Course Listings

ART-210-01=BLS-270-04 African American Contemporary art synthesizes approaches from art history, Black Studies and visual culture studies to investigate race and representation in the United States since 1919. In this course we will discuss historical art movements such as the Red Summer, the Harlem Renaissance, Social Realism, Abstraction, Magical Realism, and Afrofuturism. We will utilize digital humanities investigation techniques such as mapping and network theory to explore how African American artists addressed ideas about race and belonging through works of art, and through the ties they forged within artist communities, collectives, and social movements.

This course takes an intersectional approach to the study of art through movies and video games. Rather than viewing works of art as discrete objects on display in a gallery, we will explore the ways that films, video games, painting, drawing and sculpture shape societal and individual ideas about gender. We will analyze how fine art informs popular media such as John Wick, The Harder They Fall, Birds of Prey, and the Assassin's Creed franchise, and what these media communicate about representations of gender identity and performance.

This course re-evaluates the tropes and mainstream conventions of narrative filmmaking and focuses on the methodologies of the artist/filmmaker who uses the medium as a personal form of expression. It examines alternative modes of cinematic production, revolving around the Avant-guard, underground, abstract, poetic, transcendental, and visionary. Students will learn basic camera operation, editing software, audio field recording, and sound design. They will have the opportunity to explore their ideas through project prompts, with parameters designed to develop specific skill sets and aesthetic sensibilities. Depending on the semester, projects may include: remixing current/archival images and footage, time and repetition experiments, compositing/2D collage, nonlinear narratives, and site-specific projection. No previous camera or editing experience is required.

The field of Social Practice blurs the line between life and art, emphasizing creative work that connects to current social and cultural issues. Students will develop projects in response to social and cultural issues that are relevant to them, once areas of interest are identified they will research various strategies for expression to create socially engaged art projects. The course pays particular attention to underrepresented artists to better understand the ways in which social practice artists use evocative and agitational strategies to subvert oppressive systems. Among other topics we will consider issues of place, identity, immigration, climate, the role of the global majority in the social fabric, the nature of public space, and using art as a conduit for creative transformation in our contemporary life.

This course dives further into photoshop, in compositing, portrait enhancement, along with layout strategies and methods. Photography advancements will explore stroboscopic, macro and experimental methods along with advanced lighting techniques. Pre-requisites for the course are Art - 224 Photography or intermediate experience with photoshop and mastery of basic manual exposure DSLR techniques.

ASI-112-02=ENG-180-02 Over the past decade, Chinese science fiction in translation has garnered attention worldwide, winning international awards and bringing Chinese literature to a wider audience than ever before. The genre is often seen as a way of representing China's breakneck economic and technological development in a political environment where censorship is the norm. This course will consider the development of Chinese science fiction from the early twentieth century to the present. Stories will touch on themes ranging from cyborgs to alien invasion to environmental catastrophe. We will consider Chinese science fiction's unique contributions to both Chinese literary tradition and global science fiction. All readings will be in English.

ASI-260-01=HIS-262-01 An introduction to modern Chinese history and cultural traditions from the late 1800s to the present, outlining themes such as nation-building, socialism, social movements, economic development, memory, gender, international relations, and the relationship between art and politics. The class will analyze a variety of primary sources (in translation), such as speeches, editorials, memoirs, fiction, film, documentary, photography, visual art, and popular music. All readings in English.

FRE-277-01=HIS-230-02=BLS-270-01 Who gets to write History? This seminar will approach French colonial history through the lens of the "archive" as a site of knowledge and power. What alternative modes of knowledge production and preservation have risen to challenge dominant historical narratives across the Francophone world? How do the formal aspects and possibilities of a medium change how memories get transmitted? Drawing from historical sources, novels, and multimedia objects-from podcasts to photographs, graphic novels, and video games-we will learn to critique imperial modes of representation and elaborate a new definition of "the archival" through orality, repertoire, testimony, historical fiction, and other Francophone cultural productions. This course will be taught in English, and we will use English translations of French texts. Those taking the course for credit towards the French major or minor will be expected to do the readings and written assignments in French. This course is cross-listed with History and Black Studies. It also satisfies requirements for the Film and Digital Media minor, as well as the diversity requirement for PPE majors.

ENG-270-01=BLS-270-02 What does reading literature teach us about the connections between race and law? How can legal and literary texts be read to understand issues of race and justice? In this class, we will discuss how literature (both fiction and non-fiction) examines the way the law negotiates and reinforces systems of race, bias and racism. We will think about the ways in which different literary works depict the law and encourage us to be skilled interpreters/critics of the law. Assigned reading material will include Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and legal writings from a number of legal scholars such as Michelle Alexander and Cheryl Harris. Major assignments will include quizzes, short literary analysis essays, an in-class oral presentation, and a final exam. Students interested in either attending law school or doing any public policy work are highly encouraged to take the course.

