundamental art historical methods. The development of art history as a discipline--whose foundational thinkers were overwhelmingly white European men of the middle and upper middle classes--is implicated in European colonial and imperialist practices. The course lays bare how imperialism, colonialism, and the identity of its founders shaped the development of the discipline and the formation of the art historical canon. The course interrogates the systematic marginalization and/or exclusion of women and non-European (and later non-Euro-American) artists and artistic traditions in/from the history of art and critiques the Eurocentric and colonialist heritage of the discipline. The course explores what is accepted as "legitimate knowledge" in the field, who is entitled to produce and communicate it, and what institutions maintain and bolster this system. The course further examines recent art historical approaches (e.g., postcolonial, intersectional, decolonizing) that critique the narrowly defined parameters of the field and offer effective interventions that reconfigure the exclusionary practices of the discipline and aim to reshape its institutional system. Students develop and refine their analytical and research skills through discussions, response papers, presentations, and a substantial research project; as part of this work, students regularly examine the positionality of the scholars and artists whose work forms the content of the course and reflect on how their own social position impacts their learning and scholarly practices. The course prepares students for more advanced courses in art history, including the capstone seminar, ARTH 494.

This seminar is designed to allow in-depth examination of selected topics from the history of art. The course may focus on a region, time period, artistic movement or a single artist, yet it may also cover the thematic study of artworks from multiple regions or periods. The course explores relevant art historical research and methodologies on the selected topic. A different topic is chosen by faculty each time the course is offered. The different content of the course varies with the instructor and may have Ancient or Medieval European, Modern European, American, or Asian emphasis.

The course is a reading and writing intensive seminar, required for all art history majors, which focuses on research methods and approaches in the field of art history. Students culminate their disciplinary studies with a substantial thesis/research paper. Open only to art history majors in the senior year of study.

This scheduled weekly interdisciplinary seminar provides the context to reflect on concrete experiences at an off-campus internship site and to link these experiences to academic study relating to the political, psychological, social, economic and intellectual forces that shape our views on work and its meaning. The aim is to integrate study in the liberal arts with issues and themes surrounding the pursuit of a creative, productive, and satisfying professional life. Students receive 1.0 unit of academic credit for the academic work that augments their concurrent internship fieldwork. This course is not applicable to the Upper-Division Graduation Requirement. Only 1.0 unit may be assigned to an individual internship and no more than 2.0 units of internship credit, or internship credit in combination with co-operative education credit, may be applied to an undergraduate degree.

This course introduces two-dimensional art making approaches and concepts through drawing and painting. Color, form, distinct processes, and attuned engagement with materials will drive this course's focus on formal, expressive, and conceptual understandings of two-dimensional drawing and design. This course will focus on enhancing perceptual awareness, analytical thinking, and relational understandings that underlie composition, spatial illusion, and expressive content. Students will explore and develop facility with a range of drawing materials and water-based pigments.

This course is a comprehensive investigation of contemporary and traditional three-dimensional concepts and processes. Students develop a working understanding of the visual and conceptual vocabulary needed for making and critically assessing three-dimensional form. Projects are designed to provide each student the opportunity to fully develop an understanding and envisioning of space, the autonomous object, the effects of scale, and the relationship of the body to the built environment. The student gains experience in handling both plastic and rigid materials while employing additive and reductive forming practices. In addition to "making," students engage in research pertaining to the historical development of three-dimensional art and present findings through writing and oral presentation. Critiques also serve as a vehicle to help students learn to critically evaluate their work and that of their peers.

This course introduces approaches and concepts for two-dimensional contemporary art making through drawing and printmaking. Through visual, tactile, and expressive means, this course focuses on using drawing and graphic media to develop ideas, heighten perceptual awareness, and explore visual language. Direct drawing media such as graphite, ink, and cut paper are explored, as well as indexical and stencil-based approaches such as frottage, pochoir, screenprint, and relief. In addition, students engage in thematic research and inquiry into various artwork formats such as singular, multiple, and serial work.

This course provides a foundational introduction to artmaking through the use of digital media. We will discuss the history, practice, and current trends in digital art through a blend of theoretical and project-based learning. Through weekly examples and projects, we will create virtual and physical artworks that explore visual relationships, heighten perceptual awareness, and forge pathways to a practice of interdisciplinary making. To navigate the expansive and ever-evolving world of digital art, our work will be oriented by four guideposts: Image (photography/videography, image processing & compositing), Graphic (graphic design, typography, generative art), Form (3D modeling and rendering, virtual and interactive worlds), and Object (CAD, CAM, and digital fabrication).

This course explores drawing and painting as a means of seeing more acutely, examining cultural narratives, and experimenting with a range of materials. Technical skills are fused with conceptual inquiries and critical analysis. This course emphasizes the interplay between intellectual, expressive, and material aspects of the creative process as they relate to recording and relating visual relationships, expressing spatial and temporal phenomena, and critically engaging with art historical, contemporary, and personal issues and narratives relating to the figure and/or body. The course will begin with explorations of different drawing media and approaches and then shift to painting processes. Additionally, an examination of contemporary trends in art informs the themes and approaches explored in this course.

This course introduces students to significant developments and works in printmaking. Students are exposed to the craft and function of printmaking through exploring its historical foundation and contemporary applications. Printmaking's potential for visual communication is considered through readings, research, writing, creative projects, discussion, class presentations, studio and museum visits. Students have the opportunity to gain both hands-on experience with materials and build skills for analyzing art and print media.

This course presents students with the spectacular possibilities of functional ceramic vessels as formed on the wheel. Students start the course by learning the fundamentals of throwing. These basic skills provide the groundwork for the creation of more elaborate and complex forms as the course progresses. In tandem with these assignments, students also explore high temperature glaze formulation. Historical and contemporary examples of ceramic vessels are presented to students throughout the duration of the course. As a result, students acquire an appreciation for historic and contemporary ceramics and become able to critically discuss a myriad of ceramic artwork. Along with regular lectures, students are required to research and present on a contemporary ceramic artist.

This course presents students with the spectacular possibilities of handbuilding techniques used to create ceramic objects. Different methods of creation are introduced throughout the duration of the course culminating in a final project that incorporates knowledge of these fundamental techniques. In tandem with these assignments, student also explore low temperature glaze formulation. Historical and contemporary examples of ceramic art are presented to students throughout the duration of the course. As a result, students acquire an appreciation for historic and contemporary ceramics and become able to critically discuss a myriad of ceramic artwork. Along with regular lectures, students are required to research and present on a contemporary ceramic artist.

This course explores identity and cultural values through landscape painting and drawing. Technical skills are fused with conceptual inquiries and critical analysis, emphasizing the interplay between conceptual, expressive, and material aspects of the creative process. Course content critically engages with landscape traditions as well as contemporary artists. Environmental concerns, visualizing ecological and place based thinking inform considerations of landscape. This course fulfills the ENVR elective.

Students master basic skills in paint application and in rendering volumes and their environments. They learn the practical application of color theory to the visual analysis of particular light situations and to the mixing of pigment. ARTS 251 also emphasizes the notion of artistic intention. Students will be encouraged to make personal, conscious choices about subject matter, composition, lighting, and paint application. Ultimately, students will explore how such decisions infuse paintings and other forms of visual art with expressive and conceptual content. In addition to studio work, this course examines historical and contemporary art through lectures and readings. Students will also present their work and participate in regular critiques and discussions of reading assignments.

An exploration of form, mass, structure, surface and scale using steel as the primary medium. Welding construction, forging and shaping are introduced and put into practice through problem solving assignments.

This course explores mass, structure, surface and scale using wood as the primary medium. Construction, carving, bending and joinery are introduced and put into practice through problem solving assignments.

This beginning printmaking class introduces students to basic relief and intaglio printing techniques, in addition to a history of the media. Drawing is an important aspect of the two processes that are explored. Relief processes include transfer methods, safe use of carving tools, black and white and color printing. Intaglio processes include plate preparation, the application of grounds, methods of biting the plates with acids, chine-collé, and printing.

This beginning printmaking course introduces students to technical aspects and creative possibilities of lithography and screen printing. Planographic processes that are introduced include stone lithography and plate lithography. Students learn several non-toxic screen print procedures, including paper and fluid stencils, reduction printing and crayon resists. There is an overview of historical and contemporary works in each area.

This course explores the use of computer code as a form of creative practice and artmaking. Students discuss the history, practice, and current trends in computational art through a blend of theoretical and project-based learning. Through weekly examples and projects, students learn core concepts of computer science and apply them to the creation of digital artworks. Creative coding, the practice of writing computer programs for creative purposes, is practiced in many different domains of art and design. These include graphic design, generative art, interaction design, digital fabrication, data visualization, and installation art. To explore these different applications of creative coding, this course is oriented around four core topics: generative design, interaction design, data-driven art, and virtual environments. Prior experience with computer programming is not required.

In this course students will combine two forms of creative practice: installation art and machine art. In doing so we will learn to construct environments that transform the spaces we inhabit and make site-specific artworks that reimagine the way we interact with our world. We will develop a creative practice of machine art--where we design and interact with technology to create dynamic and interactive installations. We will learn how to program and control physical systems such as lights, motors, sensors, and computer-numerical control (CNC) machines. The course is oriented around three units: conceptualizing space, physical computing, and building "poetic machines".

In this upper-level studio course, students engage in art practices that explore distinct forms of research, reflection, and making to address overarching themes and concepts. Student art making will be informed by shared readings, discussion, and explorations of familiar and new forms and formats. Students will explore a range of criteria for making, critiquing, and sharing artwork with audiences in different settings. Students will also document, reflect, and present their own artistic practices using autoethnographic research methods.

This advanced studio course is designed to help students develop a coherent body of artwork, and culminates in an exhibition in the Kittredge Gallery.

This scheduled weekly interdisciplinary seminar provides the context to reflect on concrete experiences at an off-campus internship site and to link these experiences to academic study relating to the political, psychological, social, economic and intellectual forces that shape our views on work and its meaning. The aim is to integrate study in the liberal arts with issues and themes surrounding the pursuit of a creative, productive, and satisfying professional life. Students receive 1.0 unit of academic credit for the academic work that augments their concurrent internship fieldwork. This course is not applicable to the Upper-Division Graduation Requirement. Only 1.0 unit may be assigned to an individual internship and no more than 2.0 units of internship credit, or internship credit in combination with co-operative education credit, may be applied to an undergraduate degree.

Film adaptations, as a popular cross-media practice, offer a valuable lens for exploring conversations about knowledge production across historical, cultural, and national boundaries, the sociopolitical and economic systems and institutions shaping it, and the power dynamic involved. This course examines case studies of film adaptations based on Chinese literature and beyond. Many of these literary texts and films were created by Chinese authors and directors and intended for Chinese readers and audiences. Other--such as films by the internationally renowned directors like Ang Lee, Hou Hsiao-Hsian, and Zhang Yimou, the Japanese film Princess Yang Kwei-fei (1955), or the American films like Mulan (1998) and Shang-Chi (2019)--were designed to appeal to cross-cultural audiences. Through readings, discussions, written assignments, and group projects, students will critically reflect on such issues as cultural exchange within the context of Western-dominated capitalism and globalization, cultural authenticity and appropriation, gender construction, politics of popular culture, the commercialization of religion, and the representation of Chinese American culture in the U.S.

One of the most prominent themes of early Japanese literature is a longing for and deep appreciation of beauty coupled with a poignant understanding of its perishability. In this class students read classical Japanese literature from the mid-eighth to the mid-eighteenth century and analyze the works in the context of these major themes of desire and death. In such varied works as "The Tale of the Genji", "Chûshingura" (the story of the 47 ronin), and the memoirs of Medieval recluses, students explore the different shapes that desire and death take, and how the treatment of these themes changes alongside developments in Japanese culture.

This course is a survey of modern Japanese literature with an emphasis on Japanese writers in the late nineteenth through the twentieth centuries who struggled with questions of identity. The course is organized chronologically and focuses on some of the major authors of the modern period, including Natsume Sôseki, Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Kawabata Yasunari, and Mishima Yukio.

Chinese-language films produced in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora have been global powerhouses, winning major international awards and capturing remarkable box office receipts. With a long and intricate history, Chinese-language cinema is not only one of the most important forms of cultural productions within the region, it also has assumed an increasingly important role in the global cultural industry and imagination. This course introduces students to the broad historical scope of the Chinese-language cinema, covering three major traditions of Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The films examined in the course powerfully capture the ethos of their times, from the early twentieth century to the present. They address important issues such as gender, modernity, national identity, ethnicity, and globalization. While these issues define the contemporary societies under study, they also condition the making of the films.

The examination of the self and its representation that has dominated Japanese literature since the Meiji period (1868-1912) took on a new urgency and tone in Japan's post-war period, with many authors exploring identities that challenged the established order. For some, that challenge was expressed through transgression and violence; for others, it was embodied in characters who lived outside of the boundaries of social acceptance. During a post-war period of general economic prosperity in which the Japanese government has famously taken pride in being a "homogenous" society, the country's contemporary literature is consistently and remarkably populated by characters who live on the margins of that homogenous identity. This course will explore the dominant themes of the most important modern and post-modern authors of Japan, including Ôe Kenzaburo, Murakami Haruki, and Yoshimoto Banana, with particular emphasis on these marginalized characters and what they say about the "center" and the self. The goals of this course are 1) to become familiar with the most critically acclaimed literary voices of the post-war period; 2) to identify dominant themes in the literature of the period and examine what they say about what it means to be human; 3) to develop skills in critical reading, thinking and writing.

Since antiquity, many cultures have turned to retribution as a means of restoring justice. Stories about getting even through revenge abound in both highbrow and popular Chinese literature. The themes of revenge and retribution have lent themselves effectively to various literary genres throughout Chinese history, from historical biographies and classical tales to vernacular short stories and plays, extending all the way into twentieth-century ballet and film. Literature has served as an important site of inquiry into the morality and mechanisms of revenge and retribution, sometimes offering conclusions that are a good deal more ambiguous than legal and philosophical discourses about the same question. This course works through four organizing themes: The Collective (assassination and self-destruction for a larger cause); The Individual (revenge and redemption in interpersonal relationships); Modern Man and Nation Building (from the Republican Period to Socialism); and Transnational Interpretations of "China's Hamlet." By the end of the course students should be able to identify the relevant genres, produce effective oral and written analyses of the material, and critically and cogently reflect on how Chinese conceptions of revenge and retribution might help them think through their own beliefs about revenge, justice, forgiveness, and identity.

An overview of diversity and change in Southeast Asia, with a focus on, and field component in, Indonesia and Thailand. Students will examine the origins and development of complex state societies from an in-depth, ethnographic perspective. Students will explore issues of religious syncretism, gender, agriculture, the cultural impact of European colonialism, and the post-colonial period of nation building in Southeast Asia. Students will also delve into geographically focused case studies, which look at the cultural component of many important issues facing the region, including environmental decline and deforestation, the impact of globalization, the problems of ethnic and religious minorities, and other socio-cultural issues. The second half of the course will examine economic and political processes shaping the region. Specific topics include the economic legacies of colonialism, contemporary patterns of economic growth, patterns of change in rural communities, the process of urbanization and challenges faced by residents of Southeast Asian cities, the role of the state in managing development, democratization and human rights in Southeast Asia, and demographic patterns. The international portion of the course lasts approximately two weeks, and features an immersive stay at local universities in Indonesia and Thailand. The field component is required, and includes guest lectures by local scholars, trips to cultural and historic sites, ethnographic projects, and potential trips to neighbouring areas. Students will be responsible for their own airfare, as well as other potential program fees.

The purpose of this course is to prepare students for the semester of study and travel in Asia. The focus of this course is primarily on academic preparation for the study-travel semester in Asia, but will also include some practical matters. Because PacRim welcomes and encourages students from a variety of majors and with varying backgrounds on Asia, this course serves to ensure that all students on the trip have a shared foundation for course-work on PacRim, most especially preparing students for ASIA 491, the Independent Experiential Learning Project. This course is required for all students participating in the PacRim Program.

This course consists of independent research and the preparation of a significant paper of original scholarship. Each student seeking the Minor in Asian Studies as Robert Trimble Distinguished Asia Scholar must initiate a topic, identify a supervising instructor in the Asian Studies Program, and develop a plan for research, writing, and public presentation of the project. Alternatively, a student may meet the one-semester thesis requirement for the Distinguished Asia Scholar distinction in Asian Studies by an approved research seminar in a department participating in the Asian Studies Program.

Students trace a topic in multiple PacRim countries in order to develop a comparative, capstone project. Course deepens intercultural comprehension and deploys ethnographic methods of data-collection and observation.

This course investigates the ethical dilemmas and health law during pandemics. It covers various ethical issues regarding health equity, prevention, containment, cure, and management. In the US, the coronavirus pandemic has exposed health inequities that are propelled by racism and structural injustice. The course explores racial health disparities and the disproportionate and devastating impacts of the Covid19 pandemic on people of color, immigrants, and marginalized groups. It investigates how U.S. religious communities have understood the pandemic and responded to the pandemic. Writing assignments, group exercises, and a final project promote students to engage in health communication. Students examine various case studies and stories of marginalized groups by challenging many Eurocentric assumptions of mainstream bioethics today. Course topics may include race and health inequities, medical exploitation of African Americans in the US, disease stigma, vulnerabilities of essential workers, Covid19 and xenophobia, social distancing, wearing masks, stay-at-home orders, PPE shortages, disability and triage, surveillance technology governance, vaccine acceptance, immunity passports, and reopening schools and workplaces. The class design utilizes a participatory, student-centered approach to classroom learning. Course materials include films, news media, legal cases, and public health literature.

This course is an introduction to public health ethics in health policy and bioethics. It explores a broad spectrum of legal and public health contexts to demonstrate how religious and cultural factors affect health. Students analyze religion and culture as social determinants of health in various case studies. Case studies range from tobacco control laws to public health in religious communities. Course topics include vaccination, HIV/AIDS, sex education, racism and health, recreational use of cannabis, health of refugees, genetically modified organisms, drug pricing, gene patenting, PTSD, food policy, tobacco control, alternative medicine, and experiences with spirituality and healing. The class design utilizes a participatory, student-centered approach to classroom learning. Course materials include religious literature, legal cases, and public health literature.

This course examines Western philosophical and religious understandings of moral issues brought on by advances in health care, science and technology. In this course, students will learn the "Principles approach" to bioethics, as well as other ethical approaches to the difficult moral issues raised by contemporary medical science and its clinical applications. To that end, case analysis will be used extensively in this course. The course is designed to help facilitate connections for students between medical/scientific advances, ethics, religious values, and American public policy about technology and health care. Each class session will alternate between theoretical and medical/scientific considerations, and the concreteness of bioethical case analyses.

This course examines Western philosophical understandings of moral issues brought on by advances in health care, science, and technology. In this course, students will learn the "Principles approach" to bioethics, as well as other ethical approaches to the difficult moral issues raised by contemporary medical science and its clinical applications.

BIOE 350 is an application of ethical principles and philosophical reasoning in the health care setting. The application of medical ethics to clinical situations goes beyond following standards of practice. This course will focus on clinical ethics and explore how it differentiates from the larger field of bioethics. This course will teach students to apply the foundational concepts of bioethics to a variety of real health care situations. Students will learn to think through and discuss the unique features presented by different health care settings. The course will familiarize students with the common responsibilities of a clinical ethicist including: consultation, education, and policy review/development. Students will analyze real clinical ethics cases, utilizing the four principles and the four-box method. This course will also focus on an exploration of health policy and its development, emphasizing social justice and human rights as providing the moral and ethical bases of policy.

This course is an experiential learning course that focuses on the practical application of ethical principles and philosophical reasoning in a clinical health care setting. This course provides the opportunity for students to learn how to identify and properly address ethical issues in the clinical setting, as well as to learn the "practical approach" to real-life clinical issues. Students split time between the classroom and the on-site hospital setting, taking information learned in different clinical settings and learning how to work through ethics issues. Students also learn typical duties of a clinical bioethicist including: consultations, education, and policy development/review.

This is the last, and thus capstone course required of all students who aim to attain the interdisciplinary Minor in Bioethics. Since the Integration Seminar enrolls seniors from a variety of majors, the primary goals of the course are two-fold: (1) for students to learn to process, synthesize and integrate the ethical implications of the courses they have taken toward the Bioethics Emphasis, and (2) for students to discover their post-baccalaureate "niche" in the scholarly community of Bioethics and the medical humanities. Weekly themes in medical humanities include: the history of medicine; literature, the arts, and medicine; philosophy and medicine; religion and medicine. Students will also have the opportunity to read classic primary texts in bioethics -- articles, books, and films -- from different sub-disciplines of the field, such as race and health care, medicine and technology, history of medicine, narrative medicine, end-of-life issues, and many more. In analyzing these texts, students will learn to explain why each one is regarded as a model in its field, and to process and articulate its relevance for one's own interest area within Bioethics and the medical humanities. The course builds upon students' own interest areas and acquired expertise as they undertake a capstone project that is presented to faculty members on the Bioethics Faculty Advisory Board.

Chinese language studies with specific concerns on issues related to popular culture as well as contemporary social and political conditions. This course includes a grammar review and a multimedia component, and aims for development of oral and written fluency at the advanced level with emphasis on reading, writing, and group discussion.

