*Freshman Seminar 21o. The Neurophysiology of Visual Perception
Catalog Number: 7584 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
David H. Hubel (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., 3–5.
How do the eyes and brain of higher mammals (including humans) deal with visual information originating in the outside world? Starts with brief survey of mammalian brain neuroanatomy and cell-level neurophysiology (nerve conduction, synapses). Covers neurophysiology of the visual path from retina to cortex, with emphasis on transformations in information that occur at each successive level. Studies main components of visual perception: form, color, movement, depth, and considers the bearing of these on art.
Note: Meets at the Medical School. Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 21p. Materials, Energy, and Society
Catalog Number: 74031 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
David R. Clarke
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–6.
Advances in materials and energy technology have paced the development of Society from the Stone Age to the present. Today, we are facing an over-reliance on fossil fuels, a growing population, and its consequences on Global Warming. Starting with our current and anticipated future energy needs, this course, which includes substantial laboratory content, explores the role of materials in evolving alternative energy technologies as well as their impact on worldwide resources.
Note: For Freshmen only.
Prerequisite: This course is for non-SEAS students.
*Freshman Seminar 21q. Biological Impostors: Mimicry and Camouflage in Nature
Catalog Number: 8762 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Michael R. Canfield
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Plants and animals imitate one another and their surroundings to escape notice and avoid predators. This seminar explores the evolution of mimicry and camouflage using case studies that reveal the range of visual, behavioral, acoustical, and chemical means by which this deception is accomplished.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 21s. Germs
Catalog Number: 2067 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Ralph Mitchell
Half course (fall term). W., 1:30–4.
Germs are responsible for the disruption of whole civilizations and for the maintenance of the ecological balance on planet Earth. Explores the importance of germs as causative agents of disease in humans, animals, and plants and emerging diseases. Investigates why epidemics occur, the role of germs in the control of the ecological balance on Earth -- how microbes affect the cycling of elements, and climate control. Are there dangers to inserting microbial genes into crops?
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 21u. Calculating Pi
Catalog Number: 4737 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Paul G. Bamberg
Half course (fall term). W., 2:30–5:30.
Focuses on mathematical, computational, and historical aspects of calculating pi. Many great mathematicians, including Archimedes, Newton, Gauss, and Euler, worked on the problem. Explores a wide variety of methods for computing pi and their implementation in Mathematica on a personal computer. Geometry and calculus used to prove the correctness of these methods and assess their accuracy, and then methods used to calculate pi to a large number of decimal places.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
Prerequisite: Calculus
*Freshman Seminar 21w. Research at the Harvard Forest: Global Change Ecology-Forests, Ecosystem Function, the Future
Catalog Number: 0060 Enrollment: Limited to 11.
David R. Foster
Half course (spring term). Four weekends at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA.
This course explores state-of-the-art research, tools and measurements used to investigate and predict climate change through ongoing studies at the Harvard Forest’s 3,000 acre outdoor laboratory in Petersham, MA. The seminar consists of three weekend-long field trips (Friday evening-Sunday) to the Harvard Forest and a final on-campus meeting. Students develop skills for evaluating, discussing, and presenting the ecological evidence for climate change, including feedbacks between forests and the atmosphere and long-term impacts on forest ecosystems.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. Four weekends at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA (Fri, 3pm-Sun, late afternoon) dates TBA. Transportation, accommodations, and meals at the Harvard Forest will be provided.
*Freshman Seminar 21x. Galaxies and the Universe
Catalog Number: 4075 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
John P. Huchra
Half course (fall term). M., 2:30–5.
Explores the properties of galaxies and the basic observations that lend support to the current cosmological model, the hot Big Bang, and recent observations that indicate that the Universe might even be accelerating. Topics covered include internal structure and dynamics of galaxies, cosmological models, determination of the cosmic distance scale, observations of large-scale structure in the universe, quasars, galaxy formation, and age, size, and fate of the universe. Seminar includes a class project.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 21y. The Art and Politics of Molecular Biology
Catalog Number: 89138 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Roberto G. Kolter (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Objectivity is important in carrying out scientific research, yet it is clear that there are elements of creativity and politics than shape the practice and communication of science. This course explores how individual creativity and political behavior influence scientific pursuits in molecular biology. Harold Varmus’ memoir "The Art and Politics of Science" is read and discussed, followed by diverse activities, including viewing and discussing films that broach scientific topics, e.g. "DNA Story" and "GATTACA".
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 22f. Primitive Navigation
Catalog Number: 2550 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
John Huth
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4.
In this seminar, we will explore navigational techniques that do not rely on modern technologies. By the end of the seminar, the student should be reasonably adept at combining naturally available information to determine position and orientation. The seminar will exam, and draw upon, navigational techniques practiced by cultures prior to contact with the West, with an emphasis on the Polynesians and Vikings.
Note: For Freshmen only.
Prerequisite: Some familiarity with trigonometry and the ability to graph is useful.
*Freshman Seminar 22i. The Science of Sailing
Catalog Number: 7269 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Jeremy Bloxham
Half course (fall term). W., 6–8 p.m.
Explores basic physical principles through sailing. Sailboats are driven by the flow of wind across their sails. How does this generate a driving force, how is that force balanced, and how does it scale with the size of the sailboat? Studies the environment in which a sailboat operates, including the origin and variability of the wind, and the interaction of wind with water. Addresses questions of strategy and tactics faced by sailors on race courses.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
Prerequisite: Participants in this seminar should have a good high school physics background and have some knowledge of sailing.
*Freshman Seminar 22j. Seeing by Spectroscopy
Catalog Number: 4039 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
William Klemperer
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Explores diverse topics and areas of science in which spectroscopy-the observation of energy emitted from a radiant source-plays a leading role. Concentrates on selected topics from chemistry, physics, astronomy, and atmospheric science. Emphasizes spectroscopy as the basis for remote sensing, choosing the grand topic of looking out-astronomical observations and seeing what is in the universe. Participants also will study (Nuclear) Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a model for looking in.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 22m. The Human Brain
Catalog Number: 6810 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
John E. Dowling
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Investigates human brain function through famous neurological cases and what we have learned from them: Broca’s patient "Tan" whose case led to the identification of one of the brain’s language areas; Phineas Gage, whose injury to a specific brain region changed his personality dramatically; and patient HM who, after brain surgery, no longer can remember things for more than a few minutes. Readings will be from my book Creating Mind. Designed for non-science concentrators.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
Prerequisite: High school science.
*Freshman Seminar 22n. Slips of the Ear
Catalog Number: 31415 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Andrew Nevins
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3.
Little scientific attention has been paid to "slips of the ear", during which listeners perceive something that was not what was actually said. In this freshman seminar, students keep a weekly journal of naturally occurring slips of the ear that they observe in their daily lives, report on them in class, and learn the methods of phonetic and semantic analysis that enable making sense of why these slips happen when and to whom.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 22p. Climate Change and Sustainable Energy--without the hot air!
Catalog Number: 52723 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
L. Mahadevan
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Science and technology are ubiquitous around us, so that at least in the developed world, we scarcely imagine our lives without them. Yet we are consuming energy at an unsustainable rate. This seminar will focus on the science behind the news, and delve into the hard facts (and the hot air!) that form the basis for policies that governments are beginning to implement, and that lead to the opportunities for creating a sustainable energy policy.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 22t. Why We Animals Sing (the ways we do)
Catalog Number: 22509 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Brian D. Farrell
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3:30.
We will become familiar with sounds and structures of the different kinds of acoustic animals, including birds, mammals, frogs and insects, and the different kinds of habitats in which they produce their songs and calls. We will learn to imitate other species by slowing down their calls and will explore the evolution and biology of music in humans. The capstone will be a performance in the Harvard Museum of Natural History at semester’s end.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 23k. Insights from Narratives of Illness
Catalog Number: 1904 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Jerome E. Groopman (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A physician occupies a unique perch, regularly witnessing life’s great mysteries; it is no wonder that narratives of illness have been of interest to both physician and non-physician writers. Examines and interrogates both literary and journalistic dimensions of medical writing from Tolstoy to Anne Fadiman as well as newspapers and periodicals. Studies not only mainstream medical journalists, but so called alternative medical writers such as Andrew Weil also. Work with different forms of medical writing.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 23l. Medicine, Law, and Ethics: An Introduction
Catalog Number: 4235 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Shahram Khoshbin (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Explores medical, legal, and ethical aspects of medical care, with particular attention to medical decision-making at the beginning and end of life, participants in research on human subjects, human reproductive technologies, mental illness, and experimentation on animals. Historical background of present-day medical practices and relevant law to be discussed.
