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Catalogue 2017-2018 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Course Descriptions
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Psychological Science: II. Intermediate |
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PSYC 253 - Individual Differences and Personality Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
An introduction to contemporary approaches to understanding personality. The focus of the course is on evaluating recent theories and research that attempt to uncover the underlying dimensions that distinguish one person from another. Emphasis is placed on understanding behavior in interactions with others; the development of personality over time; and people’s intuitive theories about personality, including their own. Randy Cornelius.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 or PSYC 106 .
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PSYC 254 - Emotional Engagement with Film Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as FILM 254 and MEDS 254 ) While movies engage our emotions in psychologically significant ways, scholarship on the psychological allure and impact of film has existed primarily at the interdisciplinary margins. This course aims to bring such scholarship into the foreground. We begin with a careful examination of the appeal and power of narrative, as well as processes of identification and imagined intimacy with characters, before taking a closer analytical look at specific film genres (e.g., melodrama, horror, comedy, action, social commentary) both in their own right and in terms of their psychological significance (e.g., why do we enjoy sad movies? How do violent movies influence viewer aggression? How might socially conscious films inspire activism or altruism?) In addition to delving into theoretical and empirical papers, a secondary goal of the course is to engage students as collaborators; brainstorm and propose innovative experimental methods for testing research questions and hypotheses that emerge in step with course materials. Dara Greenwood and Sarah Kozloff.
Prerequisite(s): for Psychology majors - PSYC 105 or PSYC 106 ; for Film majors - FILM 175 or FILM 210 ; for Media Studies majors - MEDS 160 .
Two 75-minute periods plus outside screenings.
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PSYC 262 - Principles of Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
A survey of research and theory concerning the nature, origins, and treatment of major psychological disorders. The course considers behavioral, biological, cognitive and psychodynamic approaches to understanding psychopathology. Topics may include schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, childhood disorders, and personality disorders. Jannay Morrow, Susan Trumbetta.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 105 or PSYC 106 .
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PSYC 269 - Research Methods in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
The study of research methods in psychopathology and clinical psychology. Every stage of research is considered: the generation of hypotheses, operationalization of variables, data collection, analysis and evaluation, and presentation of results. The focus is on the development of skills particular to research with clinical populations including ethical considerations, structured clinical interviews, behavioral observations, reliable and valid assessment, and measurement of change over time. Allan Clifton.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 200 and PSYC 262 .
Two 2-hour periods.
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PSYC 290 - Field Work Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
0.5 to 2 unit(s)
Individuals or group field projects or internships, with prior approval of the adviser and the instructor who supervises the work. May be elected during the college year or during the summer. The department.
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PSYC 298 - Independent Work Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Individual or group studies with prior approval of the adviser and of the instructor who supervises the work. May be elected during the college year or during the summer. The department.
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Psychological Science: III. Advanced Open to seniors. For majors, satisfactory completion of a research methods course (PSYC 209 , PSYC 229 , PSYC 239 , PSYC 249 , PSYC 259 ) is a prerequisite for these courses. Seminar seats are assigned according to a department lottery system. Please contact department office for lottery information. Non-majors and juniors should consult the instructor.
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PSYC 301 - Seminar in Social Psychology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
An intensive study of selected topics in social psychology. Emphasis is placed on current theories, issues, and research areas. Randy Cornelius.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 201 or PSYC 205 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
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PSYC 321 - Seminar in Animal Learning and Behavior
1 unit(s)
An in-depth analysis of selected mechanisms of learning and behavior. Topics can vary from year to year, but may include animal cognition, language and communication, behavioral ecology, and recent advances in the theory and neurophysiology of learning and behavior. Kevin Holloway.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 221 or PSYC 223 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
Not offered in 2017/18.
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PSYC 323 - Seminar in Evolutionary Psychology Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Applications of comparative psychology to a specific topic. Topics can vary from year to year, and have in the past included altruism, sex differences, aggression, language, etc. The focus is how theory and data from other species inform questions about human functioning. John Mark Cleaveland.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 221 or PSYC 223 or BIOL 340 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
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PSYC 331 - Seminar in Developmental Psychology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Seminar in current issues, research, and theory in developmental psychology. Topics vary and may include laboratory work. Debra Zeifman.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 231 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
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PSYC 336 - Childhood Development: Observation and Research Application
1 unit(s)
(Same as EDUC 336 ) What differentiates the behavior of one young child from that of another? What characteristics do young children have in common? This course provides students with direct experience in applying contemporary theory and research to the understanding of an individual child. Topics include attachment; temperament; parent, sibling and peer relationships; language and humor development; perspective taking; and the social-emotional connection to learning. Each student selects an individual child in a classroom setting and collects data about the child from multiple sources (direct observation, teacher interviews, parent-teacher conferences, archival records). During class periods, students discuss the primary topic literature, incorporating and comparing observations across children to understand broader developmental trends and individual differences. Synthesis of this information with critical analysis of primary sources in the early childhood and developmental literature culminates in comprehensive written and oral presentations. Julie Riess.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 231 and permission of the instructor. For Psychology Majors: completion of a research methods course.
