For students interested in the interdisciplinary study of US identities, cultures, and societies - past and present. The American Studies minor allows students to create an individualized course of study that draws on insights and methods from the arts, history, literature, and the social sciences. Faculty from a variety of academic disciplines guide students' engagement with American expressions and experiences locally, nationally, and worldwide.
Each student must complete an introductory course, AMST 111 Defining America and Americans, and then may select four elective courses that relate in some coherent way. With his/her American Studies Minor advisor, a student will identify a particular focus (e.g., an era, a topic, a theme, a region, a population, or a problem in American culture) that he or she wishes to explore closely through interdisciplinary study.
Students may enroll in American Studies courses either for elective credit or as a minor. There is no major available in American studies.
Each student’s four elective courses for the minor must be related in some coherent way. With his/her American studies minor advisor, a student will identify a particular focus (e.g., an era, a topic, a theme, a region, a population, or a problem in American culture) that he or she wishes to explore closely through interdisciplinary study.
4.00
This course will examine artistic, social, and political imaginings of America and Americans. We will read works by American and foreign observers of the United States to ask how Americans define themselves and how others see them. Course assignments will introduce students to themes, perspectives, and methods in the field of American Studies.
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
Four courses from the following list, with no more than 8 credits in any one department.
4.00
Readings from Emerson and other American Renaissance writers, including Thoreau, Whitman, Hawthorne, Melville, William and Henry James, and Emily Dickinson, and examination of their intellectual congruence with pragmatism, modernism, and postmodernism. This is a seminar in American cultural, intellectual, political, and socioeconomic history which will examine the relationship between Ralph Waldo Emerson and other contemporary American cultural critics, as well as their relationship to the society from which they sprang and to the values of which they were, at the same time, giving enduring cultural formulation.
4.00
This seminar will introduce students to resources and techniques in African American genealogy. During the seminar students will explore methods of applying genealogical research to the larger African American and American story by working on an African American genealogy project. Note: This course is identical to HST 169. Normally offered by request.
Occasional
Humanities & History
4.00
This is a research seminar designed to give students the opportunity to explore the rich yet difficult history of busing in Boston, and develop their research skills by using material on Bostons school desegregation in the Moakley archives. Research will be augmented by discussions with local figures who were involved in the events of the era. Class time will be divided between classroom meetings and work in the archives with the documents. Students will be responsible for a final project based on their work in the archives. This course is identical to HST 299. Normally offered by request.
Occasional
Social Science,Humanities & History
4.00
This class is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of the reconstruction era by working with the microfilm of the Freedmens Bureau papers. To accomplish this there will be a classroom component and an on-site component. In the classroom component, students will be introduced to the reconstruction era and its history. In the on-site component students will work with the microfilmed copies of the Freedmens Bureau papers. Class meetings will be divided between the Suffolk University campus and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) site in Waltham, MA. This course is identical to HST 469. Normally offered as requested.
Occasional
Social Science
4.00
A study of American painting, sculpture, photography and architecture from the colonial period through WWII. Artists include the Freake limner, Smibert, Copley, West, Stuart, Jefferson, Whistler, Sargent, Eakins, Homer, Ryder, Bierstadt, Cole Church, Bingham, Lane, Hosmer, Inness, Sloan, Sullivan, Wright, Hopper, Sheeler, Davis, Shahn, O Keefe, Dove, Hartley, Marin, Bellows, Riis, Hine, Stieglitz, Strand, Weston, Steichen and Lange.
Occasional
BFA Humanities Requirement,Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This course explores the rich cultural heritage of New England from the late seventeenth century to the early decades of the twentieth. Particular attention will be paid to the role that New England and the city of Boston played within a national cultural context and in shaping our ideas of a distinctly New England aesthetic. One of the goals of this course is to explore the idea of the imagined and idealized New England, which has come to serve as a nostalgic symbol of Americas past. Through an examination of paintings, sculpture, photography, architecture, and material culture, the class offers an in-depth look at the ways New England developed its distinctive character and personality, and how its visual culture has shaped the region.
Alternates Fall & Spring
Humanities Literature Requirement,Humanities & History
4.00
This course covers women artists from the sixteenth century to the present as well as the new direction of art-historical scholarship developed by feminist art historians during recent decades.
Offered Spring Term
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Cultural Diversity Opt B,BFA Humanities Requirement,Cultural Diversity BFA,
4.00
Examines the portrayal of homosexuality in political, social and cultural discourse. Analyzes the role of media and symbolic construction in the shaping of public values, opinions and social movements. Cultural Diversity A
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A
4.00
Examines the influence of media upon contemporary society. Television, radio, film and print formats are discussed in terms of their persuasive impact on American mass culture. Focus is on the period 1950-1970.
Offered Fall Term
Social Science
4.00
Film history from 1895 - 1940. An introduction to the language and technology of cinema as developed by pioneering filmmakers, and a basic discussion of aesthetics and criticism of film. Key films from the silent era through Orson Welles Citizen Kane.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
4.00
Problems of women at work and at war, in love, marriage and pregnancy, as seen in Hollywood films, both old and new, and in documentaries. The roles of women are examined historically, psychologically, sociologically, and cinematically. Normally offered yearly.
Offered Fall Term
Humanities & History
4.00
Film history from 1940 until 1970. Includes an emphasis on film aesthetics, criticism, and history from World War II through the end of the Hollywood studio system; from film noir to Italian Neo-Realism to the French New Wave.
Offered Spring Term
Humanities & History
4.00
This course will look at different family structures using communication concepts and theories as a focus to glance at family life. Communication issues will include the creation of meaning and identity through storytelling, rules and roles, conflict, power, intimacy, and then glance at challenges to the family unit. Students will need to understand their own family issues so that they can glance across the street to neighbors differing viewpoints, so that we can broaden to begin to understand families from different cultures. We will accomplish this by examining both fictional and real families portrayed in television, movies, documentaries, as well as in fiction and non-fiction writing. Final projects will be a paper and presentation about a specific family communication concept applied to a specific family unit.