Note: For Freshmen only. All students are welcome, but this seminar is particularly geared to pre-medical and pre-law students. Students are advised that this course is intended to be introductory.
*Freshman Seminar 23m. Nutrition and Public Health
Catalog Number: 8823 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Clifford Lo
Half course (fall term). Tu., 6–8 p.m.
Introduction to the critical reading of technical nutrition and medical literature; surveys current issues in public health and public policy relating to nutrition. Critical analysis of different types of medical literature: historical monographs, metabolic laboratory observations, clinical case reports, epidemiological surveys, prospective randomized controlled trials, metaanalyses, and literature reviews. Prepares science and non-science concentrators to examine critically current controversies for themselves; requires active participation and presentation by students.
Note: Clinical rounds with Nutrition Support Services at Children’s Hospital are optional. Open to Freshman only.
*Freshman Seminar 23o. Evolution of Aging
Catalog Number: 3444 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Anne E. Pringle
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
How do we age? WHY do we age? If natural selection can effectively build "better" organisms, should organisms be immortal? This seminar explores both the mechanisms that cause aging, and the hypotheses used to explain its evolution. We will focus on human data and the genetics of aging in human populations, but use examples from across the domains of life to illustrate that aging is a universal phenomenon.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 23t. The Methodology Behind Scientific Exploration
Catalog Number: 96257 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Amir Yacoby
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
The lab seminar will teach students the methodology behind scientific research, allowing them to experience the investigative cycle: observing a phenomenon, formulating several hypotheses, validating the various hypotheses by experimentation. Students will explore mechanics, electromagnetism, buoyancy, surface tension and more. The experiments will be carried out in groups of two or three students where often the instructor will engage in an interactive discussion about various aspects of the experiments or the theory behind it.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 23v. The Psychology of Powerpoint
Catalog Number: 88269 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Stephen M. Kosslyn
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4.
As humans, our minds have certain strengths and weaknesses, and clear and compelling presentations play to the cognitive strengths of the audience members and avoid falling prey to their weaknesses. We begin by examining pertinent facts about the nature of perception, memory, and comprehension. We then see how such facts can be applied to making and delivering presentations, and devise novel ways to present information using PowerPoint, Keynote, and other such tools.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 24i. Mathematical Problem Solving
Catalog Number: 3711 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Noam D. Elkies
Half course (fall term). M., 2–5.
Explores mathematical problem solving (and problem posing) in contexts ranging from classroom exercises to competitions to research mathematics, develops strategies and techniques for solving such problems. Participants will solve selected problems in various areas of mathematics and at a range of difficulty levels, and will present, compare and reflect on their and other participants’ solutions.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
Prerequisite: Intended for students with a strong interest in mathematics, particularly those who do not already have extensive training in mathematical problem solving.
*Freshman Seminar 24l. Imagining the Future: Biotechnology, Ethics and the Transformation of the Human in the 20th Century
Catalog Number: 67498 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
James Benjamin Hurlbut
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course examines controversies surrounding human biotechnological self-transformation since 1900. Drawing on a wide range of readings, the course explores how concepts of technological progress, democratic politics, human nature, and the good have been drawn together around specific technoscientific projects. Critical reading of historical documents is emphasized with an eye to the way futures have been imagined and pasts have been invoked in contending with problems of the present.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 24n. Child Health in America
Catalog Number: 6367 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Judith Palfrey (Medical School)
Half course (fall term). M., 4–6.
Reviews history of children’s health care in the United States; explores the impact of geography, environment, nutrition, clean water, as well as scientific discoveries of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries and the emergence of high technology care in middle and late 20th century. Does America provide children the best possible health care available? Compares United States epidemiology with that of other developed and developing nations. Explores how child health delivery is financed.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 25g. The Impact of Infectious Diseases on History and Society
Catalog Number: 8075 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Donald A. Goldmann
Half course (fall term). Th., 7–9 p.m.
Mankind’s journey- farming, urbanization, exploration, trade, globalization -has been marked by devastating encounters with infectious diseases. Infections have affected wars, political dynasties, global balance of power, social structure, public health policy, economics, and the arts. This course explores these themes by studying infections such as plague, syphilis, smallpox, malaria, sleeping sickness, tuberculosis, cholera, yellow fever, polio, and influenza. It investigates how the epidemiology of these diseases, and society’s response, inform contemporary policy and future threats.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 25i. On the Witness Stand: Scientific Evidence in the American Courts
Catalog Number: 81814 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Sean Tath O’Donnell
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4.
Scientific evidence serves as a powerful witness in the courts. This seminar focuses on social, historical and theoretical problems in the interaction of law and science. The course coverage includes scientific evidence such as x-rays, fingerprinting, ballistics, lie detectors and DNA. Particularly, the seminar investigates the legal strategies used to demarcate pseudo-science from legitimate science, to establish expertise and legitimize both scientific and legal authority. In turn, the seminar considers recent proposals for reform.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 25k. You Are What You Eat
Catalog Number: 3913 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Karin B. Michels (Public Health, Medical School)
Half course (fall term). M., 4–6.
What does food do to our bodies? What does a healthy diet entail? What is known about the role of nutrition in preventing or curing disease? Explores and critically evaluates diet recommendations, current knowledge about the role of diet in maintaining health, and use of nutrition to treat disease. Discusses how studies are conducted to understand the impact of nutrition. Explores different diets and the obesity epidemic, its causes and its implications for the next decades.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 25n. Understanding Psychological Development, Disorder and Treatment: Learning through Literature and Research
Catalog Number: 9589 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Nancy Rappaport (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Deepens understanding of human development and how individuals cope with serious emotional or social difficulties (neglect, bipolar disorder, autism, depression). We will use multiple perspectives: medical texts that provide practical knowledge, narrative readings to understand how patients experience the meaning of illness, speaking with patients about their experiences, and portrayals of development-related mental illness in the press. Examines the fundamental need for tenderness and making meaning, the resourcefulness required for resiliency and the context of vulnerability.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 25p. Neurotoxicology: Biological Effects of Environmental Poisons
Catalog Number: 1838 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
S. Allen Counter (Medical School)
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
Explores wide range of environmental neurotoxic substances and effects on human and animal populations. Attention to pediatric exposure to neurotoxic agents and associated neurodevelopmental disabilities, as well as neurobehavioral and immunological changes. Examines impact of lead and mercury poisoning, PCBs. Investigates neurophysiology and neurochemistry of a number of other neurotoxins, including arsenic, tetrodotoxin, saxitoxin, botulinum, curare, cocaine, and "nerve gas." What dangers do these toxins pose? What can or should be done to prevent exposure?
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 25t. AIDS in Africa
Catalog Number: 0024 Enrollment: Limited to 14.
Myron Essex (Public Health) and Tun-Hou Lee (Public Health)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
HIV/AIDS has infected or killed more than sixty million people, and no vaccine is expected within five to ten years. About two-thirds of current infections are in ten percent of the world’s population in sub-Saharan Africa, where few patients receive life-saving treatment. Explores dimensions of AIDS in Africa including the evolution and epidemiology of HIV, the pathobiology of AIDS, prevention of infection, and treatment of disease. Encourages multidisciplinary approaches, using country-specific illustrations of successful interventions.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 25u. The Atomic Nucleus on the World Stage
Catalog Number: 0027 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Roy J. Glauber
Half course (fall term). F., 1–3, Tu., 2–4.
In 1939 realization that atomic nuclei can undergo fission arrived as a surprise. Traces some of the history leading to understanding of the properties of nuclei and their constituents. Studies wartime project that developed both nuclear power sources and weapons; readings supplemented by instructor’s own recollections of this project. Investigates formidable problems posed by control of nuclear weapons, development of nuclear reactors, and hope that thermonuclear reactions may provide an abundant source of clean energy.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 25v. Avian Influenza: Emerging Infectious Disease
Catalog Number: 4807 Enrollment: Limited to 14.
Tun-Hou Lee (Public Health) and Myron Essex (Public Health)
Half course (spring term). Tu., 3–5.
