Course descriptions - Fall 2009

AH-375E 001 Seminar: Painting the Photograph
In this seminar we will consider the relationship between photography and painting from the nineteenth through the twenty-first centuries; our focus will be on how artists use photography for their paintings.  Do they slavishly imitate the photographic image?  If they modify the photograph, how do they do so?  What has been the reception of photography-based painting?  It seems inevitable that photograph-based paintings intersect with the “real” world, thus we will consider social/historical context as part of our analysis of the works.  We will look at paintings by artists and movements such as (but not limited to) Edgar Degas, precisionism, photorealism, and Gerhard Richter.  You will be expected to participate frequently and in a positive manner in the seminar and craft a substantial research project. Prerequisite: Open to junior and senior majors or minors in studio art or art history. All others by permission of instructor. 

AM-103W 001 Introduction to American Studies: Adoption
To study American culture, this semester's version of the Introduction to American Studies class explores adoption.  Beginning with U.S. adoption's modern historical roots, adoption serves as the extended case study.  Considering notions of family, students probe the law, history, public policy, ethics, gender, race, class, and parenting, while examining transracial, gay, domestic, international, and private versus public adoption.

CG-311 001 Truth, Justice and the Athenian Way
The Athenians of the 5th and 4th century BCE were avid litigators and jurors – lawsuits were common and frequent and provided both for the implementation of (in)justice and sheer entertainment. Everything was fair game in the lawcourts of classical Athens: murder, prostitution, assault and battery, destruction of property, the rights of women, and the status of slaves and foreigners. We will read a selection of lurid and compelling lawsuits in Greek and examine the system of justice that shaped Athenian law.Prerequisites: CG-210 or permission of the instructor.

CS-376 001 Java Graphical Interfaces
Many of today's computer applications employ intuitive graphical interfaces to communicate with the user. This course will explore common user interfaces such as pop-up windows, menus, scroll bars, tables, trees, buttons, radio buttons and check boxes using Java's Swing library. In addition, the concepts of event-driven programming and layout managers will also be studied. Prerequisite: CS206

EC-361 001 Economic Geography
The economics of the geographic distribution of economic activity at the neighborhood, county, urban, state and regional levels. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) will be applied to topics such as migration, employment, economic growth, crime, and segregation. Prerequisites: EC235, EC236 and EC237

EC-361 002 Game Theory
This course will introduce students to the use of game theory to study the way individual actors make choices and its applications to economics. Game theory also has applications in many other disciplines, such as political science, psychology, and biology. Students will be taught some basic skills of classical and evolutionary game theory and will explore the use of cooperative and non-cooperative games to understand real world situations, such as the use of common pool resources, segregation in the housing market, labor market discrimination, and competition among oligopolistic firms. Students will also develop their own models to explain complex phenomena they have observed. This course will use mathematical skills, especially calculus. A basic knowledge of probability theory is also helpful. Prerequisites: EC 236 and MA 111 or permission of instructor.

English Department Courses:
For EN 105 and other EN course descriptions, view the English Department's Prospectus

EX-361 001 Endocrinology in Exercise and Health
An in-depth examination of the physiological principles and mechanisms of endocrinology as related to exercise and overall health. Students will gain an understanding of the endocrine organs, hormone classifications, and detailed mechanisms of action for selected hormones. The influence of exercise and disease on acute and chronic human endocrine function will be emphasized. In addition, the role of chemical mediators and nutrition in coordinating the function of the endocrine system will be investigated. Prerequisites: EX-111, EX-126, EX-127

GE-351 001 Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Biogeochemical cycles describe the transport and transformation of substances in the environment through physical, chemical, and biological processes. Emphasis is placed on describing the flux of nutrients and other important chemical species among the Earth System's principal components: hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere. This course examines connections, interactions, and feedbacks from the molecular to the global scale. The fate of elements in cycles is often coupled, with profound implications for climatic and ecological processes. We apply an Earth System Science approach to analysis of the regulation and perturbation of biogeochemical cycles throughout Earth history and by human activities. Prerequisite: At least one college-level geoscience course, or permission of instructor. Additional coursework in biology, chemistry, and/or the geosciences are helpful.