Chinese language studies in the world of business and media. Areas of exploration include China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and their transpacific Chinese-speaking network. This course includes a grammar review and a multimedia component, and aims for development of oral and written fluency at the advanced level with emphasis on reading, writing, and group discussion.

Chinese language studies focusing on classical and contemporary literary texts that are available in either traditional or electronic format. This course includes a grammar review and a multimedia component, and aims for development of oral and written fluency at the advanced level with emphasis on reading, writing and group discussion.

This Chinese language studies course explores traditional values and contemporary issues via films produced in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The course includes a grammar review and a multimedia component, and aims for development of oral and written fluency at the advanced level with emphasis on reading, writing, and group discussions.

Chinese language studies explores topics related to food in Chinese culture. This course includes a grammar review and a multimedia component, and aims for development of oral and written fluency at the advanced level with emphasis on reading, writing, and group discussion.

In this modern Chinese language course students improve reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills through an exploration of sources related to Chinese thought. Sources are drawn from Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist texts as well as those produced by modern political and intellectual movements. This course includes a grammar review and a multimedia component, and aims for development of oral and written fluency at the advanced level with emphasis on reading, writing, and group discussion.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

This non-majors course is an exploration of graphic narratives, which bring together the verbal and visual as a way of telling a story. The course begins by investigating the nature and grammar of comics: How do graphic narratives work? What techniques and strategies do writer-artists use to produce meaning? In what ways do colors, shapes, panels, borders, gutters, perspective, page-layout, and speech bubbles influence content? What is the role of the reader in constructing meaning from these verbal and visual texts? How does literary analysis inform our readings of the verbal and visual? As in other English courses, Graphic Narratives aims to provide insights on language and meaning, culture and history, the self and other. Readings will be primarily historical and contemporary graphic narratives and critical scholarship about graphic narratives will offer perspectives on the readings' responsiveness to contemporary social currents. In addition to written analytical responses, class engagement and discussion and presentation, a final project for the course will offer students the opportunity to create their own graphic narrative.

This course for non-majors examines the work of women writers anywhere from the Medieval Period to the present, with attention to the historical and cultural context of texts. It asks such questions as the following: what are the canonical issues that arise from a study of women's literature? Is women's literature different from literature by men in some essential way? What forces have worked against women writers and what strategies have they often employed to make their voices heard? How have those strategies shaped the literature that women have produced?

Discoveries about Covid-19, climate change, CRISPR, and the Webb Space Telescope all demand thoughtful translators between the science that has produced the research and the public that is curious about them. This is the task of the reporter and writer who covers the science beat, inclusive of science, health, the environment, and technology. Science Journalism develops skills of translation and interpretation: how to identify, report, and write stories about science, health, the environment, and technology for the public. The course also will grapple with major contemporary science stories as well as with some of the philosophical and ethical issues raised by reporting scientific research to a lay audience. This course requires research, interviewing, writing, and editing, on deadline and with opportunity for revision.

This course is designed for students who intend to pursue a major or minor in English, and should be taken in the first or second year, or as soon as an English major is declared. The course provides a foundation for the study of literature through reading, analyzing, and writing about a variety of literary and non-literary texts. Focusing on the relation between form and content in a range of genres that may include some combination of poetry, fiction, drama, memoir, graphic texts, and film, students develop the critical vocabulary and interpretive frameworks to engage meaningfully with literature. Students are also introduced to basic literary research tools, literary criticism, and disciplinary scholarship. Course content varies by instructor. Required of all majors and minors.

This course immerses students in the craft of journalism to develop the skills and critical discernment required for writing as a journalist. The course is designed to equip students with an understanding of what news is, help students develop the two key journalism skills of reporting and writing of the news, and engage students in critically examining journalists' responsibilities in reporting and shaping public understanding and opinion. The course will introduce the fundamentals of journalistic writing, interviewing, and editing, as well as journalism ethics.

Combining seminar and workshop formats, the course introduces students to the interstices of imagination and narrative theory. Students read examples of literary fiction and write several short stories of their own. Students also take one or more stories through deep revision. May be used to satisfy an elective unit for the Creative Writing Focus.

Combining seminar and workshop formats, the course introduces students to the art and craft of writing poetry. Students experiment with a variety of poetic forms, read the work of poets from many eras, study versification and free verse, expand their range of subjects, and explore different strategies of revision. By the end of the semester, students will assemble a portfolio of their original poetry. May be used to satisfy an elective unit for the Creative Writing Focus.

Combining seminar and workshop formats, the course introduces students to creative nonfiction, a genre of writing that is simultaneously intensely personal and engaged with the world of the writer; that borrows from lyrical strategies of poetry and narrative strategies of fiction; and that draws on popular forms of writing and journalism. Students read classic examples of creative nonfiction and write several nonfiction essays of their own, each of which goes through revision for a final portfolio. May be used to satisfy an elective unit for the Creative Writing Focus.

This course introduces students to some of the major works of literature written in Britain from the Anglo-Saxon invasions and settlement in the 7th century to the aftermath of the English Civil War in the 17th century. The surviving stories from these centuries are richly diverse in language, form, and genre, and register great shifts, yet also surprising continuities in conceptions of heroism and honor, theories of family and nation, the relationship between the church and the individual, the nature of authority, and humanity's place in the universe. Thus, strategies for thinking critically about this period's literature emerge from a combination of close textual analysis and historical context. Readings may include works by the Beowulf-poet, the Gawain-poet, Chaucer, Kempe, the Sidneys, Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne, and Milton.

Human consciousness is at once the most basic and most mysterious fact of our existence. It is difficult to describe because it cannot be compare the ground upon which the experience of living rests, including our ability to make comparisons. Moreover, its source remains elusive; no one knows, the brain, a material organ, creates perceptions, ideas, or emotions, all of which are immaterial. Poets, novelists, and philosophers of the Romantic 19th C.) were especially preoccupied with the mysterious nature of consciousness and sought both to describe and explain the puzzling relationship subjective experience and the exterior world that subjectivity negotiates. This course focuses on the ways in which literary art of the British Romantic questions that attend the study of consciousness: Is the mind created by nature, or does it create nature? What is the mind's relationship with the subjective experience of being a self governed by imagination? In what ways are the literary arts uniquely suited to explore the mystery of human also examines how Romantic era authors subsequently influenced poetry and music of the Beat Generation and the 1960s counterculture, as well with contemporary research in philosophy, neuroscience, psychology, physics, and the burgeoning field of psychedelic studies.

This course explores the literature and culture of the British Isles from the 1830s to the present. Covering three broad and rich periods -- the Victorian era, Modernism, and Postmodernism -- the roughly two centuries under study will be brought into focus by a significant theme (to be determined by the professor) as it manifests itself across the three periods and through particular writers, genres, and movements. Writers under study may include poets such as Tennyson, Browning, Barrett Browning, Yeats, Walcott, and Boland; novelists such as Brontë, Dickens, Woolf, and Rushdie; and playwrights such as Wilde, Osborne, Friel, and Churchill.

This course introduces students to significant developments in American literary history from European contact through the early-national era of the late-18th and early-19th Century. The course offers a thematically structured and comparative approach to literary works in relation to their socio-historical contexts (e.g., Colonization, Revolution, Constitutional Debates, Federalism, Early Nationalism). Drawing upon a variety of genres and voices, this course provides students with a foundational understanding of important traditions and transformations in literary history and aesthetics.

This course introduces students to significant developments in American literary history from the long 19th Century, spanning the post-Revolutionary era to World War I. The course offers a thematically structured and comparative approach to literary works in relation to their socio-historical contexts (e.g., Transcendentalism, U.S. Expansionism, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Gilded Age). Drawing upon a variety of genres, this course provides students with a foundational understanding of important traditions and transformations in literary history and aesthetics.

This course introduces students to significant developments in American literary history from the early 20th century through the contemporary moment. The course offers a thematically structured and comparative approach to literary works in relation to their socio-historical contexts (e.g., WWI and WWII, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, the fall of the Berlin Wall). Drawing upon a variety of genres, this course provides students with a foundational understanding of important traditions and transformations in literary history and aesthetics.

This introductory course engages with developments in American literary history that precede, complicate, or challenge nationalist frameworks. It focuses on the U.S. nation and/or its colonial antecedents through a lens that is transnational or multinational, considering the space we now identify as "America" (U.S) in relation to a variety of identities, traditions, and cultures that have circulated within and around it. The course thus emphasizes an anti-exceptionalist approach to American literature, focusing instead on the circulation of ideas about or in relation to the American U.S. within larger cultural or global contexts. Specific periods and themes vary according to instructor from the colonial era to the present, and may include comparative colonial or imperial literatures, trans-Atlantic traditions, and America in its various international, multi-national or post-national contexts. Course sub-topics might include but are not limited to the following: Anglo-American literary relations, narratives of colonization, Caribbean-American contexts, the Atlantic slave trade, U.S.-Mexico or hemispheric relations, literatures of transnational or international migration, the U.S. in a global world.

This course examines the theoretical foundations and aesthetics of Afrofuturism. The term Afrofuturism was developed in 1993 by scholar Mark Dery and is an all-encompassing term used to describe science fiction work (literature, music, art, etc.) that focuses on Afro-diasporic ways of being and knowing. We will examine the contours of the field of Afrofuturism and decenter traditional science fiction perspectives that erase the existence of people of color in their visions of future worlds. The course will explore the "other stories of things to come." Afrofuturist authors speak into the legacies of colonialism and slavery as well as persistent inequality to examine their impact on imaginings of future worlds and the ongoing technological age. In the course students will read science fiction texts produced by Afrofuturist authors to study the ways that they reimagine the future from the perspectives of Afro-diasporic peoples in the New World.

This course offers students an introduction to multimodal composition. Focusing on the theoretical as well as the practical skills of multimodal composing, this course explores the theoretical foundations of multimodal composition, and engage in composing across various mediums. In this course students compose soundscapes using digital content, make short documentary films, and reimagine the commonplace book as a multimodal way of interpreting and analyzing their reading. Students deploy multiple modes of communicating, including linguistic, visual, spatial, gestural, and aural ways of composing and creating.

This course is a survey of Native American literature from beginnings to the contemporary moment. Students gain awareness of tribal distinctions and points of critical and socio-political concern within the field of study.

This course offers students an introduction to the development of Shakespeare's plays in an early modern cultural context. Students learn to appreciate Shakespeare's rhetoric and poetics; approaches to genre and literary convention; exploration of political, intellectual, theological, cosmological, epistemological, moral and social constructs; treatment of gender, sexuality, and early modern identity; and creative use of the physical space of various "play spaces" (both public and private) that inspired his dramatic imagination.

This topics course offers an introduction to the fiction of a designated popular genre (fairy tales, sci-fi, detective fiction, romance, etc.), covering constitutive elements of the genre and its history. Readings explore both conventional and experimental iterations of the genre, and consider the relationship between individual works, the conventions of genre, and their specific social contexts. In this course students think about the relationship between formal conventions, subject positions, and historical context, to gain a better understanding of the ways in which popular fiction reflects, refracts, or even challenges popular mores. The course topic is determined by the instructor. Recent topics include "Fantasy Literature," "Superhero Comics," "Afrofuturism," and "Multiethnic Detective Fiction." Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings.

This course considers the characteristics and functions of literature for young people, from infants to early readers to adolescents. Course content and approach differ by instructor but may explore a variety of genres and forms with regard to historical context, formal and aesthetic dimensions, or political and ideological resonance. The course may take a chronological or thematic approach and may consider texts within a specific national/cultural framework or across borders. Topics covered by the course may include the history and development of a tradition; the circulation and reception of literature for young people; intertextuality and relationships to literary or other genres; engagement with social and cultural developments.

Literary and critical theory asks big questions about literature, culture, and society. How are our identities shaped by race, class, gender, and sexuality? What is the nature of language and meaning? How can culture contribute to social change or reinforce the status quo? In its quest to solve these fundamental problems, critical theory presents surprising and often controversial perspectives on the world. This course will provide an introduction to literary and critical theory by inviting students to read major texts by groundbreaking philosophers, critics, and social thinkers alongside fictional works including Henry James's classic ghost story, The Turn of the Screw. Students will encounter in these theories a strange cast of characters ranging from cyborgs and revolutionaries to paranoids and prisoners. At the same time, students in this class will be challenged to rethink their basic assumptions about themselves, their society, and their relationship to literature and culture.

The course introduces students to three types of professional editing: proofreading, line editing, and developmental editing. Students develop skills that build proficiency in each area, and they identify individual strengths and interests within the editorial field. Topics of study include levels of editing; the editing process; rules of grammar and usage; narrative structure and style; and tools, practices, and philosophies of editing. The course is suitable for students interested in exploring editing as a career or in improving their own writing.

In this intensive fiction workshop students produce a portfolio of original fiction which undergoes many revisions, building upon techniques of plot and structure, point of view, character, setting, tone, voice, metaphor, motif. Students explore techniques of published short stories from the writer's perspective as they develop their own techniques and writing. Because good writing does not happen in the absence of obsessive, persistent, close readings, this is a reading and writing intensive course. May be used to satisfy an elective unit for the Creative Writing Focus.

This intensive poetry workshop builds upon the skills and concepts introduced in ENGL 228, culminating in a substantial final portfolio of student work. Readings in this course highlight the craft issues to be mastered by studying canonical and contemporary poems, from Shakespeare to spoken word. By revising multiple drafts of their poems, seminar participants develop the advanced skills needed to become more effective writers of poetry. The workshop format stresses writing as a process and includes weekly exercises, self-assessment essays, in-class discussions, and peer reviews. The workshop may conclude with a public reading of student work or other cumulative project. May be used to satisfy an elective unit for the Creative Writing Focus.

This course assumes a familiarity with creative nonfiction, for example, memoir, travel literature, the literary essay, investigative journalism, and style guides and published essays as models of technique and to gain familiarity with a variety of sub-genres. The resulting textual and formal analyses students' own approaches to writing nonfiction prose. Throughout the semester, students engage in process writing and peer review. The course's creative-nonfiction essay.

This course explores the aesthetics and politics of the novel form. The course may focus on a particular national iteration or cultural tradition of the novel (e.g., British, American, Postcolonial), a specific formal approach or subgenre (detective fiction), or a historical or thematic subset of the genre (the rise of the novel, the sentimental novel, the roman à clef). In addition, the course may emphasize the theoretical underpinnings of the genre as a specific category of historical production, engaging theories of the novel and issues raised by the novel's formal and historical particularity. Themes and texts vary by instructor. Recent topics include "Rise of the Novel in the U.S.," "Contemporary Speculative Fiction," and "Multiethnic Novels." Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings.

This course examines the genre of autobiography as it has evolved over time. Students consider how autobiographies written at specific points in history relate to the social, political, and aesthetic trends of the period; how the "non-fictional" genre of autobiography may be distinguished from fictional forms such as the Bildungsroman; and what characterizes major subgenres such as spiritual autobiography, slave narrative, autoethnography, and memoir. Themes and texts vary by instructor. Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings.

This course focuses on one or more genres of popular writing. Examples include detective fiction, science fiction, fan fiction, westerns, romance novels, fantasy, or non-fiction. Students engage popular texts through rigorous literary analysis to ponder how such "light entertainments'' are inextricably linked to aesthetic, historical, and social circumstances. Possible topics include the relationship between popular literature and "the literary''; the relationship between popular literatures and their historical or cultural contexts; the ideological work of genre fiction; the possibilities, limitations, and permeability of genres; as well as the politics of race, class, and/or gender in popular genres. Themes and texts vary by instructor. Recent topics include "Irrealism" and "True Crime." Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings.

Through the study of Douglass's and Whitman's work and biographies, students understand major concerns of the nineteenth century, including enslavement and abolitionism; shifting ideas about gender and sexuality; the possibilities and limitations of American ideals like freedom, equality, and self-reliance; and the role of narrative, oratory, and poetry in the formation of national culture.

Considered one of the greatest poems in the English language, John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667) is an epic that takes the reader from hell to heaven and everywhere in between. This is a story of identity and purpose within a seemingly infinite cosmos; of human responsibility to knowledge, the earth, and each other; and, especially, of the origins of suffering and injustice, and a blueprint of hope within a grand reconfiguration of what it means to be heroic. In presenting this archetypal narrative -- one that continues to resonate with readers of religious and non-religious persuasions alike -- Milton lifts Adam, Eve, Satan, and a host of demons and angels from their spare figurations in the Bible, and fleshes them out with rich descriptions, interiority, and speeches that in turn take inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman models as well as medieval Christian writings. The course therefore studies not only the entirety of Paradise Lost's twelve books, but also some of the primary source materials with which the poem is built, including excerpts from the Bible, Homer, Virgil, Augustine, Dante, and even Milton's earlier poetry and prose. Because textual influences are always refracted through one's own situation, culture, and reading practices, the course will also attend to some key aspects of Milton's life, especially his public involvement in the turbulent political and religious contexts of seventeenth century England -- contexts that would inevitably shape the imaginative retelling of how deception, betrayal, and violence entered the world in the first place.

This course is concerned with the endurance of the "Jane Eyre" story (itself an elaboration of the Cinderella myth). Beginning with Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847), students examine a variety of stories, novels, and films that rework aspects of Brontë's vision. Students study the context of each revision and its commentary on the original text and examine shifts in the critical and feminist reception of these texts. Texts vary, but are selected from the following: Braddon, Gissing, James, Woolf, Forster, du Maurier, Rhys, Kincaid, Balasubramanyam, Winterson. Students produce both creative and analytic work.

This course explores the theoretical, political, and aesthetic dimensions of the gothic literary tradition in the U.S. from its late 18th-century inception to the current day. Along with a variety of primary literature, students consider foundational theoretical texts (Freud, Lacan) and secondary sources relevant to the uniquely American iteration of the Gothic, particularly those that interrogate the tradition's functions as dark counter-narrative to progressive U.S. ideology. Authors may include the following: Brown, Poe, Hawthorne, Crane, James, Wharton, O'Connor, Faulkner, Jackson, Capote, Whitehead.

The discursive negotiation between illness (its politics, histories, and personalities) and language is at the heart of this course. Through a close examination of a variety of texts (novels, plays, comics, film, etc.) that take illness as their central subject matter, students explore a series of questions including: What influence does illness (epidemic or personal) have on narrative? What is the relationship between social and political attitudes toward disease and the way texts characterize healthy and sick? What are the recuperative or reformative functions of narrative? Texts under study will be drawn largely from the 20th and 21st centuries and will include a number of theoretical and critical readings on illness and narrative.

This course studies the Christian Bible using the interpretive framework of literary studies. What kinds of knowledge, insight, and debates are produced when this collection of books -- one that has inspired countless other artistic and cultural expressions over the centuries -- is read as literature? Approaching the Bible in this way is to give special attention to questions about its authorship, historical contexts, source materials, and genres, as well as to the particular kinds of images, narratives, and motifs that weave in and out of its passages. Composed and compiled at various times over a millennium in ancient Israel and beyond, the Bible is, among other things, a richly diverse record of humans making sense of their world, purpose, and experiences in light of a deeply relational God who nonetheless transcends human comprehension. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that these authors so often turned to poetic and other literary devices as a way to articulate the mysterious connection between the earthly and the heavenly, time and eternity, suffering and salvation, justice and mercy. Students will consider how the Bible's many stories, chronicles, teachings, prophecies, and apocalypses might have spoken to their original audiences, and how they have been interpreted since, including by modern scholars of religion, history, and literature.

This course focuses on "Bollywood" cinema from the 1950s (immediately following India's independence) to the present. It asks why Indian popular cinema has a wider global audience and appeal than Hollywood and who is watching Bollywood films. In tracing the development of Indian cinema, the class addresses the ways films articulate the new nation's dreams and desires, fears and follies, anxieties and growing pains.

This course examines the city as a social, cultural, and historical construct. Drawing on texts from a variety of genres, as well as cultural products that may include diaries, maps, photographs, and motion pictures, students consider one, two, or three selected cities as they have developed over time. The course highlights the function of rhetorical and ideological constructions such as "the city," "citizenship," and "urbanity," and explores the symbolic and political associations of such terms. The particular cities, topics, materials, and historical scope are determined by the instructor. Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings.

This course examines the origins, rise, and prevalence of true crime narratives. Emerging from execution sermons, sensational journalism, and hard-boiled detective fiction, true crime is legitimated by Truman Capote's 1966 In Cold Blood, which sets in motion a wave of serious and even literary works dealing with criminality and violence. Recent decades have seen the rapid expansion of the genre via multiple media including weekly television "newsmagazines," documentary films and series, and, of course, podcasts. The course will consider the formal aspects of true crime narratives across multiple media and delve into its social and political implications, including its intersections with and impacts on cultural understandings of crime and criminality, race, gender, policing, and the justice and carceral systems. Please note that some of the material in the course includes images or descriptions of violence that may be upsetting.

This course is an introduction to some of the variety and complexity of fiction from India. It focuses primarily on novels and short stories written in English and considers the role they played in colonial, anti-colonial, and nationalist struggles and in definitions of who constitutes an "Indian." It also engages post-colonial theorists of the last two decades, including G. Viswanathan, P. Chatterjee, B. Ashcroft, A. Loomba, H. Bhaba, and H. Trevedi. The course studies the work of literary writers selected from among the following: Tagore, Anand, Narayan, Rushdie, Ghosh, Roy, Sahgal, Hariharan, Chandra, Desai.