Not offered in 2016/17.
One 3-hour period. and 4 hours of laboratory observation work.
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PSYC 341 - Seminar in Physiological Psychology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Analysis of selected topics in physiological psychology. Topics vary from year to year but may include learning, memory, human neuropsychology, neuropharmacology, psychopharmacology, sensory processes, emotion, and motivation. N. Jay Bean.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 241 or PSYC 243 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
Not offered in 2017/18
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PSYC 343 - Seminar on States of Consciousness
1 unit(s)
A consideration of conditions giving rise to disruptions of awareness and implications for behavioral integration. Topics serving as areas of discussion may include: sleep and dreaming; hypnosis and hypnagogic phenomena; drug behavior and biochemistry; cerebral damage; dissociations of consciousness such as blindsight; psychopathologic states. N. Jay Bean, Carol Christensen.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 241 or PSYC 243 .
Not offered in 2017/18
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PSYC 353 - Seminar in Individual Differences and Personality Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Intensive study of selected topics in personality and individual differences. Theory and empirical research form the core of required readings. Topics studied reflect the interests of both the instructor and the students. Michelle Tugade.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 253 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
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PSYC 362 - Seminar in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
An intensive study of research and theory concerning the nature, origins, and treatment of major psychological disorders. Topics vary but may include schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, childhood disorders, and personality disorders. Abigail Baird, Susan Trumbetta.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 262 , a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
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PSYC 364 - Seminar in Behavior Genetics Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
This course explores genetic contributions to complex behavioral phenotypes. Its primary focus is on genetic contributions to human behavior with some attention to comparative and evolutionary genetics. Quantitative methods are emphasized. Susan Trumbetta.
Prerequisite(s): a research methods course in Psychological Science, and permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
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PSYC 380 - Neurolaw: “My Brain Made Me Do It” Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
This course critically examines the increasing presence of brain-based evidence in the courtroom. We explore how advances in our understand of the human brain, as well as its maturation, have contributed to both individual legal cases and public policy, going so far as to even influence rulings of the Supreme Court. The course also takes a critical look at how and when Neurolaw is being misused by improving students scientific literacy regarding the strengths and limitations of various neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging techniques. While there is an emphasis on the brain and its function, students with interests in Law and/or Public Policy are encouraged to enroll. Abigail Baird.
One 2-hour period.
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PSYC 386 - Tools for Transformation Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
What’s the science behind self-help? What processes keep us mired in habit, and what processes help us transform? And why do we need so many guides? In this seminar we explore methods of awareness and self-transformation, particularly examining theory and research evidence of effectiveness. Additionally, we sample a variety of evidence-based practices, in class and course projects. Students engage in a project of personal value, and interview others about methods that work for them. We consider principles of motivation, development, neuropsychology, creativity, cognition, relationship, individual differences, and topics of specific interest to enrolled students. Carolyn Palmer.
Prerequisite(s): at least two 200-level psychological science courses, and a research methods course (may be concurrent).
One 2-hour period.
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PSYC 390 - Senior Research Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Graded independent research. A student wishing to take this course must first gain the support of a member of the psychology faculty, who supervises the student as they design and carry out an empirical investigation of some psychological phenomenon. In addition to a final paper and regular meetings with their faculty sponsor, students also attend weekly meetings organized by the course instructor. Both the course instructor and the supervising faculty member participate in the planning of the research and in final evaluation. The department.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 298 .
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PSYC 395 - Senior Integrative Thesis Semester Offered: Fall and/or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 298 , PSYC 399 .
Open to seniors by invitation of instructor.
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PSYC 397 - Senior Empirical Thesis Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
This is a year-long thesis project conducted collaboratively with a participating faculty member on an empirical research project. In Psychology 397, students work to identify a conceptual question of interest, read and integrate background literature on that topic, and formulate a novel research plan. In Psychology 398, students carry out their proposed studies by collecting data, statistically analyzing the results of the study, and interpreting how the results relate to the study’s original hypothesis and existing findings in the field. Both semesters involve intensive writing, with detailed feedback from the primary faculty adviser and a second faculty reader, as well as a formal presentation of the research findings to other students and faculty. Completion of Psychology 398 is required to receive credit for Psychology 397. The department.
Prerequisite(s): Psychology research methods course and permission of the instructor.
One 4-hour period.