GO-351A 001 Lincoln as Statesman
This course will explore Lincoln’s confrontation with the problem of slavery and the American regime. It will consist primarily of a close analysis of Lincoln’s speeches and writings. Lincoln’s speeches and deeds have been said by some scholars to constitute a completion of the American founding or a second American revolution. We will explore the origins and nature of Lincoln’s impact, trying to understand Lincoln’s project from the perspective of Lincoln himself. Lincoln reflected deeply on America’s founding ideals as expressed in its public documents, as well as particular historical realities confronting the nation in the 1800s. Our course of study will therefore attempt to mimic these reflections. Recommended preparation GO 102 and/or GO 236

HI-203 001 Rise Of Athens
Why did Athens create the world's first democracy? How did it balance the virtues of democratic principles with the desire to create an empire? Students in the “Rise of Athens” will examine Greek history with a focus on Athens and Sparta from the Mycenaean age to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. Topics include the Homeric age, the development of the city-state, the origins of democracy, the nature of imperialism, intellectual and cultural achievements, economic conditions, and family life. Special emphasis is given to the study of the ancient sources: literary, historiographic, archaeological, and numismatic.  M. Arnush

HI-217C 001 American Indian Hsitory
This course explores North American Indian history from the precolonial era through the 1890s. We will focus on a number of themes, including the rich complexities of indigenous cultures, contact and conflict among different Indian peoples, the impact of European colonization on Native societies, and the critical role that Indians played in the creation and transformation of the United States . By exploring these themes, we will try to understand how North American Indians shaped a continent's history and helped define the American experience before the twentieth century. (Fulfills social sciences requirement.) E. Morser

HI-398 001 Zionist Arab Conflict
Among the "milestones" to be covered in this course will be World War I and its relevance to the conflict, the Arab Revolt of 1936-39, the UN partition resolution of November 1947 and the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948 War. In addition to traditional lectures, we will go over specific documents (the Balfour Declaration, the Peel Commission Report, UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (partition), etc.) crucial to the development of the conflict and to its understanding. Students will be expected to write a short paper and will take a final exam covering the course content. 5-6 Week course. B. Morris

HI-363R 001 Age Of Agustus
“I found Rome a city of bricks, and I leave it clothed in marble." These are the words of Rome 's first Emperor, Augustus, who ruled an empire stretching from Spain to Syria , from Britain to Egypt. Students in this seminar will explore and conduct research on the social, artistic, literary and political successes and failures of this "golden age" of Rome 's past. Topics include Vergil's Aeneid, the Imperial Forum, art as propaganda, the creation of empire, the multiculturalism of the Mediterranean , and the role of women in the Roman world – all against the backdrop of Augustan ideology and history. M. Arnush

HI-363W 001 Atlantic Slavery Freedom
Atlantic Slavery & Freedom: Since the mid-fifteenth century, the Atlantic has provided a corridor for fundamental exchanges of peoples and material goods, and the transfer of ideas defining and challenging communities in Europe, the Americas and Africa . This course focuses on the ways in which interaction across the Atlantic Ocean changed Western ideas about slavery and freedom. It focuses on debates and ideas about individual and societal rights to freedom as they changed from initial Spanish encounters with Amerindians and rise of plantation slavery in the colonial Americas and Caribbean, to the “age of revolutions” that saw the emergence of societies independent of monarchy (France) and colonial authority (US, Haiti, Latin America) and the expansion of abolition movements. In addition to discussing the enslavement and freedoms of Africans in the New World, the class will consider Ithe slavery and freedom of Indians in Spanish and Britsh America and the "captivity" of Europeans in North America and  North Africa . By the end of the course, students will be able to draw connections on issues of emancipation and political independence.  J. Dym

MU-106 001 Jazz Icons: Miles, Coltrane, and Beyond
Surveys the legacy of major figures in postwar jazz, focusing on trumpeter Miles Davis, saxophonist John Coltrane, and their professional associates such as saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Wayne Shorter, and pianists Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, and Herbie Hancock. Special attention will be paid to the music's social and political context, especially the role of jazz during the U.S. civil rights era of the 1950s and '60s. No prior background in music is needed.