What is the connection between spiritual dance and twerking? They are both dances inspired by African rhythmic and aesthetic movements. African and African Diasporic dance traditions are deployed for a range of ritual and cultural expressions. Spiritual movements in worship are meant to free the body from the mundane world bracketed by time and space while stylized movements in the club and on music videos are evocative of a worldly freedom. What is the source of these movements and gestures? How are we to make sense of the various religious and social articulation of Black bodies in the past and today? This course will explore Black dance across history and geography and at the intersections of race, class, gender and our modern hyper-media economy. Students will be able to trace the history of Black people through dance and critically engage dance for its social, political and economic valences.

ART-201-01=BLS-270-04 African American Contemporary art synthesizes approaches from art history, Black Studies and visual culture studies to investigate race and representation in the United States since 1919. In this course we will discuss historical art movements such as the Red Summer, the Harlem Renaissance, Social Realism, Abstraction, Magical Realism, and Afrofuturism. We will utilize digital humanities investigation techniques such as mapping and network theory to explore how African American artists addressed ideas about race and belonging through works of art, and through the ties they forged within artist communities, collectives, and social movements.

HIS-240-02=BLS-280-01 This course considers the overlapping lives and legacies of Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela, two revolutionary figures whose influence on the fight for civil rights in America and Africa was profound and far reaching. Though the American public rarely imagined them as political bedfellows in their time, their lives had striking autobiographical similarities and pan-African connections. Students will examine the convergences and confluences of their biographies, political ideologies, and activism while exploring broader issues including colonialism, civil disobedience, cultural resistance, social justice, and freedom. We will consider how their lives intersected in the transnational struggle for racial equality and how their legacies continue to shape contemporary debates about black identity and the continued crisis of American race relations. Notably, students will also connect the lives of both men to Black experience at Wabash College and the Crawfordsville community since the 1950s.

HIS-230-01=GER-312-01=BLS-280-02 Despite its widespread image as a white, racially homogenous country, Germany is home to a vibrant and growing Black community with a long and complicated history. Students in this course will explore the history of Black Germany beginning with the 19th century colonial encounters between Germany and the African diaspora and the emergence of a German born Black population. The course will consider questions of nationality, citizenship, race, and identity, such as "What does it means to be German?" and "What does it mean to be Black?" from transnational and transracial perspectives.

PSC-210-01=PPE-238-01=BLS-280-05 This course examines the role of protest as a means of political expression that has been used by a variety of political actors seeking to change the policies and political practices of the United States throughout its history. The focus will be on two overarching questions: Why has protest been such a fixture of American politics? And to what extent does it actually influence public policy outcomes? In addition to considering frameworks for making sense of the role of protest in the development of US public policy in general, we'll take a close look at the experiences of three specific protest movements: the mid-twentieth-century Civil Rights Movement; the Tea Party, and the contemporary Environmental Justice Movement. Students will also have the opportunity to research the policy impact of a US-based protest initiative of their choosing.

REL-373-01=BLS-300-01 "Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere." -- Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor. The world is finally understanding that there can be no teaching about race that is not also teaching against racism. This course will compare the Black experience in the United States, and theological reflection thereon, with Black experience under the brutal Apartheid regime in South Africa. We begin by examining first-person narratives from Black and White Americans on the harms done by racism. We will do the same with Black (Bantu), White and the so-called "Cape-Coloured" South Africans. Then we will look at histories told about how the parallel systems of oppression were conceived, installed and how they functioned. The last half of the class explores arguments made by James Cone on how the cross of Jesus Christ looks like (and unlike) a lynching tree; by South African Allan Boesak on the dangerous but tantalizing specter of "hope"; and by the womanist theologian Kelly Brown Douglas on theology in the wake of the killing of teenager Trayvon Martin.

ENG-310-01=GEN-300-01=BLS-300-03 This class is about the ghosts that haunt the literature of the American South. After the Civil War, when the ideal of the pastoral plantation crumbled, Southern writers sought to contend with the brutal historic realities that had always lurked behind the white-pillared façade: poverty, violence, slavery, racism, patriarchy. Southern Gothic literature-which emerged in the early 19th century and continues strong today-is marked by dark humor, transgressive desires, grotesque violence, folk spiritualism, hereditary sins, emotional and environmental isolation, supernatural forces, and punishing madness. In this class, we will listen to the stories that the ghosts of the American South have told, and still tell today.