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PSYC 398 - Senior Empirical Thesis Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
This is a year-long thesis project conducted collaboratively with a participating faculty member on an empirical research project. In Psychology 397, students work to identify a conceptual question of interest, read and integrate background literature on that topic, and formulate a novel research plan. In Psychology 398, students carry out their proposed studies by collecting data, statistically analyzing the results of the study, and interpreting how the results relate to the study’s original hypothesis and existing findings in the field. Both semesters involve intensive writing, with detailed feedback from the primary faculty adviser and a second faculty reader, as well as a formal presentation of the research findings to other students and faculty. Completion of Psychology 398 is required to receive credit for Psychology 397. The department.
Prerequisite(s): Psychology research methods course and permission of the instructor.
One 4-hour period.
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Religion: I. Introductory |
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RELI 101 - An Examined Life: Religious Approaches to Enduring Questions
1 unit(s)
What is a good life? How do we understand dying and death? Does God exist? Is there evil? Why do we suffer? How do we love? What’s the proper way to treat one’s neighbor? This class explores the variety of ways that religious thinkers have responded to these ancient, persistent, and troubling questions about the nature of human existence. Our focus is on philosophical texts, however we also consider filmic representations of these problems. Jonathon Kahn.
Not offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 102 - Religion, Media & American Popular Culture Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
How does the mass media change religious values and behaviors? How might we understand the relationship between American Christians and American culture? Has sports, television or entertainment replaced religion? Is popular culture hostile to faith or is it religious in wholly new and unexpected ways? In this course we explore these questions by looking in detail at American television, film, popular literature and the internet. We also examine how specific religions and religious symbols are expressed in popular culture, what happens when traditional religions borrow pop cultural forms or ideals, and how the American media is abetting a trend towards religious eclecticism and hybridity. Christopher White.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 104 - Religion, Prisons, and the Civil Rights Movement
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 104 ) African American citizenship has long been a contested and bloody battlefield. This course uses the modern Civil Rights Movement to examine the roles the religion and prisons have played in theses battles over African American rights and liberties. In what ways have religious beliefs motivated Americans to uphold narrow definitions of citizenship that exclude people on the basis of race or moved them to boldly challenge those definitions? In a similar fashion, civil rights workers were incarcerated in jails and prisons as a result of their nonviolent protest activities. Their experiences in prisons, they exposed the inhumane conditions and practices existing in many prison settings. More recently, the growth of the mass incarceration of minorities has moved to the forefront of civil and human rights concerns. Is a new Civil Rights Movement needed to challenge the New Jim Crow?
Not offered in 2017/18.
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RELI 107 - Inner Paths: Religion and Contemplative Consciousness
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 107 ) The academic study of religion spends a lot of time examining religion as a social and cultural phenomenon. This course takes a different approach. Instead of looking at religion extrinsically (through history, philosophy, sociology, scriptural study, etc.) “Inner Paths” looks at the religious experience itself, as seen through the eyes of saints and mystics from a variety of the world’s religious traditions. By listening to and reflecting upon “mystic” and contemplative narratives from adepts of Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Daoist and other traditions we learn to appreciate the commonalities, differences, and nuances of various “inner paths.” Readings include John of the Cross, Theresa of Avila, Rabbi Akiba, Rumi, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ramakrishna, and Mirabai. Rick Jarow.
Not offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 112 - An Introduction to Islam Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 112 ) This course introduces students to Muslim cultures, beliefs, and practices through the lens of journey, migration and quest. Voyage and migration have characterized Muslim communities ever since Muhammad sent a group of his followers to seek refuge with the Christian king of Abyssinia. Over the centuries, Islamic legal, literary, and philosophical traditions have reflected deeply on migration and journeying, and Muslim communities have settled around the world. We explore Muhammad’s miraculous journey to Jerusalem, the event of migration to Medina, the role of travel in the expansion of the Islamic world, Muslims as religious minorities in the 20th century, and the place of Islam in the contemporary global refugee crisis. Sources include scripture, theology, history, poetry and literature, ethnography, autobiography, and film. Kirsten Wesselhoeft.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 150 - Jews, Christians, and Muslims Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as JWST 150 ) An historical comparative study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The course focuses on such themes as origins, development, sacred literature, ritual, legal, mystical, and philosophical traditions, and interactions among the three religions. Marc Michael Epstein, Kirsten Wesselhoeft.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 152 - Religions of Asia Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 152 ) This course is an introduction to the religions of Asia (Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Zen, Shinto, etc.) through a study of practices, sites, sensibilities, and doctrines. The focus is comparative as the course explores numerous themes, including creation (cosmology), myth, ritual, action, fate and destiny, human freedom, and ultimate values. Rick Jarow.