This course considers the Native American literary tradition and related historical and critical developments. Emphases vary by semester but are selected from major concerns and movements within the tradition and may include oral literatures, "mixed-race" and tribal identities, forced assimilation, literary colonialism, and American Indian nationalism. Students gain mastery of a critical vocabulary specific to the subject and, with increasing sophistication, articulate their own responses to the literature.

This course considers African American literature in its aesthetic, cultural, historical, and political contexts. Focusing on both the history of African American literary production and representations of African Americans in literature, this course addresses literary genres such as slave narratives and pivotal cultural movements as the Civil Rights Movement. The course examines the relationship among literary aesthetics, race/racialization, and social context selecting from a broad range of historical periods as the Antebellum era to the contemporary "post-racial" moment. Topics may include the Black Atlantic, Black Feminist Literature, and Neo-Slave Narratives.

This course explores important works of Asian American literature, including poetry, novels, nonfiction, and drama. This course considers Asian American literature's historical emergence and relationship to canonical American Literature, attending to the way that literary form mediates authors' responses to socio-historical circumstances like migrant labor, exclusion, immigration, forced internment, assimilation, and racialization. At the fore are theoretical questions about how these works engage and challenge notions of identity in light of pervasive social stereotypes and the ways the investments and injuries of identity inform the form and function of chosen works, even contesting the idea of an Asian American Literature. The course studies the work of such writers as Carlos Bulosan, Jessica Hagedorn, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Fae Myenne Ng, John Okada, Chang-Rae Lee, Sigrid Nunez, and Karen Tei Yamashita.

This course explores the dynamics of gender, sexuality, and sexual identity as expressed in literature. Students explore literary texts that address the intellectual, social, cultural, political, and philosophical contexts from which gendered and sexual identities emerge and in which they are contested or negotiated. The course addresses some or all of the following topics in any given semester: sexual politics and power; the relation of imperialism and racism to questions of gender; and the influence of gender on writing as an act of self-definition and political or social identification. The course may emphasize material from the historical literary tradition or contemporary authors. It may also address identities comparatively or focus on a specific category of identity as it emerges or develops over time. Themes and texts vary by instructor. Recent topics include "Medieval Women Writers," "Early American Masculinity," "Desire and the Queering of Domestic Fiction," and "Queer Self / Queering Self." Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings. Satisfies a Gender and Queer Studies elective.

Ranging in breadth from antiquity to the present, this course familiarizes students with a tradition of writing about art and literature and debates about the meaning and meaningfulness of literature. Core concerns may include historically changing definitions of the literary, arguments about the value of art and literature, methodological approaches to the study or interpretation of texts, the relationship between art and culture or society, theories of language and representation, and the relationship between representation and identity. These works address such fundamental questions as how and why do we read literature? How does literature work and what might it mean? And what is the connection between literature and the extant world? Because the field of criticism and theory is so broad and varied, particular emphases vary by instructor. Areas covered may include Classicism, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Hermeneutics, New Criticism, Reader-Response, Marxism, Psychoanalysis, Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, Cultural Criticism, New Historicism, Cognitive Theory, Speculative Realism, and Narrative Theory.

The aim of this course is to come to an understanding of our English-language ancestries and to develop a critical appreciation for the lexicons that we carry with us in every utterance or essay, text or tweet. This offering is unlike other English courses, and in fact more closely resembles courses in history, foreign language, and science. Students examine the development of the English language from its Indo-European roots to the present day, gain the knowledge to approach pre-modern texts with confidence (including the rudiments of Old English and Middle English), develop sensitivity to the ways language functions and changes, and explore the current state of English as a world language.

Students learn how English works in various parts of the world--how it got to be the way it is, how it functions in relation to local histories, and how it enhances and impedes communication.Currently, the majority of people who use English as a language for work, school, and daily communication learned English as a second or foreign language. Through reading linguistic theory about global Englishes, case studies of how English usage has shaped and been shaped by local cultures, and literary examples of various global Englishes, students become familiar with the complexity of the language that may seem to come naturally to Americans. Students leave this course better equipped to navigate situations requiring cross-cultural communication at the university and beyond. The class engages in focused analysis of English in Taiwan, one country where English is rapidly being adopted (and adapted). The class considers Taiwan's Bilingual 2030 policy and explores what the stories of English in other places in the world suggest might happen in Taiwan. Following the conclusion of the semester, students will have the opportunity to visit Taiwan together with an associated EXLN summer course.

This course examines major concepts and theorists within the rhetorical tradition from antiquity to the present. Issues central to the course include whether the goal of rhetoric is necessarily persuasion, and whether the mode of presentation in speech or writing alters the meaning of rhetoric. Students explore the implications of rhetorical theory for daily life, particularly through the intersections of rhetorical theory and writing instruction, political and social activism, and visual media.

This course investigates the enigmatic and shifting term "culture" by examining how writers, theorists, and artists express themselves when responding to a variety of circumstances, events, or existing forms of expression. Texts under study include literature, journalism, critical theory, photography, and film, as well as the places that mediate these texts (bookstores, museums, cinema houses, the classroom, the Internet). In approaching culture through these different mediators and media, students also investigate strategies to express such encounters in their own writing. Because this course requires students to experience culture in a hands-on way, attendance at a number of activities (including a museum visit and film viewing) is expected.

This course considers how imaginative writing can intervene in the most existential of neoliberalism's myriad catastrophes: the climate crisis. Through the reading of contemporary novels, poetry, nonfiction, and ecocritical theory, course participants will explore literature's ability to illuminate the environmental injustices of the present perilous moment and to help realize a just and sustainable future for all. Emphasizing writing as a form of activism, ENGL374 studies the work of authors from around the globe, including Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, Nnedi Okorafor, Cherie Dimaline, and Camille Dungy. Discussion of course readings encompasses a range of topics essential to understanding climate justice, including Indigenous rights, immigration justice, ecofeminism, and queer ecology. The course has three main assignments: an essay in which students place an ecocritical concept and a literary text in conversation; a creative writing assignment in which students themselves produce a short piece of climate change literature in a genre of their choosing; and a collaborative, student-designed final project that uses the skills and knowledge developed during the semester to engage the climate crisis beyond the classroom.

Special Topics in Rhetoric, Literacy, and Composition will familiarize students with theories in the field of rhetoric, literacy, and composition studies (RLC). Courses under this number will provide an in-depth examination of key intellectual movements and figures that inform the development of rhetoric, literacy, and composition studies. Through these courses students will gain a critical appreciation for the conceptual frameworks that shape understandings of the relationships between language, literacy, and culture. The course topic is determined by the instructor. Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings.

This course explores the nature, form, and function of a selection of narratives, reflecting on how a story unfolds depending upon the medium through which it is told. Drawing on theories of narratology, students consider the techniques that writers employ to convey their stories and, in turn, how filmmakers translate these techniques for cinema audiences. To facilitate this exploration, concentration is placed on the narrative mechanics that are unique to specific genres, auteurs, or movements. Themes, texts, and films vary by instructor. Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings.

This course investigates the external forces that shape what authors write and how readers read. Rather than study the stories contained within the pages of a book, students concentrate their analyses on the economic and cultural influences that affect the production and reception of books, whether the stories they tell are old or new, fiction or nonfiction, bestsellers or cult hits. Although there are opportunities in this course to study the internal mechanics of the books in question, such investigations serve and are subordinated to inquiries involving the culture of the book in the marketplace. Topics for such inquiries might include the history of the book, the publishing trade, the forms in which texts are transmitted, censorship, intellectual property, marketing and marketability, booklists and book clubs, professional and amateur reviews, and the politics of prize selection.

This course investigates how texts might generate and require a literacy that is visual before it is lexical. By tracing the relationship between words and images in a variety of genres including illustrated novels, photographic essays, comic books, film, and zines, students explore how images convey, argue, and narrate cultural, political, and personal stories. In addition to these primary texts, readings include seminal essays in semiotics and cultural studies that enable students to examine the distinctions between visual literacy and print literacy, the relationship between word and image, and what it means to be visually literate.

Courses under this number may explore either a single theory or small group of literary theories, as well as their application. As opposed to a broad survey of theory, this course aims to give students a deep knowledge of particular theoretical fields, resulting in conceptual and lexical fluency that will contribute to literary analysis across the curriculum. The course topic is determined by the instructor. Recent topics include "Contemporary Black Feminist Theory" and "Theories of Language and the Law." Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings.

The selected author of study for any given term varies according to the instructor's specialization. For example, students might spend a semester studying William Blake, the Romantic period poet and artist, in relation to the mysterious subculture of London's artisan class, the political ideas advanced by the French Revolution, and the author's own battle with forces of social injustice and intellectual oppression; or Katherine Mansfield, the fascinating, fierce, and brilliant modernist whose interrogations of patriarchy and heteronormativity have made her a pivotal figure in early 20th-century studies of feminism and queer theory. Other recent offerings have studied the life and works of William Shakespeare, John Milton, Herman Melville, and Jane Austen. Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings.

Courses under this category organize texts into the study of particular and discrete movements. These movements may be defined literarily, historically, politically, or culturally, among other possible groupings. The course may focus on self-defined literary movements or movements that have been defined retrospectively. The course topic is determined by the instructor. Recent topics include "Irish Literary Revival" and "Rhetorics of Resistance: Contemporary Activist Movements." Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings.

This category designates courses that organize the study of literature into discrete historical eras and their significant cultural, aesthetic, or political concerns. "Eras" courses differ from historical surveys in that they focus on a single historical period, rather than bridge multiple historical periods, thus emphasizing depth within the period over breadth encompassing multiple periods. The emphasis on literary texts is balanced with attention to secondary sources and literary scholarship. The course also includes perfecting methods of literary analysis, instruction on writing about literature, and challenging writing assignments. The course topic is determined by the instructor. Recent topics include "Victorian Underworlds," "Dante, Chaucer, and the City," "Frontier Mythologies," and "Forms of Identity in Post-1965 US Literature." Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming offerings.

An experiential seminar in which each student develops a passion project that translates ideas and critical skills learned in humanities classrooms into a public-facing demonstration of the humanities' potential beyond the university. This seminar supports students in translating their knowledge, experience, and skills to the professional or the public sphere, and in communicating the significance of their work. The seminar has two components: fieldwork and classwork. Students work collaboratively with peers and the professor in the classroom to conceive of and hone their projects, and with the campus, local community, or wider world to realize components of it.

Course topics and emphases are determined by the instructor. Intended for English majors with junior or senior standing, advanced seminars are designed to facilitate in-depth examination of a specific topic, independent study, and the production of substantial work in fields related to faculty and student interest. Generally, the early part of the term is devoted to building a shared expertise that will inform the student's independent research later in the semester. Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming topics.

Course topics and emphases are determined by the instructor. Intended for English majors with junior or senior standing, advanced seminars are designed to facilitate in-depth examination of a specific topic, independent study, and the production of substantial work in fields related to faculty and student interest. Generally, the early part of the term is devoted to building a shared expertise that will inform the student's independent research later in the semester. Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming topics.

Course topics and emphases are determined by the instructor. Intended for English majors with junior or senior standing, advanced seminars are designed to facilitate in-depth examination of a specific topic, independent study, and the production of substantial work in fields related to faculty and student interest. Generally, the early part of the term is devoted to building a shared expertise that will inform the student's independent research later in the semester. Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming topics.

Course topics and emphases are determined by the instructor. Intended for English majors with junior or senior standing, advanced seminars are designed to facilitate in-depth examination of a specific topic, independent study, and the production of substantial work in fields related to faculty and student interest. Generally, the early part of the term is devoted to building a shared expertise that will inform the student's independent research later in the semester. Please consult the department website for information on current and upcoming topics.

Intended for English majors with junior or senior class standing, the advanced creative writing workshop facilitates the writing and revision of an original work: a collection of short stories, a novel or novella, a chapbook or volume of poems, a play, a film script, or other substantial piece of student writing. Like the literary and rhetorical scholarship seminars, this course devotes the early part of the semester to building a shared expertise that will inform creative projects in multiple genres; the latter part of the semester involves the production of a polished manuscript.

What role do films play in shaping our imagination of the environment? How has cinema influenced our actions in the past, and how might it alter our actions in the future? What effect do films have in understanding non-human systems, knowledge production, or storytelling? How can an eco-critical approach to film challenge and/or subvert those assertions? Can film in particular advocate for the planet's agency? These are some of the central questions we will explore as we screen and examine the intersections between films/film-making and ecological ways of knowing from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Through critical analysis of a variety of cinema traditions, genres, and practices, students gain exposure to films as expressions of environmental discourse and their potential as inspiration and instigators of environmental action. Students apply the tools of eco-critical cultural studies and ecologically informed approaches to cinematic practice, and to representations of the relationships that humans have with the non-human. Themes explored will vary and may include: the material ecologies of film production; cinematic ideology and affect; the eco-politics of Hollywood and its alternatives; representations of landscape, sense of place, and identity; the imperial and colonial gaze; ecological utopias and dystopias; tensions between human `dominance' and co-existence with other species; problematizing the eco-documentary; the ever-growing climate catastrophe genre and its reactions (e.g. eco-anxiety); foodways and human (over)consumption; and Indigenous and social justice activism.

This course studies how popular French culture, drawing from a rich and complex tradition heavily influenced by mass media, permeates contemporary French society. It is manifest in various cultural artifacts such as gastronomy, clothing, consumption, and entertainment. This course examines the boundaries between high and low culture, the various postmodern approaches that challenge the definitions of French mass culture, and the claims that pop culture trivializes and commercializes values.

This course is designed as an introduction to the principles and practice of translation. Through weekly exercises on texts ranging from newspaper articles and ads to contemporary young adult novels and literary fiction, students build up their French vocabulary and grammar skills. Particular attention is paid to the syntactic differences between French and English and to some of the thorniest issues for French language learners (articles, past tenses, relative pronouns etc.). Readings are in French and English with discussion conducted in French only.

Through a contextualized exploration of Paris from historical and/or contemporary perspectives, students develop their language skills through intensive grammar review, vocabulary enhancement, written expression, and conversational fluency. The course aims to prepare students for upper-level French courses and study abroad by improving French written and oral fluency though a project-based approach, focusing on different aspects of Parisian life of interest to students, from artistic movements to fashion and food.

Applications of French in non-literary contexts. Expansion and application of French in the areas of economy, politics, media, and international issues The course may include a multimedia component and a grammar review.

In this course, students analyze modern literature by women from francophone diaspora. This course focuses on increasing cultural competency and allows students to read in translation three novels and a play from francophone women writers. Students examine writings from Senegal, Haiti, Quebec and France/Morocco that address issues of personal autonomy, female creativity, social constraints, and cliché of sexual identity. The course also draws from the work of some francophone female cineastes, such as Mati Diop's 2019 drama Atlantics. Although student read the work in translation, class instruction is entirely in French

Readings, writing, and discussions based upon civilization and culture of France and the French-speaking world. Special emphasis on political and intellectual thought. This course may include a multimedia component.

This course is a critical examination of key texts and influential figures coming from, focusing on, or relevant to the Francophone world. The course emphasis is mainly on various aspects of cultures of Quebec, Francophone Africa, and the French Caribbean, and ends with an examination of the Francophone postcolonial context.

This course combines linguistic functions and structures with culture through an integration of listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities. The raw material derives from twentieth-century French film. The course concentrates on improving oral fluency in French by using the topics of the film as starting points, sources of information, and illustrations of language in a cultural context for class discussions.

This course is a workshop format to improve writing skills, vocabulary development and an enhanced appreciation and sophisticated command of written French through a variety of texts and frequent writing exercises. Writing formats over the semester may include various styles such as journalism; creative writing; essays; correspondence; blogging; reviews of film, art, or books; web page design; ePortfolios; etc. Semester coursework will be informed by a French or Francophone cultural topic and will explore some particularly advanced grammar points.

This course will present students with an overview of the development of French literature from the middle ages to the 20th century, focusing on short fiction. Students will gain an understanding of the periodization and development of French literary movements in relation to historical events and changing socio-political structures. At the same time, students will develop skills in critical analysis as they approach literature written in French, often for the first time. Through reading and discussion, students will develop literary acumen, see the same work of literature from different angles and improve their use of written and spoken French in academic discourse in preparation for more advanced upper-division French courses for which they will have developed a critical and historical context. This course satisfies the gateway requirement for French and Francophone Studies literature majors.

A study of the major genres of French literature from the revolution to the modern days through techniques of close literary analysis. Readings and discussion of French intellectual thought of recent years.

A study of modern Francophone literature from the French Caribbean, the Maghreb, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Canada. The course provides an introduction to the literatures that have emerged in the French-speaking countries and regions of the world in recent decades, illustrating their astonishing breadth and diversity, and exploring their constant state of tension with the literature of France.

Close analysis of modern Francophone literature by women. Writings from France, Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean that address issues of personal autonomy, female creativity, social constraints, and clichés of sexual identity are examined.

This course is a critical examination of the works of one French or Francophone author, or multiple closely related authors, whose works greatly influenced the literary, political or cultural history of their time.

This course is designed to engage students with various aspects of French or Francophone cultural life in a historical and/or sociological context at an upper-division level. The cultural studies approach of the course will emphasize analysis of primary texts (literary works, historical documents, works of art, etc.) as they relate to cultural constructs. The course allows for either a synchronous or asynchronous historical approach, but will necessarily contextualize iterations of cultural expression in the French or Francophone worlds.

This course is for all students interested in African studies, in Francophone writers, and issues related to Gender Studies in Africa. No prerequisite or French language is required. Lectures and all in-class discussions are conducted in English. French Studies majors read and turn in their assignments in French. Other students read and turn in their assignments in English. This class explores African women writers and critics, looking at their theoretical priorities and cultural positions. This course is designed to provide students with specific and a general view of the status, achievements and experiences of African women in fiction. Reading authors from diverse African countries gives students a broad understanding of the challenges African women encounter. The course allows students to decipher the nuances of women's experiences and the diversity of African societies. A contrast is made with Western feminist traditions. Authors include Chimananda Ngozi Adiche (Nigeria), Mariama Ba (Senegal), Assia Djebar (Algeria), Buchi Emecheta (Nigeria) and Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe). The discussion focuses on issues of identity, oppression, tradition, resistance, exile, language, and colonialism.

Taught in English, FREN 392 examines a diverse selection of sub-Saharan African films spanning from 1967 to 2019. The course gives an overview of African cinema and considers how African cinema has evolved from a technical and financial standpoint. Students will also explore the shift introduced by Nollywood as well as digital media and streaming platforms. The course also investigates the dominant social and political issues at the heart of African cinematography, exploring the following questions: How are African filmmakers addressing colonialism and its legacy? What role does gender play in African cinema? How do filmmakers address gender, sexuality and tradition? How do they portray postcolonial African realities? What particular myths do African filmmakers use and how? How has Nollywood transformed African films? What is the impact of streaming platforms on African filmmaking?

An intensive study of the major literary texts of French Classicism and Enlightenment with emphasis on the philosophical and political transformations of the time period.

A study of nineteenth-century French literary movements and close readings of selected texts. Examination of the interplay among the world of ideas and the political scene in France.

An intensive study of the major themes, forms, and techniques in modern French literature.

This course offers a detailed analysis of contemporary French literature, and a general examination of the intellectual currents these texts illustrate or express. Through close analysis of key 21st century French texts, the course explores aesthetic issues raised by French thinkers, examines how writers are tackling literary concepts from the turn of the century, and re-thinks the definition of a new literary language.

Synthesis of various aspects of literary studies. Topics to meet special needs. Since content changes, this course may be repeated for credit.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

This course surveys the history and development of German cinema after 1945, including canonical works by Staudte, Schloendorff, Wenders, Kluge, and Fassbinder. The course begins with the immediate post-WWII era and continues through contemporary films, examining major trends of German cinematography during four major periods: the Truemmerfilm, the New German Cinema of the Federal Republic, DEFA films in the GDR, and the cinematic trends after German reunification. In order to come to a better understanding of how one can define German cinema, students' focus will be on both thematic and formal aspects. Class discussions will focus on questions such as: What is the relationship between a specific film and its historical-cultural context? Is this relationship overt or hidden? What does (or did) a German audience see in the film? How can we analyze and interpret these films from today's standpoint? German films might reflect on German issues, but is there a distinct German film language/style and what position do these films occupy within world cinema? What are the theoretical and formal concerns of German filmmakers? May be taught in German or English.

Was National Socialism the incarnation of evil in the modern world? How could twelve years of Nazi control in Germany alter world history? Did its culture consist only of propaganda and party rallies? Why did the Nazi leadership consider art and culture so central to its political goals? In the past 25 years scholars have taken a serious look at Nazi culture and revealed a much more complex set of factors at work in all areas of cultural life. This interdisciplinary course introduces students to the often contradictory but fascinating historical, social, and economic conditions that led to cultural shifts when the Nazis came to power in 1933 and then examines how Nazi policies simultaneously and systematically influenced all aspects of life in Nazi Germany (Gleichschaltung). Students consider both the 'lowbrow' culture and everyday life as well as the more traditional and sophisticated domains of 'high' culture. Topics include: religion, youth education, the 'camp system,' Fascism, environmentalism, racial theories, disability and discrimination, propaganda and entertainment films, colonial ambitions, art and architecture, gender roles and family, and consumer culture.