CLA-212-01=REL-290-03 The Greeks were a polytheistic society: they worshipped numerous gods. Moreover, they did so in a variety of modes and for a multitude of reasons. Using ancient literature and archaeological remains, we will consider the nature and function of the gods of the Greek pantheon, as well as the sacred spaces, festivals, dedications, and rituals through which the Greeks worshipped their deities from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period and the rise of Christianity. As we explore these topics, we will situate religion within the changing social and historical contexts of the ancient world. This entails analysis of the relation between cults and the state, especially Athenian democracy; the impact of deities and festivals on warfare, the economy, athletics, and literature; and the role of refugees, slaves, women, and other marginalized groups. The course is discussion oriented; most class periods will be spent in conversation about assigned readings. An intensive immersion component rounds out the course: we will travel to Greece from May 7-17, 2023.

The continued popularity of crime scene analysis dramas and literary whodunits reflect society's fascination with criminal investigation. This introductory survey course in chemistry will focus on the theme of forensic science. Designed for non-science concentrators, this class explores the historical and philosophical developments in chemistry, as well as applications of chemical principles to criminalistics in the laboratory setting. Topics include the development of the atomic theory of matter, atomic structure, chemical bonding, thermodynamics, the chemistry of life (organic and biochemistry), and forensic analysis. In addition, the course will explore the role of forensics in law enforcement, data ethics, bias, and issues relating to equity and social justice. Some elementary mathematics and simple statistics will be required for problem solving in class and lab. Two lectures and one laboratory each week. Partially fulfills the College laboratory science requirement but cannot be combined with CHE101 or CHE 111 to complete the laboratory science requirement. This course does not satisfy requirements for the chemistry major or minor.

EDU-230-01=MUS-204-01 This course will focus on learning how to improvise with the Blues, and then teaching that improvisational skill to K - 12 school-age students in their native educational environment. Students will spend the first six weeks of the course on the Wabash campus learning, first, how to improvise with the blues and, second, how to teach this skill to younger students. Wabash students will be divided up into groups of 2 - 3 who will then be placed in a classroom corresponding with their age-level interests. The second half of the course will then be spent in an area K - 12 music classroom, teaching school-age students these improvisational skills. Wabash students will receive specific pedagogical methods appropriate for the age group in which they will be working, and the instructor will be able to observe their in-classroom teaching several times throughout the second half of the semester. While the ability to read music is not a requirement for this class, the willingness to sing for others (for teaching and demonstration) is a necessity.

The course will explore representations of genocide and exile in Polish, Senegalese, South African, and Irish literatures and film. We will discuss the rise of fascism in Europe, the pre-WW II anti-Semitic rhetoric in the media, and the atrocities of the Holocaust itself from an interdisciplinary point of view, combining history, political science, and literature.

Travel with Dante through hell, purgatory, and the celestial sphere-and also deep into the world of Medieval Italy. Dante Alighieri's Divina Commedia (in English, The Divine Comedy), is an epic poem written by a man in crisis. Depressed and driven from his homeland, Dante dedicated a decade of his life to this work, seeking to find meaning in heartbreak, exile, and tragic loss. What is the narrator looking for? Himself. His first love. Home. Revenge. Salvation. God. Each of these answers is correct, yet none is sufficient. Along the way, the poem is unsparing, as it exposes the corruption of politicians, popes, priests, and commoners alike. On this literary journey, we will read about the people, places, beliefs, and questions that moved the spiritual seekers of the Middle Ages, and line them up against the questions that plague our own age. Past students in this course have been surprised and pleased by how Dante's search for moral and ethical clarity-and his boldness in speaking truth to power-has inspired them on their own journeys.

ENG-180-01=ASI-112-01 From Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball to Sui Ishida's Tokyo Ghoul, Japanese manga and anime have earned a reputation for being globally influential genres of literature and entertainment. Japanese manga artists often use their manga to interrogate complex themes of humanity, technology, gender, race, existential beliefs, and culture. Likewise, Japanese anime uses cinematic visual storytelling to raise questions about adolescence, identity, and personal growth. This course will delve into a variety of Japanese anime and manga genres in order to discover how these mediums function as literature. Assigned reading material includes Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon, Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball, Sui Ishida's Tokyo Ghoul, Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist, and other works. We will also engage several anime adaptations, such as Noriyuki Abe's Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files, Mitsuru Hongo's Outlaw Star, Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop and Daisuke Nishio's Dragon Ball Z. Major assignments will include quizzes, short literary analysis papers, an in-class oral presentation, a midterm exam, and a comprehensive final exam on the material.

ASI-112-02=ENG-180-02 Over the past decade, Chinese science fiction in translation has garnered attention worldwide, winning international awards and bringing Chinese literature to a wider audience than ever before. The genre is often seen as a way of representing China's breakneck economic and technological development in a political environment where censorship is the norm. This course will consider the development of Chinese science fiction from the early twentieth century to the present. Stories will touch on themes ranging from cyborgs to alien invasion to environmental catastrophe. We will consider Chinese science fiction's unique contributions to both Chinese literary tradition and global science fiction. All readings will be in English.