Occasional
4.00
Trends in Hollywood and American independent cinema from 1970 onwards, including maverick directors, Hollywood blockbusters, and, when possible, class visits by New England-based filmmakers.
Occasional
CJN-257;
4.00
Social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are examined from a cultural and critical perspective. The use of social media for community formation, social presence, identity building and social activism are considered. The roles of advertising, public relations and branding are examined.
Occasional
4.00
The study of the relationship between film and society. The course features filmmakers who emphasize political, historical, racial, gender, and other important social issues. Normally offered yearly. Revised Description A study of how cinema reflects, and reflects on, the values of the society in which it is produced. The course features films and filmmakers who emphasize political and social issues dealing with race, gender, sexuality, and other important concerns.
Occasional
4.00
Examines the persuasive strategies of social reform movements with special emphasis on the civil rights, womens rights, and gay rights movements in the United States. Normally offered yearly. Cultural Diversity A
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities & History
4.00
The relationship between cultural diversity and schooling is explored by examining impediments to academic achievement and advancement by minority students, non-native English speaking students, and other under-represented groups. Topics include: standardized testing, identification of inequities, legal and ethical responsibilities of teachers, and promoting equity. Ten pre-practicum observation hours required for teacher candidates.
Offered Fall Term
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Social Science
4.00
Explores the evolution of schooling in the United States from The English High School to present. Theorists include: Mann, Franklin, Dewey, Sizer, and others.
Offered Spring Term
Social Science
4.00
This course is an in-depth investigation of policies effecting urban schools; topics include: demographic influence on education, influences of national and state regulations on urban schools, sociological factors unique to urban schools, and in-depth analysis of equity and achievement.
Occasional
Social Science
4.00
Examines major current issues of educational policy against the background of demographic trends, technological innovations, standardized testing, and curricular shifts.
Occasional
Social Science
ENG-102 OR ENG-103 with a grade of B or above
4.00
Study of major American writing from its origins through 1865. Regularly assigned essays on reading provide the basis for individualized instruction in clear, correct, and persuasive writing. Offered every semester.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Humanities Literature Requirement
ENG-102 OR ENG-103 with a grade of B or above.
4.00
Study of major American writing from 1865 through the present. Regularly assigned essays on reading provide the basis for individualized instruction in clear, correct, and persuasive writing. Offered every semester.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Humanities Literature Requirement
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
Study of antebellum American and African American literature in the context of cosmopolitan modes of thought and revolutionary action. This course considers how writers balanced their interest in building a national culture with their concern for matters of race, gender, politics and civil rights that transcended their time and place. Readings include nineteenth-century works by Longfellow, Irving, Emerson, Fuller, Whitman, Thoreau, Melville, and Douglass, as well as twentieth-century responses from Hemingway, Gandhi, King and Johnson.
Occasional
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
In-depth exploration of American Realism from the post-Civil War era to the pre-WWI era (roughly 1875 to 1915). Particular emphasis is given to the role of houses and material and consumer culture in the forging of American identity. Authors may include Howells, Twain, James and Wharton among others. Normally offered alternate years. Students will also visit authors houses in the Boston area. This course requires prior approval in order to count towards the Womens and Gender Studies Minor. Students should consult with the instructor and the director of the WGS Minor no later than the first week of classes.
Occasional
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
An extended study of three major novels by Hawthorne, Melville and Stowe as prototypes of the Great American Novel: an elusive achievement that seeks to capture the essence of American experience. This course confronts issues of sin and redemption, ambition and failure, racial and national identity, and aesthetic and cultural value, and it assesses the imaginative influence of these foundational narratives in two contemporary rewritings by Mukherjee and Reed. This course requires prior approval in order to count towards the Womens and Gender Studies Minor. Students should consult with the instructor and the director of the WGS Minor no later than the first week of classes.
Occasional
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
The revolution in American literary consciousness between the Civil War and the First World War, and the transition from the traditional to the modern, in the work of Mark Twain, Henry James, Stephen Crane, Theodore Dreiser, and others. Normally offered alternate years.
Occasional
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
An investigation of the lives and works of two of nineteenth-century Americas greatest and most original poets. Topics will include types of poetic language and formal structure, the work of the poetic imagination in transforming observations of the world into art, and the ways in which poets process the idea of death and the reality of war. Finally, this course examines Whitman and Dickinsons impact on American popular culture as well as on the writings of modern poets and literary critics.
Occasional
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
African-American writing from the beginning through the present. Normally offered alternate years. Cultural Diversity A
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
This course focuses upon the literary contributions of a selected number of major African-American authors. Normally offered every other year.
Cultural Diversity Opt A
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
The course will cover major works of American fiction from the period between World War II and the end of the American war in Vietnam. The course will consider fiction from the Beat Generation, New Journalism, the Black Arts Movement, and postmodernism as well as major writers who arent easily classified. Possible authors include Ellison, Kerouac, OConnor, McCarthy, Cheever, Roth, Updike, Didion, Mailer, Bellow, Bambara, Barth, and Pynchon.
Occasional
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
The course will cover major works of American fiction from the period between the end of the American war in Vietnam and the present. The course will emphasize fiction reflecting Americas cultural diversity and current trends in fiction.
