Course Listings

Dismissed once as kids' fare or shrugged off as sub-literate--"in the hierarchy of applied arts," Art Spiegelman once wrote, comic books surpass only "tattoo art and sign painting"--comics today are enjoying their Renaissance. In 2015, comics and graphic novel sales topped $1 billon, a 20-year high. Award-winning writers now moonlight for Marvel (Roxanne Gay, Ta-Nehisi Coates) or pen essays on Peanuts (Jonathan Franzen). Superheroes dominate the big screen. In this class, we'll explore this deceptively simple medium as it develops its special abilities. We'll use Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, a critical text that is itself a comic, to become smart readers of sequential art. Hillary Chute's book Why Comics? will help us to frame comics's enduring subject matters: sex, the suburbs, disasters, and superheroes. Readings might include Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, selection from the Hernandez Brothers' Love and Rockets, Spiegelman's Maus, Lynda Barry's One! Hundred! Demons!, and works by Daniel Clowes, Harvey Pekar, R. Crumb, Ebony Flowers, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, and others. The course is open to all students; underclassmen are encouraged to enroll. There will be capes and tights. ART-210=ENG-180

This half-credit course traces major trends in Chinese martial arts cinema, including works from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and beyond. We analyze films from multiple angles, including aesthetics, historical context, production, and circulation. We consider how films articulate diverse identities, operating in relation to national and transnational cultural institutions. All films include English subtitles. Film screenings in class Wednesdays 2:10-4:00. Meets during the first half-semester. See ASI-112 Korean Popular Culture for the second half-semester course. Counts as an elective for Film and Digital Media. No prerequisites.

From media like Squid Game and Parasite to music groups like Blackpink and BTS, the Korean Wave has taken the world by storm. This half-credit course considers the production, circulation, and consumption of Korean popular culture as a global phenomenon. We analyze and contextualize popular music, film, television, literature, material culture, and cuisine. Special attention is paid to new media forms, soft power, and transnational networks of cultural exchange. All readings in English. Meets during the second half-semester. See ASI-112 Martial Arts Film for the first half-semester course. Counts as an elective for Film and Digital Media. No prerequisites.

This survey course introduces Chinese history and cultural traditions from ancient times to 1911, outlining historical trends such as Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, dynastic cycles, literati culture, traditional gender roles, and interactions with the West. We will analyze a variety of primary sources (in translation), including poetry, fiction, philosophical writings, historical records, and visual art. No pre-requisites. ASI-112-03=HIS-260-01

2nd Half-Semester course. REL-196-01=ASI-196-01=HUM-196-01 "Old pond- frog jumps in-sound of water." So runs the famous haiku by Basho. Is it religious? For the Japanese, yes. In Japan religion and art are arguably the same thing. In this course we'll ask how and why. We'll study Japanese ideas about art and religion (e.g. emptiness, solitude, "sublime beauty"), and how they appear in Japanese literature. We'll read selections from Japanese poetry (including haiku) drama, a classic novel (The Tale of Genji), and some short stories by Murakami and Kawabata.

This course is to introduce students to politics and the political economy in East Asia. Japan, China, and the East Asian Tigers, including South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, have experienced economic success and political transitions in the past decades. How do East Asian countries achieve "economic miracles"? How do the state and society drive economic growth? Why do East Asian countries establish regional economic institutions to promote free trade? How does the region's political economy influence the world? We will focus on the development strategies of the countries in the region and discuss the underlying theoretical logic that explains East Asia's growth. In particular, students will be exposed to different datasets, analyze the empirical evidence, and make cross-country comparisons. This course will cover a range of topics, including developmental state, East Asian regional integration, and the relationship between the regional supply chain and the global economy. ASI-277-01=PSC-220-01=PPE-238-01

In this course, we will focus on major Anglophone and Francophone authors writing in and about formerly colonized territories such as parts of the Caribbean, Senegal, Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, and Ireland. We will focus on gender roles and race in connection to the literary canon, and we will discuss a dialogue between the center of the empire (London) and the "margins" (British colonies). How did the authors describe conflicts between assimilation and resistance in the colonial and postcolonial milieu? How were the national, cultural, and individual identities affected by decades of foreign imperial presence? To understand and enjoy the texts, we will also study the political context of European imperialism and the anti-imperial resistance. BLS-270-01=ENG-330-01=GEN-304-01