Although the number of people infected by avian flu is small, the high mortality rate suggests that millions may die if it becomes a global pandemic. Explores the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the swine flu scare of 1976 and 2009, and current developments and research on the H5N1 influenza virus, with emphasis on examining how avian influenza viruses gain the ability to infect different hosts. Source materials include original scientific literature, government documents, journalistic writings and films.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 25w. Responsibility, the Brain, and Behavior
Catalog Number: 0049 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Ronald Schouten (Medical School)
Half course (fall term). M., 7–9 p.m.
Explores philosophical and legal bases of the concept of individual responsibility as applied in the criminal justice system. Examines how forensic mental health professionals assess an individual’s mental state at time of an alleged criminal act, the legal standards applied, and the social and political forces that help shape the legal decision. Considers the insanity defense; examines modern concepts of the biological basis of behavioral disorders and their relationship to existing standards of criminal responsibility.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 25z. Stress and Disease (Biobehavioral Aspects of Health and Disease)
Catalog Number: 1691 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Donald B. Giddon (Dental School)
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
This seminar on biobehavioral bases of health and disease focuses on the interaction of injurious or infectious agents and the physical and social environment in the development and maintenance of stress-related disorders. What factors are stressful for given individuals? What are the pathophysiological and/or behavioral pathways to disease? Why is a particular body organ system the target of stress? What psychological, social, and economic factors influence cognitive, affective/physiological, and behavioral responses to disease?
Note: Open to Freshmen only. Most class meetings will be at the Medical School.
*Freshman Seminar 26m. The Childhood Origins of Mental and Physical Health Outcomes
Catalog Number: 7084 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Charles A. Nelson (Medical School)
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4.
Explores the role of early experience as a major causative mechanism in altering the course of human development, with particular emphasis on neurological and psychological health. Introduces general topic and develops a list of possible areas of investigation. Participants then will be responsible for preparing and leading discussion on a particular question or issue, primarily by reading in a given area and then summarizing this area in a written report. Reviews current knowledge; discusses desirable research.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
Prerequisite: Background in introductory psychology, neuroscience, or biology desired.
*Freshman Seminar 26s. Mathematical Structures and Gödel’s Completeness Theorem
Catalog Number: 0012 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Gerald E. Sacks
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Mathematics is about structures. Some examples of structures are: the integers, the real numbers, and Euclidian plane geometry. Model theory, a branch of mathematical logic, provides a useful definition of structure. Gödel’s completeness theorem shows how logically consistent definitions imply the existence of arbitrary mathematical structures. Model theory is applicable to problems that arise in algebra. An example is: the elementary theory of the real numbers is decidable.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
Prerequisite: High school algebra and a strong interest in fundamental mathematical problems.
*Freshman Seminar 26u. What is Mental Illness?
Catalog Number: 9123 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Michael William Kahn (Medical School)
Half course (fall term). M., 2–5.
Introduces students to the nature of mental illness based on taped interviews of people suffering from a variety of psychiatric conditions. Investigates what illness and treatment are like from patient’s perspective. Interviews supplemented by readings which include a variety of patient narratives. Provides background on categories of mental illness, the varieties of treatment available, and the nature of the illness experience itself.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 26v. Blood: From Gory to Glory
Catalog Number: 9017 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
David T. Scadden
Half course (fall term). W., 1–3.
Humans have long understood that the blood flowing in their veins was imperative to their health and well-being. This course will examine the history, attitudes and beliefs surrounding blood. We will study human beliefs about blood and its uses in cultural beliefs and ceremonies. We will examine the science associated with blood: the production and the function of blood in the body, ideas of blood regarding medicine, healing, blood-related illnesses, biotechnology, nanotechnology and stem cell research.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 26w. The Biology and Science of Cancer and Its Treatments: From Empiric to Scientific to Humanistic
Catalog Number: 63338 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
David Stanley Rosenthal (Medical School), George D. Demetri (Medical School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 4–6.
"Cancer" represents hundreds of different diseases with a wide variety of causative mechanisms. We will study the biology of cancer and what makes a normal cell become a cancer one, delving into acquired and inherited genetic abnormalities and effects of environmental factors, such as nutrition, radiation, and tobacco. Current approaches to cancer will be discussed from prevention and early detection to treatment of survivorship.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 26x. The Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in the Developing World: A Silent Epidemic
Catalog Number: 93552 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Thomas Andrew Gaziano
Half course (fall term). W., 2–5.
This course will look at the emerging epidemic of cardiovascular disease in the developing world, which accounts for almost 80% of worldwide CVD deaths. Specifically, the course will investigate the particular economic challenges, cultural appropriateness, resource availability, policy tools, and challenges to successful implementation of interventions to reduce CVD. Attention will also be paid to the simultaneous battle against infectious diseases or other local health challenges in these resource poor settings.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 26z. What is Life?
Catalog Number: 20722 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Guido Guidotti
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar considers the conditions of a cell necessary to support life. The proposal is to find a definition for a living system using information and principles of biology, chemistry and physics to characterize some central properties of living cells, like energy and material uptake and use, cellular crowding, diffusion and molecular interactions, homeostasis and growth.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 30l. George Balanchine: Russian-American Master
Catalog Number: 7650 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
John E. Malmstad
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Addresses the life and major works of the Russian-American ballet master George Balanchine. Focus on his view of dance and on analysis of the ballets that he made in a career than spanned some sixty years in Russia, Europe, and the United States. Considers the relationship of his works to the intellectual and cultural climate in which they were made. Over 20 ballets to be examined.
Note: No knowledge of ballet and its vocabulary is required or assumed. Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 30o. What is College and What is It For?
Catalog Number: 1897 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Paul J. Barreira (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Seminar asks students to think and write critically about American higher education--its history, purpose and ongoing challenges. Considers "the uses of the university" from a variety of perspectives: historical, sociological, economic, and developmental. Addresses questions: What constitutes a liberal arts education? What are its goals? How should students be assessed? What role do extracurricular activities play in a college education? Does bachelor’s degree certify a vocational education, a cultural one, or a moral one?
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 30u. Ancient Interpretive Traditions and the Great Stories of the Bible
Catalog Number: 78445 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
John L. Ellison
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar will explore some of the great stories of the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament), such as the creation story, the story of the "fall of man," and the flood. We will and look at how these stories have been interpreted and understood over time. Readings will be taken from the Hebrew Bible (in English), the Christian Bible (New Testament) which interprets the great stories, and from early Christian and Rabbinic traditions.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 31j. Skepticism and Knowledge
Catalog Number: 9760 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Catherine Z. Elgin (School of Education)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 3–5.
What can we know; how can we know it? Can I know that I am not a brain in a vat being manipulated into thinking that I have a body? Can I know that Lincoln was assassinated, that E=MC2, that Hamlet is better than Harry Potter, that the sun will rise tomorrow? This seminar will study skeptical arguments and responses to skepticism to explore the nature and scope of knowledge.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 31o. Negotiating Identity in Postcolonial Francophone Africa and the Caribbean
Catalog Number: 6293 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Mylène Priam
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Explores the question of postcolonial identity through the trans-regional study of literature, poetry, cultural works, and critical theory from Africa and the Caribbean. Provides an overview of the major theoretical definitions of the postcolonial in an attempt to find formulations of postcolonial identity not only in terms of aesthetic, but also historical, geographical, linguistic, and institutional discourses. Reading will include "Diaspora.Texts" in French and English.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 31s. Heist: The Culture and Politics of Art Theft, Grave Robbery, and Looting
Catalog Number: 2258 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Nenita Ponce de Leon Elphick
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
Considers art theft from several angles, looking first at the popular appeal and glamorization of art heists in fiction and film and then focusing on different types of art theft (heists, grave robbery, and looting) to critically examine and debate the ethical issues and legalities of provenance and provenience that concern public and private collectors, museums, institutions, and the international art market. Topics include the Elgin Marbles, Nazi looting, and the national treasures of Iraq.
Note: There will be additional meeting times for film screenings. Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 31t. The Modern Image: Intersections of Photography, Cinema, and Italian Culture
Catalog Number: 1467 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Giuliana Minghelli
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
How are literary, photographic, and cinematographic visions connected? Investigates these issues through the study of major 20th-century Italian novels and films. Contrasts early literary dreams to appropriate the objectivity of the photograph with mythic fear of being appropriated by the machine. Studies how visual language and movie storytelling became the new training ground for the literary imagination; examines texts that openly mix narrative and photography. Investigates the boundaries of visual and written texts.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 31w. A Question of Taste
Catalog Number: 8061 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
James S. Murphy
Half course (fall term). W., 3–5.