Open to all students except seniors.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 160 - Relatively Uncertain: A History of Physics, Religion and Popular Culture
1 unit(s)
(Same as PHYS 160 and STS 160 ) This course examines the cultural history of key ideas and experiments in physics, looking in particular at how non-scientists understood key concepts such as entropy, relativity, quantum mechanics and the idea of higher or new dimensions. It begins with an assumption that’s widely accepted among historians – namely, that the sciences are a part of culture and are influenced by cultural trends, contemporary concerns and even urgent personal ethical or religious dilemmas. In this course we are attuned to the ways that physicists drew key insights from popular culture and how non-scientists, including religious or spiritual seekers, appropriated (and misappropriated) scientific insights about the origin and nature of the world, its underlying laws and energetic forces, and its ultimate meaning and purpose. Brian Daly and Christopher White.
Not offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 180 - Interrogating Religious Extremism Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as JWST 180 ) Where is the center in religion? And what defines the fringes, borders, margins and extremes? The aim of this course is to the concept and category of religious “extremism” and how it relates to the equally fraught idea of “mainstream religiosity:” to what extent does it draw on it and yet differ from it? What is the difference between “extreme” and “marginal”? After investigating these categories, we identify beliefs and social practices of contemporary Jewish, Christian and Muslim groups that depart from what we have identified as “mainstream” bodies of tradition in significant ways and seek to understand the complex theological and social agenda behind them. We also investigate how these groups portray themselves and construct their identity vis-a-vis the more centered groups by simultaneously laying claim on tradition and radically deviating from it. Agi Veto.
Open only to freshmen; satisfies the college requirement for a Freshman Writing Seminar.
Two 75-minute periods.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 184 - Seeing God in Art, Image and Inner Experience Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Religious traditions and philosophies across world history have faced the question of how to represent or picture the sacred. This means addressing whether divinity or holiness can be visible at all, or whether truth must keep out of sight, accessible only through language or inner experience. For this course, we read broadly across sources from classical philosophy, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism in order to compare the different justifications for or prohibitions against making divinity visible or tactile. Doing so prepares us to consider the power of images in contemporary mass media and question the relationship between beauty and deception. Klaus Yoder.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 187 - Spirit, Flesh & Body: An Introduction to Christian Theology Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
This introduction focuses on the relationship between spirituality and embodiment in Christian thought, ritual, and ethics. Religion 187 provides an overview of the historical development of Christianity while integrating analyses of contemporary communities, literatures, and practices. The main question that guides the class is how Christians in different times and places experience the gap between spirit and flesh. How does this binary apply to notions of the human being, the interpretation of divine revelation, and political movements? Over the course of the semester, students will examine Christian concepts of the relationship between body and spirit for the ways in which they have been used to legitimate as well as subvert social hierarchies and forge new communities. Klaus Yoder.
Two 75-minute periods.
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Religion: II. Intermediate |
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RELI 200 - Regarding Religion Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
To study religion is to study culture and society, as well as to critically engage and participate in the humanities and social sciences. In this course we compare and critique different approaches to the study of religion and think about the category of religion in relation to other topics and social concerns. Jonathon Kahn.
Required for all majors. Encouraged for correlates.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 205 - Religion and Its Critics
1 unit(s)
Some say it is impossible to be both a modern and a religious person. What are the assumptions behind this claim? The course explores how religion has been understood and challenged in the context of Western intellectual thought from the Enlightenment to the present. Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Freud, and Buber are some of the thinkers whom we study. Jonathon Kahn.
Not offered in 2017/18.
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RELI 207 - Christian Ethics and Modern Society Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
This course is an introduction to Christian ideals of faith, conduct, character, and community, and to modern disputes over their interpretations and applications. Our emphasis is on how Christian thinkers have negotiated the emergence of modern values about authority, rights, equality, and freedom. In what ways have Christian beliefs and moral concepts been consonant with or antagonistic to democratic concerns about gender, race and pluralism? Some of the most prominent Christian ethicists claim a fundamental incompatibility with this democratic ethos. We examine these claims and devote special attention to how Christian thinkers have dealt with the ethics of war, sexuality and the environment. Jonathon Kahn.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 210 - Secularism and Its Discontents
1 unit(s)
Is there a distinct realm called the secular, which is free of and from the religious? As sons and daughters of the Enlightenment, we’ve come to think that there is. What sort of philosophical and historical moments have led to the public insistence on a non-religious space? What projects in ethics, politics, and identity have the insistence on the secular authorized? This class both analyzes and contests modern assumptions about secularism and the religious, and asks whether the ideals of secularism have materialized. Is it possible or even desirable to create realms scrubbed free of the religious, in our politics, in our public institutions, or in ourselves? Jonathon Kahn.
Not offered in 2017/18.