Occasional
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
An introduction to selected Asian-American writers with an emphasis on socio-cultural issues, such as race, gender and ethnicity. Authors include Bulosan, Hwang, Jen, Kingston, Lee, Mukherjee, Odada, and Tan. Cultural Diversity A
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Asian Studies
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
An in-depth examination of American poetry written between 1900 and the Second World War, to include writers such as Robert Frost, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, T.S. Elliot, William Carlos Williams, Gertrude Stein, Amy Lowell, Hilda Doolittle, Marianne Moore, Claude McKay, Langton Hughes, and Jean Toomer, among others. Normally offered alternate years.
Occasional
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
An in-depth examination of American poetry since 1950, to include writers such as Robert Lowell, Theodore Roethke, John Berryman, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, William Stafford, Elizabeth Bishop, Lucille Clifton, Adrienne Rich, Philip Levine, Galway Kinnell, James Wright, Robert Bly, Charles Olson, Allen Ginsberg, Rita Dove, Robert Hass, and Yusef Komunyakaa, among others. Normally offered alternate years.
Occasional
ENG 213, 214, 215, 216, 217 OR ENG 218
4.00
A sampling of major American fiction from the Jazz Age, the Great Depression, and the years surrounding World War II. Possible authors include Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Jean Toomer, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, Nella Larsen, John Steinbeck, Richard Wright, and Mary McCarthy.
Occasional
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
A study of the work of two of Americas greatest Realist writers, considering the achievement of each and their extraordinary friendship.
Occasional
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
This course studies 19th and 20th century women writers and questions the type of women who write, what they write about, and why they write. Themes we examine include domesticity, assimilation, and madness. Authors studied in the past have included Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Anzia Yezierska, Nella Larsen, and Sylvia Plath. Normally offered alternate years. Cultural Diversity A
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
A seminar on current approaches to the interpretation of literature, including psychoanalysis, deconstruction and feminist criticism. Students will experiment with making use of theory in analyzing selected literary texts.
Occasional
ENG 213, ENG 214, ENG 215, ENG 216, ENG 217, or ENG 218
4.00
An interdisciplinary examination of the history of Boston. Special focus will be on Boston in fiction, poetry, and film, as well as on the analysis of historical documents and accounts. This course is recommended for History and Literature Honors Majors. Jointly taught by professors from the History and English Departments. Normally offered every third year.
Occasional
GVT 110 or GVT 120 or instructors permission
4.00
This course will provide an examination of the institutions that are involved in the American policy-making process. The student will learn about the presidential, (as opposed to the parliamentary) system that exists in the United States. The course will focus on a relationship between the President and Congress and how that relationship impedes or facilitates the public policy process, including the budgetary process. The course will include a discussion of the presidents role as head of the executive branch, and the implementation of congressional policies. Attention will be given to the role of the judiciary in the policy process. Normally offered every year.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
GVT 110 and GVT 120 or instructors permission
4.00
An introduction to the process by which public policies are made in the United States. The class will focus on agenda-setting and policy formulation at the federal level, and will include a discussion of the various actors in governmental institutions that impact public policy. Several policy issues will be used as examples to illustrate the process. Some comparisons will be made to state and local policymaking. Normally offered every year.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
not open to freshmen
4.00
The growth of Constitutional law and the role of the Supreme Court is examined by analysis of court decisions dealing with Judicial Review, Federalism, Presidential and Congressional powers. Normally offered every year.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
Not open to Freshmen
4.00
Analysis of Supreme Court decisions in regard to political and civil rights including freedom of speech, press, assembly and religion, obscenity, race and sex discrimination, and criminal procedure. Normally offered every year.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
GVT 110/120 OR INSTRUCTORS CONSENT
4.00
The development, structure and functions of state governments with emphasis on the government of Massachusetts; the various forms of local government in cities and towns; analysis of the relationships between local, state and federal governments. Normally offered alternate years.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
Sophomore Status Required
4.00
This course is designed to provide an intensive survey of minority politics in the political development of the United States. We will focus on the historical and contemporary experiences of several groups in American politics. In particular, the course will look at four groups that, for reasons of race, have been subjected to systematic discrimination and political subordination in U.S. history: American Indians, African Americans, Latino Americans, and Asian/Pacific Americans. In this course we will work toward an understanding of American politics from the point of view of politically active and engaged persons of color. This course will also take a close look at the future of race and ethnicity in American politics. It is a fundamental premise of this course that an understanding of race and minority politics is necessary to comprehensively understand American political development and many important issues in contemporary American politics. Cultural Diversity A
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
Prerequisites: Not open to freshmen
4.00
This course provides and overview of the legal system in the United States of America, in connection with the role of the Federal and State government and their policy. This course is designed for undergraduate and graduate students. During the semester, we will explore a variety of issues involving the legal system of the United States and how it effects local and federal government.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
4.00
A course about how the constitution, common law and statutory law provide for environmental protection and pollution prevention. Students will learn basic skills needed to understand how environmental law works, including constitutional clauses and amendments, landmark civil litigation, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, landmark civil litigation, and hazardous waste law.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
4.00
Policies of the present United States health care system critically analyzed and compared with other national systems. Current reform proposals receive special attention. Prerequisite: Open to non-majors, not open to freshmen. Normally offered alternate years.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
Not open to freshmen
4.00
Public policy-makers interests in formulating and implementing policy in the areas of environmental protection, consumer protection, equal employment opportunity, health care, taxation and competition with a focus on business responsibility will be critically analyzed. Costs and benefits to the public and business will be evaluated. Prerequisite: Open to non-majors; not open to freshmen. Normally offered alternate years.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
GVT 110 AND GVT 120 OR INSTRUCTORS CONSENT
4.00
Perspectives on the role and problems of the presidency in American political life; the nature and difficulties of presidential influence and effectiveness, presidential authority within our system of government, and the impact of presidential character. Normally offered alternate years.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
GVT 110 and GVT 120 or instructors consent
4.00
The structure and functioning of legislatures. Particular emphasis on the U.S. Congress, how it works and how it compares with other legislatures. The role of legislatures in a democracy. Normally offered alternate years.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
GOV 110, GVT 120, or instructors consent
4.00
Covers the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, known as the Reconstruction amendments. This course focuses upon these three critical amendments, with an eye towards their importance in framing race-based rights, and the 14th with regard to gender-based rights. It emphasizes the politics of these amendments language, ratification, and impact (including their 130-year interpretation by the Supreme Court.) The course treats the U.S. Constitution dynamically, as a political and social educator. It also examines the extent to which the Constitution could be viewed as race- or gender-blind.