Explore concepts of taste developed within science, sociology, and philosophy over the past three centuries alongside poetry and fiction from the same timeframe. Considers the sources, uses, and ways aesthetic judgments are entangled in debates over nature/nurture, class, democracy, education, consumption, rebellion, and ethics. Authors to be read include Lehrer, Pope, Hume, Austen, Bourdieu, James, Calinescu, and Nabokov.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 32e. Mapping the British Empire
Catalog Number: 7057 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Penny Joy Sinanoglou
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4.
This course examines the production and consumption of surveys, maps, and charts of the British Empire across a broad geographical and temporal span from early sketch-maps of North America through to detailed city maps used during planning for the partition of Palestine. Readings are divided both geographically and chronologically so that the course moves through the stages of exploration, consolidation, and decolonization across the breadth of the British Empire.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 32k. The Poetry of Walt Whitman
Catalog Number: 51854 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Helen Vendler
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4.
The seminar studies Whitman as a self-consciously nationalist poet, as an inheritor of English verse, as a creator of a single lifelong book, and as a poet of homosexual affection. It considers Whitman’s Americanization of lyric genres (the landscape poem, the love poem, the elegy, the bildungsroman, the war poem, and others), the private and collective speaking self, Whitmanian sequences, catalogues, forms of inception and closure, prosody, and architectonic structures.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 32l. Freud and Philosophy
Catalog Number: 6594 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Richard Moran
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
Introductory reading of Freud’s writings, touching on all the major areas of his work. Reads a case history, major concepts of psychological theory, essays on sexuality, cultural-historical reflections, writings concerned with literature and art. Concerned with the question of what kind of theory or way of thinking Freud is presenting, and its relation to both scientific, philosophical, and everyday modes of understanding.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 32v. The Art of Storytelling
Catalog Number: 7011 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Deborah D. Foster
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
People everywhere tell stories to express both the verities and contradictions found in experiences of everyday life. Based on storytelling traditions, a narrator shapes the story to reflect his or her own intentions, making it personally expressive as well as publicly meaningful to a particular audience. This seminar examines the nature of storytelling, its enduring appeal, and its ability to adapt to multiple technologies (print, film, internet). Participants engage in the storytelling process itself.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative.
*Freshman Seminar 32w. African Musical Traditions
Catalog Number: 2465 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Kay Kaufman Shelemay
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
The seminar will explore selected African musical traditions and the manner in which musical expression is linked to other aspects of African life through a comparative reading of recent musical ethnographies (with accompanying audio and visual materials). Topics will include African music histories, performance styles, and systems of meaning. The class will attend an African music concert and have at least one ’hand’s on’ session exploring African musical instruments.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative.
*Freshman Seminar 32x. Topics in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism
Catalog Number: 2937 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Leonard W. J. van der Kuijp
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–4.
Through the study of Tibetan Buddhism, students will consider important issues of cultural contact by investigating a series of interrelated topics that have played a significant role in Tibetan history and that are connected to Tibet’s acculturation to Buddhism in the eighth and ninth centuries. After developing a sense of the historic role of Buddhism in Tibetan life, students will consider the role of Buddhism and the Dalai Lama in contemporary Tibetan culture and society.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 32y. Goethe’s Faust
Catalog Number: 0139 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Karl S. Guthke
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Raises "universal issues" and problems of "perennial philosophy"; introduces question "What does it mean to be human?" Close reading and critical discussion of Faust in the context of cultural and intellectual history, with attention to the major interpretive controversies over such issues as the power of evil, the significance of human relationships, the pursuit of happiness, the cult of self-realization versus social altruism, the role of the transcendental, and ethics versus "beyond good and evil."
Note: Open to Freshmen only. All readings will be in English.
*Freshman Seminar 33e. The Idea of Italy
Catalog Number: 73162 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Robert J. Kiely
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
In 19th and early 20th centuries, Britons and Americans flocked to Italy, drawn by its art, history, climate, and people, to write, paint, and live free from the constraints of home. This course will explore the "Italy" of the imagination created by writers, Byron, Browning and Ruskin Mark Twain, Henry James, Edith Wharton, and compare it to political, cultural, artistic Italy that they actually found. Literary texts will be the focus, but paintings will also be studied.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 33g. Eloquence Personified: How To Speak Like Cicero
Catalog Number: 87351 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Christopher B. Krebs
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar is an introduction to Roman rhetoric, Cicero’s Rome, and the active practice of speaking well. Participants read a short rhetorical treatise by Cicero, analyze one of his speeches as well as recent speeches by Obama, and watch the latter’s oratorical performance. During the remainder of the term they practice rhetoric, prepare and deliver in class two (short) speeches, and write an essay.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative.
*Freshman Seminar 33i. What is Music?
Catalog Number: 3112 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Christopher Hasty
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course is an introduction to what is conventionally called music theory, permitting students to hear and think about music in sophisticated and creative ways. The seminar explores music from fully sensible and intellectual perspectives avoiding needless abstraction. Web-based materials designed for this course will be used for activities of close listening, analysis, and composition. Repertory will center on Western Classical music of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative. Students need to be able to read music only and a wide diversity of musical backgrounds are welcomed.
*Freshman Seminar 33l. Americans Abroad: American Travel Narratives and Histories
Catalog Number: 3229 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Katherine Stebbins mccaffrey
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
In this course, students will be invited to get lost, like Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and scores of others did (and do), in the pleasures and pains associated with travel, and led to explore and question the history, literature, economics, politics, and spectacle of Americans abroad through reading travel writing by Americans. Together we will consider the ways in which travel and tourism complicate ideas about Americans’ cultural and social mobility.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 33n. Lives of the Dead
Catalog Number: 6022 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Karen E. Bishop
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4:30.
This class examines a corpus of works that portrays the lives of the dead body. Students decipher what the body reveals in death, what desires it embodies, what losses and sacrifices it signifies, and what ethical demands it places on the living. Readings and discussions focus on the aesthetic, cultural, and political manifestations of the dead, disappeared, embalmed, copied, errant, tortured, dismembered, buried and re-membered body in major works of Western literature and cultural studies.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 33o. Animation--Getting Your Hands On Time
Catalog Number: 37616 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Ruth S. Lingford
Half course (fall term). W., 1–4; F., 1–3.
Experimentation with a variety of animation techniques leads to new perspectives on time in this practice-based seminar. Practical assignments using drawing, pixillation, strata-cut and time-lapse will build into students making a short animated film, individually or in groups.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative.
*Freshman Seminar 33p. The Self: A Philosophical Investigation
Catalog Number: 36493 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Cheryl K. Chen
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A philosophical investigation into the nature of the self. Topics include the mind-body problem, personal identity and ethical issues related to death and survival.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 33t. Symbols in the Novel
Catalog Number: 5563 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Jacob M. Emery
Half course (fall term). M., 1–3.
This seminar examines a set of modern novels from Europe and North America that are highly involved with symbolic thought and language, as well as a selection of philosophical writings on symbolization and figure. Authors include Vladimir Nabokov, Henry James, Franz Kafka, Virginia Woolf, Hermann Melville, Alasdair Gray, Andrei Bely, Sigmund Freud, Susan Sontag, and Friedrich Nietzsche.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 33u. "Our Homegrown Borges": Avatars of Jorge Luis Borges in 20th Century Literature
Catalog Number: 66707 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Antonio Cordoba
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4.
Borges is one of the central figures in 20th-century literature. An international standard to which other authors can be compared in ways immediately understandable, he has given western consciousness new ways to read the world. He is, also, an intensely Argentine writer. This course explores this dual nature, local and global. The first half of the course covers Borges’ work; the second half traces his presence in European, North American and Latin American authors.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 33v. Buddhist Visualization in a Chinese Cave: Body, Time, and Cosmos
Catalog Number: 2530 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Eugene Wang
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–5.