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RELI 211 - Islam in Europe and the Americas Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 211 and INTL 211 ) Various processes of migration and conversion have contributed to the development of Muslim minority communities in Europe and the Americas, dating back to the 17th century. From enslaved Muslims in the Americas, to the Nation of Islam, to colonial and post-colonial migrations, to the debates over whether and how to define “European,” “American,” and “Latin@” Islams, this course covers the history of these religious communities and movements, their relationships with European and American states, and how contemporary European and American Muslims have described and theorized the experience of being a religious minority or diaspora. Key themes include race & ethnicity, gender & sexuality, transnational media, political resistance, ethics, and spirituality. Kirsten Wesselhoeft.
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RELI 213 - The Experience of Freedom
0.5 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 213 ) This six week course looks at the four paths of freedom that have emerged from Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian thought. Concepts and practices we will consider include: karma (the yoga of action), jnana, (the yoga of knowledge), bhakti, (the yoga of love) and tantra, (the yoga of imminent awareness). The focus of this course is on practice in a contemporary context. Rick Jarow.
Prerequisite(s): RELI 152 .
Not offered in 2017/18.
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RELI 214 - Italian Folklore: Goddesses, Muses, Saints, and Black Madonnas
1 unit(s)
(Same as DRAM 214 and ITAL 214 ) This course focuses on Italian folk traditions revolving around women - saints and Madonnas. Rooted in Catholic tradition, many rituals have permeated everyday culture and social structures of belief and behavior. This course takes us on a journey through time and space, traveling through centuries and different Italian regions. The case studies vary in genre, from the literary to the visual, from the kinetic to the culinary, and include: the mysticism of Saint Catherine of Siena; Beatrice as a muse and guide in Dante’s Paradiso (The Divine Comedy); the tammuriata, a women’s drumming and dance tradition for the Black Madonna of Montevergine; the symbolism of the Virgin Mary in Siena’s Palio; women’s healing ritual of tarantismo; feminism and the Black Madonna of Trastevere in Rome. We approach the cases through the lenses of Italian Studies, Women’s Studies, Folklore, Performance Studies, and Contemplative Studies. The practical use of music, dance, drawing, journaling, and a variety of contemplative practices are part of the course. Conducted in English.
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. May be counted towards the Italian major.
Not offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 215 - Religion, Art and Politics
1 unit(s)
An exploration of various aspects, spiritual and political, of the interdependence of art and religious culture from the dawn of human consciousness through postmodernity. May be taken more than once for credit when content changes. Marc Michael Epstein.
Not offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 216 - Israeli Media Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as JWST 216 ) This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of current political, social and religious developments in Israel by reading and analyzing Israeli media including newspapers, web sites, blogs, TV clips and more. During the first part of the course students learn the development of the Israeli media from the birth of Israel until today as well as the connection between different newspapers to different political parties and religious sectors and the role they play in contemporary political and social debates. Through the study of historical texts and current media, students gain an understanding of Israel’s complex multi-party political system, key political actors, the economic structure and the differences between the religious and political sectors in Israeli society. Tzach Yoked.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 218 - Spiritual Seekers in American History & Culture 1880-2008 Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as AMST 218 ) This course examines the last 120 years of spiritual seeking in America. It looks in particular at the rise of unchurched believers, how these believers have relocated “the religious” in different parts of culture, what it means to be “spiritual but not religious” today, and the different ways that Americans borrow from or embrace religions such as Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. We focus in particular on unexpected places of religious enchantment or “wonder” in our culture, including how science and technology are providing new metaphors for God and spirit. Christopher White.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 219 - New and Alternative Religious Movements in the United States
1 unit(s)
All religions, new and old, have a beginning, and all religions change over time. Even the most established and popular religions today, like Islam and Christianity, began as small, marginalized sects. In this class, we think carefully about how religions develop and change by examining closely religious movements in one of the most vibrant religious nations in world history, modern America. We study radical prophets, doomsday preachers, modern messiahs, social reformers and new spiritual gurus and we talk about how their new religious movements developed and interacted with more mainstream religious currents in nineteenth- and twentieth-century America. This course proceeds in a roughly chronological fashion, beginning with new and alternative religions in the nineteenth century and moving on to more recent groups. Some of the questions we consider as we proceed are: Why do new religions begin? Why do people join them? How do they both challenge and conform to wider American norms and values? How should the American legal system respond to them? How do more mainstream believers respond to them? Christopher White.
Not offered in 2017/18.
