Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding 12. Poetry in America - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 0748
Elisa New
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
Surveying 300+ years of poetry in America, from the Puritans to the avant-garde poets of this new century, the course covers individual figures (Poe, Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, Williams, Hughes), major poetic movements (Firesides, Modernist, New York, Confessional, L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E) and probes uses of poetry across changing times. Who, and what, are poems for? For poets? Readers? To give vent to the soul? To paint or sculpt with words? Alter consciousness? Raise cultural tone? Students will read, write about and also recite American poems.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Literature and Arts A.
Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding 13 (formerly Spanish 180). Cultural Agents
Catalog Number: 0460
Doris Sommer
Half course (spring term). M., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Explore the arts as social resources! Starting with a "Cultural Agents Fair" to meet local change artists as possible partners for collaborative projects (on mayors, music, murals, mimes, etc.), students will consider how defamiliarization and the counterfactual make change thinkable. Then we will track how aesthetic effects and side-effects can promote social change. Theoretical readings (Schiller, Kant, Dewey, Freire, Gramsci, Rancière, Mockus, Boal, García-Canclini, inter alia) are grounded in concrete cases of agency.
[Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding 14. (formerly Literature and Arts C-56). Putting Modernism Together] - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 7613
Daniel Albright
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 12, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 14
Just as a pine or a willow is known from the shape of its branching, so human culture can be understood as a growth-pattern, a ramifying of artistic, intellectual, and political action. This course tries to find the center of the Modernist movement (1872-1927) by studying the literature, music, and painting of the period, to see whether some congruence of effort in all these media can be found. By looking at the range of artistic production in a few key years, we come to know this age of aesthetic extremism, perhaps unparalleled in Western history.
Note: Expected to be given in 2009–10. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Literature and Arts C.
Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding 15 (formerly English 34). Elements of Rhetoric
Catalog Number: 3820 Enrollment: Limited to 100.
James Engell
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 10. EXAM GROUP: 12
Classical rhetorical theory, as originating with Aristotle, in contemporary applications. The nature of rhetoric in modern culture; practical examples drawn from American history and literature 1765 to present; written exercises and attention to public speaking; briefly treats the history and educational importance of rhetoric in the West; stresses theory and practice as inseparable; non-concentrators encouraged.
[Culture and Belief 12. For the Love of God and His Prophet: Religion, Literature, and the Arts in Muslim Cultures] - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 7027
Ali S. Asani
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
The course surveys the literary and artistic dimensions of the devotional life of the world’s Muslim communities, focusing on the role of literature and the arts (poetry, music, architecture, calligraphy, etc.) as expressions of piety and socio-political critique. An important aim of the course is to explore the relationships between religion, literature, and the arts in a variety of historical and cultural contexts in the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Europe, and America.
Note: Expected to be given in 2009–10. No prior knowledge of Islam required. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3627.
Culture and Belief 13. The Contested Bible: The Sacred-Secular Dance - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 9458
Jay M. Harris
Half course (spring term). M., W., F., at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 3
A short history of the Bible. Questions addressed include how the Bible became a book, and how that book became sacred; the advantages and burdens of a sacred text; Jewish-Christian disputations; how interpretive efforts helped create and reinforce powerful elites; how that text became the object of criticism; and how the Bible fared after the rise of criticism.
Culture and Belief 14. Human Being and the Sacred in the History of the West - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 4605
Sean D. Kelly
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
What stand should we take on our lives, our activity, and who we are to be? Traditionally religion has guided us, but many argue that in our secular age it can no longer play that role. We approach these questions by considering the history of the understanding of human being and the sacred in the West. Readings chosen from among Homer, the Bible, Aeschylus, Virgil, Augustine, Dante, Luther, Shakespeare, Milton, Pascal, Nietzsche, Melville, and others.
Culture and Belief 15. The Presence of the Past - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 7544
Julie A. Buckler
Half course (spring term). M., W., F., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
Explores how material artifacts and physical markers of the past help create contemporary cultural landscapes and how societies variously construct and employ "a usable past." Examples from United States, post-Soviet sphere, Europe and postcolonial states illustrate the workings of cultural politics, collective memory, museums, monuments, memorials, souvenirs, memorabilia, and commemorative practices. Literary texts, artworks, and film suggest diverse cultural meanings of the past as presence.
Culture and Belief 16 (formerly Folklore and Mythology 100). Performance, Tradition and Cultural Studies: An Introduction to Folklore and Mythology - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 6753
Stephen A. Mitchell
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 12
Examines major forms of folklore (e.g., myths, legends, epics, beliefs, rituals, festivals) and the theoretical approaches used in their study. Analyzes how folklore shapes national, regional, and ethnic identities, as well as daily life; considers the function of folklore within the groups that perform and use it, employing materials drawn from a wide range of areas (e.g., South Slavic oral epics, American occupational lore, Northern European ballads, witchcraft in Africa and America, Cajun Mardi Gras).
Note: Required of Concentrators and for the Secondary Field in Folklore & Mythology.
Culture and Belief 17 (formerly Historical Studies B-06). Institutional Violence and Public Spectacle: The Case of the Roman Games
Catalog Number: 2603
Kathleen M. Coleman
Half course (fall term). M., W., F., at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 3
Gladiatorial combat, beast fights, staged hunts, mock naval battles, and exposure of criminals to wild animals were defining features of the culture of ancient Rome. Examining texts and images from across the Roman world, this course seeks to identify and probe the values, attitudes, and social, political, and economic factors that contributed to the popularity of institutionalized violence as public entertainment for six hundred years from the Punic Wars until the Christianization of the Empire.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2009–10. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core requirement for Historical Studies B.
Ethical Reasoning 12. Political Justice and Political Trials - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 5064
Charles S. Maier
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Criminal trials have served throughout history to enforce revolutionary change, to impose conformity, or, alternatively, to advance democracy. Students examine trials in their historical and moral context to weigh such issues as who can prosecute; can crimes be defined after the fact; can punishing speech be justified? Cases include Socrates, Louis XVI, General Dyer, the Soviet purges, Eichmann, World War II collaborators, American cold-war hearings, and today’s international tribunals and truth commissions.
Science of Living Systems 12. Understanding Darwinism - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 5523
Janet Browne and Andrew J. Berry
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30, and a weekly section/laboratory to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
An interdisciplinary exploration of Darwin’s ideas and their impact on science and society. The course reviews the development of the main elements of the theory of evolution, highlighting those areas in which Darwin’s ideas have proved remarkably robust and where subsequent developments have significantly modified the theory. By also analyzing the historical context of the development of evolutionary thought both up to and beyond Darwin, the course emphasizes the dynamic interplay between science and society.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2009–10.