The seminar is an introduction to Buddhism and art history by focusing on a fifth-century Chinese cave. The images therein show episodes from the Buddha’s past and present lives (his bodily sacrifices and demon-subjugation, etc.), which involve key concepts of Buddhism, including body, time, and cosmos. Poor visibility in the cave calls for inquiries into modes of cognition and religious functions. The interdisciplinary study explores issues of art, religion, anthropology, and cognitive psychology.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 33w. Moving Pictures: Pictorial Narrative in Japan
Catalog Number: 82937 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Melissa M. McCormick
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Dynamic forms of visual storytelling abound in Japan, from twelfth-century narrative scrolls, to twentieth-century manga, to contemporary anime. This seminar examines the fundamentals of Japanese pictorial narrative by analyzing formal characteristics of both images (composition, framing, line, color), and narrative texts (plot, temporality, character) and how these elements interact to generate meaning. Students will create their own illustrated scrolls, manga, and storyboards to understand the potential and limitations of visual narrative.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative. No Japanese language required.
*Freshman Seminar 33x. Complexity in Works of Art: Ulysses and Hamlet
Catalog Number: 6673 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Philip J. Fisher
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4.
Do inherited forms found in literature permit only certain variations within experience to reach lucidity? Investigates literature’s limits in giving account of mind, everyday experience, thought, memory, full character, and situation in time. Studies Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Joyce’s Ulysses, a modern work of unusual complexity and resistance to both interpretation and to simple comfortable reading. Reading these two works suggests potential meanings for terms like complexity, resistance, openness of meaning, and experimentation within form.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 33y. Odysseys
Catalog Number: 14521 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Francesca Schironi
Half course (fall term). W., 4–6.
Through the analysis of the Odyssey, and of its ancient and modern adaptations, the seminar focuses on the various aspect of Odysseus, an ambiguous and multi-faceted hero: Odysseus as a ’Greek epic’ hero, as a folktale ’hero on a quest’, as a ’philosophical’ hero, as a negative hero, or as a 20th century anti-hero. How have Odysseus and the Odyssey been ’changed’ and ’adapted’ through the centuries to convey political, intellectual and moral messages?
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 33z. Art, Object, and the Museum
Catalog Number: 11816 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Susanne Ebbinghaus and Stephan S. Wolohojian
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar investigates objects in an art museum setting. Drawing on the ancient, modern and contemporary collections of the Harvard Art Museum, it examines ritual and devotional objects, utilitarian and fetishized objects, as well as objects with dominant subjects and more abstract works. The seminar explores the methods and taxonomies used by art historians and conservators to order, study, analyze and preserve objects. Meetings take place in the galleries and at neighboring institutions.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative.
*Freshman Seminar 34i. Girl Talk: Reflections on Gender and Youth in America
Catalog Number: 4743 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Laura K. Johnson
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar explores what women have to say about growing up female in contemporary America. Sources analyzed include memoirs, documentary films, photographs, and diaries. These sources both depict individual experiences and reflect more broadly on the role gender plays in American society. Topics considered include the various ways gender impacts the experience of athletics, academic achievement, illness, self-esteem, body image, family dynamics, violence, and immigration.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 34j. Medieval and Early Modern Love Poetry
Catalog Number: 57137 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Luis M. Girón Negrón
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
Does love have a history? This seminar explores a particularly rich episode in its literary history: efflorescence of love poetry in medieval Europe and the Middle East. Close readings of troubadour lyric in Provençal, German, French and Galician-Portuguese; Latin amatory verse; Petrarchan sonnets and their heirs; Arabic-Hebrew muwashshahat; mysticism; Dante, Juan Ruiz and Roman de la Rose. Attention given to premodern discussions on love and scholarly views on how medieval European love lyric originated.
Note: For Freshmen only. All primary readings will be available both in English translation and in the original languages.
Prerequisite: There are no prerequisites.
*Freshman Seminar 34m. Leonard Bernstein and His World
Catalog Number: 0175 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Carol J. Oja
Half course (fall term). W., 1–3.
Conductor, composer, teacher, television personality, Bernstein embraced new technologies with gusto, bringing classical music to a wider audience than ever before. As composer of a series of innovative Broadway musicals, including West Side Story (1957), he also challenged the status quo. Explores Bernstein’s career in the round, looking at concurrent cultural patterns. Special focus on his relationship to mass media. Course includes an opportunity to dance to the choreography of Jerome Robbins.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative.
Prerequisite: Music literacy is desirable but not required. No previous dancing experience is required.
*Freshman Seminar 34p. Literature and the Possibility of Justice
Catalog Number: 9604 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Avi Matalon
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
The seminar will explore influential literary texts that present problems of justice and examine questions suggested by the texts: Are justice and injustice absolute concepts or do they emerge from context? To what extent do different cultures, periods, texts have different expectations of justice? Readings include Aeschylus’s Oresteia, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Euripides’ Bacchae, the Book of Job, Dante’s Inferno, Montaigne’s Essays (three essays), Shakespeare’s King Lear, Goethe’s Faust, Mary Shelley Wollstonecraft’s Frankenstein, Coetzee’s Disgrace.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 34t. Experimental Fiction
Catalog Number: 72244 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
George G. Grabowicz
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
Experimentation in modern prose fiction as a challenge to formal conventions, to "content" and to society. Examines the role of the fantastic; play with narrative and perspective; stream-of-consciousness, fragmentation and collage; mixing of genres and modes; hypertextuality, intertextuality and parody; constraints (lipograms), and the intersection of prose, poetry and visual art. Focuses on the works of Kafka, Joyce, Gertrude Stein, Nabokov, Robbe-Grillet, Gombrowicz, Barthelme, Pynchon, Calvino, Pavic, Matthews and Philips.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 34z. Pressing the Page: Making Art with Letters, Paper & Ink
Catalog Number: 97712 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Zachary Sifuentes
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar meets in the Bow & Arrow Press, a vintage letterpress studio in Adams House. We work with lead type to explore language as both a verbal and visual medium, in which words might spell out poetry as readily as they represent, say, swarms of birds. We ask: what’s possible when language is art? In the process, we work with a variety of limits-some physical, some imaginative-to see constraint as fundamental to creativity.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative.
*Freshman Seminar 35e. What is Beauty?
Catalog Number: 26923 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Francesco Erspamer
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4; W., 11–4.
Beauty teaches the conditional nature of values and the revocability of absolutes: it is a most effective training for tolerance and innovation. Selections from Plato, Kant, and other classics of aesthetics are discussed in the first part of this seminar. The second part explores the representation of beauty in Italian literature, art, opera, cinema, and design. Topics include the Renaissance "invention" of art, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Fellini’s La dolce vita, and Benetton’s advertising campaigns.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative.
*Freshman Seminar 35l. War, Violence and Memory in 20th Century Europe
Catalog Number: 3854 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Katrina Maria Hagen
Half course (fall term). W., 1–4.
This seminar explores the relationship of history and memory in the context of war and genocide in 20th century Europe. It charts the shifting "politics of memory" from the First and Second World Wars, to wars of decolonization in the 1950s and 60s, to post-Cold War ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia. Assignments include short response papers, and a research project with an oral presentation.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 35q. Dilemmas of the Public Intellectual in the Twentieth Century
Catalog Number: 1813 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Joshua Humphreys
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar explores the role of public intellectuals during the twentieth century. We give special attention to intellectuals’ responses to the First and Second World Wars, fascism and communism, and colonialism and decolonization. The seminar also asks whether public intellectuals continue to have a viable role to play today or, rather, have been displaced by new forces in public life. Authors include, among others, Arendt, Bourdieu, Gide, Gramsci, Habermas, Posner, Said, Sartre, Walzer, and Zola.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 35s. Movement and Meaning: Dance, Culture, and Identity in the 20th Century
Catalog Number: 46522 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Jessica Berson
Half course (fall term). M., 1–3.
This course examines the history of Western theatrical and social dance through the course of the twentieth century, including the development of modern dance, contemporary ballet, popular dance, and dance in film and television. Students will be invited to think critically about dance and also to dance themselves (no prior dance experience required). Artists under consideration include Martha Graham, George Balanchine, Alvin Ailey, Judson Church Dance Theater, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, among many others.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative.
*Freshman Seminar 36t. Gods, Myths, and Rituals: Polytheism in Ancient Greece
Catalog Number: 51141 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Albert Henrichs
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4.
The Greeks had no word for religion and no sacred books, but their gods were a ubiquitous presence in public and private life, particularly through the transmission of myth and the performance of ritual. Drawing on a wide selection of original sources and modern interpretations of Greek religion, this seminar will offer an introduction to all aspects of the religious experience in ancient Greece and will explore ways to rethink the boundaries of human religiosity.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 36y. Alternative Narratives: An Introductory Seminar on the Modern Literature and Historiography of Latin America - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 70076 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Rodolfo Fasquelle Pastor
Half course (fall term). W., 4–6.