This course unfolds at the intersections of creative writing and technology. Design your own website. Create an interactive environment. Manipulate code to make poetry. We will explore a range of digital humanities, including open-access research design, digital mapping, and multimodal writing. Students will craft texts in multiple genres, such as personal narratives, free-verse poetry, and drama. Then, we will practice using a series of digital platforms that enhance storytelling by representing narratives in multiple modes: visual, auditory, spatial, and more. By the end of the semester, students will have experience with computer coding, digital mapping, crafting original work in Google Sites, and video production. There are no prerequisites or tech requirements for this course. No previous knowledge of coding is necessary. Computers, cameras, and apps will be made available, so it is not necessary to own a personal laptop to complete this course successfully. Most of the resources featured here are freely available so students develop multimodal writing skills for diverse media and contexts that are applicable beyond our class together.

ENG-270-01=BLS-270-02 What does reading literature teach us about the connections between race and law? How can legal and literary texts be read to understand issues of race and justice? In this class, we will discuss how literature (both fiction and non-fiction) examines the way the law negotiates and reinforces systems of race, bias and racism. We will think about the ways in which different literary works depict the law and encourage us to be skilled interpreters/critics of the law. Assigned reading material will include Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and legal writings from a number of legal scholars such as Michelle Alexander and Cheryl Harris. Major assignments will include quizzes, short literary analysis essays, an in-class oral presentation, and a final exam. Students interested in either attending law school or doing any public policy work are highly encouraged to take the course.

ENG-310-01=BLS-300-03=GEN-300-01 This class is about the ghosts that haunt the literature of the American South. After the Civil War, when the ideal of the pastoral plantation crumbled, Southern writers sought to contend with the brutal historic realities that had always lurked behind the white-pillared façade: poverty, violence, slavery, racism, patriarchy. Southern Gothic literature-which emerged in the early 19th century and continues strong today-is marked by dark humor, transgressive desires, grotesque violence, folk spiritualism, hereditary sins, emotional and environmental isolation, supernatural forces, and punishing madness. In this class, we will listen to the stories that the ghosts of the American South have told, and still tell today.

This class addresses multiple ways of knowing, experiencing, and representing the world. We will explore literary and media representations of and by people on the Autism Spectrum. While neurodivergency is often considered "abnormal," we will take it seriously as a valid form of meaning-making. We will read novels and short stories by people on the Autism Spectrum as well as analyze film and TV representations of neurodivergency. We will also address the growing body of theory on neurodiversity and its place in education and society. I welcome everyone to this class regardless of major or experience; however, I would like to have a brief conversation with you before you enroll in the course.

FRE-277-01=HIS-230-02=BLS-270-01 Who gets to write History? This seminar will approach French colonial history through the lens of the "archive" as a site of knowledge and power. What alternative modes of knowledge production and preservation have risen to challenge dominant historical narratives across the Francophone world? How do the formal aspects and possibilities of a medium change how memories get transmitted? Drawing from historical sources, novels, and multimedia objects-from podcasts to photographs, graphic novels, and video games-we will learn to critique imperial modes of representation and elaborate a new definition of "the archival" through orality, repertoire, testimony, historical fiction, and other Francophone cultural productions. This course will be taught in English, and we will use English translations of French texts. Those taking the course for credit towards the French major or minor will be expected to do the readings and written assignments in French. This course is cross-listed with History and Black Studies. It also satisfies requirements for the Film and Digital Media minor, as well as the diversity requirement for PPE majors.

GEN-209-01=PSC-330-01=PPE-338-02 Learn from a polymath, pioneering social reformer-a woman who was also an economist, sociologist, novelist, lecturer, and feminist. In this class, we will read Gilman (1860-1935) on eugenics, utopia, architecture, clothing, children, the family, and more. We will study her as a Machiavellian, a pragmatist, and a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps American. Students will conduct original research into The Forerunner, a magazine Gilman wrote from front to back-even the advertisements. Students will read sections of The Forerunner and come together to discuss the political ideas they encounter there, before developing their own original analysis of those sections.

GER-312-01=HIS-230-01=BLS-280-02 Despite its widespread image as a white, racially homogenous country, Germany is home to a vibrant and growing Black community with a long and complicated history. Students in this course will explore the history of Black Germany beginning with the 19th century colonial encounters between Germany and the African diaspora and the emergence of a German born Black population. The course will consider questions of nationality, citizenship, race, and identity, such as "What does it means to be German?" and "What does it mean to be Black?" from transnational and transracial perspectives.