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RELI 225 - Anthropology of Islam Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ANTH 225 ) This course surveys contemporary global Islam through an anthropological lens. We read a selection of recent ethnographies of Muslim communities around the world, from countries including Indonesia, Morocco, Yemen, Lebanon, Senegal, Sudan, and India. As we move through these various worlds, we look for the shared questions and debates that connect Muslims around the globe. We investigate how anthropologists have tried to define Islam based on their observations of Muslim diversity. Through these sources, and through our own ethnographic exercises and visits to Muslim sites in the Hudson Valley, students also are introduced to the ethnography of religion as a practice, and its methodological, theoretical, and ethical challenges. Key themes include ritual and sacred text, politics and nation, gender & sexuality, legal pluralism, migration, postcolonialism, and violent conflict. Kirsten Wesselhoeft.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 231 - Hindu Traditions Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 231 ) An introduction to the history, practices, myths, ideas and core values that inform Hindu traditions. This year’s course focuses on the major systems of Indian philosophy and the spiritual disciplines that accompany them. Among topics examined are yoga, upanishadic monism and dualism, the paths of liberative action (karma), self realization (jnana), divine love (bhakti), and awakened immanence (tantra). Philosophical understandings of the worship of gods and goddesses will be discussed, along with issues of gender, caste, and ethnicity and post modern reinterpretations of the classical tradition. Rick Jarow.
Prerequisite(s): 100-level course in Religion, or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 233 - The Buddha in the World Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 233 ) An introduction to Buddhist traditions, beginning with the major themes that emerged in the first centuries after the historical Buddha and tracing the development of Buddhist thought and practice throughout Asia. The course examines how Buddhist sensibilities have expressed themselves through culturally diverse societies, and how specific Buddhist ideas about human attainment have been (and continue to be) expressed through meditation, the arts, political engagement, and social relations. Various schools of Buddhist thought and practice are examined including Theravada, Mahayana, Tantra, Tibetan, East Asian, and Zen. Michael Walsh.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 234 - Creole Religions of the Caribbean
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 234 and LALS 234 ) The Africa-derived religions of the Caribbean region—Haitian Voodoo, Cuban Santeria, Jamaican Obeah, Rastafarianism, and others—are foundational elements in the cultural development of the islands of the region. This course examines their histories, systems of belief, liturgical practices, and pantheons of spirits, as well as their impact on the history, literature, and music of the region. Lisa Paravisini-Gebert.
Not offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 235 - Religion in China
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 235 ) An exploration of Chinese religiosity within historical context. We study the seen and unseen worlds of Buddhists, Daoists, and literati, and encounter ghosts, ancestors, ancient oracle bones, gods, demons, buddhas, dragons, imperial politics, the social, and more, all entwined in what became the cultures of China. Some of the questions we will try to answer include: how was the universe imagined in traditional and modern China? What did it mean to be human in China? What is the relationship between religion and culture? What do we mean by ‘Chinese religions’? How should Chinese culture be represented? Michael Walsh.
Not offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 243 - Islamic Traditions
1 unit(s)
An exploration of Islamic history, with special attention to issues of prophecy, religious leadership, mythology and sacred scriptures. Among the topics examined are Islamic law, theology and philosophy, as well as the varied expressions of Islamic religious values and ritual, especially Shi’ism, Sufism, and orthodox Sunnism. Particular attention is given to women in Islam and to Islamic architecture.
Prerequisite(s): RELI 150 , RELI 152 , or permission of the instructor.
Not offered in 2017/18.
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RELI 245 - Jewish Traditions
1 unit(s)
(Same as JWST 245 ) An exploration of Jewish practice and belief in all its variety. The course traces the evolution of various “Judaisms” through each one’s approaches to the text of scripture and its interpretations, Jewish law and the observance of the commandments. It analyzes the Jewish life-cycle, calendar and holidays from a phenomenological perspective, and traces the development of the conceptualization of God, Torah, and the People and Land of Israel in Jewish life, thought, and culture from antiquity through the present day. Marc Epstein.
Prerequisite(s): RELI 150 , JWST 101 , JWST 201 or permission of the instructor.
Not offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 250 - Across Religious Boundaries: Understanding Differences Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
The study of a selected topic or theme in religious studies that cuts across the boundaries of particular religions, allowing opportunities for comparison as well as contrast of religious traditions, beliefs, values and practices.
Topic for 2017/18b: Global Christianities. This course provides an introduction to the Christian tradition by examining what unites and divides contemporary Christian communities around the world. It focuses on the concrete ways in which Christians encounter divine power, construct meaning out of the vicissitudes of life, and embody holiness. We attend to the diversity of Christian experiences and practices using ethnographic, historical, and theologicalsources devoted to communities in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania. We begin with an introduction to the origins of the Christian movement in late antiquity and its global expansion in modernity through European evangelization and colonization. From there, the course divides into thematic units, each of which explores a different facet of Christian culture, such as personal and communal experiences of the divine, the role of language in spiritual revelations, the place of the body in Christian worship and ritual, and finally, Christian politics in modernity. Klaus Yoder.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 255 - Western Mystical Traditions Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as JWST 255 ) Textual, phenomenological and theological studies in the religious mysticism of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. May be taken more than once for credit when content changes.