This course explores the words, actions, thoughts, and feelings during one of the most tumultuous periods of early twentieth century cultural history. The course treats a wide variety of materials with a focus on the fascinating and groundbreaking innovations in visual and performing arts, material culture, and urban planning and architecture that relate to turn-of-the-century Europe, World War I, Weimar Germany, and the rise of German National Socialism.

No one can hope to comprehend the challenges Germany faces today without confronting the triumphs and tragedies of the German past. Questions of sovereignty and individual freedom, as argued by bloggers and in the press, acquire supreme significance when viewed in light of Germany under Bismarck, the failure of the Weimar Republic, the nightmare of National Socialism, forty years of division, the Pandora's box of unification, and Germany's crucial role in the European Union. Students study the evolution of the German political system even as they develop the basic vocabulary of history and politics.

Thirty years ago, on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall opened. Less than a year later East and West Germany were politically and economically united, and the German Democratic Republic officially ceased to exist. Yet scholars, journalists, writers and filmmakers have continued to explore the 40 years of divided Germany, including tensions that continued after unification. This seminar explores some of the many literary and cinematic representations of the East both as a place many are glad to have left behind as well as a place of longing for others. The course begins with a brief discussion of the history the GDR, the "Wende," or time of transition leading up to the fall of the fall, and German unification. Among other questions, the course considers these questions: What aspects of the GDR past are thematized in texts? Which aspects are glorified or denigrated? Which aspects are remembered wistfully and which angrily? How do western and eastern authors/filmmakers differ in their treatment of the GDR past? What do these differences suggest about unification and the future of Germany? Class will be conducted in German in a supportive environment. All assignments will be written or presented in German.

The focus of this course is on didactic literature: fables, fairy tales--many of which serve both to teach and to entertain (docet et delectat, the Latin dictum)--and the modern-day parables of authors such as Franz Kafka.

Being green is not a new trend for Germans. In fact, Germany has consistently led the way, not only within Europe but also throughout the world, in how to be environmentally friendly and natural resource conscious. Germany is (and has been) a world leader in solar and wind technologies and boasts one of the smallest carbon footprints of any industrialized major economy in the world. Why are Germans so green? What is Germany's position on today's major debates surrounding global warming, climate change, conservation, urban planning, public transportation, sustainable agriculture, and environmental protection? How do Germans see themselves vis-à-vis nature as represented in the arts? In this course students explore these and other questions related to nature and the environment from a German perspective, from the mid-eighteenth century through today. The course introduces students to a wide variety of subject matter and topics in literature, film, news items/current events, science, art, politics, language, and contemporary consumerism.

This course is designed to engage students with various aspects of German Studies at the upper-division level. Course topic and content will vary by author, genre, and medium based on departmental needs and course instructor. Because course content varies, this course may be repeated once for credit.

This course offers students a deeper analysis of literary and cultural studies taught in English. No prior knowledge of German is required. Course may be taken twice for credit, as content may change with the instructor.

This course offers an introduction to basic grammatical concepts, terminology, and linguistics of Germanics with emphasis on the relationship between German and English. The course provides an overview of IPA transcription, phonology, morphology, etymology, syntax, and a linguistic approach to the history of Germanic languages and peoples in Northern and Central Europe through social contact and migration. Languages covered may include Old, Middle, and New High German; Old and Middle English; Frisian; Dutch and Afrikaans; Old Saxon; Old Norse (modern Icelandic); and Yiddish. Prior knowledge of German is required. No prior knowledge of general linguistics and/or language history is assumed.

As a response to the horrors and destruction throughout Europe after World War II, the German-Jewish philosopher Theodor Adorno posited in 1949 that to write poetry after Auschwitz is "barbaric." In the decades that followed this now infamous and often misinterpreted dictum, it was a common belief that the systematic discrimination and mass extermination of European Jews and "undesirables" could not be represented, rationalized, or imagined. Despite this, there has been a steady stream of cinematic representations of the Holocaust extending through today. This course examines how these fictional and non-fictional stories are told mainly through film, starting at the end of World War II. Of particular interest is how filmmakers from Germany -- the land of the "perpetrators" -- try to make sense of these senseless events. During the first unit of the course, students engage with various theoretical and literary texts from contemporary writers and artists for context and background. Then, using a series of contemporary films from Europe, the US, and Israel, we will discuss different genres of Holocaust cinema. Class time will be a combination of discussion and short lectures in a supportive environment that will place films and readings in their respective cultural, social, and political contexts. No previous coursework in film studies or German is required.

The history, theory, and development of the literary genre Novella, featuring some of the more bizarre and fascinating works of the greatest German authors. Emphasis upon the function and limits of genre in literary analysis.

This course exposes students to representative German-language dramatic works, with the intention of staging a public performance at the end of the semester. Additional shorter texts on dramatic theory and visual and/or videos will supplement course materials. As a practical component to the course, we will also conduct technical acting exercises and in-class readings of the dramatic texts. Emphasis will be on closely reading texts, on discussing them in German, and providing opportunities to systematically advance and improve articulation of spoken German. Students participate in all facets of theatrical production, from character development, acting and performing, directing, requisitions and props, and promoting our play.

Students read a selection of works by German, Austrian, Swiss, and Romanian Nobel-prize-winning authors, including Gerhart Hauptmann, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Nelly Sachs, Heinrich Böll, Günter Grass, Elfriede Jelinek, and Herta Müller.

This seminar introduces key themes and concepts in contemporary German-speaking literature and cultural studies with a focus on the role of human-nature interactions. Students examine contemporary issues and questions such as: How can we better understand climate change and its effects and develop systemic / planetary thinking according to proper scales (space, size, time)? How can we talk about our way of life and reflect on globalization, consumption, capitalism, civilization, alienation, and exploitation? What does it mean to be 'human' and how are we responsible for affecting / degrading the earth? What is the 'non-human' and how do these concepts interact? What is the 'Anthropocene' and is such a title really appropriate for our human-driven geological age? Does this require a completely new conception of history, memory, or knowledge? How do we define concepts such as nature, conservation, entanglement, connectedness, sustainability, resilience, and habitability within our current moment? How are social justice and feminism related to climate change?

This seminar seeks to interrogate assumptions about contemporary German and American culture and examine how one can better define what German and 'Germanness' means today (if at all possible) from the perspective of the outsider, the foreigner, and the other. What do the words 'Heimat' and 'Nation' mean to Germans today and why have these notions remained so fluid - even undefinable - in the German context? In this course, students engage with various literary texts, film, news items, and other media from Germany after reunification (1989/90). The course begins by touching on current events and debates surrounding the nation-state, immigrants, and multiculturalism in Germany's increasingly evolving social and political landscape in the twenty-first century. Then it explores these questions and topics in several units, focusing on the following themes: Germany's ever-changing capital Berlin and its role within the European and German cultural landscape; perspectives on contemporary Germany and the problems of identity, assimilation, and integration into the Leitkultur/dominant culture from German-Jewish, German-Turkish, and Afro-German writers, artists, and their communities; the on-going reassessment of life in the former German Democratic Republic and the phenomenon of so-called 'Ostalgie'; and finally, Germany's legacy of and continued struggle with fascism.

From the very beginning of its history, photography has served as a device to reflect on and about representation. In this seminar students explore the many interrelations between literature and photography specifically in the German context as they are represented in genres of fiction, illustrated texts, autobiography, photo books, and others. Students will read and discuss selected texts, photo narratives, and combinations of photos and texts, as well as the supposed affinities and analogies between story-telling and photographic images. The course highlights theoretical texts about photography and its inclusion (or intrusion) into the literary discourse, including a short history of the medium.

Synthesis of various aspects of literary studies. Since content changes, this course may be repeated for credit.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

This course makes an odyssey through Greek political, social, cultural, and economic history from the Bronze Age (c. 1200 BCE) to the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE). The emphasis is less on the chronicle of events than on understanding the changing nature of Greek society during this period. Major topics to be explored include the development of the city-state as a political unit; notions of equality in ancient Greece; and the simultaneous flourishing of the arts and building of an empire at Athens under Pericles. Students learn to use both archaeological remains and literary texts, including histories and poetry, to reconstruct the nature of Greek society.

How did a small farming village on the banks of the Tiber River become mistress of an empire stretching from Britain to Egypt? This course explores the political institutions, social structures, and cultural attitudes that enabled Rome to become the world's only superpower at the time. One theme of the course is how that rise to power affected the lives of the Romans and how the Romans affected the lives of all those they encountered. Roman constitutional developments, the religions of the Roman world, and the connection between Roman culture (including art, literature, and popular entertainment such as gladiatorial games) feature prominently among the topics covered.

This course provides a solid grounding in Greek and Latin roots and other word components used in English with the aim of facilitating comprehension of both technical and non-technical vocabulary, including the specialized vocabulary of particular technical and professional fields such as the biological sciences, medicine, and law. Students will learn the principles at play in word formation and develop the ability to quickly recognize and analyze vocabulary derived from ancient Greek and Latin. In the process, we will learn about the historical, cultural, and linguistic underpinnings of the etymological influence ancient Greek and Latin have exerted on the English language. No previous knowledge of Latin or ancient Greek is required.

This course explores myths and legends from the ancient Mediterranean and the light these narratives cast on ancient conceptions of the human, the divine, nature, and society. The course focuses on how ancient myths manifest in ancient epic, drama, art, and religious ritual. The course also takes note of the afterlives of myths in the Roman, medieval, Renaissance, and modern worlds and examines some modern theoretical perspectives on myth in general and Greek myth in particular.

This course introduces the epic genre in Greece and Rome. The course concentrates on a selection of ancient epic poems including Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Vergil's Aeneid. Students consider each epic as an individual cultural and artistic product, but also how later epics draw upon and respond to earlier ones. The gradually more complex understanding of the epic genre built into the class allows students to investigate how the Greek and Roman epics combine cosmology and human narratives in order to explore the place of human beings in the universe; the relationship between gods and mortals; and the connection between moral, social, or historical order and cosmological order.

This course explores ancient Greek and Roman tragedy. Students begin by examining the social, political, and physical contexts in which dramas were performed. Students then read and discuss select plays by the three great surviving dramatists of fifth-century BCE Athens (Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides) and the one great surviving dramatist of Imperial Rome (Seneca the younger). Each week includes not only close reading and discussion of one drama, but also viewing or hearing a modern performance of that drama, an in-class performance of a scene from the drama by students, and panel presentations of two other dramas that may illuminate features of the week's main drama. Attention is given to understanding how these plays might have been performed and interpreted within the Athenian and Roman cultures in which they were produced, as well as modern critical approaches and creative responses. Thus this course provides students an opportunity to engage with and reflect on ancient drama in a critical and creative way, with respect to both its original historical context and its imaginative and transformative potential in the modern world.

This class surveys the surviving plays of Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus, and Terence. For Old Comedy, the class will discuss its structural features (such as the chorus and the parabasis), and look at the way that Aristophanes engages with the politics of his day as well as the role of women in Athens. Students learn the canonical definitions of Old, Middle, and New comedy, and see the revolution of style and taste that differentiates Menander from Aristophanes. The class looks at the ways in which comedy transgresses social norms and the role of the carnivalesque in ancient culture. Students need not know Greek or Latin but must be willing to perform for and with their classmates as well as contributing to a creative and generous environment.

This course explores the Greek and Roman ancestors of the modern novel. Ancient prose fiction is steadily attracting more and more attention, for it opens many windows onto ancient attitudes towards gender, love and sexuality, religious belief and practice, and social relations. The ancient novels also happen to be fun to read, full of hairbreadth escapes, wide-ranging travel, intense and often conflicting emotions, complex and surprising events, and humor, sometimes delicate, sometimes shocking.

This course offers an introduction to the field of archaeology, providing an overview of its goals, theory, methods, and ethics. Students discuss specific archaeological sites from the ancient Mediterranean in their historical, social, anthropological, economic, religious, and architectural contexts. Attention is given to issues relevant to Mediterranean archaeology today, including the looting of ancient sites, issues of cultural property, and ethics in archaeology. Students have the opportunity to learn and practice basic archaeological techniques, as well as to reflect on the significance of these techniques for understanding other peoples. Students thus gain an appreciation of the complexities of present-day archaeological research and both the benefits and limitations of the role of archaeology in creating our images of the past.

This course takes a holistic approach to the investigation of craft production in the ancient Mediterranean. Students learn about ancient techniques for working stone, clay, metal, fiber, and more, as well as how archaeologists and ancient historians
study and reconstruct those techniques. In addition, significant attention is given to exploring how craft production shaped identities, societies, and environments in the past.

Students in this course explore ancient Greek and Roman ideas about race and ethnicity and reflect upon how that thinking remains influential today. Students investigate how categories of race and ethnicity are presented in the literature of the Ancient Mediterranean through reading such authors as Homer, Herodotus, Aristotle, Vergil, Caesar, and Tacitus and through examining visual evidence. They study concepts such as racial formation and origin; ancient theories of ethnic superiority; and linguistic, religious, and cultural differentiation as a basis for ethnic differentiation. They also examine ancient racism as seen in such social processes as colonization, migration, assimilation, and imperialism. Students have to consider the impact of a number of divergent factors on conceptions of race and ethnicity, including: power (who defines the categories?); source (do all authors treat these terms in the same way?); and context (in what ways do identities shift due to historical events and changing political or social contexts?).

This course examines sex, gender, and sexualities in ancient Greece and Rome. Building upon foundational readings in feminist and queer theory, this course examines critically both historical evidence for and representations of love, gender, sex, and sexuality in a wide range of ancient literary texts, as well as epigraphic, art historical, and archaeological sources. Through this combination of using both Greek and Roman primary sources and modern gender theory, this course aims to make sense of such topics as women's lives, marriage, prostitution, sexual violence, medicine, pederasty, sex manuals, and non-normative or "Other"-bodied (e.g. trans*) individuals.

This course examines the ancient history of the future and the might-have-been--the role of Greco-Roman antiquity in modern science fiction and fantasy. This course begins with discussion about definitions, histories, and theories of "science fiction" and "fantasy," with emphasis on their roots in and relations to ancient texts. Students then focus on representative modern texts in various media (e.g., short stories, novels, films, comics); such texts may include Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, episodes of Star Trek, the works of Ridley Scott, or J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. Students focus on themes of perennial human significance (e.g., the uses of history, technology, fantastic voyages, metamorphosis, knowledge/wonder, etc.) and consider critical approaches that may help us understand more deeply the similarities and differences between ancient and modern speculative thinking. To engage in this work, students will learn the basic concepts, tools, and research techniques of studies in the "classical tradition" and "classical reception," a still-emergent but increasingly important field within the discipline of Classics.

This seminar involves an in-depth examination of selected topics in the ancient Mediterranean world. A different topic may be selected each time the class is offered in accord with the interests of the students and the expertise of the faculty. Relevant theoretical approaches and current research are explored. Students are responsible for research papers and presentations under close supervision of the faculty.

This course provides the senior Classics major an opportunity to do independent research and to write a thesis on a topic in the ancient Mediterranean world. The student chooses the topic in consultation with a supervising instructor. Although the thesis is anchored in one discipline (e.g., history, art history, literature), the student is encouraged to take advantage of the multidisciplinary nature of the field.

This course serves as an introduction to Gender, Queer and Feminist Studies. It surveys the history of feminism, and then explores the rise and trajectories of gender studies and queer studies. The course engages with the ways in which gender, sexuality, race, class, ability/disability, and other facets of identity intersect with each other. Students will consider the implications of activism as well as the academic development of these disciplines, and they will engage with the ways that the readings touch upon their own lives.

This course explores "queer" as an open question rather than a stable set of identities, asking: what kinds of bodies, desires, histories, and politics does queer describe? Students consider the complexity of queer identities and investigate the social and historical processes of identity construction. The class asks, with insights from queer theory: What governs the formation of legible social identities? What dynamics of erasure and illegibility accompany these formations? This course takes up these questions with attention to "queer self-fashioning," asking: How have "queer" identities and communities defined themselves--and been defined--in and through clothing and style? While clothing and fashion might seem to typify personal and a-political work, our inquiry explores the politics of self-fashioning: How is the fashioned body governed by laws, policies, and social norms? How has style played an important role in collective movements of dissent and social change? Students also explore these questions through a guided, hands-on project: each student will sew a wearable garment as a process of tactile meditation on the material, time, labor, and creativity involved in queer self-fashioning.

What does it mean to study sexuality? Does one's sexual identity change over time? The course first covers some critical readings from feminist, queer, and scientific perspectives in relation to sexuality. Then, armed with these tools, students address key topics in the field around science and sexology, histories of sexuality, reproductive politics, queer theory and pedagogy, health, hook-up culture, body modification, sexual harassment and #MeToo, and global issues in sexuality.

This course surveys the history/ies and development of feminist, gender and/or queer theories, with an emphasis on theories produced in the 20th and early 21st centuries. The course familiarizes students with key feminist, gender and queer theoretical debates and concepts, requires them to read, think, speak, and write critically about these theories; and encourages them to employ these feminist and queer theories and concepts in critical analyses of contemporary institutions and practices, as well as in their own lives. Topics examined include power, privilege, domination, identity, difference, intersectionality, post/colonialism, trans/nationalism, (standpoint) epistemology, anti/essentialism, discourse, performativity, gender, femininity, masculinity, sexuality, embodiment, and cyborgs.

For fifty years the decision in Roe prevented states from criminalizing or outlawing abortion, though restrictions placed upon a person seeking to terminate a pregnancy varied widely from state to state. Now, in a post-Roe world, abortion bans are proliferating across the country. This course draws upon the expertise of faculty members from across our campus as we seek to understand the deep history of abortion, abortion restrictions, coerced reproduction, and other state interventions in people's sexual and reproductive lives. We will tackle the past, present, and future of reproductive freedom and how it has and will be imbricated in other fights for justice.

In this course students examine the differences between traditional scholarship and a feminist approach to knowing. Participants engage in an independent research project of their choosing, sharing process and findings with other members throughout the semester. Completion of the class includes participation in the Lewis & Clark Undergraduate Gender Studies Conference in March of each year.

One of the four learning objectives for GQS students is to to integrate feminist, gender and queer analysis into educational and activist practices, both in (a) students' research, writing and classroom interactions and in (b) public scholarship, activism, and everyday life. This internship fulfills (b) of this learning objective. Students will identify an internship with a community or government agency dealing with issues relevant to gender, feminism, or sexuality, such as the Rainbow Center of Tacoma. Students will take fieldnotes, write five reflection papers (one every other week), and complete a polished reflection paper at the conclusion of the internship. Students will create an e-portfolio to document their learning experience, including the following: learning objectives, weekly fieldnotes, internship responsibilities, work products, and their takeaways from the experience. Students must meet every other week with their supervisor (a member of the GQS Advisory Board and/or the Director of GQS). Students must participate in a minimum of 120 internship hours and attend the course. Taken during the junior or senior year. Internships may be self-determined or located through Career and Employment Services or Experiential Learning. All students must complete and file a learning agreement in the Department of Experiential Learning.

Students read substantial selections from ancient authors. The majority of class time is spent on the study of the syntax, semantics, and stylistics of those readings in order to build students' speed and accuracy in reading Greek, and to facilitate appreciation of the texts. In addition, students become familiar with the cultural contexts of their readings through discussion, brief lectures, secondary readings, and student reports and papers. Reading selections vary: they may be centered on the production of a single author, or organized around a cultural theme, literary genre, or historical event.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

This course introduces selected monuments of the ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artistic traditions as well as artworks of the Early Christian, Byzantine, and Islamic cultures. The course examines a wide range of material - architecture and monumental decoration, painting, sculpture, as well as works of minor arts - to understand the role art played in various societies of the ancient and medieval world. Works of art are examined with particular attention to their original function, context, and intended audience in order to explore how they expressed political, social, and religious meanings. The course introduces key terms and principal methods of art historical inquiry.

Honors 211 examines the biblical story of Adam and Eve, one of Western culture's key foundation myths, by following its preoccupation with forbidden knowledge in the works of authors ranging from the 17th-Century poet John Milton to contemporary women writers of the psychedelic movement, who like Eve, ingest forbidden wisdom-giving "fruit." In doing so, we enlist the help of philosophers, neuroscientists, and psychologists to explore such questions as: Should certain kinds of knowledge be forbidden or is knowledge an unqualified good? Who should decide? What does it mean to be in a state of innocence, or of experience? What aspects of the human psyche are involved in occupying these states and what kinds of knowledge are they capable of acquiring? These questions will in turn invite us to(re)assess what we understand to be the nature of reality and the deepest aspects of our human identity.

A study of the development of attempts by scientific thinkers to understand and explain the universe. The central theme is the development of astronomy and physics, but some mention is made of corollary studies in mathematics and other sciences. A major portion of the course is devoted to the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century and the work of Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. Another major portion concerns the development of twentieth-century physics, concentrating on relativity and the quantum theory as developed by Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, and others.