MU-344B 002 Music and Culture in East Asia
This course examines music and culture in East Asia with an in-depth focus on a selection of contemporary music cultures. We will begin with an introduction to the leading musical traditions of China and Japan (with a brief glimpse at Korea and Taiwan) including major instruments, ensembles, and musical genres. We will then closely examine case studies from the 20th century with particular attention to music and significant social, political, and historical contexts. Students will develop projects based upon their individual research interests to be presented at the conclusion of the course. Fulfills non-Western requirement and may be applied toward a major or minor in Asian Studies. No prerequisites-contact instructor if you have not completed MU242.

PS-212 001 Eating Disorders: Theory, Research & Practice
Interest in anorexia, bulimia and obesity has steadily increased over the past quarter century and significant strides have been made in understanding factors associated with the risk factors, onset and course of the eating disorders. At the same time, important questions remain regarding the relative contributions of biological, psychological and social factors in the etiology, maintenance and treatment of these disorders. This course explores contemporary theories and research concerning the etiology and treatment of these disorders in children, adolescents and adults. We will be surveying the research literature, sampling theoretical positions, examining first person accounts and engaging in experiential exercises to gain a more complete understanding of the nature of these disorders and the effective treatments available for those individuals who suffer from them.

PS-212 002 Law and Psychology
There is a great deal about the law that is very psychological, and a number of the connections between these two fields have been investigated. This survey course will cover that interface between the disciplines of Psychology and Law. Topics surveyed will include: juries and jury decision making, expert testimony, forensic assessment, civil commitment, eyewitness testimony, psychology of law enforcement, correctional psychology, psychology of criminal behavior, psychology of victims and so on. Format will be discussion, lecture and in–class exercises.

PS-212 003 Introduction to Cognitive Science
What are the critical components of ‘mind', ‘consciousness', ‘knowledge' and ‘thought'? In this class, we survey philosophical, psychological, neuroscientific, anthropological, and computational approaches to understanding this question — an interdisciplinary field of study known as cognitive science. 
Cognitive Science defines itself through the types of questions it asks and the methods used to answer them. One fundamental approach to developing our hypotheses and theories involves the development of models — testable representations of these processes and ideas. These models are constantly tested and refined against the array of low-level physiological processes, individual behaviors, and group and global systems that define our cognitive world. As we iterate this modeling—testing loop, we hope to come closer to understanding the foundations of thought and mind.
The following gendankenexperiment serves as one of the primary touchstones of the course: If we design a machine that takes ‘inputs' (information from the senses), transforms them precisely in the same mechanical way the brain's neurons do, and generates ‘outputs' (behaviors), can that machine be said to have a ‘mind' or is it just a ‘zombie'? If you answered “yes! — wait! — no! — wait — ahhhh! —Zombies!” to this question you are a prime candidate for this seminar.

PS-312 001 Language Development Seminar
This seminar will introduce the complexity of human language and explore how humans accomplish the feat of language development within a short developmental period (5-7 years after birth). The course will survey theoretical issues related to language development such as the Critical/Sensitive Period debate, and cover such topics as the pattern of early acquisition of word and syntax, cognitive factors deeply rooted in language acquisition (infant speech perception, cognition and culture, brain and language-speech pathology), and the issues of learning more than one language (bilingualism and second language learning).
If you have ever wondered about these kinds of questions, this seminar may be of interest to you. How do we learn language? Did our (grand-) parents, siblings, or friends teach us how to speak? And yet, why have chimpanzees failed to learn a language with an intensive training for an extended period? Why is it so hard to learn a second language after the age of 20 years? Why do some people suffer from particular language impairments? Prerequisites: PS 101 or NS 101 and PS 207 or permission of instructor