The narrative of past events is not the exclusive province of historical literature. Novels and other literary genres have concerned themselves with the past as such and as signifier. Using both literary analysis and historical methods we will contrast novels and histories and explore the manner in which both literary works and historiography feed on each other, contribute to the construction of national myths, identities and to the richer understanding of the past as alternate experience.
*Freshman Seminar 37i. Love, Medieval Style
Catalog Number: 5514 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Sally Livingston
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–5.
In this course we will examine the medieval obsession with love in all its diverse forms, reading (in translation) from the Latin, French, and English medieval literatures. Some of the broad themes we will examine are the interplay between the secular and sacred idea of love, medieval sexualities, the rise of lovesickness as a both a literary theme and medical malady, and the growing connection of love and marriage.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 37n. What’s in a Coin? The World of Numismatics - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 57879 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Carmen Arnold-Biucchi
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar offers a hands-on introduction to the world of ancient coins using the collections of the Harvard Art Museums. Ancient coins are important objects of material culture as well as original works of art in miniature. They give clues about the history, geography and religion of the ancient world: by looking at them in detail we can learn about Greek and Roman portraiture, political propaganda, and the myths and legends of that time.
*Freshman Seminar 38j. Medicine and Literature
Catalog Number: 0116 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Elaine Scarry
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4.
Based on literary and medical texts. Addresses: Can language express physical pain? Can the body-in its fragile or injured form-enter literature? Are all our senses (hearing, touch, taste, smell) as vividly present in language as vision is? How does the empathic representation of illness or pain in literature differ from the physician’s professional attempt to cure or alleviate suffering or (when that is impossible) to solace the suffering patient?
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 38l. Literary Theory
Catalog Number: 4870 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Joanna Nizynska
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4.
What is literary theory? What is literary and what is theoretical in literary theory? How can literary theory help us to read and discuss literature? How can literature help us to read and discuss theory? What are the benefits and dangers of engaging with literary theory? This course is designed to map out the field of literary theory for students interested in all fields of the humanities.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 40i. The Supreme Court in U.S. History
Catalog Number: 7142 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Richard H. Fallon (Harvard Law School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Often described as the world’s most powerful court, the US Supreme Court has not always enjoyed high prestige or unquestioned authority. The Court’s significance has waxed and occasionally waned, with the variations typically depending on surrounding currents in the nation’s social and political history. Examines the history of the Court from the nation’s founding to the present. Highlights relation between constitutional law and ordinary politics, and the ways in which they influence one another.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 40t. Investigating an American Quilt
Catalog Number: 9250 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
Introduces students to the wonders of Harvard’s museums and libraries through investigation of a ragged crib quilt made in Missouri in the 1920s. Shows how close investigation of a common object can reveal unseen connections between politics, economics, literature, and the visual arts.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative.
*Freshman Seminar 40u. Dealing With the Global Financial Crisis
Catalog Number: 98044 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Kenneth Rogoff
Half course (fall term). M., 4–6.
This course looks at approaches taken by different countries to dealing with the recent global financial crisis. What can we learn from historical experiences? How should the future of financial system be shaped? No formal background in economics is required, although a number of readings at the level of Economist and the Financial Times will be assigned. There will be regular short writing assignments and a longer term paper.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 41g. The Faces of Human Rights in Latin America: Anthropological Perspectives
Catalog Number: 0088 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Theodore Macdonald
Half course (fall term). Tu., 4–6.
Analyses current human rights issues and related social movements in Latin America. Examines how human rights language and legislation influence local people and, conversely, how local claims and cases shape interpretation and practice of human rights. Introduces basic theoretical, legal, and institutional tools of human rights practice. Emphasizes, through anthropological case studies, field methods and students’ research, understanding of local perspectives in several of the region’s widely known human rights cases.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 41p. American Presidential Campaigns and Elections 1960-2008
Catalog Number: 2004 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Maxine Isaacs
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3.
What can we learn from modern presidential campaigns and elections about our own political era? In this Seminar, we examine changes in campaigns and elections since 1960; demographic shifts of the last fifty years; nature and structure of American public opinion; ways American news media transmit information and people learn about matters in the public sphere - and use all these perspectives to understand the remarkable 2008 presidential campaign and our own times, issues and society.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 42k. Comparative Law and Religion
Catalog Number: 9992 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Ofrit Liviatan
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Investigates how modern democracies use their legal systems to address religion-based conflicts, and evaluates the effects of the legal process on the resolution of these conflicts. Examines different philosophical approaches to the role of religion in public life and discusses their legal manifestations drawing on legal cases from the US, Turkey, India, Israel, Spain, Canada, and England. Studies contemporary debates about the funding of religious institutions, the wearing of Islamic headscarves.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 42m. The New Social History of the Cold War in Asia
Catalog Number: 5168 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Michael A. Szonyi
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4.
This seminar explores the impact of the Cold War on Asia by looking at communities in places such as Okinawa, Taiwan and Vietnam. How does the history of the Cold War change when our focus shifts from Europe to Asia, and from high politics to issues like daily life, household economy and family relations? What are the Cold War’s legacies? How is it remembered? No previous knowledge of the region expected. Readings in English.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 42n. Comparative National Security of Middle Eastern Countries
Catalog Number: 5714 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Charles David Freilich
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
The course surveys the national security threats and opportunities facing the primary countries of the Middle East, from their perspective. Issues discussed include the domestic sources of national security considerations, relations with regional and international players, military doctrine, foreign policy principles. The seminar is an interactive, "real world" exercise, in which students play the role of leaders in the countries of their choosing and write practical policy recommendations on current affairs.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 42s. Jews on the Tube: Images and Integration in American Jewry
Catalog Number: 4921 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Rachel L. Greenblatt
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Traces the representation and self-representation of Jews in radio, television, and cinema, focusing on questions of integration, assimilation, and Jewish identity. How were Jews portrayed in radio, television, and film? When Jews were artists, actors, directors, and producers, how did they portray themselves? Explores American Jewish history to understand media depictions of Jews and to compare them to non-Jewish historical precedents. How did media portrayals evolve as American Jewish life evolved throughout the 20th century?
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 42t. The Age of Reason: Science and Religion
Catalog Number: 3620 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Stefan Bird-Pollan
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course will examine the conflict that perhaps best defines the enlightenment, that between science and religion. In doing so, we will examine both the rise of modern science in Bacon and Newton and the various responses to this by figures like Spinoza, Leibniz, Kant, Voltaire, Hume and Diderot. We will examine both atheist texts as well as those which sought to reconcile religion and science.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 42u. The Laws of War and the War on Terrorism
Catalog Number: 9694 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Gregg Andrew Peeples
Half course (fall term). W., 3–5.
How do the "laws of war" regulate the conduct of the United States in the "Global War on Terrorism?" This seminar examines the historical development of two legal concepts: jus ad bellum, which determines the legitimacy of the use of armed force; and jus in bello, which defines the duties of belligerent states. Drawing on this background, the seminar explores how these laws have influenced the way the US has conducted military operations since 9/11.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 42v. Human Rights Between Rhetoric and Reality
Catalog Number: 1757 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Stephen P. Marks (Public Health)
Half course (spring term). Tu., 4–6.
Examines radically different perspectives on the question of whether human rights discourse is merely rhetorical or captures a significant dimension of reality for peoples in diverse cultures. Topics include compatibility of human rights with contending philosophical systems and religions, feminism, and critical theory; challenges to human rights from various scientific perspectives, including evolutionary biology, genetic engineering, and brain research; and the relative significance of human rights in law and government, economics, and foreign policy.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 42w. The Book: From Gutenberg to the Internet
Catalog Number: 6004 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Robert Darnton
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines the impact of books on Western culture from the time of Gutenberg. Hands-on experience in studying the book as a physical object and theoretical reflection on the nature of printing as a means of communication. Students will consider the publishing history of great books such as Shakespeare’s First Folio and will address the problem of books as elements in the electronic media.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. Additional time after the seminar meeting may be arranged for hands-on workshops.
*Freshman Seminar 42x. Leisure, Play, and Idleness in Russian Literature
Catalog Number: 8776 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Laura Schlosberg
Half course (fall term). M., 3–5.