PSC-212-01=HIS-240-01=PPE-234-01=GHL-212-01 The economic impact of the COVID pandemic, including the evictions it caused, reflects a harsh reality: tens of millions of Americans still live in poverty although this is the richest nation on earth. What should government do about this? From the New Deal to the present, have our federal, state and local poverty initiatives done more harm or good? Have government benefits lifted citizens out of poverty or created dependency that traps them in poverty? Has government integrated citizens or continued to segregate them based upon race or wealth? Or should the focus instead be on our courts? Do they extend equal justice to the poor, or do they favor landlords and others with whom the poor do business? This is a critical time to ask these questions. Even before the pandemic struck, America had one of the highest levels of economic inequality and one of the lowest levels of economic mobility in its own history and among other industrialized nations. In addition, while the poor are participating less in politics, wealthy Americans are participating and funding politics more and more. Given the importance and difficulty of these issues, we will consider a wide variety of views including those of liberals, conservatives, and libertarians. We will ground our study not only in history but also in the present, lived experience of the urban poor as reported in Matthew Desmond's Evicted and the rural poor as reported in JD Vance's Hillbilly Elegy.

PHI-319-01=PPE-329-01=GHL-310-01=GEN-304-01 Controversies in bioethics have become a regular part of contemporary life. We are in the midst of a biological and technological revolution that raises interesting and important ethical, political, and philosophical questions. Focused especially on concepts of autonomy and dependency, we will explore asking: When does life begin? How do we define death? What life is worth living, who decides, and how? What does it mean to suffer from disease and disability? Should we mandate vaccination for disease? Should we use new technologies for human enhancement? What is a good relationship between a patient and caregivers? What is informed consent and how do we decide who is competent to give it? What is trauma-informed care? Gender-affirming care? Who should take care of our elders and how should we approach end-of-life care? What is our responsibility for providing a just distribution of health-care resources in our communities, both local and global? We'll consider these questions and more in a seminar discussion format. Background in biology suggested. Interested students who don't satisfy the prerequisites should contact the instructor.

HIS-230-01=GER-312-01=BLS-280-02 Despite its widespread image as a white, racially homogenous country, Germany is home to a vibrant and growing Black community with a long and complicated history. Students in this course will explore the history of Black Germany beginning with the 19th century colonial encounters between Germany and the African diaspora and the emergence of a German born Black population. The course will consider questions of nationality, citizenship, race, and identity, such as "What does it means to be German?" and "What does it mean to be Black?" from transnational and transracial perspectives.

FRE-277-01=HIS-230-02=BLS-270-01 Who gets to write History? This seminar will approach French colonial history through the lens of the "archive" as a site of knowledge and power. What alternative modes of knowledge production and preservation have risen to challenge dominant historical narratives across the Francophone world? How do the formal aspects and possibilities of a medium change how memories get transmitted? Drawing from historical sources, novels, and multimedia objects-from podcasts to photographs, graphic novels, and video games-we will learn to critique imperial modes of representation and elaborate a new definition of "the archival" through orality, repertoire, testimony, historical fiction, and other Francophone cultural productions. This course will be taught in English, and we will use English translations of French texts. Those taking the course for credit towards the French major or minor will be expected to do the readings and written assignments in French. This course is cross-listed with History and Black Studies. It also satisfies requirements for the Film and Digital Media minor, as well as the diversity requirement for PPE majors.

HIS-230-01=MUS-204-03 The four lads from Liverpool were arguably the most significant cultural event of the mid-20th c, from popular music to fashion, politics, and religion. This course will study the Beatles in their social, political and cultural context, from post-war Britain of the 1940s, through the economic and social recovery of the 50s, and the swinging and turbulent 60s. We will use a range of methods including social and cultural history as well as musicology.

HIS-240-01=PSC-212-01=PPE-234-01=GHL-212-01 The economic impact of the COVID pandemic, including the evictions it caused, reflects a harsh reality: tens of millions of Americans still live in poverty although this is the richest nation on earth. What should government do about this? From the New Deal to the present, have our federal, state and local poverty initiatives done more harm or good? Have government benefits lifted citizens out of poverty or created dependency that traps them in poverty? Has government integrated citizens or continued to segregate them based upon race or wealth? Or should the focus instead be on our courts? Do they extend equal justice to the poor, or do they favor landlords and others with whom the poor do business? This is a critical time to ask these questions. Even before the pandemic struck, America had one of the highest levels of economic inequality and one of the lowest levels of economic mobility in its own history and among other industrialized nations. In addition, while the poor are participating less in politics, wealthy Americans are participating and funding politics more and more. Given the importance and difficulty of these issues, we will consider a wide variety of views including those of liberals, conservatives, and libertarians. We will ground our study not only in history but also in the present, lived experience of the urban poor as reported in Matthew Desmond's Evicted and the rural poor as reported in JD Vance's Hillbilly Elegy.