This course examines ways in which the arts (literary, cinematic, theatrical, visual, and aural) develop key ideas that help shape a culture's system of beliefs. The ideas and themes under consideration vary with different versions of this course. Recent examples include the myth of the "rugged individual," the nature of the unconscious, the relationship between imitative behavior, rivalry, and violence, the quest for forbidden knowledge, the pursuit of flow states for peak performance, the "psychedelic renaissance."

A Survey of intellectual developments in western civilization from the Renaissance through the eighteenth century focusing on the relationship between the individual and the state. Emphasis is placed on the many narrative genres Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote (1605) encompasses and subverts: the chivalric romance, the picaresque narrative, the Moorish romance, the pastoral romance, etc., as well as on the visual arts.

This course situates what is being called "the psychedelic renaissance" (the recent movement to legalize psychedelic substances for clinical use in treating a variety of mental illnesses) within several intersecting areas of study: philosophical idealism, religious mysticism, shamanism, Romantic era poetry, depth psychology and psychotherapy. While mainstream media outlets focus on the successes of psychedelic therapies in clinical trials, the decriminalization of psilocybin in several U.S. cities, and financial opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry, little attention is paid to what it might mean for our society to embrace the use of consciousness-expanding drugs, given their potential to radically challenge our most fundamental beliefs about the nature of reality and human identity. Our study of the psychedelic renaissance thus serves as a platform for thinking about some of the big questions that attend the human condition: Why does anything exist? Is the universe intelligential and purposive or mindless and mechanistic? Does the brain create the mind, or does the mind create my brain? Does consciousness extend beyond waking awareness? If so, what does it experience? To what extent do I exist separately from others? What is death?

Even though the Biblical materials stand at the foundation of the Western tradition, common knowledge of the Bible is at a low point. The popular debate often gets polarized into two extreme positions: the Bible holds all truth, or the Bible is irrelevant. Yet many modern discoveries on archeological sites or in the archives now provide a much clearer idea of the way the Biblical materials are put together over the centuries, and the way the Biblical authors respond to each other, developing, critiquing, and reinterpreting ideas in the political and cultural crises of their times. Students study a selection of materials from both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, not only to appreciate the depth and complexity of what the Bible "says" in its own original contexts, but also to reassess what it "says" to the modern world--with its very different cosmology, anthropology, and political and social structures--about human responsibility to the planet and to fellow human beings about the recognition of human destructiveness and the hope for survival.

In this course, students develop the expertise necessary to communicate intelligently about the artistic medium of film. Drawing on the expertise of two professors, students consider key terminology related to mise-en-scene, editing, and sound; apply those concepts to a wide variety of examples from the advent of film to the present; and begin considering critical approaches to the medium. In addition to regular class sessions, film screenings are required.

This colloquium explores the development of theory in the Marxist critique of Capital and capitalist cultures, especially in its relation to revolutionary praxis in Late Capitalism. The course examines foundational themes of Critical Theory as elaborated by Frankfurt School authors (Adorno, Horkheimer, Benjamin, and Marcuse) and study revolutionary movements and practices (Situationists, 1968, Autonomists, Tarnac 9, and Occupy) in relation to Marxist theory. Discussion and study also include more contemporary contributions to the question of the relation between theory and revolutionary praxis in a world dominated and saturated by capitalist culture by important Marxist writers, including Debord, Baudrillard, Badiou, Zizek, Holloway, and The Invisible Committee. Some familiarity with Marx and Marxian theory is recommended, but not required.

'Print Culture' habits of reading work against the dramatic and visual nature of medieval composition, in which words were to be heard aloud and images visualized. Medieval manuscript illumination of literary texts reflects this active, visual process of reading. Humanities 367 immerses readers in medieval manuscript culture to experience a performative mode of reading essential to the appreciation of medieval literary genres like dream vision, chivalric romance, and allegory.

This course surveys a wide range of software tools and technologies that are becoming associated with the domain of scholarly activity known as the "digital humanities": micro- and macro-directed text analytics, annotated timelines, multimedia presentation platforms, data and network visualizations, NGrams, thick maps/GIS, topic modeling, immersive simulations, etc. During the first third of the course, students read conceptual material about digital methods and look at representative completed projects that have made use of such tools and methods. Each student then proposes a project that aligns with her or his research interests and selects a suite of tools appropriate for the project type. During the last two thirds of the course, students meet individually with the instructor at least once a week to review project status and plan ensuing phases of the work. In the final weeks, students reconvene as a group to discuss their completed projects. The course is appropriate for students who want hands-on experience using tools and methods that are changing the way scholarship in the humanistic disciplines is being conducted.

This course serves those students who have completed JAPN 202 and wish to improve their skills in all areas: oral, aural, reading, and writing. Special emphasis is placed on listening and speaking skills. Class discussion, conversational exercises, reading materials, and writing assignments center on a variety of original Japanese materials which comment on recent social and cultural phenomenon.

This course is the pre-advanced Japanese language course. The focus of this course is on preparing students to be able to handle academic report writing and oral presentation in Japanese through Japanese geography and culture. Japan has 47 prefectures and is divided into 8 regions. Students will learn an approachable and wide-ranging survey of the geography and culture of each region of Japan as they examine authentic materials. This class is carefully designed for students to learn about the geographical setting of Japan, the people's way of life, and the nature of Japanese society as if students were traveling across Japan.

Research under the close supervision of a faculty member on a topic agreed upon. Application and proposal to be submitted to the department chair and faculty research advisor. Recommended for majors prior to the senior research semester.

Research under the close supervision of a faculty member on a topic agreed upon. Application and proposal to be submitted to the department chair and faculty research advisor. Recommended for majors prior to the senior research semester.

This course introduces students to the history, literature, and culture of the different Latin American regions. It examines the products of individual and collective experience and creativity in a variety of ways. Using historical and anthropological texts, the course provides a brief overview of historical periods and legacies, and considers how anthropologists have understood the cultures of urban and rural, racial and ethnic existence. In addition, using a series of literary works, students reflect on the cultural and national identity, moral and religious values, and individual experience of Latin Americans as well as the cultural, intellectual, and linguistic influence of these people in the United States. Classes are organized around discussion and occasional presentations by guest speakers. In addition to exams, students write several short evaluations of readings and are involved in several group presentation projects. The course serves as a required introduction to the Latin American Studies minor.

Students read substantial selections from ancient authors. The majority of class time is spent on the study of the syntax, semantics, and stylistics of those readings in order to build students' speed and accuracy in reading Latin, and to facilitate appreciation of the texts. In addition, students become familiar with the cultural contexts of their readings through discussion, brief lectures, secondary readings, and student reports and papers. Reading selections vary: they may be centered on the production of a single author, or organized around a cultural theme, literary genre, or historical event.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

More than 50 million Latinos live in the United States of America, which makes the U.S the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. In this course, students analyze the cultural, historical, political and social experiences of U. S. Latinos, or "Latinx America." This course understands the place of Latinx communities in the rising U.S. nation as a political and economic agent that shaped the history of the world in the 19th and 20th century. First, the course examines the roots of the US Hispanic populations, and also how colonization imposed Hispanic cultures and languages in North, Central and South America. Second, the course analyzes the experiences of the Latinx communities in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries through various topics: Latino immigration, practices of racism and colonization, strategies of resistance, political and social movements, U.S. policies regarding Latino communities, and Latinx gender practices, among others.

Latina/o literature explores the heterogeneity of Latina/o experiences in the U.S. While the course is not a survey of Latino literary history, it introduces students to contemporary expressions of Latina/o literature. Plays, short stories, novels, testimonies, poems, essays, and film help students to study the complex and often-silenced histories of the Latina/o communities. The course understands literature and cultural productions as a platform for social, historical, and political histories. Literature becomes a place where ideologies are contested, debated and articulated. In this course, students will explore questions related to community, diaspora, immigration, racism, transnational politics, discourses of privilege, and intersections of sexuality, gender, and class. This course is taught in English, with some readings in Spanglish, a language that resulted from interaction between Spanish and English.

This course is an overview of the scientific study of language and the sociopolitical phenomena associated with its use. The aim is to identify elements that are shared by all languages, as well as the range of devices and strategies that different languages use to perform the same function. Students will examine the definitional characteristics of language and general aspects of its structure and organization. We will also delve into issues related to the use of language, including how language users construct conversations, why and how languages develop dialects, and how language is learned. Finally, we will investigate and present information about diverse linguistic communities in the U.S.

In this course, students develop an understanding of the main topics for Queer Latinx Studies, including current aesthetic, political, and theoretical frameworks to analyze Latinx art, cinema, literature, and performance. This course gives students the opportunity to study how queer Latinx artists are contesting civil and governmental oppression against non-heterosexual communities. Students understand the significance of dwelling and sexual embodiment for dissident artists and their political intervention in the public sphere. In this class, students will engage with questions of disability, immigration, legality, race, and sexuality in America. This course is taught in English, with some readings in Spanglish, a hybrid language that resulted from interaction between Spanish and English.

This course analyzes how artists articulated the idea of mestizaje (racial and ethnic mixing) in Mexico and the U.S from the 16th to the 21th century. This course is divided into three sections: in the first section, students will study the genesis and evolution of racial taxonomies in the viceroyalty of New Spain. This section will teach the students the conceptual history of the idea of mestizaje and its political implications. In the second section, students will examine how diverse artists and political institutions portray the idea of mestizaje creating the genre of Casta paintings. Casta paintings are one of the most important artistic expressions of the Spanish Catholic Empire. In the third section, the students will analyze how governmental and nongovernmental corporations developed the Mexican muralism artistic movement, and also how U.S Latinx artists reinterpreted the muralist conceptualization of mestizaje in the 20th and 21st Century. Particularly, the course will emphasize the artworks of Diego Rivera in Mexico City and Detroit, and the artworks of Sandra de la Loza, and Emilio Aguayo.

This special topics course is conducted as a seminar and varies in focus each time. The course offers students the opportunity to further examine, problematize, and research particular issues and forms of cultural productions as they relate to Latina/o Studies and communities in the United States. To this purpose, class sessions require students to explore the discursive specificities of assigned works as well as to consider and interrogate the critical and theoretical issues they raise. Students' thoughtful engagement with the material and ability to participate in productive dialogue bear directly on the quality of the knowledge produced throughout the semester.

This course surveys music-making practices in the Western hemisphere. Students will consider musics of various styles, historical periods, and cultural settings, with an emphasis on critical listening. Includes experiential learning opportunities such as attending performances either on or off campus.

This course surveys the rich musical heritage of the United States from the Colonial Period to the present. It explores many of the musical traditions whose collective heterogeneity defines a country of diverse musical narratives. Musical styles and genres explored include art music, concert music, popular music, musical theatre, sacred music, country, folk, jazz, and rock.

Intended for those without prior musical training. Students discover music through physical and intellectual engagement, including performance, improvisation, composition, conducting and other movement, close listening, concertgoing, reading, writing, discussion, and collaboration. Basic note-reading skill is developed. Students should not take MUS 123 if they have taken, or are currently enrolled in, MUS 101/103.

This course explores a range of 20th and 21st century popular music genres in their social, political, and aesthetic contexts. The course builds critical thinking and listening skills through analysis of sound recordings and close engagement with a variety of popular media, including music criticism, interviews, biography, liner notes, and documentary film. Emphasis will be placed on how musical practices intersect with both historical and contemporary struggles for gender equity and racial justice, alongside other pressing social issues.

A historical survey that focuses on the principal elements and styles of jazz, its trends and innovators, and its sociology. The course is designed to develop a critical awareness, understanding, and appreciation of jazz.

An introductory survey of music traditions from among world cultures, approached from an ethnomusicological perspective. "Music" in this course is considered broadly, and refers to performance and ritual traditions and their complex intersections with culture, daily life, and society. The regional focuses of the traditions studied come from various parts of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

This course critically explores women's contributions to music in a variety of roles and cultural contexts. Figures studied include historical and contemporary popstars, composers, directors, dancers, and everyday women, who make music as part of their daily lives.

An introductory survey of music in the Romantic era (1815-1900) beginning with the late works of Beethoven and Schubert and ending with the works of Mahler and Debussy at the turn of the twentieth century. Students explore historical and stylistic developments through the critical study of representative works from the period. Major genres, the lives of the composers, and the creative process are examined, and the importance of the artist for society is considered.

This introductory survey introduces students to twentieth-century European and North American classical music by exploring the use of major twentieth-century musical styles and individual works in movies. Students develop analytical tools to understand and communicate effectively about a wide range of compositional languages, while also considering how particular styles and compositions are put into dialogue with a film's visual, narrative, and affective content. Composers who wrote specifically for movies, such as Aaron Copland, Bernard Herrmann, and Philip Glass, are considered alongside those such as Bela Bartok and Gyorgy Ligeti, whose works were appropriated by directors.

This course explores a diverse range of musicians and musical genres through the lens of Tacoma's history. Utilizing primary source readings, listening examples, and guest lectures by local musicians and historians, the course presents a survey of the musical history of Tacoma, from the region's native peoples and early settlers to the present day. The final project engages students with primary research to share local music history stories.

This course explores Western art music as a humanistic study. It provides a survey of representative styles, musicians, and works from 1600 to the present, including jazz. Readings, writing assignments, and experiences both in and out of class introduce students to the diverse methods of historical musicology, including a variety of critical perspectives, and archival and secondary research. Students engage in close listening, musical analysis, and discussion. Emphasis is placed throughout the semester on the relevance, value, and pleasures of musicological knowledge and approaches.

This course will introduce students to methods and issues in the discipline of ethnomusicology, wherein music is studied among its complex intersections with daily life. The course introduces pathways for studying music ethnographically, rendering transparent how music can be explored as culture. Students will approach the study of ethnomusicology through a variety of world music case studies, and will have the opportunity to conduct their own ethnographic fieldwork.

This course provides students with knowledge of and hands-on practice with the basics of working in a recording studio, including acquiring knowledge of studio set up and the essentials of recording music digitally.

This course provides students with instruction in writing, arranging, performing, and recording original songs. Students will learn about songwriting through analyzing the form, texture, and motivic structures of popular songs. Students will write multiple songs during the semester, record them, and perform them on concert showcases.

Further instruction in songwriting through analysis of textures, motivic structure, and compound forms of recent popular songs. Students will write, record, and perform multiple songs during the semester.

An exploration of musical language and form, with emphasis on the primary forms of the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras, and the melodic and harmonic language of music of the twentieth century. Topics include the Baroque dance suite, sonata form, rondo form, continuous and sectional variations, concerto, pitch-class set theory, and twelve-tone operations, with focus on detailed aural and written analysis.

In this course we will study traditions of dance from among world cultures. "Dance" in this course is considered broadly, and refers to performance, ritual, and daily-life practices of movement, with inextricable connections with music, sound, and theater. The course approaches contents from the disciplines anthropology, ethnomusicology, dance studies, and performance studies, and focuses on the study of movement and dance and their complex intersections with culture, daily life, and society. The course will be presented through a variety of teaching styles and assignments, including lectures, group participation, structured media engagement, and hands-on demonstrations/performances.

Every opera's characters and situations reflect the times and societies in which they were created, and in performances decades or centuries later, they continue to adapt to reflect changing circumstances. A few operas go further, actually portraying people and events plucked from the history books, or even the headlines. This course considers a selection of operas "based on a true story." What is the true story, as far as we can discern? Who transformed the event into words, music, sets, costumes, and movement onstage? What decisions did they make, and how do those decisions serve to interpret the historical event? How do works and productions reflect, or at times subvert, societal power structures involving class, race, gender, and nationality? How have productions changed over time to reflect shifting attitudes about their subject matter? And what are the ethical and political implications of turning historical events into prestigious aesthetic objects?

An introduction to jazz theory and improvisation through the study of selected compositions with emphasis on musical analysis, transcription, and performance. Laboratory required.

An introduction to the music industry and to the treatment of music as a commodity. Topics include music publishing, licensing, copyright and intellectual property, artist management, concert promotion, music unions, merchandising, arts administration, the non-profit sector, the digital revolution, and the recording industry.

This course provides students with further instruction in writing, arranging, performing, and recording original songs. Students will write up to four songs in a variety of styles and in a variety of instrumentations. Students will create recordings of each song and at least one of their songs will be performed in a concert showcase.

An introduction to foundations of music education with emphasis on junior high and high school band, choir, orchestra, and jazz programs. This course explores theories of learning as applied to music and of teaching as a career. Topics include development of skills in curriculum building, lesson planning, comprehensive musicianship, reflective teaching and inquiry in music education. Practicum teaching and observing within school music programs is included throughout the semester.

A study and practice of general music curriculum and instruction in elementary and middle schools. Students develop teaching goals, strategies, and lessons for singing, playing instruments, listening, composing, improvising, music reading, analyzing, and creative movement. Practicum teaching and observing within elementary school music programs is included throughout the semester.

This comprehensive instructional course provides participants with research-based methods to implement a popular music ensemble that incorporates performance, composition, improvisation, informal learning, and Music as a Second Language. Those interested in the teaching and learning of popular music are given the tools to inform their own their own craft of teaching, composing, songwriting, or performance through Modern Band instruments including guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, vocals, and technology. By focusing on genres of music such as rock, reggae, country, pop and hip hop, Popular Music Pedagogies engages students in making music through informal learning methods. No prior experience playing Modern Band instruments is necessary to successfully participate in this course.

This course provides an overview of the narrative and elements of the Western "classical" music canon from the Middle Ages through the 20th century. It covers the eras, composers, genres, styles, terms, and famous works that constitute the classical canon in the U.S.--a body of knowledge widely held to be the most important elements of music history for musicians to know about, study, teach, and perform. The course also deals with how, why, and by whom the canon was constructed in the U.S., a process in which hierarchical, hegemonic views of national identity, class, race, ethnicity, religion, and gender played significant roles. Students creatively and critically explore questions of how and why the canon continues to be powerful today, and how they want to engage with or resist it in their own lives as music-makers.

In-depth analysis and application of advanced compositional techniques including pitch-class set theory, serialism, indeterminacy, and extended vocal and instrumental techniques.

A selected ethnomusicological topic is studied in a seminar format. Emphasis is given to the relationships between performance practices and associated social contexts, as well as on the praxis and ethics of ethnographic research, analysis, and representation.

A selected musicological topic is studied in a seminar format. Emphasis is given to cultural and stylistic issues and to methods and techniques of musicological research, analysis, and writing. May be repeated for credit.

Guided thesis in musicology. Topic and scope to be arranged between the student and faculty thesis advisor.

Designed to provide music business students with on-the-job experience with participating businesses. The student works with a faculty advisor to develop an individualized learning plan that connects the internship site experience to study in the major. The learning plan includes required reading, writing assignments, and a culminating project or paper. Registration is through Career and Employment Services.

Representative philosophical topics, such as mind and body, the grounds of knowledge, the existence of God, moral obligation, political equality, and human freedom, are discussed in connection with contemporary philosophers and figures in the history of philosophy.

This course covers a range of philosophic problems centering on issues of personhood and rational agency. Readings are drawn from both classic and contemporary sources and address such topics as freedom of the will, personal identity, knowledge of the self, weakness of will and self-deception.

The course assesses the reasonableness of various forms of religious belief and of irreligion. Noted historical and contemporary authors are read. Students attempt to develop personal views on the truth of religion and its place in life.

Existentialism describes an influential set of views that gained prominence in Europe following World War II, stressing radical human freedom and possibility, as well as concomitant responsibility and anxiety, in a world bereft of transcendent significance. This course examines the nineteenth-century philosophical roots of such views, their leading twentieth-century philosophical and theological expression, and a few of their most compelling incarnations in literature.

This course examines the ethical, political, and philosophical questions raised by some of the new forms of human enhancement made available by breakthroughs in science and technology, from fields like neuroscience and genetic engineering. For example: Should parents be allowed to use genetic screening or modification to create "designer children," either for the purpose of avoiding diseases and other ailments or to select desired traits such as their child's intelligence, athletic ability, or good looks? Should humans pursue immortality or, failing that, radically extended lifespans? Is there any important ethical difference between artificial and natural intelligence, and will the former soon surpass the latter? What justification is there, if any, for regarding the use of steroids in athletics as a form of cheating while regarding the use of weight training regimens as fair game? Is the goal of human enhancement compatible with the pursuit of social equality? What constitutes the self, as opposed to the tools or pieces of technology that a self uses?

This course investigates the ways in which power relations--such as racism, sexism, and ableism--structure two significant areas of individual and collective behavior: language and knowledge. It shows the necessity of philosophizing in critical engagement with the world by connecting social phenomena with social scientific theories. It also shows philosophy's strength in making fundamental inquiries and bridging academic disciplines by drawing on diverse types of empirical evidence.

In this course students first read about the experience of disabled people and the history of the disability rights movement in the US, and how the approach to disability has evolved through time. Then, students devote some time thinking about the nature of disability; two families of approaches to disability are discussed (naturalism and social constructionism) with particular attention to philosophical accounts. The course transitions toward more applied questions, such as: What is the relation between disability and well-being? Is disability intrinsically bad? How is disability analogous to other social identities, and how does ableism differ from other forms of oppression, if it does? Are genetic screening and selective abortion on the basis of disability morally permissible? How does mental disability differ from physical disability? Finally, students work on a group project that answers the question: How can we build a world that includes disability?