Topic for 2017/18b: Kabbalah. A survey of the historical and phenomenological development of the theoretical/theosophical and practical/magical dimensions of the Jewish mystical tradition from its biblical origins to postmodernity. Marc Michael Epstein.
Prerequisite(s): any 100 level course in Religion or Jewish Studies or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 266 - Religion in America
1 unit(s)
What are the major cultural and intellectual forces shaping religions in America? How have religious Americans encountered people of other faiths and nationalities? Why have they seen America as both a promised land and a place of bondage, conflict or secularization? What are the main ways that religious Americans think about faith, spirituality, religious diversity and church and state? How might we understand the complexity of these and other issues in a country of so many different religious groups—Protestant, Jewish, Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim? Christopher White.
Not offered in 2017/18.
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RELI 283 - A Hundred Gospels and the Confusing, Conflicted Life of Jesus Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as JWST 283 ) Who was Jesus? What does the Bible say about him? How did it come to say what it does? Was he a humble carpenter? A divine being? A revolutionary? A rabbi? Was he learned in ancient wisdom, or simple and charismatic and fresh in his teaching? The sources dance in, about and around the issues as they alternately confirm and confound definitions. The canonical Gospels-accounts of Jesus’ life accepted as authoritative by Christians-number four. But even these four contradict each other and require “harmonization” in the eyes of believing Christians. And they are only four out of ten completely preserved examples. In addition to these ten, there are a further six Gospels describing only the childhood of Jesus, four partially preserved Gospels (including the Gospel of Mary Magdalene), and tens of fragmentary, reconstructed, and completely lost Gospels. Once thing is certain from all of these documents: Jesus wasn’t a Christian. How, then, did he come to be regarded as the founder of a new religion, a religion that would be called Christianity? And how did he come to be understood as God, the Son of God, or both at the same time? Marc Michael Epstein.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 285 - Judaisms Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as JWST 285 ) The changing social and intellectual landscape of contemporary Jewry has made it impossible to speak of a singular or monolithic ”Judaism” in the twenty-first century. But it has also made us realize that historically there never was such a singular or monolithic Judaism. This course addresses the development of Judaisms, along with their basic texts and concepts including Torah, Talmud, midrash, legal codes, polemics, and forms of expression from autobiography to literature to poetry, in oral, written, dramatic and cinematic media. We also observe the broad range of ways in which Jewish life has been lived in the Middle East, Europe, South and East Asia, Africa and America. Emphasis is placed both upon those groups that adhered to the basic texts and concepts as well as upon those which rejected them in favor of alternate interpretations or of secularisms. We examine the relationship of Jewish religious cultures with the religious cultures of the populations among which Jews have found themselves living as demographic (and sometimes as ethnographic) minorities. Agi Veto.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RELI 290 - Field Work Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Supervised field work in the community in cooperation with the field work office. The department.
By permission, with any unit in Religion as prerequisite and work in other social sciences recommended.
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RELI 298 - Independent Work Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
The department.
Prerequisite(s): one semester of appropriate intermediate work in the field of study proposed.
Permission of instructor required.
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Religion: III. Advanced |
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RELI 300 - Senior Seminar Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
An exploration of critical issues in the study of religion. Christopher White.
Senior Religion majors only.
One 2-hour period.
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RELI 315 - Religion and American Culture
1 unit(s)
Advanced study in selected aspects of the history of religions in the United States. May be taken more than once for credit when the content changes.
Not offered in 2017/18.
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RELI 320 - Studies in Sacred Texts Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 320 ) Examination of selected themes and texts in sacred literature.
May be taken more than once when content changes.
Topic for 2017/18a: Great Understanding is Broad and Unhurried: Sage Voices from China’s Past and Rethinking the Good Life. The beginning of this course title comes from the 4th century BCE philosopher, Zhuangzi. In this class we read some of China’s greatest teachers and among other things, question their relevance in today’s world. Without domesticating their ideas we explore a range of primary text readings including Zhuangzi, Laozi, Confucius, Du Fu, Huineng, Mencius and more. Michael Walsh
Open to Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors only.
One 2-hour period.
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RELI 330 - Religion, Critical Theory and Politics Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
Advanced study in selected aspects of religion and contemporary philosophical and political theory. May be taken more than once for credit when content changes.
Topic for 2017/18a: Islam, Decolonization, and Reform. (Same as AFRS 330 and INTL 330 ) This course surveys the development of Islamic movements in French, British, and Dutch colonial territories and the subsequent post-colonial states. We focus on the various projects of religious, moral, societal, and political reform that developed during this period. We ask how political projects of revolution and resistance related to projects of theological and moral revival in Islam. Theories of sexuality are a central part of these movements, and the seminar focuses in large part on how new (normative and descriptive) accounts of gender and sexuality emerged in Islamic discourses in this period, responding to and shaping the political dynamics of decolonization. Kirsten Wesselhoeft.