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
GVT 110, 120, 243, and 244 or instructors permission
4.00
A critical analysis of whether our constitutional system is adequate to effectively resolve the new and complex problems of governance in this century. The strengths and weaknesses of governmental structure created by the U.S. Constitution will be examined. Past and current amendment proposals will receive special attention. Normally offered alternate years.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
GVT 110 AND GVT 120, or instructors consent
4.00
Historical overview of party development in the U.S. and of ideological and political trends as reflected in voting behavior. Recent developments in party structure, electoral strategies and political style. The party crisis vs. the art of political campaigning. Normally offered alternate years.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
4.00
How are elections administered in the United States? Do Americans have confidence in the electoral process? Should they? Why or why not? This course will examine elections in the United States in detail -- from how they are funded to how they are administered to how voters behave. Students will have a choice of either serving as poll workers during the November election or organizing and conducting research of potential voters. Students will gain hands-on experience in actual research design, election administration, and non-partisan get-out-the-vote activities. In addition, students will gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between attitudes, opinion, and voting behavior in American politics and institutions. ECR
Humanities & History,Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
GVT 281 and GVT 261
4.00
A decision-making approach to understanding the domestic and institutional context of U.S. foreign policy. Includes analysis of continuity and change since WWII using case studies of critical decisions, e.g., Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, etc. Not open to freshmen. Prerequisites: GVT 110, GVT 120, GVT 261 or instructors consent. 1 term - 4 credits. Normally offered every year.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
GVT 110 OR GVT347; SOPH STANDING
4.00
This course examines fundamental framework, legislative oversight of the Executive Branch and basic functions of the Massachusetts Legislative. Special emphasis will be placed on gaining a practical understanding of the Massachusetts legislative process. Students are encouraged to explore the methods by which the major legislative measures are undertaken, various roles of legislative leaders, committee hearings and the procedures that are used under the Massachusetts General Laws. Open to non-majors. Offered alternate years.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
TAKE GVT 110
4.00
This course will examine the changes in the US Congress in recent years, as both party unity and party polarization have grown, with particular attention to the evolution of Senate rules as the need for a 60-vote majority has become a given.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
4.00
This course will explore legal issues affecting campaigns and elections. Among the topics covered will be the legal requirements to qualify for the ballot, campaign finance laws, challenges to candidates and ballot questions, and election recounts. Special emphasis will be given to the 2000 Presidential Recount in Florida.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
4.00
This course examines how American governmental institutions, political actors, and processes have both shaped and responded to one of the most significant and complex issues of public policy facing the nation: immigration to the United States. This class will explore a number of intriguing and difficult policy topics related to the almost unprecedented level of immigration that the U.S. has been experiencing. The focus of the class will include the following: admissions, citizenship, deportation and detention (including that of suspected terrorists), refugee/asylum law, and highly contested issues of today, such as definitions of citizenship, immigrant rights, and border enforcement. A major objective of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to conduct their own original research in American politics by delving into some aspect of immigration as a public policy issue.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
GVT 110 OR GVT 120 OR GVT 223 OR GVT 224
4.00
Public policys impact on Blacks Chicanos, Native Americans Puerto Ricans, and other minority groups; how public policy has contributed to racial oppression; policies for attaining racial equality; political strategies of minority groups. Cultural Diversity A
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
This course will have a service learning component Sophomore Status required
4.00
From Rio to the Boston Harbor Project, this course examines the policies and politics of the environment. It examines the origins of the environmental movement in the United States focusing on the development and present function of government and non-government organizations responsible for the development and implementation of global, national, state and local environmental policies.
Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE
4.00
This seminar will introduce students to resources and techniques in African American genealogy. During the seminar students will explore methods of applying genealogical research to the larger African American and American story by working on an African American genealogy project. Note: This course is identical to BLKST 169.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
A focus on the life of William Lloyd Garrison, whom Frederick Douglass called, the chief apostle of the unconditional emancipation of all the slaves. We will focus on the words of Garrison, on his support from the Boston colored community, and his role in the national Abolition movement. Garrisons confidence in the power of moral agitation to overcome institutional inertia will be a theme. The views of a spectrum of historians, writing from the context of many years, will raise questions about movement strategies relevant also today.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
What is meant by the term civil rights? How do civil rights affect notions of what it means to be an American? In Civil Rights in the Twentieth Century, students will explore the history of civil rights movements- from the Reconstruction era through the Conservative revolution of the 1970s and 1980s- to answer these questions, and to try to understand the contested definition of civil rights in modern America. We will begin with the emancipation of four million African-Americans during the 1860s; we will continue through the first wave feminist movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and the labor movement from the Gilded Age through the New Deal; and we will conclude with the Black, womens, and gay rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s, and their relationship to the rise of the New Right during the 1970s and 1980s. Special attention will be paid to primary documents written by civil rights leaders and their followers, as well as analysis of secondary material on how civil rights has evolved over time.