HIS-240-02=BLS-280-01 This course considers the overlapping lives and legacies of Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela, two revolutionary figures whose influence on the fight for civil rights in America and Africa was profound and far reaching. Though the American public rarely imagined them as political bedfellows in their time, their lives had striking autobiographical similarities and pan-African connections. Students will examine the convergences and confluences of their biographies, political ideologies, and activism while exploring broader issues including colonialism, civil disobedience, cultural resistance, social justice, and freedom. We will consider how their lives intersected in the transnational struggle for racial equality and how their legacies continue to shape contemporary debates about black identity and the continued crisis of American race relations. Notably, students will also connect the lives of both men to Black experience at Wabash College and the Crawfordsville community since the 1950s.

ASI-260-01=HIS-262-01=HIS-360-01 An introduction to modern Chinese history and cultural traditions from the late 1800s to the present, outlining themes such as nation-building, socialism, social movements, economic development, memory, gender, international relations, and the relationship between art and politics. The class will analyze a variety of primary sources (in translation), such as speeches, editorials, memoirs, fiction, film, documentary, photography, visual art, and popular music. All readings in English.

MUS-204-01=EDU-230-01 This course will focus on learning how to improvise with the Blues, and then teaching that improvisational skill to K - 12 school-age students in their native educational environment. Students will spend the first six weeks of the course on the Wabash campus learning, first, how to improvise with the blues and, second, how to teach this skill to younger students. Wabash students will be divided up into groups of 2 - 3 who will then be placed in a classroom corresponding with their age-level interests. The second half of the course will then be spent in an area K - 12 music classroom, teaching school-age students these improvisational skills. Wabash students will receive specific pedagogical methods appropriate for the age group in which they will be working, and the instructor will be able to observe their in-classroom teaching several times throughout the second half of the semester. While the ability to read music is not a requirement for this class, the willingness to sing for others (for teaching and demonstration) is a necessity.

The four lads from Liverpool were arguably the most significant cultural event of the mid-20th c, from popular music to fashion, politics, and religion. This course will study the Beatles in their social, political and cultural context, from post-war Britain of the 1940s, through the economic and social recovery of the 50s, and the swinging and turbulent 60s. We will use a range of methods including social and cultural history as well as musicology.

NSC-310-01=BIO-371-01 Hormones, the chemical signals of the endocrine system, rely on receptors and signal transduction pathways to carry out their powerful physiological, neural, and behavioral effects. This course will examine the molecular and cellular mechanisms of hormone action through primary scientific literature analysis and extensive writing. Students will learn to integrate concepts from molecular biology, cell biology, neuroscience, physiology, and pharmacology while emphasizing the contributions basic endocrine research to human health. This course counts as an elective for the Biology and Biochemistry majors and the Neuroscience minor.

This course approaches 19th-century European philosophy through the treatment of four major figures whose influence continues to be felt: Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. Responding to Hegel's precedent, the three later thinkers must grapple with the relationship between systematic knowledge and history. Hegel produces a unified system of philosophy by articulating the history of knowledge in a way that denies the division of knowledge into various sub-disciplines (logic, ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, politics, and so forth). This insight into the history of knowledge guides the three other thinkers who follow even as they find various positions from which to criticize Hegel. Marx wants a more materialist philosophy, and so turns Hegel's dialectic on its head. Kierkegaard begins to expose the cracks in the project of universal systematic thinking, showing its limits by affirming the singularity of religious experience. Nietzsche makes the system break by developing a critique of metaphysics, which is to say, of any philosophical thinking purporting to operate outside of history, context, and particular motivations. So, the course begins by laying out a system of metaphysics and ends by considering why that very project might be a problem. The course will provide historical context that enriches students' understanding of existentialism and continental philosophy, but it presupposes no philosophical background.

PSC-212-01=HIS-240-01=PPE-234-01=GHL-212-01 The economic impact of the COVID pandemic, including the evictions it caused, reflects a harsh reality: tens of millions of Americans still live in poverty although this is the richest nation on earth. What should government do about this? From the New Deal to the present, have our federal, state and local poverty initiatives done more harm or good? Have government benefits lifted citizens out of poverty or created dependency that traps them in poverty? Has government integrated citizens or continued to segregate them based upon race or wealth? Or should the focus instead be on our courts? Do they extend equal justice to the poor, or do they favor landlords and others with whom the poor do business? This is a critical time to ask these questions. Even before the pandemic struck, America had one of the highest levels of economic inequality and one of the lowest levels of economic mobility in its own history and among other industrialized nations. In addition, while the poor are participating less in politics, wealthy Americans are participating and funding politics more and more. Given the importance and difficulty of these issues, we will consider a wide variety of views including those of liberals, conservatives, and libertarians. We will ground our study not only in history but also in the present, lived experience of the urban poor as reported in Matthew Desmond's Evicted and the rural poor as reported in JD Vance's Hillbilly Elegy.