A survey of the origins of Western philosophy in Ancient Greece, beginning with the Presocratics and covering Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Hellenistic philosophy. In this course students are introduced to the answers some of the most influential ancient philosophers have given to the question: "How can we be happy?" In addition to learning what these philosophers thought, students are stimulated to think about these questions from their own modern perspective, and reflect on the extent to which their modern viewpoint differs. Finally, but not least importantly, students learn to read and interpret texts that were written millennia ago. In the process, they encounter argumentative techniques that are still as current as the theses defended through them.

This course introduces students to influential philosophical questions in early Chinese thought. And it exposes students to central philosophical texts such as Lunyu, Daodejing, Mozi, Zhuangzi, Mengzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi. It is both a course in history of philosophy and a course in comparative philosophy. Hence, students are expected to both develop skills for making historically-informed interpretations of these thinkers' responses to the influential philosophical questions, and to consider their ideas' relevance to practical and philosophical discourses today.

This course introduces central issues in the philosophy of mind, especially the relation between mind and body - the brain, in particular - and the nature of consciousness. Other topics may include the possibility of artificial intelligence, the nature of psychological explanation, self-knowledge, psychopathology and psychopharmacology, psychoanalysis, and the concept of a person. Course materials reflect scientific developments in such fields as psychology, neurobiology, medicine, linguistics, and computer engineering.

This course consists of a philosophical examination of science. The course examines attempts to describe what is distinctive about science, including views concerning scientific methodology. The course also examines the character of scientific change, asking how one should understand the history of science. This examination leads to a discussion of the nature of scientific knowledge, including whether scientific entities should be considered real and what role values play in the development of science. Issues that arise from particular sciences also may be discussed.

Formal logic is the science of reasoning and argumentation. It uses mathematical structures to establish a formal language to express thoughts and evaluate the coherence of series of thoughts. Students learn about and work with two logical systems in this course: truth-functional logic and first-order logic.

Students are expected to acquire technical skills in three aspects of logical systems: symbolization (representing thoughts in the formal language); interpretation (using a mathematical structure to interpret the formal language); and deduction (working with sets of rules that govern series of expressions in the formal language). As students explore these two logical systems, they will inevitably consider meta-logical and philosophical questions about logical concepts and the systems themselves, such as ones that concern their expressive power, limitations, and potential alternatives.

This course examines a number of ethical theories - theories attempting to provide a systematic account of our beliefs about what is right and wrong, good and bad. The course examines a range of answers to questions like the following: What makes for a good life? What, if anything, is of value? What does morality require? Should we care about moral requirements and, if so, why? Is there a connection between morality and freedom? In addition to a careful study of various classic views, we will consider recent defenses and critiques of these views.

This course focuses on ethical issues that arise in the context of human relationships to nature and to non-human living things. The course explores questions such as the following: What is nature? Is nature intrinsically valuable? Should wilderness be preserved? What is biodiversity and should it be promoted? What are our moral obligations to non-human animals and to future generations? What ethical considerations arise in facing global poverty and overpopulation?

This course focuses on social, economic, legal, and ethical issues that arise from the collection, analysis, and use of large data sets, especially when these processes are automated or embedded within artificial intelligence systems. The course explores the design of ethical algorithms by considering questions like the following: what kinds of biases are ethically problematic and how can they be avoided? what are the effects of automation on jobs and inequality? what are the privacy considerations that arise when collecting and using data? what is the ethical significance of transparency in automation? who owns data sets and who has the right to access information? who is responsible for actions that result from artificial intelligence systems? In thinking about these complex questions, students consider specific case studies of controversial uses of data and algorithms in fields such as medicine, biotechnology, military, advertising, social media, finance, transportation, and criminal justice, among others. In addition to relevant ethical theories, students are introduced to philosophical, legal, and scientific theories that play a central role in debates regarding the ethics of data and artificial intelligence. Readings are drawn from a number of classic and contemporary texts in philosophy, science and technology studies, law, public policy, and the emerging fields of "data ethics" and "robot ethics".

This course examines Western philosophical understandings of moral issues brought on by advances in health care, science, and technology. In this course, students will learn the "Principles approach" to bioethics, as well as other ethical approaches to the difficult moral issues raised by contemporary medical science and its clinical applications.

This course is a moderately comprehensive and systematic treatment of Aristotle, including method, metaphysics, psychology, ethics, and politics. It considers Aristotle's criticism of Plato's theory of forms and his own views about what is real, the relation of form and matter, the nature of the soul, the highest human good, and the relation of the individual and the community.

This course introduces students to philosophy from Latin America -- broadly construed to include Indigenous philosophy -- and to Latinx philosophy in the United States. The course focuses on issues of identity in Latin American and Latinx Philosophy including: 1) Latin American philosophers' self-conscious discussion about whether there is such a thing as a Latin American Philosophy; 2) alternative conceptions of self, other, and community in selected indigenous conceptions of the world; 3) discussions about gender, race, class, and ethnic and political identity in Latin American anti-colonial and independence philosophy, liberation philosophy, and Latinx philosophy in the United States.

This seminar examines the metaphysical and epistemological theories of the British Empiricists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through close readings of Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Berkeley's The Principles of Human Knowledge, and Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature. It considers such issues as realism, idealism and skepticism, the nature and scope of scientific knowledge, the nature of the self and self-knowledge, and personal identity. Special consideration is paid to the development of empiricism in the context of scientific and religious controversies in seventeenth and eighteenth century Britain. Readings in recent secondary literature is also required.

European philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries struggled to make sense of ordinary perceptual experience in light of the emerging mathematical physics that culminated in Newton. This new physics presented a picture of the world according to which things in space and time are not as they appear to the senses, and thus overturned the Aristotelian world-view endorsed by the Church since the Middle Ages. The philosophical issues of this period concern the nature of knowledge of the world and how it is acquired. Also included are various accounts of the mind and of its intellectual and sensory capacities.

This course consists of a careful reading of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, designed to provide a thorough introduction to the epistemological aspect of Kant's critical philosophy. Philosophical issues discussed include the nature of the human mind, the possibility and extent of human knowledge, the reality of space and time, the basis of mathematics and logic, self and personal identity, the foundations of natural science, matter and substance, force and causation, the origin and composition of the universe, freedom of the will, the existence and properties of God, teleology, and the basis of morality.

This course is an introduction to philosophical systems of Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, J.S. Mill, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. Topics include the nature of history and historical change, the extent of human freedom, the relation between individuals and their cultures, the historical and psychological importance of religious, moral, and philosophical consciousness, and the nature of truth.

Epistemology, otherwise known as the theory of knowledge, addresses issues about the nature of knowledge, justification, and truth, issues that arise from questions such as "How do you know?" and "Can you be sure?" It has been an especially lively area of philosophy in English in recent decades; many currents in the humanities appeal to epistemological notions - such currents as post-modernism, relativism, social constructionism, feminism, and situated knowing. This course answers both developments. It introduces such disciplinary concerns as foundationalism, virtue epistemology, internalism and externalism, naturalism, reliabilism, and the Gettier problem. It also engages such wider concerns as relativism about truth and reason and the role of social institutions and social structures, power and privilege, in constituting knowledge.

This course is a survey of some of the central issues in contemporary metaphysics, the area of philosophy devoted to understanding the fundamental level of reality. Topics of the course may include existence and nonexistence, identity, personal identity, possibility and necessity, time and persistence, realism and antirealism, and free will. Featured philosophers may include W.V.O. Quine, Saul Kripke, David Lewis, Judith Jarvis Thomson, and Derek Parfit.

Anger, fear, joy, sadness, disgust, surprise, envy, pride, jealousy, love, grief -- without emotions our experience of the world would be flat and grey, void of the upheavals, accelerations, and turns that make the journey of life so exciting. But what are emotions? What kind of mental state are they? Are there universal emotions, or are all emotions culturally-relative? What does it mean to feel fear -- as opposed to think -- that something is scary? How can we know that someone is envious? Is disgust always bad? Can joy be inappropriate? In this course students explore these and many other questions concerning the metaphysics, epistemology, phenomenology, value, and rationality of emotions. Readings are drawn from a variety of sources: classical philosophical texts, contemporary articles in philosophy and psychology, popular culture, and literature.

Philosophers have long regarded language as the essential intermediary between thought and the world. Accordingly, this course studies philosophically important theories about language and more general philosophical conclusions drawn from considerations about language. Central topics concern meaning, reference, inference, existence, and truth. In addition to discursive language, some attention is devoted to systems of notation and of pictorial representation.

Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of the mind, which involves the cooperation of philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, anthropology, computer science, and more. This course reviews the foundational methodological questions of cognitive science from a philosophical perspective. To do so, the course offers a historical overview of the development of cognitive science, from classical representationalist responses to behaviorism to contemporary anti-representationalist approaches--with a special focus on embodied, embedded, enactive, and extended (4E) cognition.

This course is focused on the interconnection between value judgments and a scientific perspective on the world and human psychology. Drawing on philosophical work that connects to and draws implications from attempts to study human behavior scientifically, the course explores answers to questions like: What motivates ethical action -- is it emotions, reasoning, or something else? What is the connection between a person's values and their behavior? As students explore various answers to these questions, they will draw connections and look at the implications of those answers for epistemological and metaphysical issues connected to ethics, such as whether morality is objective or subjective; whether morality can be universal or whether it is relative to a person, to some aspect of a person's psychology, or to a community; whether ethical language is an expression of a person's feelings or a statement of some fact (be it a fact about the community or the psychology of the speaker, or a non-natural fact); and whether moral responsibility requires freedom of choice.

This course surveys some of the fundamental philosophical questions that arise from the performing arts in general, and cinema in particular. What is a film? What does it have in common and how does it differ from other performing arts? How do these in turn differ from the other arts? What challenges do they pose to the traditional understanding of art? How do cinema and television differ? Other topics covered may include: the problem of identifying authorship in a collective enterprise such as a film or a theater production; the reasons and nature of our emotional engagement with movies or plays; the relation between film and society.

Aesthetics This course is a critical examination of the problems that arise in trying to understand the creation, nature, interpretation, evaluation, and appreciation of works of art. Art is viewed in its relation to other aspects of culture such as morality, economics, and ecology. A variety of classical and contemporary perspectives are examined.

This course explores some of the central questions in Social and Political Philosophy as well as some well-developed attempts to answer these questions: What makes a government legitimate? What should the goal of government be? Is it to maximize justice, to maximize liberty, to provide common defense, or something else? What is justice? What is liberty? Readings are drawn from prominent historical and contemporary thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Mill, Rawls, Nozick, Cohen, Okin.

This course is concerned with the nature of law and the relationship between law and morality. The course is centered on questions like the following: What is the law? What is the connection between law and morality? Is it morally wrong to break the law? Is breaking the law sometimes morally permissible or even morally required? Should morality be legally enforced? To what extent, if at all, should legal decisions be influenced by moral beliefs? What are the relationships between legal, constitutional, moral, and political rights? Can legal punishment be morally justified? While pursuing answers to these questions through the work of leading legal philosophers, students read a number of actual court cases and discuss specific issues like hate speech and capital punishment, among others.

This course examines ethical issues related to the implementation of artificially intelligent systems in medicine and healthcare from a philosophical perspective. Topics include (but are not limited to): algorithmic biases in medical diagnoses and healthcare decisions; the impact of AI on the ability to foster trust and respect patient autonomy; disagreements between clinicians and AI decision-support systems; and the implementation of empathic or empathy-simulating AI in healthcare.

The construct of race is omnipresent in the way people think, the way society is structured, and even in the materials that people use. Despite its omnipresence, race remains difficult to discuss, if it is discussed at all, because of its theoretical complexity, contested social history, and emotional triggers. This course challenges students to engage in courageous conversations about the nature of race and its relations to mind, language, and aesthetics. Students will confront difficult questions such as: What is race? How does race influence human cognition? How does race structure human communication? How does race shape human aesthetic preferences and artistic endeavors? Students use tools developed in different areas of philosophy and its cognate disciplines to construct answers to these difficult questions about race. At the same time, students learn that these difficult questions about race can challenge and extend common conceptions of analytic philosophy.

This course is a study of a number of philosophical and political questions related to gender and with the relation between these two types of questions. The course will be concerned first, with some metaphysical issues concerning gender: What is gender? Are gender terms purely natural categories or are they to some extent socially constructed? Second, with epistemological issues that relate to gender difference: Do women, for example, see the world differently from men? What kind of implications does this have for scientific and philosophical knowledge? Finally, with ethical issues related to gender: Granted that everyone has an equal right to flourishing regardless of gender, are there gender variations related to what constitutes flourishing? To what extent are we culturally biased when we think that those who don't conform to the gender norms of other cultures are oppressed? In investigating questions such as these, the course will consider a diversity of perspectives, exploring intersections between gender and other social categories such as race or class and contrasts among different gender theories.

Conducted as an advanced seminar, the course addresses topics from the history of philosophy, typically concentrating on a major philosopher or philosophical movement. Each student writes and presents a substantial seminar paper related to the course. Representative course topics include Plato, the Stoics, Ancient and Modern Skepticism, Aquinas, Rationalism, Hume, Idealism, Nietzsche, the Pragmatists, and Russell and Wittgenstein.

Conducted as an advanced seminar, the course addresses topics from metaphysics and epistemology, understood to include the philosophy of mind. Each student writes and presents a substantial seminar paper related to the course. Representative course topics include human freedom and the causal order, conceivability and possibility, number and other abstractions, the infinite, a priori knowledge, relativism and truth, knowledge of the self, intentionality, mental causation, and the nature of consciousness.

Conducted as an advanced seminar, the course addresses topics from value theory, understood to include ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, and philosophy of religion. Each student writes and presents a substantial seminar paper related to the course. Representative course topics include sources of normativity, virtues of character and moral rules, personal identity and moral responsibility, objectivity and moral relativism, the role of reason in ethics, critical theory, ethics and psychoanalysis, and religious commitment and civil liberties.

This scheduled weekly interdisciplinary seminar provides the context to reflect on concrete experiences at an off-campus internship site and to link these experiences to academic study relating to the political, psychological, social, economic and intellectual forces that shape our views on work and its meaning. The aim is to integrate study in the liberal arts with issues and themes surrounding the pursuit of a creative, productive, and satisfying professional life. Students receive 1.0 unit of academic credit for the academic work that augments their concurrent internship fieldwork. This course is not applicable to the Upper-Division Graduation Requirement. Only 1.0 unit may be assigned to an individual internship and no more than 2.0 units of internship credit, or internship credit in combination with co-operative education credit, may be applied to an und

All the writings of the New Testament are studied, in order to understand both the critical scholarly questions of date, authorship, purpose, and the impact of these writings and their authors on the emerging Christian community.

This course provides an introduction to the vocabulary, methods, and theoretical assumptions of the academic study of religion. By examining several diverse religious communities and traditions--including Lakota Sioux, Southern Pentecostal, Nation of Islam, and Zen Buddhist--we examine patterns, themes, and issues that scholars commonly encounter across world religions. We also examine how specific communities give voice to themes found within the larger world religion from which they emerge. In each case, particular attention is paid to the role of religion in social justice and salvation movements, and in the formation of individual and group identities.

In addition, this course provides a setting in which to practice and develop critical thinking skills through reading, writing, reflection, and discussion. Students should come away from the course with a greater understanding of critical issues facing religious communities historically and in the world today, with a greater appreciation of the diversity of world religions within the United States, and with a grounding in influential scholarly approaches to the study of religion.

The figure of Jesus has sparked theological debates, artistic expressions, government decrees, religious persecutions, pietistic revivals, and social and moral attitudes, affecting the lives of countless generations. This course addresses an over-arching question throughout the semester: How does an educated person in today's society evaluate such conflicting responses? The course draws on current historical and narrative approaches to understand the 'images' of Jesus in their respective literary, social, and historical contexts. It addresses some of the following questions. What did Jesus mean to the first interpreters? How did the early Christian communities view Jesus? What do the texts reveal about early Christian attitudes towards outsiders (government, different religious groups, social/moral attitudes)? How has Jesus been perceived in Christian tradition (art, literature, theology, ecclesiology) and in the development of western civilization (e.g., literature, the arts, politics, public schools)? The goal is not to give final and definitive answers. Rather, the course seeks 1) to encourage questions regarding the themes, purpose, and significance of the texts; 2) to provide methodological tools to aid such questions; 3) to place these questions and answers amidst the questions and answers of others; and 4) to understand the Jesus traditions both ancient and contemporary in light of their own social, cultural, and literary contexts.

This course surveys the major monotheistic traditions of the world - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - from their origins to the present day. The course fosters an appreciation of the distinctiveness and inner coherence of each of these traditions as well as to discern facets of unity among the three. Religious expression assumes many forms and is considered in traditional theological and philosophical texts as well as in political systems and the arts. The class is conducted as a combination of lecture and discussion.

This course introduces students to some important themes, histories, and ideas in the study of Judaism. It poses the question, "What does it mean to be Jewish?" And it provides multiple, contested answers. It begins with modern American Judaism. In the first weeks, we will study the forms of Jewish religiosity, culture, and art that arose in 20th century America. Then, we will take a giant leap back to study the Hebrew Bible, the Rabbinic traditions, and medieval Jewish philosophy and mysticism. We will pay special attention to themes of sexuality and gender, food, and ritual, particularly as they relate to identity formation.
We will study the relationships between Jews and religious others. As we move into the early modern and modern periods, we will focus on the lived experience of Jews in Europe. Then, we will study the rise of nineteenth and early twentieth century Zionism, anti-Semitism, Nazism, and the Shoah (Holocaust). Before we end, our penultimate stop will be texts on the creation of the State of Israel and theology in the wake of the Shoah. Finally, we will return to America, where we will study the histories and cultures of African American Jews.

This course investigates and attempts to distinguish, identify, and understand the different modes and aspects of the mind and self in yoga, meditation, psychedelics, psychology, neuroscience and philosophy in a variety of cultural contexts. The class examines the fundamental question of identity and the question, "Who am I?" Primary texts include Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Plato's Phaedo and Symposium, Freud's metapsychological essays, Michael Pollan's How to Change Your Mind, and David Presti on the mind/brain problem.

This course provides an introduction to Christianity, or rather, `Christianities.' To understand the diversity within Christianity, the course compares and contrasts various historical and contemporary traditions in Christianity: Gnosticism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, medieval Western Latin Christianity, Protestantism in the sixteenth century, African-American Christianities, Pentecostalism, liberation theology, and Christian fundamentalism in the United States. Students come to realize that there is no one single, monolithic `Christianity,' but instead a variety of Christianities which vary geographically, historically, and culturally. The course also examines the way in which gender, race, and class affect religious perspectives upon the human experience. It concludes by examining two social issues which Christians today debate, homosexuality and the ordination of women.

This course surveys Muslim life and religious movements connected to Islam in North America, tracing the history of Islam on the continent from the Atlantic slave trade to the post-9/11 era. It investigates the many ways in which Islam, as both a religion and an idea, has appeared on the American horizon and in the American imagination. Through course exams, assignments, and papers, students are able to appreciate and reflect concretely in their writing on the cultural and socio-economic differences that have shaped American Muslim views on religion and identity. They do so by citing historic cases, autobiographical testimonies, and current observable practices. Through the briefs and presentations they produce, they also take part in a major semester-long group project in which issues of belonging and community are mapped out in real spaces.

This course takes historical and thematic approaches to studying the complex phenomenon (or phenomena) of Islam. Students in this course seek to understand the development of Islam over time--from the earliest communities in seventh century Arabia through the present day. The course will ask questions about the meaning of prophesy, scripture, and ritual. Additionally, the course will focus on the towering achievements of Islamic thought, including law, literature, and philosophy. Students will study all of these phenomena in their diverse lived contexts, from West Africa to Northwest China. The role of women and of gendered difference are not incidental to this course, or relegated to a specific unit, but are central to how we will think through Islamic history. The latter half of the course will ask how the dramatic events of colonialism altered (or did not alter) the meanings, perceptions, and practices of Islam. Beyond written texts, the course will explore some of the sights and sounds that comprise Muslim life worlds. Through these issues and materials, students will get a small but well-placed window onto the manifold meanings of Islam in the lives of its practitioners.

This course teaches students to understand Islamophobia and antisemitism as historical, social, and cultural phenomena. It takes up both local and global examples of these phenomena. As students encounter the materials about the separate and entwined histories of these two phenomena, they will be asked to reflect on the degree to which antisemitism and Islamophobia should be considered under a shared rubric or in the same course. Embedded in this question are several historical, epistemological, and political questions: are these phenomena historically linked to the degree that they should be studied together? Can these phenomena be understood to be similar enough to one another and different enough from other forms of bias, hatred, and oppression that they should be studied together? What are the political and ethical stakes of approaching these as related topics? The course puts the classroom in relationship to the world. Students will gather information about incidents of Islamophobia and antisemitism have occurred on our campus and others. They will think critically about the links between these local cases and global cases, across time. Additionally, the course asks students to assess models that institutions, individuals, and organizations have developed to address these forms of hate. Therefore, this course asks students to critically reflect on the relationship between academic knowledge and practice in anti-bias work.