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities Literature Requirement,Humanities & History
4.00
This course will examine the history of Africans in the United States from their arrival in the colonies to the Civil War and the end of legal slavery. Topics include: the slave trade, the development of the slave system, African-Americans and the Declaration of Independence, and the abolition movement. Cultural Diversity A
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This course will examine African American history from the end of slavery to the present. Topics include: Emancipation and Reconstruction, Reconstruction and the Constitution, the Exodusters, the Harlem Renaissance, Pan Africanism, the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement, African-Americans at the turn of the twenty-first century. Cultural Diversity A
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
How did Atlantic crossings impact American societies? In this course, students with little or no prior knowledge of the Atlantic World will gain an understanding of the inter-connections that developed among peoples of Europe, Africa and America after 1492. We will see how the migration of peoples facilitated a new level of exchange in technology, culture, and especially ideas. Topics include European thoughts on America and its peoples; the Columbian Exchange of flora, fauna, and diseases; Euro-American accounts of life in the New World; and cultural syncretism such as language, music and religion. Previously HST 495
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This course explores the history of the United States from 1810 to 1910. Students will study the growth of American institutions, the rise and effects of a market society, westward expansion and Indian affairs, the enlivening of U.S. civic ideals, debates over free labor and slavery, the causes and effects of the Civil War, post-Civil War redefinitions of citizenship, immigration, Progressivism, and the nations entry on to the world stage.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
The history of modern U.S. foreign relations. Key topics include the emergence of the U.S. as a world power, Americas involvement in the two world wars, the Cold War, Vietnam, and globalization. U.S. relations with Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa are explored.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This course explores the political, economic, social, and cultural history of America from the decade prior to the Civil War to the end of the nineteenth century. Students will focus on the political, social, and racial catalysts that led to the Civil War, its aftermath, and the ideologies behind Federal Reconstruction between 1863 and 1877. Through primary and secondary source materials, students will explore the following: What were the long term effects of American slavery, American expansion, and the Civil War? How did different groups of Americans- north and south, Black, White, Asian, Latino- understand themselves, their government, and what it meant to be an American citizen? How did the social structure of white supremacy - epitomized in ante-bellum slavery, Indian removal, and rising anti-Chinese sentiment - contribute to the long-lasting social structure of American racism?
Occasional
Humanities & History,Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This is a research seminar designed to give students the opportunity to explore the rich yet difficult history of busing in Boston, and develop their research skills by using the material on Bostons school desegregation in the Moakley archives. This will be augmented by discussions with local figures who were also involved in the events of the era. Class time will be divided between classroom meetings and work in the archives with the documents. Students will be responsible for a final project based on their work in the archives. This course is identical to BLKST 299.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This course focuses on the African-American freedom struggle. It describes the consolidation of segregation and disfranchisement laws, the rise of Booker T. Washington, the NAACPs fight for civil rights, black nationalism, African American participation in both world wars, the Harlem Renaissance, and Depression Era struggles. We will also consider the history of non-white groups including Hispanics, Asian-Americans, and Native Americans.
Humanities & History,Cultural Diversity Opt A
4.00
This class will look at the history of sports in America from the era of American independence to the present. This course will examine the various roles which sports has played in American society including entertainment, cultural, social, political, and business.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Black music has been one of the primary cultural factors in the United States. From the African roots to hip hop in the 21st century Black music has served as an expression of African American consciousness, providing commentary on many aspects of black life. This art form provides commentary on many aspects of black life including social and political. It has also been a major force in shaping the culture of the United States as a whole. As such it provides an excellent window for exploring the history of Black America as well as the history of all America. With the use of texts, videos, and recordings this class will examine the music of Black America in the context and communities in which it was created and performed, and also in relationship to the wider world. Cultural Diversity A
Occasional
Humanities & History,Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Topics include the Progressive Era, U.S. intervention in World War I and its domestic consequences, the cultural clashes of the 1920s, the Great Depression of the 1930s, the New Deal, and World War II. Note: formerly history 495.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
American history in the decades immediately following World War II. Topics include the origins of the Cold War, McCarthyism, the emergence of a consumer society, the growth of the suburbs, the Civil Rights movement, the new womens movement, Vietnam, and the political upheavals of the 1960s.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
American history in the period since Vietnam and Watergate. Topics include the end of the post-World War II economic boom, the late-20th century culture wars, the rise of the New Right and decline of the New Deal domestic order, the end of the Cold War, growing involvement in the Middle East, the emergence of new technologies, globalization, and the impact and aftermath of September 11.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
Permission of the Instructor required.
4.00
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) rose from relative poverty and obscurity to become one of the most powerful and successful men of his century. This course will examine the political, scientific, and literary, an diplomatic cultures of the eighteenth century by focusing on Franklins life, reading Franklins Autobiography, and selections from his political, scientific, and satirical writings. This is an Honors-level course.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Topics will include the Plains Indian Wars; ethnological aspects of Indian tribes; the pitfalls of Indian reform movements; Indian resistance to U.S. assimilation and reservation policies; the Indian New Deal; activism and the American Indian Movement; Indians future prospects. Cultural Diversity A
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Why did men (and some women) turn pirate? Why is there a continuing fascination with pirates? This course will explore the reality and fiction of pirates and piracy, focusing on the Golden Age of Piracy from 1690 to 1730, with particular attention to the pirates of New England. We will examine primary sources, historical accounts, and fictional presentations - both books and films - to better understand piracy, why it happened, and why it continues to fascinate us.
Offered Spring Term
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Considers the history, theory, and techniques of public history presentation. Learn what visitors want for themselves and their families when they choose to spend their time at a historic site, historic house or history museum. Modes of presentation covered include film documentary, Web site exhibition, popular historical writing, and reenactment. Students produce a project using survey data and information learned throughout the course about preserving history through media and method to demonstrate what the future of historic preservation might resemble. Note: There will be travel involved to visit various historic sites. Please allow time before and after scheduled class time.