PSC-210-01=PPE-238-01-BLS-280-05 This course examines the role of protest as a means of political expression that has been used by a variety of political actors seeking to change the policies and political practices of the United States throughout its history. The focus will be on two overarching questions: Why has protest been such a fixture of American politics? And to what extent does it actually influence public policy outcomes? In addition to considering frameworks for making sense of the role of protest in the development of US public policy in general, we'll take a close look at the experiences of three specific protest movements: the mid-twentieth-century Civil Rights Movement; the Tea Party, and the contemporary Environmental Justice Movement. Students will also have the opportunity to research the policy impact of a US-based protest initiative of their choosing.

PHI-319-01=PPE-329-01=GHL-310-01=GEN-304-01 Controversies in bioethics have become a regular part of contemporary life. We are in the midst of a biological and technological revolution that raises interesting and important ethical, political, and philosophical questions. Focused especially on concepts of autonomy and dependency, we will explore asking: When does life begin? How do we define death? What life is worth living, who decides, and how? What does it mean to suffer from disease and disability? Should we mandate vaccination for disease? Should we use new technologies for human enhancement? What is a good relationship between a patient and caregivers? What is informed consent and how do we decide who is competent to give it? What is trauma-informed care? Gender-affirming care? Who should take care of our elders and how should we approach end-of-life care? What is our responsibility for providing a just distribution of health-care resources in our communities, both local and global? We'll consider these questions and more in a seminar discussion format. Background in biology suggested. Interested students who don't satisfy the prerequisites should contact the instructor.

PSC-315-01=PPE-338-01=REL-280-02 May a football coach pray at the 50-yard line at the end of a public school's football game? Is a state required to fund religious schools if it funds private secular schools? May the US Air Force Academy display a banner declaring "I am a member of Team Jesus Christ" in its football locker room? Are businesses required to provide health benefits like the morning after pill if doing so conflicts with their owners' religious beliefs? Should we prosecute Christian Scientist parents whose critically ill child dies because the only treatment he received was prayer? Can we accommodate the religious practices of every American in our schools, workplaces, and other institutions? If not, can we accommodate anyone's? The collision of religion, politics, and the law generates many sensitive and difficult questions. We will work through these kinds of questions to determine what our Constitution means when it forbids government from establishing religion and protects our right freely to exercise our many religions. We will also explore whether religion can play a productive role in politics without debasing itself or causing strife. This course is offered to Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors.

GEN-209-01=PSC-330-01=PPE-338-02 Learn from a polymath, pioneering social reformer-a woman who was also an economist, sociologist, novelist, lecturer, and feminist. In this class, we will read Gilman (1860-1935) on eugenics, utopia, architecture, clothing, children, the family, and more. We will study her as a Machiavellian, a pragmatist, and a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps American. Students will conduct original research into The Forerunner, a magazine Gilman wrote from front to back-even the advertisements. Students will read sections of The Forerunner and come together to discuss the political ideas they encounter there, before developing their own original analysis of those sections.

PSC-210-01=PPE-238-01=BLS-280-05 This course examines the role of protest as a means of political expression that has been used by a variety of political actors seeking to change the policies and political practices of the United States throughout its history. The focus will be on two overarching questions: Why has protest been such a fixture of American politics? And to what extent does it actually influence public policy outcomes? In addition to considering frameworks for making sense of the role of protest in the development of US public policy in general, we'll take a close look at the experiences of three specific protest movements: the mid-twentieth-century Civil Rights Movement; the Tea Party, and the contemporary Environmental Justice Movement. Students will also have the opportunity to research the policy impact of a US-based protest initiative of their choosing.

PSC-315-01=PPE-338-01=REL-280-02 May a football coach pray at the 50-yard line at the end of a public school's football game? Is a state required to fund religious schools if it funds private secular schools? May the US Air Force Academy display a banner declaring "I am a member of Team Jesus Christ" in its football locker room? Are businesses required to provide health benefits like the morning after pill if doing so conflicts with their owners' religious beliefs? Should we prosecute Christian Scientist parents whose critically ill child dies because the only treatment he received was prayer? Can we accommodate the religious practices of every American in our schools, workplaces, and other institutions? If not, can we accommodate anyone's? The collision of religion, politics, and the law generates many sensitive and difficult questions. We will work through these kinds of questions to determine what our Constitution means when it forbids government from establishing religion and protects our right freely to exercise our many religions. We will also explore whether religion can play a productive role in politics without debasing itself or causing strife. This course is open to Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors

GEN-209-01=PSC-330-01=PPE-338-02 Learn from a polymath, pioneering social reformer-a woman who was also an economist, sociologist, novelist, lecturer, and feminist. In this class, we will read Gilman (1860-1935) on eugenics, utopia, architecture, clothing, children, the family, and more. We will study her as a Machiavellian, a pragmatist, and a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps American. Students will conduct original research into The Forerunner, a magazine Gilman wrote from front to back-even the advertisements. Students will read sections of The Forerunner and come together to discuss the political ideas they encounter there, before developing their own original analysis of those sections.