RE-230 001 Death and Immortality - O. Solovieva
This course will be a cross-cultural exploration of the religious interpretations of death and its beyond. Throughout the semester, we will take a look at several different perspectives on death and afterlife as articulated in texts, doctrines, and ritual practices of selected religious traditions including but not limited to, Hinduism, Buddhism, Ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions, Christianity, and indigenous traditions of Mesoamerica. In the course of this study we will see how these different perspectives are integrally related to the particular religions' cosmologies, visions of the ultimate reality, and their concepts of human nature and ethics. Fulfills: Humanities

RE-330 002 Sufism  -  O. Solovieva
Mysticism as a quest for transformative knowledge and conscious experience of the ultimate reality has been an important dimension of many religious traditions and cultures of the world. In this course we will focus on Sufism—a complex and fascinating mystical path or tradition developed within Islam. Drawing on the Sufi texts as well as on discussions and representations of Sufism in scholarly readings, film, and other contemporary sources, we will attend to a number of crucial questions raised in the Islamic mystical practice and thought: What is the nature of God and of human self? How can we access and experience the divine reality? How does one meaningfully articulate this experience? What is the relationship between Sufism and the overall tradition of Islam? Specific topics explored in the course of this semester will include mystical interpretations of Islamic scriptures; Sufi poetry and music; various Sufi orders and their meditative techniques; the tradition of “love mysticism” as embodied by Rumi and Rabi'a of Basra; the metaphysical mysticism of Ibn al-Arabi; social contexts and roles of the Sufi movements; and some of the controversies surrounding Sufism throughout its history and in the contemporary scene. Fulfills: Non-Western

TH-140 001 Introduction to Directing
An overview of the essential elements of directing. Students will analyze play texts and directing theories as well as engage in active lab work in understanding dramatic action, composition and picturization in a variety of spaces which will provide the foundation for working with actors. Students will also analyze the written analysis of plays, study the expression of directorial concepts, and communicate with actors through class exercises and scene work reinforcing the idea of the director as a collaborator as well as the primary leader and communicator about the play before and during the rehearsal process. Students will develop time management strategies enabling them to craft a rehearsal schedule by which to build the play and move the rehearsal process forward. Theoretical texts and articles about directors and play texts will provide one context for these analyses. In the studio, students will work as actors and directors and have the opportunity to direct actors from the intermediate acting class. Prerequisites: TH 103, TH 129.

TH-343A 001 Collaborations: Actors
A laboratory class which provides advanced directors and advanced actors an opportunity to collaborate on a series of performance projects. These projects will focus on texts from various countries, genres, and eras. Directing students will define and refine their personal directing methodology by researching and working with various styles of theater literature. Script analysis, study of style and working with a company of actors are core experiences of directors. Acting students will engage in a variety of performance styles. They will be required to apply their practice and research in fully rehearsed scenes and short plays. All students will research and write about topics relevant to the play texts (e.g., historical contexts, themes, the playwright, etc.). All students will also be involved in research presentations and critique sessions for each project. Prerequisites: TH 203, TH 204 and permission of the instructor. 

TH-343D 001 Collaborations: Directors
A laboratory class which provides advanced directors and advanced actors an opportunity to collaborate on a series of performance projects. These projects will focus on texts from various countries, genres, and eras. Directing students will define and refine their personal directing methodology by researching and working with various styles of theater literature. Script analysis, study of style and working with a company of actors are core experiences of directors. Acting students will engage in a variety of performance styles. They will be required to apply their practice and research in fully rehearsed scenes and short plays. All students will research and write about topics relevant to the play texts (e.g., historical contexts, themes, the playwright, etc.). All students will also be involved in research presentations and critique sessions for each project. Prerequisites: TH 140, TH 240 and permission of the instructor.