"In the last decade, the punitive and overzealous tools and approaches of the modern criminal justice system have seeped into our schools, serving to remove children from mainstream educational environments and funnel them onto a one-way path toward prison.. The School-to-Prison Pipeline is one of the most urgent challenges in education today." (NAACP 2005) In this course, we will examine the ways in which the U.S. system of P-12 public education has become increasingly enmeshed with the criminal justice system. As the ACLU has noted, school disciplinary measures have become more rigid and more likely to divert students toward local law enforcement agencies. Beyond the area of school conduct issues, inequities that predict students' success in our testing-focused educational system may also predict students' likelihood of engagement with law enforcement (eg: family income and educational levels, presence/absence of learning exceptionalities, stereotyping based upon personal and/or cultural identity, and wealth/poverty levels of schools and neighborhoods). In this class, we will examine the underlying policies and school-level practices that contribute to this destructive pattern, along with interventions that have been developed, such as greater attention to students' educational and vocational needs, restorative justice approaches to behavioral issues, and a focus on social-emotional learning. Specific issues we will examine that are implicated in the so-called "school-to-prison pipeline" include: "Zero tolerance" disciplinary policies in schools that include conduct, attire, and speech in using law enforcement approaches and personnel; Patterns of inclusion/exclusion related to personal and cultural identity; High-stakes testing, including its role in restricting curricula and instructional practices ,as well as a focus on retention and remediation through rote approaches to remedial instruction; Restrictive approaches to curricula and classroom instruction-often driven by standardized testing --that disproportionately fail to engage students in higher-poverty schools; Lack of appropriate policies and practices for students with both diagnosed and undiagnosed disabilities and exceptionalities; and The ways in which underlying socioeconomic inequalities among communities and their schools tend to exacerbate factors that push students out of educational systems and toward the criminal justice system. BLS-270-02=EDU-230-02

This course surveys the explosion of Black folk on TV during the mid-1980s through 2000. We will spend less time on the 1980s in order to devote time to shows developed during the two succeeding decades. We will examine the rise of Black directors, writers, and actors on television shows. Most of the time will be given to TV shows which feature a Black cast and/or lead actor(s). We will read cultural and literary theorists in order to understand the narrative structures and modalities of cultural production at work. Ultimately you should leave the course better able to critically engage TV. Warning! We will watch a lot of TV. BLS-270-04=ENG-370-01

The ancient cultures of Greece and Rome left lasting legacies not only in philosophy and politics but also in sports and athletics. In this class, students become acquainted with a diverse range of ancient sports and recreational activities practiced by Greeks and Romans. Through the engagement with ancient texts, inscriptions, paintings, sculptures, and the hands-on re-creation of ancient games, students not only observe the significant role that these pastimes played in classical culture but also reflect on the continued importance of sports and recreation in modern society. Along the way, the class explores larger themes, such as the role of ritual in sports, the nature of play, and the question of professionalism versus amateurism, as well as issues related to gender and ethics. CLA-113-01=HIS-210-01

"Death and Afterlife: Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions" As individuals and within communities, we tend to focus our energies on building a happy and secure future for ourselves; yet in a real sense we live surrounded by death, threatened by the impermanence of our relationships and by the fragility of life on our planet. The fear of death and the dread of what comes afterward is part of the human experience, both in the ancient and modern world. There is a substantial ancient literary tradition of "descending" to visit the underworld and "ascending" to visit the heavenly; to observe, search, behold, and, sometimes, to escape. However, these "places" are far from static conceptions and the theologies of the afterlife develop in notable ways throughout the Roman Imperial period. In this course, we will go on our own "Tour of Heaven and Hell" and explore the wide array of underworld and afterlife conceptions in ancient Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian sources. Our core questions in the class are: (1) How is the Underworld/Afterlife accessed and who goes there? (2) What kind of experience is had in the Underworld/Afterlife and why? (3) How does the concept of the afterlife evolve over time and across textual traditions? REL-290-01=CLA-211-01