Offered Fall Term
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement,Expanded Classroom Requirement
take HST 181
4.00
Meeting alternatively at Suffolk and at Bostons historical sites, students in this course will learn the principles and techniques of Museum Education. How does a museum create educational programs? What kinds of programs work best for different audiences? Students will have opportunities to work with museum professionals in designing and implementing educational programs.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Working with historic houses in Boston, students will learn that art of interpreting history. Using collections, archives, and other repositories, students will research the houses and the people who lived in them. Many of these houses have existed from colonial times and had various uses. As part of the course, students will offer tours of the houses to visitors. Formerly: HST 368 Introduction to Historical Interpretation.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Expanded Classroom Requirement,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
How have ordinary American working people shaped and been shaped by the experience of work in a capitalist economic order? This course surveys the world of work and workers, free and unfree, from 1800 to the present. Topics include changing conceptions of work, formation of workers consciousness and communities, working-class cultures, movements for labor reform, and the impact of race, ethnicity, and gender on labor markets, workplace dynamics, and working-class families and communities. The course also explores workers experiences of industrialization and technological innovation, immigration and migration, consumerism and globalization. Cultural Diversity A
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities & History
4.00
This course traces the roles, images and experiences of women in America from colonial times to 1865. Topics include the family, work, religion, education, health care, motherhood, sexuality, social and political activism legal status, labor activism and popular culture. With attention to ethnicity, race, class, age, region of residence, disability and sexual orientation, the course focuses primarily on the everyday lives of ordinary women. Cultural Diversity A
Offered Fall Term
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This course examines the social and cultural history of women in the United States from the close of the Civil War to the present. Using not only gender but also race, ethnicity, class, age, disability, region of residence, and sexual orientation as important categories of analysis, this course focuses on womens private and public lives. Topics include the family, work, religion, education, health care, private lives, motherhood, sexuality, social and political activism, legal status, labor activism, and popular culture. Course materials include novels and films. Cultural Diversity A
Offered Spring Term
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Plymouth beyond the Mayflower Pilgrims, Thanksgiving and Plymouth Rock; this course will examine the history of Plymouth Colony from its origins in Reformation England to its absorption into Massachusetts in 1692. Particular attention will be paid to Native Wampanoag culture before, during and after King Philips War. Students will read primary and secondary sources; investigate Plymouth Colonys material culture through architecture, food, and artifacts; field trips to sites in the Old Colony area will be arranged; and the lasting cultural significance of the Pilgrims and Plymouth will be examined.
Offered Fall Term
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
Sophomore Standing
4.00
This course emphasizes the founding and settlement of English colonies in America; their social, economic, and political development; the Great Awakening; the British-French struggle for control of the North American continent; the background and causes of the American Revolution.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This course provides an analysis of the background, progress and results of the American Revolution. Emphasis is placed upon military aspects of the War for Independence, and on post-war efforts to establish a permanent workable American government culminating in the Federal Constitution.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
One History course
4.00
The development and influence of Boston from its foundation in 1630: the Massachusetts Bay Colony, cradle of the American Revolution; Boston as a Yankee merchant capital, Brahmin cultural center, immigrant melting pot, and modern metropolis. When offered in the hybrid format, this course will meet at the regularly-scheduled time, but lectures and other course materials will be available on the course Blackboard site in case you cannot attend. ECR
Offered Fall Term
Humanities & History,Expanded Classroom Requirement,Humanities Literature Requirement
Sophomore Standing Required
4.00
The development of American constitutional government. Topics will include the drafting and ratifying of the state and federal constitutions in the 1770s and 1780s; the problems of individual liberty versus government power; state rights; race and slavery; war powers; pluralism.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
Sophomore Standing Required
4.00
This course will explore changes in the American constitutional system since the Civil War. Topics will include due process and national citizenship; the growth and expansion of federal power; the evolution of segregation; the New Deal; the return of civil rights; the expansion of individual rights; the role of courts and states in the federal system.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Topics include the antebellum reform and expansion movements, especially as they affected slavery, and the deepening sectional crisis of the 1850s. An in-depth analysis of the violent war which followed, and Southern Reconstruction to 1877.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
Permission of Instructor Required
4.00
An overview of American history from the perspective of its racial and ethnic minorities. Topics include: Native American efforts to retain cultural independence and to shape relations with the majority; Asian Americans and the model minority myth; African Americans and the Constitution; recent refugees and current immigration legislation. Cultural Diversity A
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This class is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of the Reconstruction era by working with the microfilm of the Freedmens Bureau papers. To accomplish this there will be a classroom component and an on-site component. In the classroom component, students will be introduced to the Reconstruction era and its history. In the on-site component students will work with the microfilmed copies of the Freedmens Bureau papers. Class meetings will be divided between the Suffolk University campus and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) site in Waltham, MA. This course is identical to BLKST 469.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This course examines American debates over the natures, capacities, and responsibilities of men and women from settlement of the New World through the present. Emphasis is given to three elements of the self: social and civic personhood, the body, and sexuality. We will focus on representations of womanhood and masculinity - across racial, ethnic, and class lines - and their effects on men and women in society, politics, and at law. Course readings will also examine concepts of human nature and the interplay among mind, body, and sexuality.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
An interdisciplinary examination of the history of Boston. Special focus will be on Boston in fiction, poetry, and film, as well as on the analysis of historical documents and accounts. This course is recommended for History and Literature Honors majors. Jointly taught by professors from the History and English Departments.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Do we all feel the same emotions across cultures and throughout history, or do we learn to feel according to the rules of our own time and place, or does the truth about human emotion lie somewhere in between? This course will first explore ideas about emotional life from the fields of history, anthropology, sociology, and psychology. We will then turn to our own examination of the evolution of emotion rules and prescriptions, focusing on western Europe and the United States since 1700. In the eighteenth century, emotions were seen as a positive influence on politics and public life, especially during the French Revolution. After the fall of Robespierre, the emotions were banished to the private sphere - so we will read both primary sources and recent scholarship on 19th- and 20th- century ideas masculinity and femininity, romantic love and marriage, childrearing, and about what parents and children are supposed feel toward each other. How have ideas about these subjects changed over time - and do our feelings change with them?