What makes a religious movement new? Why do we use this designation for some movements and not others? This course will examine a series of new religious movements that have emerged within the last 150 years: The Native American Church, Scientology, the Nation of Islam, the Raelians, Neo-Pagan Witchcraft, Scientology, Rajneesh, the Branch Davidians, Falun Gong, Jonestown, UFO movements, and Heaven's Gate. In the process, we will examine the relationship between NRMs and consumer society and new technologies. We will also focus on how gender, sexuality and race shape the beliefs and practices within NRMs. In the course of our discussion, we will ask: why is it that religion has not in fact waned as a global force but instead become even more powerful? Why do some religious movements become linked to political violence and terrorism? As we will see, however, the so-called "New" is perhaps not so very new after all, but in many ways simply the latest expression of a long tradition of religious belief in the United States.

This course examines Korean religions and culture through anthropological, sociological, and historical analysis. It surveys major religious traditions of Korea (i.e. shamanism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity) and several new religious movements including Tonghak, Unification Church, and North Korea's Juche. The course examines impacts of Korean religions on social, political, and economic change in contemporary Korea society. The class explores a variety of religious elements that are deeply embedded in contemporary Korean culture through an examination of Korean film. Topics covered include Korean food and religion, evangelical Protestantism and gender, family ritual, geomancy, the democratic movement, Korean music, the Korean wave, traditional Korean medicine, Korean diaspora, and Korean religious views on afterlife. Course materials include Korean films, television shows, and other visual materials.

This course explores the major expressions of religion in Japanese culture and history, including both popular and elite forms of religious practice and thought. Because Japan is home to a range of religious traditions, the course explores the various forms that have appeared there not only of Buddhism and Shinto, but also of Taoism, Confucianism, and even Christianity. A primary goal of this course is to develop both an empathetic understanding of Japanese religion and a critical appraisal of its expression in particular historical and cultural contexts. Throughout the course ample time is devoted to the role of aesthetics in Japanese religion (in film, literature, art, and ritual) as well as to the various ways that religion and the Japanese state have interacted over time.

This course provides an introduction to the wide range of religious beliefs and practices that have emerged over the course of Chinese history. Topics covered include not only the classic traditions Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, but also such broader examples of religious expression as oracle bone inscriptions, medieval ghost stories, and contemporary practices in longevity. Throughout the course students explore how those in China have understood the world religiously, and how scholars have interpreted the diverse world of Chinese religion. Some of the questions include: What has it meant to be a human in China? What other spirits, ghosts, and divinities inhabit the Chinese religious world? What is included and what is excluded when we use the term 'religion,' or even 'China'? How do cultural, historical, and political changes affect religious experience, or a person's understanding of 'ultimate reality'? A primary goal of the course is to develop a broad understanding both of Chinese religious history and of contemporary issues involving religion in China.

This course investigates the ethical dilemmas and health law during pandemics. It covers various ethical issues regarding health equity, prevention, containment, cure, and management. In the US, the coronavirus pandemic has exposed health inequities that are propelled by racism and structural injustice. The course explores racial health disparities and the disproportionate and devastating impacts of the Covid19 pandemic on people of color, immigrants, and marginalized groups. It investigates how U.S. religious communities have understood the pandemic and responded to the pandemic. Writing assignments, group exercises, and a final project promote students to engage in health communication. Students examine various case studies and stories of marginalized groups by challenging many Eurocentric assumptions of mainstream bioethics today. Course topics may include race and health inequities, medical exploitation of African Americans in the US, disease stigma, vulnerabilities of essential workers, Covid19 and xenophobia, social distancing, wearing masks, stay-at-home orders, PPE shortages, disability and triage, surveillance technology governance, vaccine acceptance, immunity passports, and reopening schools and workplaces. The class design utilizes a participatory, student-centered approach to classroom learning. Course materials include films, news media, legal cases, and public health literature.

From zombies to hurricanes to the rapture, apocalyptic narratives of how the world ends and what comes after have stimulated literary and religious imaginations for over 2000 years. Often, apocalyptic stories tell us more about the conditions, social fears and anxieties in which they are produced than about any anticipated future. This course explores religious, literary, pop cultural, technological, environmental and catastrophic ideas about the apocalypse and millennium. Why are apocalyptic narratives so enduring in American culture? Why do apocalyptic movements so often employ violence to usher in the end? Finally, what kind of worlds do some forms of apocalyptic thinking imagine? Are they utopias, dystopias or both?

This course provides students with tools of ethical analysis so that they can think critically about pressing contemporary moral issues through the lens of justice. The course focuses on ethical methods from world Christianity and western philosophy. The course introduces both ethical theories and justice theories, and examines multicultural perspectives of the long-standing religious, theological, and philosophical understanding of justice. It analyzes how social justice concepts have been applied in different cultural contexts, including nonwestern communities. Students examine different models of justice and their implications for contemporary moral issues (e.g. racism, healthcare, social welfare, capital punishment, human rights, immigration, refugees, property rights, and the environment). The class includes interactive lectures on justice theories and students actively participate in discussions on selected case studies. Course readings may include excerpts from Aristotle, Aquinas, Mill, Locke, Calvin, Kant, Rawls, Sandel, Nussbaum, Singer, Cone, Williams, Hauerwas, and Ahn.

How does social change happen? Religious groups were central to many instances of transformative social activism like the Civil Rights movement, Feminism and Occupy Wall Street. This course addresses how religious beliefs, identities, affiliations, and practices shape social activism and justice in the United States and the world. The class examines the multiple ways that religion intersects with power and resistance with particular attention to how religion acts as a resource and identity for enacting both reformative and radical social change. The course uses history, fiction, sociology and theory to examine religion in both conservative and progressive movements including Immigrant rights, Prison Abolition, the Civil Rights movement, white supremacy past and present, suffrage and voting rights, reproductive rights, #MeToo and Black Lives Matter. Students will have the opportunity to do oral histories of people involved in religious activism and study a movement or group in depth.

This course is an introduction to public health ethics in health policy and bioethics. It explores a broad spectrum of legal and public health contexts to demonstrate how religious and cultural factors affect health. Students analyze religion and culture as social determinants of health in various case studies. Case studies range from tobacco control laws to public health in religious communities. Course topics include vaccination, HIV/AIDS, sex education, racism and health, recreational use of cannabis, health of refugees, genetically modified organisms, drug pricing, gene patenting, PTSD, food policy, tobacco control, alternative medicine, and experiences with spirituality and healing. The class design utilizes a participatory, student-centered approach to classroom learning. Course materials include religious literature, legal cases, and public health literature.

This course examines Western philosophical and religious understandings of moral issues brought on by advances in health care, science and technology. In this course, students will learn the "Principles approach" to bioethics, as well as other ethical approaches to the difficult moral issues raised by contemporary medical science and its clinical applications. To that end, case analysis will be used extensively in this course. The course is designed to help facilitate connections for students between medical/scientific advances, ethics, religious values, and American public policy about technology and health care. Each class session will alternate between theoretical and medical/scientific considerations, and the concreteness of bioethical case analyses.

This course examines various religious, cultural, legal, feminist, and ethical issues surrounding reproduction and assisted reproductive technologies. It analyzes tensions related to curtailing or enhancing fertility in the United States. The course surveys how religious beliefs, cultural contexts, and laws have influenced patients' reproductive decisions, clinicians' medical decisions, and the reproductive healthcare system. Moral issues surveyed in this course may include Dobbs v. Jackson, contraception, abortion, prenatal diagnosis, assisted reproduction, surrogacy, genetic engineering in assisted reproduction, reproductive justice, LGBTQ reproductive rights, and activism for inclusive reproductive health services. Students actively participate in discussion, debate, and role-playing based on assigned readings. Readings include religious texts, bioethics literature, feminist literature, film, and legal cases.

What do the lamb of God and White Buffalo Woman have in common? For one thing, they illustrate the sometimes-blurry intersection of humans, animals, and the divine; for another, they illustrate the powerful role played by animals in the religious imagination. As the French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss once remarked, "animals are good to think." As others have pointed out, they're also good to eat, ride, look at, hunt, train for battle, make things out of, and keep as companions. In religion, animals have additionally served as sacrificial offerings, totems, signifiers of purity and pollution, and foreshadowers of the apocalypse. In this class students begin to trace the vast interplay between human and non-human animals in the history of religion. Drawing from the emerging field of Critical Animal Studies, Japanimals weaves together rigorous critical theoretical inquiry with case studies drawn broadly from the history of religions, with a particular focus on case studies from Japan. Students emerge from this course able to articulate how different religious traditions have viewed animals, how religions have influenced modern conceptions of animals, and how religious traditions may (or may not) provide resources for addressing contemporary challenges facing human and non-human animals.

This course explores the intertwined histories of religion and sexuality in the twentieth- and twenty-first century United States, with attention to transnational contexts and global politics. These two categories--religion and sexuality--are often portrayed as oppositional forces, with sexual progress pitted against religious resistance. This course reappraises this relationship of opposition through a series of historical case studies, which highlight the plurality of religious investments in changing constructions and practices of sexuality.

The seminar focuses on the thought of Walter Benjamin, including a selection of texts commonly referred to as Benjamin's "messianic" or "theological" writings. Benjamin's life, work, and influence represent a remarkable nexus of aesthetic theory, cultural critique, Western Marxism, and Jewish mysticism. The course is especially aimed at laying bare the messianic structure of his thought as most clearly demonstrated in his early essays "Critique of Violence" and "The Task of the Translator," both published during his lifetime in 1921 and 1923. Themes include: a-theology, messianic time, utopia, apocalypse, redemption, political-theology, dialectical image, profane life, "bare life," nihilism, violence, transcendence, and the destructive character.

What is the relationship between the university and the prison? How does college in prison raise questions of authority, power and privilege? This is an experiential learning class that combines involvement in a college program at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) and academic classes and readings. Students read texts on the history of prisons, theories of punishment, higher education in prison, and how the intersection of race, gender and sexuality impact the experience of incarceration and education in prison. Students also participate as research partners and study hall co-learners with students at the prison in collaboration with the Freedom Education Project Puget Sound (FEPPS), a signature initiative of the University of Puget Sound. Through collaboration with FEPPS students, students in this class will gain knowledge about the challenges and benefits of the liberal arts in prison.

Many of the distinctive features of the modern Western legal tradition can be traced to medieval Europe and itd religious beliefs and practices. International law, law on the European continent, and law in nations following the Anglo-American tradition have been deeply colored by the assumptions and arguments of medieval canon law, the law regulating the Latin Catholic Church. This courses discusses legal developments in Europe during the medieval period. Topics covered include sin and crime, natural law, and law governing marriage and sexual norms. The course examines how canonical norms and ideas influenced secular law in the Middle Ages and how they have continued to shape Western law and legal theory up to the present.

REL 204, 210, or 363 or HIST 102, 302, or 303 would be helpful preparation.

This course acquaints students with major Jewish thinkers in the modern and contemporary periods. The course begins by asking what makes a thinker Jewish? What makes a Jewish thinker modern? After a brief overview of major themes in Jewish ethics, students begin their exploration with a study of Baruch Spinoza's rationalist challenge to Judaism that results in the quintessential modern question, who is a Jew? Students then turn to Jewish responses to the Enlightenment, emancipation, nationalism, and new forms of antisemitism. These responses include a variety of Zionists, socialist Jews, existentialists such as Martin Buber, and mystics and social activists such as Abraham Joshua Heschel. The course then studies post-Holocaust Jewish ethicists, Jewish feminists, and contending views on Jewish liberation.

Notwithstanding the many attempts around the world to separate them, the spheres of law and religion repeatedly overlap in their histories and will continue to intersect into the foreseeable future. Both spheres reflect the deepest of humanistic concerns; both serve as arenas for contesting and projecting the authority of individuals, institutions, and texts within all human contexts. Law and religion chart the contours of our personal, social, and civilizational identities along with the relationships between these identities and their relation to the other, both in its sentient and non-sentient forms. This seminar examines the intersection of law and religion within a broad sampling of historical and contemporary contexts. It does so with the goal of identifying the questions and debates that account for these intersections. The first half of the course surveys the most influential legal systems that are grounded in what is known conventionally as a religious tradition. The second part of the course turns its attention to what is known conventionally as secular models of law to discern how such models define religion and locate themselves in relation to it.

This course approaches the subject of sexuality in the Christian tradition by focusing on three broad periods ' early Christianity, the Middle Ages, and today. Within each era, students investigate questions of virginity, chastity, marriage, and non-normative sexualities (such as homosexuality). Students enlist a diverse selection of primary and secondary sources ' theoretical and historical. Through this fascinating exploration of Christianity and sexuality, students witness a dizzying variety of ways that sexualities have been lived, accepted, utilized, and interpreted. Furthermore, students develop a richer understanding of what sexuality has meant to Christianity over the ages and why it matters so much.

This course examines multiple configurations of and debates about gender and sexuality in Muslim societies. Topics covered include gender in the Qur'an, sex in Sufi poetry, Islamic laws on sexuality and gendered difference, masculinity, non-binary genders, and queerness in disparate Muslim contexts. The course will also explore links between some feminisms and imperialism, the ways that colonialism has shaped gendered discourses, and the ties between Islamophobia, homophobia, and foreign interventionism. Students will be immersed in art, ethnographic accounts, legal literature, theology, and film about these topics.

This course examines relationships between religious traditions, the "state," and nationalism in Japanese history. Through careful study of primary and secondary sources, the course explores early symbiosis between religious rites and governance; the role of Shinto and Buddhism in legitimating systems of government centered on the emperor or warrior elites; religious components in modern Japanese imperialism; challenges to the separation of religion and the state in post-war Japan; civil religion; and cultural nationalism.

Should American religious history be told as story of increasing diversity and freedom? This course surveys the changing meanings of religious freedom in the United States from the early nation to the present day. Students consider key primary sources--founding documents, court cases, political cartoons, accusations, and apologetics--and weigh these alongside the arguments of scholars in religious studies. These include historian William Hutchinson, who argues that pluralism in the United States is an ongoing legacy of the nation's founders, as well as law professor Winifred Fallers Sullivan, who contends that the structures intended to protect religious expression have made religious freedom a practical impossibility. Students develop their own arguments in this debate through a research project that analyzes a historical or contemporary controversy over religious freedom.

A study of the origin and development of Buddhism. Special emphasis is given to the history of Buddhist thought, the evolution of the primary schools of Buddhism, and the question of cultural influence on Buddhist expansion. Sources for study are drawn from Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese texts in translation.

This course examines the origin and development of religion in South Asian antiquity. Study focuses on the mythology and symbology of the Vedic textual corpus, the rise of ritual ideologies, and the meaning and influence of the yogic vision. In addition to Vedic texts, the course may include study of mythic epics (Mahabharata and Ramayana) and non-Vedic myths that appear in the Puranas.

A study of the various systems of myth, ritual, symbol, and thought that have significantly contributed to the development of Hinduism after the Vedic period. The approach of the course is primarily textual, examining a wide range of scriptural sources from the Hindu traditions.

This course examines and engages influential theories and approaches to the study of religion developed by scholars with diverse intellectual views. Through theoretical readings and case studies, students receive a broad grounding in classical and contemporary theories of religion, including comparative psychoanalytic, anthropological, feminist, and postmodern approaches. In addition to locating religious studies within wider intellectual movements, the course is designed to help students articulate the values and assumptions they bring to their own studies of religion.

Traces of mystical Islam, or Sufism, fill the poetry shelves of chain bookstores. Quotes attributed to the Sufi poets Rumi and Hafiz grace tea bags, calendars, and any number of tchotchkes available at big box stores around the country. The US government has identified Sufism as the "tolerant" face of Islam and funneled millions into its promotion. But how much does any of this really say about the complex set of people, practices, and ideas called Sufism? Students in this course encounter Sufism from its earliest instantiation to today. They learn about how Sufis sought to understand and experience God. They meet Sufis who were put to death for ideas deemed to be heretical and others who led anti-colonial military struggles. They come to understand how Sufism has been central to Muslim history; and they see how it continues to be deeply resonant in the lives of devotees from India to West Africa to the contemporary United States.

Mysticism describes a variety of ways in which humans endeavor to encounter the divine directly. The Christian tradition has a long history of mystical encounters, which are founded in the Hebrew Scriptures and in Paul's experience on the road to Damascus. As a text-based religion, Christianity has a complicated relationship with mysticism, since mysticism tends to focus on the directly experiential rather than the textual. And, even as they claimed that such experiences transcended language and expression, mystics often sought to express their experiences. This course examines the ways in which a mystical tradition developed in Christianity, and in which particular metaphors and images came to hold sway. In doing so, it pays attention to the wider social and political context in which the authors wrote and lived, and asks whether these mystics, particularly women, were able to acquire authority and charisma outside of the Church hierarchy. The course thus examines the ways in which mystics occupied an ambivalent space in Western Christianity. The clerical hierarchy has historically sought to limit charisma and prophecy. Mystics thus both threatened the official hierarchy, which sought to limit charisma, but also, sometimes, reinforced the status quo. Questions about power, the body, textuality, charisma, social structures, and authority will be central to our investigation of the Christian mystical tradition.

This course surveys the major developments in Christian history from its origins up to the current day. In the first half of the course, the focus is on patterns of Christian thought including institutional changes and social context up to 1500 CE. Although this is largely a story of the clerical hierarchy in the Latin West, wherever possible the course emphasizes the role of lay persons, women and Eastern Christianity. In the second half of the course, the focus is on the challenges to Christianity posed by modernity including the Protestant movement, the Enlightenment, the New World, and the liberation movement among women, minorities, and third world peoples. Readings are from both primary and secondary sources.

An in-depth study of feminist theory, theology, and ethics, and the role such theories have played in western social and religious thought. Among the issues explored are justice, violence, the body, sexuality, knowledge, power. Prior work in religion, gender studies, comparative sociology, philosophy, or feminist political theory is helpful, as well as a facility with writing.

How are living and dying understood in contemporary critical theory and religious studies? In what ways are the lives and deaths of humans and nonhumans governed by economic logics? Whose lives are privileged over others and with what consequences? How are certain bodies made killable and others grievable? How are precarity and vulnerability related to fear and violence? How do we live and die well, and who has this privilege? This seminar interrogates these and other questions with attention to race, gender, species, ability, and other sites of perceived difference. This course asks students to theorize real-world moments of living and dying -- of 'making live' and 'letting die' -- to understand the deeply political nature of life and death as differential moments on a continuum of being. Students can expect to explore pressing contemporary issues such as mass incarceration, solitary confinement and 'civil death;' slavery and commodifying life; end-of-life care and euthanasia; and the role of the visual in torture at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.

While the field of religious studies frequently focuses on belief and the intellectual development of religious traditions, this course shifts its focus to the body and its importance for the study of religion. The class examines the role of the body as a vehicle through which individuals experience "the sacred," and as a site upon which communities inscribe, assert, and contest religious values. Taking a comparative approach toward cases drawn from Buddhism, Christianity, and indigenous traditions, the class explores such themes as the perfectible body, the body in pain, bodily relics, the body in ritual, and transcending the body altogether. Finally, by drawing on classical and contemporary theorists, students work to develop their own frameworks through which to understand and interpret the crucial role of the body in the history of religions.

This course explores the relationships between conceptions of humanity, non-human nature, and religion from the vantage point of our era of climate change and environmental destruction. Proceeding from the insight that this era troubles easy notions of human separateness and superiority, students in the course ask how communities of religious practitioners and theorists understand this moment and seek to reorient human life amongst the earthlings.

"Anthropocene" is a term that refers to the geological epoch marked by human domination of Earth. The term has been critiqued from a variety of scientific and non-scientific perspectives. Some have pointed out that the generic notion of "humanity" conceals the fact that not all people are equally responsible for the current crisis. Others have suggested that the term perpetuates the notion that humans are all powerful, even god-like, in their control of the environment. This course takes up these critiques, first, from the perspective of pre-modern religious texts that already destabilized the separation between humans and non-human nature. Then, it looks to how some modern theories of politics rested on theological notions of human dominion over the earth. Finally, students analyze how knowledges about environmental degradation have led people to reengage their traditions and practices towards new forms of survival and becoming.

The modern human is fully immersed in a seemingly immanent technological world. Although the instrumentalization of technology in forms of state and non-state violence in the modern era -- including war, colonialization, concentration camps, detention centers, IEDs, and so on -- cannot be denied or underestimated, the psychic violence and ontological deformation of the human through the technology of the quotidian remains undertheorized. The event, results and veiled contradictions of this quotidian technological capture remain largely mystified, unseen, and unexamined. The seminar will investigate aspects of advanced technology's impact on the modern and post-modern human, including the tendency toward the neutralization and depoliticization of society predicted and theorized by the political philosopher Carl Schmitt in the early twentieth century. Our investigation concludes with the question of possible modes of the ontotheological redemption of the human in a world of total technological instrumentalization. Key authors in our study include Carl Schmitt, Theodore Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, Frantz Fanon, Giorgio Agamben, Achille Mbembe, and Byung-Chul Han.

This advanced seminar for Religion majors takes up the question of what place (if any) religious and social ethics has in postmodern culture. In other words, what characterizes postmodernity and what has been its effects on the discipline of ethics? Are there any prospects for a common morality given the realities of post-structuralist deconstruction? How will one determine the appropriateness of an ethic for postmodern culture?