This course is dedicated to the study of Early Christianity as it was manifested in one particular place, the deeply-charged and long-standing imperial capital of Rome. This immersion course addresses one central question with multiple off-shoots: How did Christianity take shape in Rome? How did it emerge from, rebel against, and engage with that city's deep past? Before Constantine, what was the experience of early Christians? After Constantine, how did the shape and character of the city (not to mention its inhabitants) change? What did early adherents of Christianity believe, and how were those beliefs negotiated, enhanced, challenged, and made orthodox through visual and material culture, especially religious architecture and its decoration? What was the experience of practitioners of traditional Greco-Roman religion after Christianity became the default religion of the Empire? In other words, our investigation will be about social history, architecture, religious history and theology, and art/iconography. It is about the realia of what people believed, saw, experienced, and did. And the best way to get a sense of those features of ancient life and belief is to visit the key places themselves: the city of Rome and, as a complement to the features of the urban experience that Rome lacks, its port city of Ostia. The immersion component of the course will occur November 17-25, 2023. One course credit. By application only. REL-260-01 = CLA-212-01

n this course, we will study the process of curriculum design for P12 classrooms from a historic and philosophic perspective, and on a practical level. Students will learn about the process through which curricula are created for core content and elective classes, including grade-level considerations related to child development and sequencing of content across grade, as well as larger social and cultural influences that can help to shape the focus of the content taught in public schools in the U.S. Factors including diversity and inclusion as well as accommodation for disability will be included in our study. Depending upon student interest, selected global comparisons may be studied as well. Students' assignments early in the semester will include analysis and discussion of the materials used to structure curriculum design. The latter portion of the semester will be devoted to students' individual development of curriculum materials for a P12 content area of their choice. Classroom placements in local schools for opportunities to assist in the classroom and teach selected lessons will be an option, subject to availability. Instructor permission required This course satisfies the Curriculum and Pedagogy requirement for the Education Studies minor, or may be taken for elective credit.

Dismissed once as kids' fare or shrugged off as sub-literate--"in the hierarchy of applied arts," Art Spiegelman once wrote, comic books surpass only "tattoo art and sign painting"--comics today are enjoying their Renaissance. In 2015, comics and graphic novel sales topped $1 billon, a 20-year high. Award-winning writers now moonlight for Marvel (Roxanne Gay, Ta-Nehisi Coates) or pen essays on Peanuts (Jonathan Franzen). Superheroes dominate the big screen. In this class, we'll explore this deceptively simple medium as it develops its special abilities. We'll use Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, a critical text that is itself a comic, to become smart readers of sequential art. Hillary Chute's book Why Comics? will help us to frame comics's enduring subject matters: sex, the suburbs, disasters, and superheroes. Readings might include Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, selection from the Hernandez Brothers' Love and Rockets, Spiegelman's Maus, Lynda Barry's One! Hundred! Demons!, and works by Daniel Clowes, Harvey Pekar, R. Crumb, Ebony Flowers, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, and others. The course is open to all students; underclassmen are encouraged to enroll. There will be capes and tights. ENG-180-01=ART-210-01

Did you know games could be serious? In this course, you will learn about how to write games for purposes other than entertainment. Serious games may be used for education, training, or as information delivery systems. You will learn how to gamify tasks in a number of different contexts, using game and level design to write for clients or institutions looking for an engaging way to teach, inspire, and motivate users. This course will lead you through all the steps of serious game development, from concept to delivery, working both individually and as a team. As a creative writing workshop course, you will also benefit from receiving detailed feedback on your games from your professor and peers.

This course will explore how contemporary literature impacts and shapes masculinity. Students will read novels, short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, and theory to ask how contemporary texts reify or challenge gender norms. Are definitions of masculinity expanding, creating spaces for men that didn't exist before? Or are they contracting? Or both? We will grapple with these questions, using theory to help us read and interpret texts as well as understand the complex cultural forces that shape masculinity today. ENG-270-01=GEN-270-01

In this course, we will focus on major Anglophone and Francophone authors writing in and about formerly colonized territories such as parts of the Caribbean, Senegal, Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, and Ireland. We will focus on gender roles and race in connection to the literary canon, and we will discuss a dialogue between the center of the empire (London) and the "margins" (British colonies). How did the authors describe conflicts between assimilation and resistance in the colonial and postcolonial milieu? How were the national, cultural, and individual identities affected by decades of foreign imperial presence? To understand and enjoy the texts, we will also study the political context of European imperialism and the anti-imperial resistance. ENG-330-01=BLS-270-01=GEN-304-01