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement,Cultural Diversity Opt A
4.00
This course will examine the impact of organized reform movements on American History from 1800s to the 1960s. Themes include utopianism, assaults on injustice, and attempts to control the behavior of the undesirable groups. Topics include anti-slavery agitation and religious revivalism before the Civil War, problems of industrialism and the working class, progressive political and social reform, temperance and prohibition, womens suffrage and womens rights, civil rights and the counter culture.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Survey from Colonial times to the present. Various attempts to create an indigenous style. Folk, religious music and symphonies, jazz and American musical theater. Composers include Billings, Beach, Ives, Copland, Bernstein and others.
Alternates Fall & Spring
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Evolution of jazz from blues and ragtime through Dixieland and the avant-garde experiments of today. Contributions of major soloists, arrangers and composers. Listening, reading and concert attendance.
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Selected topics dealing with the blues from its origins in various Southern regions of the U.S., through its post-war urban relocation, up to modern interpretations in rock, rap, pop, and hip-hop today. Blues music, both technically and culturally, will be considered from the artists perspective as a form of African-American expression and American/African-American oral history, as well as a unique indigenous form of American music. Influences of European, African, Country and Jazz styles will be examined, as well as the themes of race and alienation, and similar socio-cultural influences that have shaped and defined the music over time.
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This class studies the history and development of film music through reading, lecture and class listening. We investigate the process of film scoring, and how music and its relationship to film have changed over the last century. The class includes discussion and evaluation of different compositional styles and practices to listening critically to film scores while viewing movies.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
A systematic exploration of thinking of and about America, from the founding of the republic to American issues and traditions of thought that reflect upon the founding principles and the unfolding American experiment. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will be studied with an eye to their philosophical content and sources. Other works, primary and secondary, that help to illuminate these documents and their philosophical significance will also be read. The course may also examine works of philosophers and other thinkers who address conflicts over the meaning of founding principles in the course of the nations history, from the struggle over slavery to Americas contemporary role in the world. In addition to the founding documents, authors and texts may include: Locke, The Federalist Papers, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Washington, de Tocqueville, Emerson, Douglass, Lincoln, Stanton, Thoreau, James, and Dewey, as well as contemporary authors. 1 term - 4 credits. Normally offered every third year.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This course is an examination of Native American (Indian) religious experience, both the similarities and differences among the myths and rituals of the major tribes which comprise the background of our nations history of Western migration and settlement. The emphasis will be on understanding how life was experienced by these peoples through a close look at the philosophical meanings of their mythology and ethics. 1 term - 4 credits. Normally offered alternate years. C a
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A
PSYCH 114
4.00
Studies the social determinants of the behavior of individuals in relation to groups and surveys current research findings in such major content areas as attribution, prejudice, conformity, obedience, social cognition, interpersonal attraction, altruism, and aggression. Normally offered every semester.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Social Science
PSYCH 114 and Sophomore Standing.
4.00
Surveys theory and research about the physical, mental, and psychological aspects of life-span development. Age-related changes in mental health, personality, self-image, sexual relations, friendships, career development and spirituality are explored. Aging may also be explored as a global, demographic and cross-cultural issue. Research surrounding death and dying, bereavement, and hospice/nursing home care is also presented. Normally offered alternate years.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Social Science
PSYCH-114 and sophomore standing
4.00
Examines the physical, cognitive, emotional and social aspects of adolescence. Attention is given to identity, parent-adolescent relationships, values, sexuality, and career development as well as psychopathology, drug use and abuse, delinquency, and alienation. Normally offered yearly.
Offered Fall Term
Social Science
PSYCH 114
4.00
Exposes students, particularly those interested in helping and service careers, to the terminology and approaches used in the study and critical discussion of culture and diversity. This course will be useful for students seeking to develop sensitivity, respect, and understanding of the meaning that individuals attach to their own definitions of culture. While topics relevant to specific, ethnic, racial, gendered and differently abled groups will be covered to varying degrees in each semester, attention is also given to culture as a personal and societal construction. Normally offered alternate years. This course fulfills the Cultural Diversity Requirement.
Offered Spring Term
Cultural Diversity Opt A,Social Science
JR Standing; Majors only or instructors consent; ECR
4.00
Explores the efforts of psychologists to enhance the well-being of groups and communities. Complementing clinical approaches, community approaches have implications for both theory (e.g., environmental and/or person-environment theories) and practice (e.g., prevention-oriented paradigms targeted to groups and social systems). Students will be expected to attend weekly two-hour lectures to examine key concepts within the field (e.g., competence building, empowerment) as well as to engage in weekly community service activity. Normally offered every semester. This course fulfills the Expanded Classroom Requirement.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Social Science,Expanded Classroom Requirement
4.00
An exploration of the diversity of contemporary families. Comparisons are made between the cultural myths of the ideal family and the lived realities. Challenges confronting contemporary families and their implications for social policy are examined in such areas as work/family conflicts, gay and lesbian families, welfare, family violence.
Occasional
Social Science
4.00
Despite the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, race remains one of the most divisive forces in U.S. society. While many of us struggle against racism, racial classification continues to affect where we live, where we work, and how we see ourselves. Racial classification affects our access to health care and our encounters with police officers. Distorted images of racial groups fill television and movie screens. Appeals to racism and fear of foreigners are dominant themes in elections to state and national offices. This course examines the formation and re-formation of racial classifications: how particular groups become racially identified, how these classifications change over time, and how conflicts over race have shaped American society. The meanings of race, as seen from a variety of perspectives, will be a consistent theme throughout the course.