Can leisure be used to study literature? This seminar examines how Russian writers depicted leisure activities, and used leisure to develop characters and plots. Using this lens onto Russian literature, the seminar considers: the tensions between work and leisure; respectability; leisure as a venue for more "serious" activity; and leisure’s dangerous, fictive, and playful aspects. In addition, the seminar explores the related resources available in Houghton Library.
Note: All readings are in English. Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 42y. Women in 20th Century China
Catalog Number: 58055 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Henrietta Harrison
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4.
This seminar uses the experiences of Chinese women as a lens through which to discuss the dramatic changes that have taken place in China during the last century. It examines women’s progress from footbinding and female infanticide to the factory labourers and successful professionals of today, but also seeks to complicate this story by discussing topics such as the Empress Dowager, who ruled China in 1900, and widespread use of sex-selective abortion today.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 43i. Secularism: Religion’s Rival or Democracy’s Religion?
Catalog Number: 0610 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
K. Healan Gaston
Half course (fall term). W., 1–3.
This course examines the emergence of two competing understandings of secularism in contemporary public discourse. One portrays secularism as an inauthentic religion, threatening the traditional faiths that sustain democracy. The other portrays secularism as the authentic religion of democracy, unique in its ability to foster tolerance and respect for freedom of conscience. Students use historical readings to grapple with these paradigms, exploring what each implies about America’s religious pluralism and the nature of American democracy.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 43j. The Economist’s View of the World
Catalog Number: 35829 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
N. Gregory Mankiw
Half course (fall term). Th., 2:30–5.
This seminar probes how economic thinkers from the right and left view human behavior and the proper role of government in society. Each week, seminar participants read and discuss a brief, nontechnical, policy-oriented book by a prominent economist. Regular writing assignments are also required. Students should have some background in economics, such as an AP economics course in high school or simultaneous enrollment in Social Analysis 10.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 43l. Happiness in Philosophy and Psychoanalysis
Catalog Number: 15185 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Lucas S. Fain
Half course (fall term). W., 3–5.
Everyone wants to be happy. But do we even know what we want when we say that we desire happiness? Few questions generate so much existential anxiety and overwhelming philosophical interest. For without knowledge of happiness, how can we know what it means to live a good life? This course examines these questions as they have been considered variously in philosophy and psychoanalysis. Readings include works by Aristotle, Descartes, Rousseau, Kant, Nietzsche, Freud, and Zizek.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 43m. Psychology of Religion
Catalog Number: 83191 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Jon Wesley Boyd
Half course (fall term). M., 3–5.
This course addresses some of the fundamental issues of the nature of the self, issues which appear at the intersection of religion and psychology. The course will focus on issues of narrative as well as "world construction," ways in which both individuals and cultures create frameworks of meaning. The readings explore philosophical, psychological, and literary perspectives on religious experience and include works by William James, Freud, Jung, Dostoevsky, Flannery O’Connor, Malcolm X and others.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 43o. Shakespeare and Political Philosophy
Catalog Number: 82605 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Alexander T. Schulman
Half course (fall term). W., 2–5.
We read a series of Shakespeare plays alongside classic texts of Western political philosophy in order to explore how Shakespeare illuminates the deepest questions of political philosophy, and vice versa. Though there are many legitimate ways to read classical literature and classical political theory our basic framing questions are existential. That is to say: What is the true condition of, and what are the legitimate hopes for, finite, self-conscious, collective human existence in this world?
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 43v. Science, Religion, and Creation
Catalog Number: 52391 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Ludmila Ludmilova Guenova
Half course (fall term). Tu., 4–6; Tu., 6–8 p.m.
Does the world reveal evidence of intelligent design? Does creation entail a creator? Can we explain the origins of life only through natural causality, or must we appeal to divine intent? This freshman seminar takes a hard look at the philosophical and scientific underpinnings of classical and contemporary debates concerning the problem of intelligent design. Course readings are from the fields of both science and philosophy. (No previous background in either is required).
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 43y. Where Does Your Morality Come From?
Catalog Number: 9380 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Alan Dershowitz (Law School)
Half course (fall term). M., 4–6.
What are the sources of morality, law and rights? This seminar explores these sources through a variety of readings: The Brothers Karamazov, excerpts from the Old and New Testaments and the Koran as well as from my book, The Genesis of Justice), psychology (Steven Pinker, Marc Hauser), philosophy (Robert Nozick, Socrates, Cicero), jurisprudence (my book, Rights From Wrongs, Ronald Dworkin) and positive law (the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and foundational documents from other countries).
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 43z. Cyberspace in Court: Law of the Internet
Catalog Number: 2880 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Phillip Robert Malone
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
How collisions of interests in online space play out in lawsuits or in proposals before legislatures -- controversies involving Google, YouTube, Apple, Microsoft, MySpace. Examines broad questions of social and technology policy through the lens of law and specific lawsuits. Topics: copyright and fair use, peer-to-peer file sharing, digital rights management, and the DMCA; online speech, anonymity, and privacy; citizen journalism and new media; competition and antitrust; pornography, child protection, and online gambling; security, phishing, and spyware.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 44g. Public Policy Approaches to Global Climate Change
Catalog Number: 1032 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Richard N. Cooper
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Reviews what is known about greenhouse gas emissions’ possible impact on climate. Explores possible impact of climate change on social and economic conditions over the next century. Investigates possible public policy responses to these developments, including actions both to adapt to and to mitigate climate change. What would be the costs of adaptation? Would an investment in mitigating the changes be worthwhile? Are there possibilities for international cooperation in dealing with the problem?
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 44j. The Aztecs and Maya
Catalog Number: 7826 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Davíd L. Carrasco
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Explores Aztec and Maya culture, history, religion from insider and outsider (Spanish) perspectives. Analyzes how religion fueled genesis and expansion of Aztec empire as well as the Conquistadors’ activities. Examines approaches used to piece back together puzzles of how a magnificent cultural tradition, the Maya, took root and thrived in tropical forest setting .Examines how modern scholars and students explore world-view, social relations, and history of other cultures including Maya and Aztec peoples today.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 44l. Religious Freedom – a Human Right?
Catalog Number: 2575 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Melanie Adrian
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4.
This course considers the legal, theoretical and theological interconnections between religion and human rights. Students are familiarized with key concepts including definitions of human rights, their origins and limitations, and cultural relativism. These concepts are brought into dialogue with four major world traditions and three case studies (female genital mutilation and the debates around the headscarf in France and Turkey).
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 44n. Communication, Advocacy, and Public Affairs
Catalog Number: 61629 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Christine M. Heenan
Half course (spring term). Th., 5:30–7:30 p.m.
This course provides students with information and insights about strategic communication: how messages are created and framed, why we respond to messages the way we do, and how to employ communications strategies to advance political and public policy goals. The aim is to give students practical experience in developing and executing communications and advocacy strategies to create or change policy. Through guest lecturers, it will introduce students to the perspectives of different critical actors in the policymaking process.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 44q. Evolution and Human Behavior
Catalog Number: 7809 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Judith F. Chapman
Half course (fall term). F., 2–4.
This seminar explores human behavior from an evolutionary perspective. Topics will include basic evolutionary and life history theory as well as various adaptive problems humans have faced over time: survival (predator/prey interaction, immune function, nourishment...), mating (mate selection, attraction & retention, sexual coercion, sperm competition, physical attractiveness, ...), parenting and kinship (parental investment, parent offspring conflict, and hormonal adaptations to parenting), and group living (social exchange, aggression, dominance, morality).
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 44s. Neanderthals and Human Evolutionary Theory
Catalog Number: 46776 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Tanya M. Smith
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–5:30.