Can we recover the sounds of Paris prior to sound recording? Why were church bells silenced during the French Revolution, and how did the meaning of this sound become secularized in the countryside? What types of sources are researchers using to restore the sonic aspects of the Notre Dame cathedral since the disastrous fire in April 2019? This course will take up these and other questions about the role of sound in the construction of French cultural and political identities. Drawing from key concepts in Sound Studies, we will explore the evolving soundscapes across France and the French colonial empire. Through poetry and prose from classic French and Francophone writers such as Charles Baudelaire, Frantz Fanon, Gustave Flaubert, and Proust, we will study how authors have used literature to preserve the sounds of history before and after sound recording, and listen to the earliest recorded human voice, the cries of Parisian street vendors, and the sounds of war from the medieval era to the present. FRE-277-01=MUS-104-01

This course will explore how contemporary literature impacts and shapes masculinity. Students will read novels, short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, and theory to ask how contemporary texts reify or challenge gender norms. Are definitions of masculinity expanding, creating spaces for men that didn't exist before? Or are they contracting? Or both? We will grapple with these questions, using theory to help us read and interpret texts as well as understand the complex cultural forces that shape masculinity today. GEN-270-01=ENG=270-01

HIS 200-01: Drugs and Society Modern History What is a drug? This course examines the history of drugs in society by first asking what a drug or intoxicant might be. The class will then consider how different societies have accepted or rejected drugs based on their usefulness or danger to the social order. We will examine changing cultural attitudes toward drugs, the rise of modern drug regulation, and the development of the pharmaceutical drug. For example, why did drinking coffee and tea become an accepted activity, but smoking opium was increasingly frowned upon during the nineteenth century? Why did Viagra become medically acceptable but mercury fell out of favor to treat disease in the 20th century? Key topics will include: The growth and regulation of the opium trade in the 19th century The cultural, economic, and social factors shaping alcohol policies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries The medicalization of drug use and the development of the pharmaceutical industry The impact of drug regulation and the emergence of the global war on drugs in the 20th century The historical interpretations of Cannabis, Alcohol (Tequila, Absinthe), Meth, Viagra, Chocolate, etc. This course is suitable for all students with an interest in history, sociology, and public health. By the end of the course, students will have developed critical thinking and analytical skills to better understand historical relationships between drugs and society. There is no immersion trip associated with this course but to be blunt, in addition to short assignments and two exams, students will have a daily dose of reading and discussion. GHL-219-01=HIS-200-02

How has digital technology affected our understanding of the past? In this course, we will examine the ways in which the Internet has dramatically changed the creation and consumption of historical knowledge. With a focus on the history of immigration, this course will interrogate search engines, explore digital archives, and look under the hoods of mapping, textual analysis, network visualization, and crowdsourcing projects. Throughout, students will consider the methodological implications of doing immigration history online, including the ethical challenges of sharing immigrant stories and reducing human lives to data. The course will follow digital history's call to collaboratively play - and sometimes fail - with technology, concluding the semester with an online group research project related to the history of immigration. HIS-200-01=HSP-250-01

What is a drug? This course examines the history of drugs in society by first asking what a drug or intoxicant might be. The class will then consider how different societies have accepted or rejected drugs based on their usefulness or danger to the social order. We will examine changing cultural attitudes toward drugs, the rise of modern drug regulation, and the development of the pharmaceutical drug. For example, why did drinking coffee and tea become an accepted activity, but smoking opium was increasingly frowned upon during the nineteenth century? Why did Viagra become medically acceptable but mercury fell out of favor to treat disease in the 20th century? Key topics will include: The growth and regulation of the opium trade in the 19th century The cultural, economic, and social factors shaping alcohol policies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries The medicalization of drug use and the development of the pharmaceutical industry The impact of drug regulation and the emergence of the global war on drugs in the 20th century The historical interpretations of Cannabis, Alcohol (Tequila, Absinthe), Meth, Viagra, Chocolate, etc. This course is suitable for all students with an interest in history, sociology, and public health. By the end of the course, students will have developed critical thinking and analytical skills to better understand historical relationships between drugs and society. There is no immersion trip associated with this course but to be blunt, in addition to short assignments and two exams, students will have a daily dose of reading and discussion. HIS-200-02=GHL-219-01

From ancient Rome to Waco, Texas, Jewish and Christian groups have shared visions of the end of the world. This course will study the history of these communities from Roman antiquity to medieval Europe to recent apocalyptic movements. Using the lenses of social and cultural history, we will examine how these apocalyptic ideas have been shaped by historical events and how groups have interacted with, and often changed, society. HIS-200-03=REL-272-01