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A
4.00
Enables students to examine, as well as develop an awareness and appreciation of, diversity within todays society. Providing an overview of the major racial, ethnic, and cultural groups in the U.S., the focus is on the ways in which cultural awareness enhances professional helping relationships and improves the operation of human services systems.
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A
4.00
An examination of images of crime and justice portrayed in the American cinema. Special attention is paid to the social and historical forces that have shaped popular representations of good and evil during the modern era.
Occasional
4.00
This course examines the complex relationships between women and crime today. This focus will include women as criminal offenders; women as victims of crime; and women as both offenders and victims. Course materials draw from recent feminist scholarship on these issues in the social sciences. Topics include the causes of womens crime women, drugs, and crime; child abuse and trauma; prostitution and sex trafficking; race, gender and victimization; and feminist social movements against violence. Crimes of violence against women are a central focus in the course.
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A
Prerequisite: SOC 113 or SOC 116.
4.00
An investigation of the images of life provided by mass communications, the educational system and official culture. Topics include: the growth of the youth culture since the 1950s; images of working people; women, minorities and advertising; changing ideas of success; consciousness-raising and contra-cultures.
Occasional
4.00
An exploration of recent and contemporary protest movements. Cases studied may include Civil Rights womens movement, environmental, militia, and new right, gay and lesbian, labor, etc. Movement issues such as goals, tactics, use of violence, use of media cultural politics, social control and repression will be considered. Under what conditions do protest movements succeed or fail in bringing desired social change?
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A
SOC 113 or SOC 116
4.00
In 1996, Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA), which requires states to reduce welfare caseloads by requiring recipients to work and limiting the number of years a family can receive benefits. This course will explore the history of welfare in the United States and the various efforts to reform it. Students will examine social, economic, and political forces that have driven recent reforms as well as exploring the interaction between race, gender, and poverty as they relate to welfare dependency and reform.
Prerequisite: SOC 113 or SOC 116 OR Instructors consent
4.00
This course examines U.S. Immigration legislation and policies, focusing on how and why various immigration laws and policies have been established and implemented throughout history. We will address the intersection between immigration policy and race, ethnicity, nationality and socioeconomic status, as well as explore the effects that immigration laws have had on various immigrant groups and society in general.
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A
4.00
This survey course provides students with an historical, philosophical, and aesthetic overview of theatre practices from the Golden Age of Greek drama to 19th-century melodrama and early experiments in realism. Through readings, lectures, and discussions, the class will explore the theatres persistent capacity to mirror the societies that produce it. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre majors and the Humanities requirement. Normally offered alternate years.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Picking up chronologically where THETR 225 leaves off, this survey course is designed to provide students with an understanding of modern Western theatre. Beginning with a melodrama, plays will include representative works of realism, naturalism, expressionism, epic theatre, theatre of cruelty, theatre of the absurd, and metatheatricality. Lectures and class discussions will explore how these concepts translate to acting and production techniques as well as what they imply as artistic responses to a modern and post-modern world. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre Majors.
Offered Spring Term
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This course provides a formal introduction to the theories and practices strategically used by American theatre artists after the Second World War. Special emphasis is placed on theatre artists exploring issues of cultural identity including works by GLBT, African-American, Asian-American, and Latin American playwrights. These playwrights may include Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, Suzan-Lori Parks, Adrienne Kennedy, August Wilson, David Henry Hwang, Philip Kan Gotanda, Eduardo Machado, and Melinda Lopez. The course will also provide an introduction to trends in post-modern theatre practices related to emerging work of the auteur director, solo performers, and interdisciplinary collectives. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre majors. Normally offered alternate years.
Occasional
Humanities & History,Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
This is a course for the student who always wanted to learn the basics of dance as well as the student returning to dance. Class work includes centering, attention to placement, and the development of strength, flexibility,and musicality. Students will learn to think and write critically about the form. Dance attire is required.
Occasional
4.00
How do playwrights of different backgrounds and genders interpret female-ness? This class explores some of the great heroines of dramatic literature, as well as female playwrights and performers. Students will be encouraged to indulge their taste for drama, as well as ask deeper questions about how women on stage are presented, perceived, and constructed. Students will read, write and discuss plays in terms of their structure, plot, theme, and characterizations. Class activities may include watching videos and attending live theatrical productions.
Occasional
Cultural Diversity Opt A
THETR-237 or instructors consent
4.00
In calling a show the stage manager cues all technicians to effect changes in lighting, sound, flying elements and special effects during performances. A well-called show is an artistic achievement no less than a well-acted, directed or designed show. Building on the ability to make a complete and accurate stage managers book learned in Intro to Stage Management, this course will teach calling skills for theatre, opera, dance and performance art. The course will demonstrate the construction of cues and how they promote the artistic vision of the production. In-class work will utilize the Studio Theatre and give students real-time opportunities for calling cues, and will include play reading and analysis. Outside class work will include attending and writing analyses of professional performances.
Occasional
4.00
This course will examine artistic, social, and political imaginings of America and Americans. We will read works by American and foreign observers of the United States to ask how Americans define themselves and how others see them. Course assignments will introduce students to themes, perspectives, and methods in the field of American Studies.
Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement
4.00
Readings from Emerson and other American Renaissance writers, including Thoreau, Whitman, Hawthorne, Melville, William and Henry James, and Emily Dickinson, and examination of their intellectual congruence with pragmatism, modernism, and postmodernism. This is a seminar in American cultural, intellectual, political, and socioeconomic history which will examine the relationship between Ralph Waldo Emerson and other contemporary American cultural critics, as well as their relationship to the society from which they sprang and to the values of which they were, at the same time, giving enduring cultural formulation.