This course explores the origins and development of human evolutionary theory in parallel with the discovery and study of our "cousins," the Neanderthals. Readings and discussions highlight breakthroughs in evolutionary theory since the 17th centrury, ranging from the Darwinian revolution to the field of "evo-devo." The recent history of the Neanderthals is explored in detail, which mirrors intellectual developments in biological anthropology ranging from the re-conceptualization of race to innovations in recovering ancient DNA.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 44t. The Atomic Bomb in History and Culture
Catalog Number: 2897 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Everett I. Mendelsohn
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
The explosion of the atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945 ushered in a new era of warfare, of scientific prominence, of civic anxiety, and political challenge. Explores the interaction of science, politics, strategy, and culture in the studies of historians as well as in the literature, films, and theater from the early years of the twentieth century through the 1970s and 1980s dealing with the atom and the atom bomb.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 44v. Urban Environmental Health
Catalog Number: 3210 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Jonathan Ian Levy (Public Health)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
In a world where half of the population now lives in urban areas, this course examines the complex environmental and health implications of urbanization, considering both beneficial and detrimental effects in developing and developed countries. Case studies include health and safety risks from traffic around the world, environmental implications of energy usage and generation patterns in the United States and China, and health risks related to substandard drinking water in mega-cities in developing countries.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 44z. Power and Protest in United States History
Catalog Number: 50936 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Lisa M. McGirr
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar investigates distinctive movements for social change in the 19th and 20th-century United States. Students will look closely at ideas and methods of movement organizers through primary and secondary readings. Through examination of the movement to abolish slavery through the student movement of the 1960s, we will seek to determine the character of individual movements, their origins, successes, failures. Students will be asked to think broadly about the boundaries of politics, protest, political practice.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 45e. The Mother-Daughter Power Failure: Women, Leadership, and the Problem of Political Inheritance
Catalog Number: 66248 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Susan Faludi
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2:30–4:30.
Recently, women have begun to claim power formerly held by men. Yet in politics, work and the family, women are so often unable to pass down power from one woman to the next-with the effect that the search for women’s equality seems to begin anew with every generation. This seminar will explore this intergenerational breakdown from a variety of perspectives-historical, political, cultural, psychological-and through texts ranging from personal memoirs to contemporary media.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 45i. The Art and Craft of Acting
Catalog Number: 10361 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Remo Francisco Airaldi
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Provides an introduction to acting by combining elements of a discussion seminar with exercises, improvisations, performance activities including the analysis, rehearsal, presentation of monologues and scenes. Uses improvisation to develop characters, improve group/ensemble dynamics and to minimize habitual behaviors. Explores a range of historical and contemporary acting techniques including those of Stanislavsky, Sanford Meisner, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Jerzy Grotowksi, Peter Brook, others. Students also attend and critique performances at the Loeb Drama Center.
Note: Open to Freshmen only. This course includes student art-making as part of the Harvard Arts Initiative.
*Freshman Seminar 45k. The Politics of the Female Body in Modern America
Catalog Number: 5464 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Karen P. Flood
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar examines the female body as a site of political, social, and cultural struggle in the United States from 1900 to the present, focusing on three main areas: reproduction and reproductive rights; sexuality; and ideals of appearance. The seminar pays particular attention to the diversity of women’s experiences and gender ideals according to race, class, and sexuality. Students will work through the stages of an historical research paper on a topic of their choice.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 45o. Sexuality in American History, Politics, and Culture
Catalog Number: 79109 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Ian K. Lekus
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Sex is often thought of as an unchanging need, an experience outside of history. However over the course of U.S. history, sexual desires, behaviors, identities, attitudes, and technologies have undergone profound transformations. In this course, we cover the history of birth control and abortion; the politics of race and sex; venereal diseases; economies and geographies of sex; sexual violence; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identities and communities from colonization to the present
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 46o. The Evolutionary Significance of Cooking
Catalog Number: 99626 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Richard W. Wrangham
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This course explores the biological significance of cooking and other forms of food-processing, including their effects on nutrition, physiology, cognition and social behavior. It incorporates a study of human evolution, hunter-gatherer lifeways, the pros and cons of food-labelling systems, and some cooking lessons. The focus on food-processing provides an introduction to many theoretical and practical questions in the field of human evolutionary biology.
Note: For Freshmen only.
Prerequisite: There are no prerequisites.
*Freshman Seminar 46p. Human Rights Violations in the 21st Century; Issues of Law, Gender, and Displacement
Catalog Number: 8408 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Jennifer Leaning and Jacqueline Bhabha
Half course (fall term). W., 3–5.
Studies how human rights perspective illuminates relations between state authority and individuals and defines standards of behavior that societies agree to aspire to reach. Topics include the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, rights in political and economic spheres, the rights of women, children, and refugees, international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and the state, regional, and international processes and structures that establish and monitor the regime of international human rights law.
Note: Meets at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 47i. Violence in 20th-Century Europe
Catalog Number: 5893 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
John D. Ondrovcik
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines the rationality at work behind forms of violence from crime, the world wars, genocide, terrorism, to post-colonial conflict. Explores the issues involved in studying violence from historical and theoretical perspectives. Can violence be understood by those who have not experienced it? What are the relationships between forms of conflict and changes in social, cultural, and material life? Course materials include historical monographs, theoretical texts, personal narratives, literature, and film.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 47o. Tattoos and Tattooing: Creating a Living Canvas
Catalog Number: 15976 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
David R. Odo
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Tattooing impregnates a person’s skin with pigment, transforming the body into a living canvas. This creative process-and the bodies created out of this process-will form the locus of our studies, which will draw on written texts, visual material, and museum objects. Students will gain global and historical perspectives on how tattoos "construct" the skin by exploring issues such as the relationships between tattoos and identity, design, colonial encounter, criminality, performance, gender and sexuality.
Note: For Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 47u. Declarations of Independence: The Political Philosophy of the American Revolution
Catalog Number: 4718 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
David R. Armitage
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4.
Examines the Declaration of Independence in some unfamiliar contexts. Introduces the development of modern ideas of rights, nationality, and statehood. Connects Declaration to two centuries of arguments justifying rebellion, secession, and rights. Examines the political philosophy of the American Revolution, replies to the Declaration, other American declarations of independence on behalf of women, African-Americans, workers, and other groups during the 19th and 20th centuries, and analogues produced by later nationalist, secessionist, and anti-colonial movements.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 48n. American Dreams
Catalog Number: 2426 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
James T. Kloppenberg
Half course (fall term). W., 12–2.
America has long been a land of dreams, on which generations of Europeans and Americans have projected their hopes and fears. As estimates of human potential and ideals of social and political organization have changed over time, new meanings of "America" have proliferated. This seminar (not primarily concerned with the immigrant experience) will examine visions of the new world and its possibilities from the eighteenth century to the present in works of fiction, autobiography, and social criticism.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 49n. Measurements of the Mind: The Creation and Critique of the Psychological Test
Catalog Number: 9965 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Marla D. Eby (Medical School)
Half course (fall term). W., 3–5.
Introduces the history of psychological tests, from the perspective of the psychologists using them, the people tested, and the general public. Examines the creativity within psychology in the making of such tests, as well as the drawbacks and dangers of the (mis)uses of these instruments. Explores tests in current use, as well as tests contained in various Harvard archives. Final project for this seminar involves the design of an original psychological test.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 49p. Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie, and the Literary Culture of Childhood
Catalog Number: 4622 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Maria Tatar
Half course (fall term). Th., 2:30–4:30.
This seminar will explore the pleasures of childhood reading and investigate how wonder and curiosity figure in the reading experience. Peter Pan will serve as our point of departure, and the first half of the course will explore different facets of Barrie’s writings. In the second half, we will look at stories for children, exploring how they meet the desires of sensation-seeking readers. Authors include Lewis Carroll, C.S. Lewis, and Philip Pullman.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
*Freshman Seminar 49z. The Art of the Impossible: Political Leadership in the 20th Century
Catalog Number: 7628 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Roderick MacFarquhar
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Academic interest in political leaders has declined as historians and political scientists have focused on political, economic, and social forces. But certain individual leaders stand out for having bestowed great benefit or having wreaked great havoc upon their nations. Considers political leadership not as the art of the possible but the art of the impossible: mobilizing a nation for Herculean efforts or leading it into uncharted waters.
Note: Open to Freshmen only.
[Literature 113 (formerly Humanities 16). Existential Fictions: From Saint Augustine to Jean-Paul Sartre and Beyond]
Catalog Number: 3016
Verena A. Conley
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course examines problems of existence in relation to self and other in the world from the early Christian era to our days. It shows how existence preoccupies major writers who have approached its implications (and the dilemmas it inspires) in different ways. At stake are the redemptive powers of religion, thoughts about the death of God, the limits of atheism, and philosophies of becoming.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Literature and Arts A.
Mather 77. Nabokov
Catalog Number: 1204 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
James R. Russell
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Explores life and work through close reading of autobiography, five major novels, several short stories, related Russian and English poems by Nabokov as well as other poets (especially émigrés), and scholarly writings. Themes explored include: life of the writer and literary invention, Russian influences, the role of the state, exile, sexual identity, the otherworld, and American celebrity status. How does Nabokov’s writing suggest a new intellectual type of free and creative man?