The ancient cultures of Greece and Rome left lasting legacies not only in philosophy and politics but also in sports and athletics. In this class, students become acquainted with a diverse range of ancient sports and recreational activities practiced by Greeks and Romans. Through the engagement with ancient texts, inscriptions, paintings, sculptures, and the hands-on re-creation of ancient games, students not only observe the significant role that these pastimes played in classical culture but also reflect on the continued importance of sports and recreation in modern society. Along the way, the class explores larger themes, such as the role of ritual in sports, the nature of play, and the question of professionalism versus amateurism, as well as issues related to gender and ethics. HIS-210-01=CLA-113-01

This survey course introduces Chinese history and cultural traditions from ancient times to 1911, outlining historical trends such as Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, dynastic cycles, literati culture, traditional gender roles, and interactions with the West. We will analyze a variety of primary sources (in translation), including poetry, fiction, philosophical writings, historical records, and visual art. No pre-requisites. HIS-260-01=ASI-112-03

How has digital technology affected our understanding of the past? In this course, we will examine the ways in which the Internet has dramatically changed the creation and consumption of historical knowledge. With a focus on the history of immigration, this course will interrogate search engines, explore digital archives, and look under the hoods of mapping, textual analysis, network visualization, and crowdsourcing projects. Throughout, students will consider the methodological implications of doing immigration history online, including the ethical challenges of sharing immigrant stories and reducing human lives to data. The course will follow digital history's call to collaboratively play - and sometimes fail - with technology, concluding the semester with an online group research project related to the history of immigration. HSP-250-01=HIS-200-01

This is a course for ROTC students at the campus of Purdue University and follows Purdue's term dates. Purdue's Fall semester dates are August 21 - December 9, 2023. Purdue's Fall break is October 9-10, 2023 (Monday - Tuesday) and their Thanksgiving break is November 22-25, 2023 (Wednesday - Saturday).

This is a course for ROTC students at the campus of Purdue University and follows Purdue's term dates. Purdue's Fall semester dates are August 21 - December 9, 2023. Purdue's Fall break is October 9-10, 2023 (Monday - Tuesday) and their Thanksgiving break is November 22-25, 2023 (Wednesday - Saturday).

This is a course for ROTC students at the campus of Purdue University and follows Purdue's term dates. Purdue's Fall semester dates are August 21 - December 9, 2023. Purdue's Fall break is October 9-10, 2023 (Monday - Tuesday) and their Thanksgiving break is November 22-25, 2023 (Wednesday - Saturday).

This is a course for ROTC students at the campus of Purdue University and follows Purdue's term dates. Purdue's Fall semester dates are August 21 - December 9, 2023. Purdue's Fall break is October 9-10, 2023 (Monday - Tuesday) and their Thanksgiving break is November 22-25, 2023 (Wednesday - Saturday).

Can we recover the sounds of Paris prior to sound recording? Why were church bells silenced during the French Revolution, and how did the meaning of this sound become secularized in the countryside? What types of sources are researchers using to restore the sonic aspects of the Notre Dame cathedral since the disastrous fire in April 2019? This course will take up these and other questions about the role of sound in the construction of French cultural and political identities. Drawing from key concepts in Sound Studies, we will explore the evolving soundscapes across France and the French colonial empire. Through poetry and prose from classic French and Francophone writers such as Charles Baudelaire, Frantz Fanon, Gustave Flaubert, and Proust, we will study how authors have used literature to preserve the sounds of history before and after sound recording, and listen to the earliest recorded human voice, the cries of Parisian street vendors, and the sounds of war from the medieval era to the present.

This course provides an introduction to fundamental questions in the field of the philosophy of sport. Engaging metaphysics, phenomenology, ethics, and social and political philosophy, students will ponder such questions as: What is sport? What is the value of sport? What does sport reveal about the relation of our mind and body? Of our identity? Of our freedom? Is sport an arena for social justice? These questions will be examined using a diverse set of tools ranging from ancient Greek philosophy to contemporary trans feminist philosophy and philosophy of race.

Here are some things that I take myself to know. The world around me is real, and not merely a simulation. The universe is billions of years old, and did not come into existence five minutes ago. Antarctica is a continent, but the Arctic is not. There are 215 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. The sun will rise tomorrow. But how do I know those things? What reliable information can I really have about the world around me? These questions are made particularly pressing by the existence of philosophical skepticism, according to which it is impossible for us to know what the world around us is actually like. Despite skepticism's absurd appearance, it is of enduring interest because of the power of the arguments in favor of it. Thus, to study skepticism, we will direct most of our attention to the careful study of arguments. The arguments we study will come from classic and contemporary philosophical works, and we will study them by using software called MindMup to map their structure. This will put us in a position to understand and evaluate these skeptical arguments, with an eye toward determining how we can have knowledge of the world around us.