The Declaration of Independence asserts that the "pursuit of Happiness" is a fundamental right, endowed by none other than the Creator. Great news! But what exactly are we pursuing? And how do we catch it? This course will introduce students to the science of well-being and its implications for the everyday pursuit of happiness. Course activities will include exercises for increasing a sense of well-being.

Nonviolence is a powerful way of life for courageous people committed to building peaceful communities. It remains a thriving force in contemporary America. We will study this philosophy and its religious roots in the thought and lives of Jesus, Martin Luther King, Jr., and M. K. Gandhi. We will also study, meet, and interact with current nonviolent public servants around the country who pursue nonviolent projects in public schools, prisons and disadvantaged neighborhoods and who have contributed powerfully to building movements for social and environmental justice. We will learn and practice employing nonviolent techniques and skills including restorative justice, nonviolent communication, conflict management, and conflict de-escalation and study the principles and skills of nonviolence as they have come to us from Dr. King's co-workers and successors, with whom we will also interact.

PSC-315-01=PPE-338-01=REL-280-02 May a football coach pray at the 50-yard line at the end of a public school's football game? Is a state required to fund religious schools if it funds private secular schools? May the US Air Force Academy display a banner declaring "I am a member of Team Jesus Christ" in its football locker room? Are businesses required to provide health benefits like the morning after pill if doing so conflicts with their owners' religious beliefs? Should we prosecute Christian Scientist parents whose critically ill child dies because the only treatment he received was prayer? Can we accommodate the religious practices of every American in our schools, workplaces, and other institutions? If not, can we accommodate anyone's? The collision of religion, politics, and the law generates many sensitive and difficult questions. We will work through these kinds of questions to determine what our Constitution means when it forbids government from establishing religion and protects our right freely to exercise our many religions. We will also explore whether religion can play a productive role in politics without debasing itself or causing strife. This course is offered to Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors.

2nd half semester course Do myths and symbols belong in the skill-set of people living in a modern scientific world? Or are they playthings for nerds or soft-minded romantics? What exactly are symbols? Myths? What do they do? Are they socially constructed? Archetypal? Something else? How important are they for religion? Can you have a religion that's "demythologized"? Should you? These are some of the questions that we'll tackle in this half-course. We'll read selections from, among others, Mircea Eliade and Wendy Doniger, as well as their critics. Using film and other media, we'll also read or look at a variety of myths, both ancient and modern.

CLA-212-01=REL-290-03 The Greeks were a polytheistic society: they worshipped numerous gods. Moreover, they did so in a variety of modes and for a multitude of reasons. Using ancient literature and archaeological remains, we will consider the nature and function of the gods of the Greek pantheon, as well as the sacred spaces, festivals, dedications, and rituals through which the Greeks worshipped their deities from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period and the rise of Christianity. As we explore these topics, we will situate religion within the changing social and historical contexts of the ancient world. This entails analysis of the relation between cults and the state, especially Athenian democracy; the impact of deities and festivals on warfare, the economy, athletics, and literature; and the role of refugees, slaves, women, and other marginalized groups. The course is discussion oriented; most class periods will be spent in conversation about assigned readings. An intensive immersion component rounds out the course: we will travel to Greece from May 7-17, 2023.

REL-373-01=BLS-300-01 "Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere." -- Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor. The world is finally understanding that there can be no teaching about race that is not also teaching against racism. This course will compare the Black experience in the United States, and theological reflection thereon, with Black experience under the brutal Apartheid regime in South Africa. We begin by examining first-person narratives from Black and White Americans on the harms done by racism. We will do the same with Black (Bantu), White and the so-called "Cape-Coloured" South Africans. Then we will look at histories told about how the parallel systems of oppression were conceived, installed and how they functioned. The last half of the class explores arguments made by James Cone on how the cross of Jesus Christ looks like (and unlike) a lynching tree; by South African Allan Boesak on the dangerous but tantalizing specter of "hope"; and by the womanist theologian Kelly Brown Douglas on theology in the wake of the killing of teenager Trayvon Martin.

The U.S. president has become, by many estimates, the most powerful person in the world. This course considers how such power in contemporary mediated society is connected to the president's use of rhetoric. Specifically, students will explore how contemporary presidents use rhetoric to govern, with particular attention to the relationship between presidents and the American people. The course material will include presidential rhetoric but also theoretical and rhetorical criticism essays that explore the operations of that rhetoric. This course focuses on the discourse of elected presidents who speak in an official capacity, not on election campaigns or fictional portrayals of U.S. presidents. Students should expect this to be a seminar course, meaning that our class sessions will be largely student-driven discussion from assigned material. By taking this course, students will cultivate a more nuanced understanding of the operations of U.S. presidential rhetoric, culminating in a research project that analyzes a significant historical instance of presidential rhetoric.