This advanced seminar theorizes the intersections of religion and technology as a critical site for exploring broad topics in religious studies. The course will take various approaches to relations among religion, technique, and knowledge production: we examine rhetorical constructions of the religious and the technological; explore religious influences on invention and scientific progress; analyze spiritual ideals and contemporary machines; and theorize ways that religious practices and traditions operate as techniques and specialized knowledges. Course topics will include steam-propelled engines and electromagnetism, physical regimens and body modification, cartography and cyberspace, confession and self-help. With attention to interdisciplinary method, students will also work on a specific project throughout the semester that proceeds through topic selection, question formulation, research, analysis, and argumentation to produce a final research paper.

This course examines migrations and lived religion in the era of globalization from multiple disciplinary perspectives (e.g. sociological, anthropological, ethical, historical, and theological) in both local and global locations (e.g. Seattle, Asia, Latin America). It explores lived experiences of religious beliefs and practices in the context of migrations (including immigration, internal migration, rural-urban migration). This course focuses on the "hybrid" religious forms in the postcolonial world in the interactions between religion and ethnicity, race, class, and gender. Students will analyze various religious practices in terms of the role of material culture, the engagement of community, lived ethics, and the embodied religious experience. The course materials include a range of case studies that show lived experiences of immigrant communities and indigenous communities in non-Western religious traditions. In the first half of the semester, students will learn theories and case studies. In the second half of the semester, students will apply theory, conduct their own research, analyze a case, and make an argument in speaking and writing.

This seminar is organized around themes and topics that are of special interest to the study of religion. The seminar is offered on an occasional basis and the topic is determined in advance by the instructor.

This course combines linguistic functions and structures with culture through an integration of listening, speaking, reading and writing activities. The course concentrates on improving oral fluency in Spanish by using the topics of Spanish and Latin American films, and their illustration of language in cultural context for class discussion.

SPAN 205 introduces students to different variations (or dialects) of the Spanish language, paying special attention to the Spanish spoken in the United States (also known as Spanglish). It explores Spanglish through the voices of its speakers, as well as through texts and videos, facilitating reflections on why some varieties of Spanish, such as Spanglish, are perceived as less prestigious. The course also incorporates regular activities that practice intermediate and advanced grammar topics.

This course examines the importance of various food products in the development of the original civilizations of the American continent, and the impact that the crops imported by the colonizers have had on the destruction of human cultures and natural ecosystems. Crops native to the Americas (corn, potato, tomato, squash, beans, cacao) and those introduced during colonial times (sugarcane, rice, coffee, bananas), have defined the modern world's foodscapes and have shaped the culture, the history, the economy and the politics of countries around the world. The course will focus on corn in particular, examining its farming, harvesting and cooking methods throughout history, reviewing religious myths and cultural traditions connected to it, and studying its presence and relevance in today's food industry and in our daily lives.

This course introduces students to the culture and civilization of Spain with emphasis on the history, art and prevalent cultural myths and practices integral to the development of the Spanish nation. This course considers the relevance of these cultural elements within an Hispanic context and a global perspective.

This course introduces the student to the culture and civilization of Latin America, with an emphasis on the history, visual art, music, and prevalent cultural myths integral to the civilizations and cultures of the region. The course considers the relevance of these cultural elements within a Hispanic context and a larger world perspective.

SPAN 310 offers in-depth study of literary and cultural topics in the Spanish-speaking world that are interdisciplinary in nature, multiregional in approach, and genre inclusive. As such, it incorporates short story, poetry, drama, essay, and film, and it covers several regions, including but not limited to the Southern Cone, Central America, the Caribbean, and Spain. Potential topics for this rubric are advanced culture courses, literatures of the periphery, narratives of the migration experience, advanced translation, linguistics, or any course which is interdisciplinary in nature. In addition to learning about the concrete topic of the class, students develop their critical skills, and improve their speaking, reading, and writing skills in Spanish. Because content will change, this course may be repeated for credit.

A panoramic survey of the literature of the Americas. The texts studied in the course reflect literary developments up to the present. Works to be discussed illustrate cultural elements that are evidenced in today's society. Latine Literature written in the United States may also be included.

A panoramic survey of Spanish literature from the early modern period to the present. Works to be discussed illustrate cultural, political, and social issues critical in the development of Spanish literature. This course has a multimedia component.

This course considers the main cultural and literary issues of the Hispanic world as represented in the short story. Writers from both sides of the Atlantic are studied with emphasis on the close reading and analysis of the texts.

This course examines poetry as an authentic expression of Hispanic literature. Writers from Spain and Latin America are studied with emphasis on the close reading and analysis of their poems, the study of meter, rhyme, and other elements of prosody, as well as writing critically about poetry.

An overview of Spanish cinema since the Civil War to the present. All films are studied in reference to the historical developments in Spain from 1939 to the present. Works by Berlanga, Buñuel, Saura, and Almodóvar are screened. Course includes required screening lab.

This course surveys Latin American cinema, with a particular emphasis on contemporary films. The acquisition of technical vocabulary will facilitate a careful examination of the selected works. Together with literary, critical, and theoretical texts, this analysis will lead to a broader discussion about the key cultural and social issues of the region.

This course covers approximately 200 years of Spanish drama. Students read complete dramas from several of Spain's most prolific playwrights while covering the major literary movements and tendencies of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

This course explores major theatre pieces of the twentieth century and is organized around important theatrical centers in Latin America and the study of terminology related to the theatre. The two largest units focus on Argentina and Mexico, but the course also covers plays from Chile, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and some Chicano works. The growing importance of performance theory and art is included in the coursework.

This course explores the relationship between documentary film and social movements in Latin America and Spain. Students analyze a series of 20th and 21st century social documentaries in their respective historical and political contexts, paying special attention to the techniques utilized by filmmakers and audiences to intervene in the public sphere. In the process, they become familiar with the conventions of different schools of documentary filmmaking in Spain and Latin America as well as the rationale behind the use of specific film techniques. This course fosters community-engaged learning and it satisfies the experiential learning graduation requirement. It combines film theory with hands-on experience in documentary filmmaking. Students expand on the concepts discussed in class by learning how to produce short documentary films that explore a social issue that affects Tacoma. As such this course requires significant out-of-class engagement with our local communities.

A study of the major genres of Hispanic literature through close analyses of selected masterpieces. This class prepares the student for more advanced studies in literary and cultural studies.

This course explores the human experience of migration, exile, and/or diaspora by offering an overview of some of the more significant migration processes within the Spanish-speaking world, and by exploring the social, political, historical, economic and intellectual implications of those processes. The class consists of close readings of literary works in several genres, including poetry, plays, short stories and essays, and the screening of several films. It also includes readings on cultural aspects of and theoretical approaches to this phenomenon. Readings and visual texts are in Spanish and/or English, and all discussion and testing is in Spanish.

How do new ways of seeing and being seen shape the divergent experiences of modernity in Latin America? This is the basic question that SPAN 322 asks by examining a series of case studies that roughly span the last two hundred years of its history. "Modernity" is an object of much debate, but might be provisionally defined as the competing accounts of the major sociopolitical, economic, and cultural processes shaping our world. Traditionally, the foundational literary works of the so-called "lettered city" have been the sources privileged by scholars to understand Latin American modernities. Drawing on recent scholarship, this course adopts the interdisciplinary approach known as "visual culture" in order to understand how emergent technologies and their attendant practices have been instrumental in constructing and critiquing particular configurations of power. These may include photography, pavilions at international expositions, museums, performance art, and multimedia spectacles.

This course will provide students with an overview of Iberian feminism from a transatlantic perspective (Spain-the Americas). First, we will examine the origins of Iberian feminisms, paying special attention to transatlantic literary networks and spaces. In doing so, we will discuss key concepts around feminism and/or women's writing: the struggle over women's rights; women as a labor force and consumers; models of gender identity and nation building; sexual liberation, etc. Second, we will analyze the major global debates and challenges within contemporary feminisms (transfeminism, decolonial feminisms, ecofeminism or pinkwashing) and their articulation in the Iberian context. We will cover a variety of feminist artifacts and practices (short fiction, manifestos, performance, memoirs, poetry, strikes, etc.) with emphasis on how and why these texts often blur genre conventions.

This course analyzes the relationship between art, race, science, and sexuality in Latin America. In particular, we study the development of Eugenics in Mexico in the first three decades of the 20th century. The course is divided into four sections: first, we explore the historical development of Eugenics. Then, we examine the history of Eugenics in Latin America. Next, we focus our investigation on the Mexican School of Eugenics. In the final section, we scrutinize the influence of Eugenics in the 1925 and 1932 Mexican debates concerning art, literature, and nationalism -- emphasizing the connection between body taxonomies and artistic productions.

This course surveys roughly one hundred years of Latin American film, from 1896 to the present, with a focus on feature-length narrative films. As its title suggests -- a riff on the title of Gabriel García Márquez's celebrated novel -- its overarching theme is the role film has played in shaping collective identities (national, racial, sexual, etc.) throughout the region. That is, this course tracks the development of film as a technology and as a form of artistic expression in Latin America, as well as the social, political, and economic realities that it represents and shapes.

Synthesis of various aspects of literary studies. Topics to meet special needs. Since content changes, this course may be repeated for credit.

An intensive study of selected works reflecting the intellectual, political, and aesthetic changes in Spain from 1140 to 1499 AD.

This course examines the relationship between culture and politics in nineteenth century Latin America. Studying foundational works of Latin American literature alongside other, oft-ignored cultural artifacts, it traces the role of the people in the rise of the modern nation-state.

A survey of Spanish literature between its two golden ages; close reading of selected texts; consideration of the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Realism in a Spanish context; and examination of interplay among society, politics, art, and literature.

In this course, students examine how post-dictatorial Spain (from 1975 to present) remembers competing accounts of a recent violent past. First, the class analyzes a series of transatlantic cultural artifacts that constructed the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the anti-Francoist resistance as international battles against Fascism. Second, the class concentrates on the ways in which contemporary memory artifacts (films, graphic novels, memoirs, etc.) thematize ideological battles in gender, sexual, and racial terms, paying close attention to the divergent articulations of these conflicts by peripheral nationalisms within Spain (Catalonia, Basque Country and Galicia).

This course focuses on the exploitation of the land and the people of Latin America by the global agro-industrial complex, as seen through its literature. Students examine three novels that detail the power dynamics at play in the growing and harvesting of cash crops (in particular sugar, coffee, and bananas) grown in a plantation system exclusively for exportation. These narratives depict the basic tensions that both define and undermine their communities, and serve as allegories of the region's past and present. We read, discuss, and research these novels alongside other textual and cultural artifacts, as well as a corpus of contemporary scholarship, in order to understand both specific historical moments as well as the broader sociopolitical processes common to the region that we know today as Latin America. Central to the course is the power dynamics at play in the construction of historical narratives, racial justice, and collective memory; the systems of oppression that privilege certain stories while silencing others; the resistance to remembering a violent past that continues to shape the political present; and the potential of memory as a tool for resistance.

This course surveys roughly one hundred years of Latin American film, from 1896 to the present, with a focus on feature-length narrative films. As its title suggests -- a riff on the title of Gabriel García Márquez's celebrated novel -- its overarching theme is the role film has played in shaping collective identities(national, racial, sexual, etc.) throughout the region. That is, this course tracks the development of film as a technology and as a form of artistic expression in Latin America, as well as the social, political, and economic realities that it represents and shapes.

This course provides students with an overview of Iberian feminism from a transatlantic perspective (Spain-the Americas). The class starts with an examination of the origins of Iberian feminisms that pays special attention to transatlantic literary networks and spaces. In the process, students are introduced to key concepts around feminism and/or women's writing: the struggle over women's rights; women as a labor force and consumers; models of gender identity and nation building; sexual liberation, etc. The second part of the course is centered around the major global debates within contemporary feminisms (transfeminism, decolonial feminisms, ecofeminism or pinkwashing) and their articulation in the Iberian context. This course covers a variety of feminist artifacts and practices (short fiction, manifestos, performance, memoirs, poetry, strikes, etc.) with emphasis on how and why these texts often blur genre conventions.

Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.

Independent Study is available to students wishing to complete study in a topic not covered by a regular course.

This course explores the history of public health in the U.S. In doing so the course examines debates regarding the following: the goals of public health, the role of quantitative and qualitative methods and sciences in describing and assessing a
population's health, the nature of evidence, the environmental and biological factors that influence health, the relation of public health to biomedicine, and the social determinants of health. Throughout, the course examines both the history of racism,
sexism, classism, and ableism in the field of public health (and biomedicine) and the history of efforts to make public health more equitable and inclusive.

In this course, students explore the aesthetics and traditions of the theatrical art form through studies in acting, directing, design, playwriting, dramaturgy, spectatorship, and theatre history. Students encounter the diversity and complexity of the theatre making process by way of readings, lectures, discussions, play going, and workshop performances of scenes. Using critical and analytical tools studied over the course of the semester, students learn ways of exploring the theatrical experience both orally and in writing.

In this introductory course, students collaborate in the rehearsal and performance of scenes from contemporary plays. They engage mind, body, and voice in the fundamentals of acting: behaving truthfully in imaginary circumstances. In doing so, students develop greater confidence and awareness of the body and the voice as flexible instruments of communication. They acquire skills in relaxation, concentration, creativity, script analysis, and action execution, along with an introductory understanding of the Stanislavsky system of acting. Participation includes rigorous physical activity, vocal exercises, theatre games, improvisation, and scene work. All levels of experience welcome. Students must also register for the 215 lab.

This course introduces students to materials and methods used in the execution of designs for the stage. Projects provide hands-on experience with shop equipment for construction of two- and three- dimensional scenery, theatrical drafting, color mixing, scenic painting, and in the business of planning, scheduling, and organizing crews and the scenery shop for production. Reading assignments introduce major reference books in technical theatre and students begin the study of the history of scenery and technical practice.

Through the lens of tradition and innovation, students explore contemporary theatre of the African Diaspora with an emphasis on the plays of Suzan-Lori Parks. Students in this and all contemporary world theatre courses engage with and collaborate in a set of informed, imaginative explorations of plays with a particular emphasis on dramatic action. They work toward the completion of this goal 1) by investigating, in light of performance, a play's dramaturgy both from within (formally) and from without (historically, culturally); 2) by cutting, arranging, and producing scenes from plays they are studying; 3) by discovering formal and thematic threads that run through the plays, readings, and topics of the class; 4) by considering ways to increase the breadth and depth of theatre productions at Puget Sound through course work grounded in the Knowledge, Identity, and Power rubric. Although contemporary world theatre classes have similar learning outcomes and a common methodology, the plays and fields of study (e.g. African Diaspora, Asian Theatres, Voices of the Americas) differ from one class to another. Taught in rotation with THTR 252, 254, and 256.

Through the lens of tradition and innovation, students explore the dramaturgy of Asian theatres from classic forms (e.g. - Noh drama) to contemporary plays by Asian American/Canadian authors. Students in this and all contemporary world theatre courses engage with and collaborate in a set of informed, imaginative explorations of plays with a particular emphasis on dramatic action. They work toward the completion of this goal (1) by investigating, in light of performance, a play's dramaturgy both from within (formally) and from without (historically, culturally); (2) by cutting, arranging, and producing scenes from plays they are studying; (3) by discovering formal and thematic threads that run through the plays, readings, and topics of this class; (4) by considering ways to increase the breadth and depth of theatre productions at Puget Sound through course work grounded in the Knowledge, Identity, and Power rubric. Although contemporary world theatre classes have similar learning outcomes and a common methodology, the plays and fields of study (e.g., African Diaspora, Asian Theatres, Voices of the Americas) differ from one class to another. Taught in rotation with THTR 250, 254, and 256.

Through the lens of tradition and innovation, students explore the dramaturgy of contemporary theatre from the Americas, north and south, including plays that speak to Latina/o experience. Students in this and all contemporary world theatre courses engage with and collaborate in a set of informed, imaginative explorations of plays with a particular emphasis on dramatic action. They work toward the completion of this goal (1) by investigating, in light of performance, a play's dramaturgy both from within (formally) and from without (historically, culturally); (2) by cutting, arranging, and producing scenes from plays they are studying; (3) by discovering formal and thematic threads that run through the plays, readings, and topics of this class; (4) by considering ways to increase the breadth and depth of theatre productions at Puget Sound through course work grounded in the Knowledge, Identity, and Power rubric. Although contemporary world theatre classes have similar learning outcomes and a common methodology, the plays and fields of study (e.g., African Diaspora, Asian Theatres, Voices of the Americas) differ from one class to another. Taught in rotation with THTR 250, 252, and 256.

Through the lens of tradition and innovation, students explore the dramaturgy of contemporary world theatre from the 1960s to the present with an emphasis on plays from North America and the United Kingdom. Students in this and all contemporary world theatre courses engage with and collaborate in a set of informed, imaginative explorations of plays with a particular emphasis on dramatic action. They work toward the completion of this goal (1) by investigating, in light of performance, a play's dramaturgy both from within (formally) and from without (historically, culturally); (2) by cutting, arranging, and producing scenes from plays they are studying; (3) by discovering formal and thematic threads that run through the plays, readings, and topics of this class; (4) by considering ways to increase the breadth and depth of theatre productions at Puget Sound through course work grounded in the Knowledge, Identity, and Power rubric. Although contemporary world theatre classes have similar learning outcomes and a common methodology, the plays and fields of study (e.g., African Diaspora, Asian Theatres, Voices of the Americas) differ from one class to another. Taught in rotation with THTR 250, 252, and 254.

This course begins with a deeper exploration of the theories within the Stanislavsky system of acting, focusing on psychological, emotional, physical, and intellectual processes that aid the actor when entering the world of the realistic play. The course then moves to physical approaches to character based in clown traditions as a bridge toward absurdism. Over the semester students explore both physical and emotional approaches to developing characters and apply them to a range of dramatic styles in both lab and class work. Participation includes extensive scene work and rigorous physical and vocal activity.

Students must also register for the THTR 300 lab.

In this advanced acting course, students must engage in rigorous text analysis, rehearsal, and performance of a variety of classical texts including the Greeks, French comedies, and Shakespeare. In the weekly lab, students train in Lecoq-based movement exercises, commedia mask work, voice, and stage combat. In doing so, students practice integration of language with the body and breath with thought. By acquiring skills in scansion, rhetoric, period movement, and vocal release, students develop tools for making engaging and honest acting choices with rich texts. Participation includes extensive scene work and rigorous physical and vocal activity. Students must also register for the THTR 310 lab.

This course serves as an introduction to the process of theatrical direction through in-depth course work and an intensive practicum. Students build a foundation in visual composition, script analysis, scene work, and collaboration, using the classroom as a laboratory to practice communicating vision and working and working with actors. Students then apply their directorial approaches in rehearsal while developing administrative skills as they produce a culminating festival of student-directed one act plays and scenes for the public.

A study of the history of architecture and interior design is combined with an exploration of techniques and styles of rendering and model construction. Contemporary theory and criticism within the field of scenography, methods of research, and play analysis are examined as tools for developing valid and original designs for the theatre.

The theory and fundamentals of costume design with practical application through rendering designs for specific characters in assigned plays are discussed. A general overview of costume history, period pattern drafting, and costume construction are examined.

In this seminar, students gain a better understanding of dramaturgy and the role it plays in the work of actors, designers, directors, dramaturgs, and playwrights. In addition to reading, writing, and talking about dramaturgy, students develop skills as theatre makers by participating in practical projects sponsored by the department that explore the relationship amongst dramaturgy, collaboration, community, and one or more of the following areas: devising, new play development, re-imagining the classics, and theatre education. This course may be repeated for credit.

The course introduces students to the art and craft of screenwriting and playwriting by combining seminar and workshop formats in which members write, present, and revise monologues, dialogues, and sketches. Students work toward a final portfolio of revisions of this material, as well as the completion and submission of a 10-minute stage or screenplay to a competition or festival. The course also involves the analysis and discussion of published and produced scripts; of conflict, suspense, characterization, plot, and other elements of dramatic writing; and of writing with actors, directors, producers, dramaturgs, and theatre/screen audiences in mind. Central to the class is a Creation Journal where students will collect ideas, reflect on readings, develop their voices, and complete writing exercises.

Incorporating a discussion of theories on the origins of theatre, this course explores the development of Western and non-Western dramaturgical techniques from the earliest records of performance through the Spanish Golden Age in Europe. Students examine the intersection of cultural history, theatrical practice, and dramatic literature by focusing on cultural context, the theatrical space, and performance conventions. Coursework includes scene reconstruction performances, research projects, oral presentations, and exams.

Through dramaturgical analysis, studies of artist biography, and creative projects, students explore how, why, when, and where people have made theatre from the mid-seventeenth century to the contemporary moment. Encompassing Western and Non-Western traditions, the class emphasizes the discontinuities produced by European modernism. Coursework includes scene reconstruction performances, research projects, oral presentations, exams, and an exploration of the student's personal vision for theatre in the contemporary world.

The place of this course in the curriculum is to allow the Theatre faculty to teach intensively in their particular fields of research and expertise and to allow students an in-depth study of one period or movement important in the history of drama. Students become familiar with research tools and methods of a particular period or movement and with the issues surrounding them.

Students who enroll in this course work with a faculty member in the Theatre Arts department to develop an individualized learning plan that connects the actual internship site experience to study in the major. The learning plan will include required reading, writing assignments, as well as a culminating project or paper.