This course is to introduce students to politics and the political economy in East Asia. Japan, China, and the East Asian Tigers, including South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, have experienced economic success and political transitions in the past decades. How do East Asian countries achieve "economic miracles"? How do the state and society drive economic growth? Why do East Asian countries establish regional economic institutions to promote free trade? How does the region's political economy influence the world? We will focus on the development strategies of the countries in the region and discuss the underlying theoretical logic that explains East Asia's growth. In particular, students will be exposed to different datasets, analyze the empirical evidence, and make cross-country comparisons. This course will cover a range of topics, including developmental state, East Asian regional integration, and the relationship between the regional supply chain and the global economy. PPE-238-01=PSC-220-01=ASI-277-01

This course focuses on some fundamental questions for our political moment. To what degree are our political and economic institutions shaped by the physical spaces we inhabit, and the web of non-human life that we share the world with? Is a democratic future compatible with an assumption of human exceptionalism in nature, and can a sustainable future for humanity be achieved? In essence, this course examines how ecology (geographic place, environment, and non-human life) shapes and constrains our political lives. Over the course of the term, we will critically engage with texts from political theory, sociology, geography, and environmental science, to interrogate how our relationships with nature impact our understandings of democracy, justice, and equality. Particular emphasis will be focused on two core themes: the compatibility of democracy with equitable climate justice, and the political consideration of the non-human and material elements of Earthly nature. Will count as an elective for ENS minor. PSC-230-01=PPE-238-02

Although the colonization of the Americas in 1492 represented a paradigm shift in the ways that people conceived of science, ethics, politics, and economics, its significance in shaping the modern world has been largely ignored by Western European philosophers. This obliviousness is not coincidental. According to the Eurocentric view, modernity results from the historical unfolding of Europe, and it represents a moment of rational maturity such that human beings can self-govern. This course will expose what decolonial philosopher Enrique Dussel calls the "myth of modernity," which means that the Eurocentric view of modernity not only emerges from but also serves to justify colonial violence against non-European peoples. We will show that the Eurocentric view of modernity relies on a developmentalist conception of history which situates Western European peoples as historically developed and non-European peoples as historically backwards. The "myth of modernity" thus implies that while Western European peoples can self-govern, non-European peoples must be governed by others, thereby justifying colonial practices of land dispossession, enslavement, and serfdom. We will also explore the ways in which the "myth of modernity" informs the self-conception of colonized peoples at the most intimate levels of our racial, gendered, and sexual selves. We will end by considering various liberation projects, including the option of emancipatory violence. In addition to juxtaposing canonical philosophical discourses about the idea of modernity alongside decolonial discourses from the global south, we will also incorporate literary works that capture the experience of colonization and its implications for our conception of modernity. PHI-319-02=BLS-280-01=GHL-319-01=HSP-217-01=PPE-329-02

Capitalism is a philosophical concept, a mode of economic organization, a moral foundation for political freedom, and a contested source of struggle and oppression. In this course, we examine the historical trajectory of capitalism as a socio-economic system, its interactions with democratic politics, various arguments against capitalism with proposed alternative modes of societal organization, and the role that capitalism should (or should not) play in contemporary political crises. How do historical and contemporary theories of capitalist and anti-capitalist politics shape our understanding of the world? What role does capitalism play in shaping political, social, and environmental outcomes today - and are those outcomes similar for all political citizens? Is there a future for capitalism in global society, and if not, what might such an alternative future look like? This course will be focused on critical readings of historical and modern texts in political thought, exploring the historical development of capitalist/anti-capitalist ideologies, how they intersect with our contemporary political lives, and texts that envision what our economic futures could (or should) look like. PSC-330-01=PPE-338-01

This course is to introduce students to politics and the political economy in East Asia. Japan, China, and the East Asian Tigers, including South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, have experienced economic success and political transitions in the past decades. How do East Asian countries achieve "economic miracles"? How do the state and society drive economic growth? Why do East Asian countries establish regional economic institutions to promote free trade? How does the region's political economy influence the world? We will focus on the development strategies of the countries in the region and discuss the underlying theoretical logic that explains East Asia's growth. In particular, students will be exposed to different datasets, analyze the empirical evidence, and make cross-country comparisons. This course will cover a range of topics, including developmental state, East Asian regional integration, and the relationship between the regional supply chain and the global economy. PSC-220-01=PPE-238-01=ASI-277-01

This course focuses on some fundamental questions for our political moment. To what degree are our political and economic institutions shaped by the physical spaces we inhabit, and the web of non-human life that we share the world with? Is a democratic future compatible with an assumption of human exceptionalism in nature, and can a sustainable future for humanity be achieved? In essence, this course examines how ecology (geographic place, environment, and non-human life) shapes and constrains our political lives. Over the course of the term, we will critically engage with texts from political theory, sociology, geography, and environmental science, to interrogate how our relationships with nature impact our understandings of democracy, justice, and equality. Particular emphasis will be focused on two core themes: the compatibility of democracy with equitable climate justice, and the political consideration of the non-human and material elements of Earthly nature. Will count as an elective for ENS minor. PSC-230-01=PPE-238-02

Most conflicts today take place within states - either between governments and civilians or among different groups in the country. This course combines theories from international relations and comparative politics to examine a broad range of topics related to political violence. We will discuss various forms of domestic con?icts, including antigovernment protests, riots, state repression, civil war, terrorism, coups, electoral violence, and conflict-related sexual violence. We will also investigate the aftermath of conflicts and international interventions in these conflicts. This class is not a history class or a class on current events. Though current and historical events will be discussed, your grade will not depend on your rote memorization of these events. Instead, the focus will be on understanding the underlying interests of important actors for political conflicts, the arenas in which these actors interact, and the rules which govern their interactions.

Capitalism is a philosophical concept, a mode of economic organization, a moral foundation for political freedom, and a contested source of struggle and oppression. In this course, we examine the historical trajectory of capitalism as a socio-economic system, its interactions with democratic politics, various arguments against capitalism with proposed alternative modes of societal organization, and the role that capitalism should (or should not) play in contemporary political crises. How do historical and contemporary theories of capitalist and anti-capitalist politics shape our understanding of the world? What role does capitalism play in shaping political, social, and environmental outcomes today - and are those outcomes similar for all political citizens? Is there a future for capitalism in global society, and if not, what might such an alternative future look like? This course will be focused on critical readings of historical and modern texts in political thought, exploring the historical development of capitalist/anti-capitalist ideologies, how they intersect with our contemporary political lives, and texts that envision what our economic futures could (or should) look like. PSC-330-01=PPE-338-01

Mindfulness has become increasingly popular in programs to help support health and wellness. Studies of mindfulness programs have focused on a range of potential benefits, from stress reduction and managing blood pressure, to helping with substance abuse and sleep quality. In this course, we will examine the psychology of mindfulness, focusing on common mindfulness programs. We will consider how mindfulness today (which is often presented as set of secular tools) has roots in several contemplative traditions. Class activities will be divided between active participation in components of an established mindfulness program for stress reduction, and on examining psychological research on effectiveness and mechanisms of mindfulness.

2nd half semester course REL-196-01=ASI-196-01=HUM-196-01 "Old pond- frog jumps in-sound of water." So runs the famous haiku by Basho. Is it religious? For the Japanese, yes. In Japan religion and art are arguably the same thing. In this course we'll ask how and why. We'll study Japanese ideas about art and religion (e.g. emptiness, solitude, "sublime beauty"), and how they appear in Japanese literature. We'll read selections from Japanese poetry (including haiku) N? drama, a classic novel (The Tale of Genji), and some short stories by Murakami and Kawabata.

"The Word of God: Prophecy and Writing in Ancient Judaism" This class will focus on the notion of the "Word of the Lord" by considering the history of prophecy in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testatment and the varying conceptions of "scripture" in the Second Temple Period. We will begin with the rise of prophecy during the era of the kings and investigate the core themes of the prophets in their shifting historical contexts. What are the different types of prophets found within the Hebrew Bible/Old Testatment? What role did the prophets play within their larger society? What is the nature of prophecy and in what sense is it the "word of the Lord"? We will then trace the idea of a written "word of God" in texts like Exodus, Chronicles, and Ezra in order to situate how writing itself and the written Law of Moses in particular focalized the idea of the "word" into a physical text. Finally, we will look at the array of conceptions of written scripture in the Jewish tradition up until the first century CE. Here we will explore ancient notions of scripture by considering how the Hebrew Bible/Old Testatment was rewritten, expanded, summarized, interpreted, and otherwise handled.

This course is dedicated to the study of Early Christianity as it was manifested in one particular place, the deeply-charged and long-standing imperial capital of Rome. This immersion course addresses one central question with multiple off-shoots: How did Christianity take shape in Rome? How did it emerge from, rebel against, and engage with that city's deep past? Before Constantine, what was the experience of early Christians? After Constantine, how did the shape and character of the city (not to mention its inhabitants) change? What did early adherents of Christianity believe, and how were those beliefs negotiated, enhanced, challenged, and made orthodox through visual and material culture, especially religious architecture and its decoration? What was the experience of practitioners of traditional Greco-Roman religion after Christianity became the default religion of the Empire? In other words, our investigation will be about social history, architecture, religious history and theology, and art/iconography. It is about the realia of what people believed, saw, experienced, and did. And the best way to get a sense of those features of ancient life and belief is to visit the key places themselves: the city of Rome and, as a complement to the features of the urban experience that Rome lacks, its port city of Ostia. The immersion component of the course will occur November 17-25, 2023. One course credit. By application only. REL-260-01 = CLA-212-01

From ancient Rome to Waco, Texas, Jewish and Christian groups have shared visions of the end of the world. This course will study the history of these communities from Roman antiquity to medieval Europe to recent apocalyptic movements. Using the lenses of social and cultural history, we will examine how these apocalyptic ideas have been shaped by historical events and how groups have interacted with, and often changed, society. HIS-200-03=REL-272-01

This course introduces students to the history of Catholicism in America from 1850 (when Catholicism became the nation's largest religious denomination) to present day. We will consider themes of migration, mission, education, politics, and religious life. Students will think critically about the diversity of Catholicism in terms of gender, race, class, and ethnicity, and will examine the relationship between American and global Catholicism.

1st half semester course Are religion and science in conflict with each other? In agreement? How or why, one way or the other? These are our questions. We'll do two main things in this course. First, we'll take a careful look at the different "ways of knowing" that are characteristic of science and religion, respectively. Second, we'll look at several models for thinking critically and responsibly about how they are related. Readings will include selections from Bertolt Brecht, Alan Lightman, Jacob Bronowski, Adam Frank, and others, as well as some classic texts in the history of science.

This course explores how American religious leaders and denominations have defined, transgressed, and challenged ideas about the body. Students will learn about the relationship between disability, race, gender, sexuality, and religion in American's past and present. Using creative source bases, methods, and interpretive frameworks, we will think critically about how power and representation (in the archives, media, political discourse, and everyday life) shape our understanding of religion and bodies.

"Death and Afterlife: Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions" As individuals and within communities, we tend to focus our energies on building a happy and secure future for ourselves; yet in a real sense we live surrounded by death, threatened by the impermanence of our relationships and by the fragility of life on our planet. The fear of death and the dread of what comes afterward is part of the human experience, both in the ancient and modern world. There is a substantial ancient literary tradition of "descending" to visit the underworld and "ascending" to visit the heavenly; to observe, search, behold, and, sometimes, to escape. However, these "places" are far from static conceptions and the theologies of the afterlife develop in notable ways throughout the Roman Imperial period. In this course, we will go on our own "Tour of Heaven and Hell" and explore the wide array of underworld and afterlife conceptions in ancient Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian sources. Our core questions in the class are: (1) How is the Underworld/Afterlife accessed and who goes there? (2) What kind of experience is had in the Underworld/Afterlife and why? (3) How does the concept of the afterlife evolve over time and across textual traditions?

Have you ever wondered how fantasy football, Twitch, YikYak, and Craigslist are connected? Did you know that with every snap you send or Netflix recommendation that you watch you are engaging in rhetoric? In today's technologically mediated world, digital and non-digital spaces, performances, and socio-cultural norms are increasingly intertwined. Students in this course will study digital rhetoric theories, methods, and practices to better understand how these spaces, performances, and norms construct and negotiate meaning through multimedia. We will study digital rhetoric through a variety of technologies, platforms, and networks-particularly those linked to/through the Internet. Our assignments and in-class discussions will culminate in a semester-long literature review of an original student-research proposal that contributes to the scholarly investigation of digital rhetoric as a critical cultural practice.