Topic for 2017/18b: Race and Political Theology. (Same as AFRS 330 ) In recent years, “political theology” has emerged as a crucial notion in the humanities. Most narrowly, political theology refers to Carl Schmitt’s claim that all “significant political concepts” of the modern nation-state have theological and religious roots. Until very recently, theorists of political theology have ignored the ways in which race functions as a significant political concept of the state. This seminar explores the intersection between race and political theology. We examine multiple conceptions of political theology. And we ask most centrally: In what ways are constructions of race rooted in theological concepts and histories? We ask this question both from the perspective of the state as well as from accounts of African American experience in historical and literary texts. We consider writings by Carl Schmitt, Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, Albert Raboteau, and Toni Morrison. Jonathon Kahn.
One 2-hour period.
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RELI 332 - Tantra Seminar
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 332 )
Prerequisite(s): one 100-level course in Asian Studies or Religion.
Not offered in 2017/18.
One 2-hour period.
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RELI 341 - The Goddess Traditions of India, China and Tibet
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 341 ) Beginning with a study of the Great Mother Goddess tradition of India and its branching out into China and Tibet, this course considers the history, myths and practices associated with the various goddess traditions in Hinduism and Buddhism. The relationship of the goddess and her worship to issues of gender, caste, and ethics, and spiritual practice are also considered. Rick Jarow.
Not offered in 2017/18.
One 2-hour period.
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RELI 345 - Violent Frontiers: Colonialism and Religion in the Nineteenth Century
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 345 ) What is the relationship between religion and colonialism and how has this relationship shaped the contemporary world? During the nineteenth century the category of religion was imagined and applied in different ways around the globe. When colonialists undertook to ‘civilize’ a people, specific understandings of religion were at the core of their undertakings. By the mid-nineteenth century, Europe’s territorial energy was focused on Asia and Africa. Themes for discussion include various nineteenth-century interpretations of religion, the relationship between empire and culture, the notion of frontier religion, and the imagination and production of society. Michael Walsh.
Not offered in 2017/18.
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RELI 350 - Comparative Studies in Religion Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 350 ) An examination of selected themes, issues, or approaches u see in illuminating the religious dimensions and dynamics within particular cultures and societies, with attention to the benefits and limits of the comparative method. Past seminars have focused on such topics as myth, ritual, mysticisms, and iconography. May be taken more than once for credit when content changes.
Topic for 2017/18b: Science, Religion and Technology: Controversies and Problems: In this seminar we survey recent arguments and controversies between scientists and religious believers in the modern West. We investigate sources of conflict, issues that have caused tension, and different possibilities for reconciliation between the two groups. We also examine ways of talking about science, religion and technology that go beyond the “conflict” model (science versus religion) and look instead at how these different parts of culture shape and influence one another. How have new sciences and technologies challenged and altered religious beliefs and practices? How have religious people in turn shaped new scientific ideas? We examine these questions by looking at specific controversial cases such as evolution/creationism, the mind/body problem, medical ethics, human cloning, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Christopher White.
One 2-hour period.
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RELI 355 - The Politics of Sacred Space
1 unit(s)
This course examines the relationship between notions of spatial and temporal orientation and connects these to the fundamental importance of sacrality in human action and existence. Some of our questions include: what is sacred space? What is a sacred center? How are places made sacred through human action? To what extent is sacrality a matter of emplacement? What role does sacred space play in local and global environments? Michael Walsh.
Not offered in 2017/18.
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RELI 375 - The I-Ching: China’s Great Text of Divinatory Wisdom Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 375 ) One of the great texts of Classical China, The I-Ching (Fu Xi 伏羲, c. 2800 BCE), has emerged as a global phenomenon; connecting to fields of science, architecture, psychology, and to a “situational spirituality” based on the Daoist notion that all things incorporate the wisdom of the Way.
This course offers an intensive study of the text (in translation) along with its corollary subjects of Daoist cosmology, divination, ethics, and “finding the right path” through any situation. The eight archetypal trigrams, sixty-four divinatory modalities, understanding of the nature of change through the permutations of yin and yang are examined, as are the I-Ching’s prominent values of modesty and wu-wei or “effortless effort.” Every student learns how to work with the text, so that its study becomes more than a theoretical exercise. In this spirit of the I-Ching we “Approach with small steps/quantities (小過)”, and “be flexible to constant change in order to be sustainable (易窮則變,變則通,通則久). Rick Jarow.
Prerequisite(s): any 100-level Asian Studies, Chinese/Japanese, or Religion course, or permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
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RELI 380 - Religion, Sex, and the Modern State
1 unit(s)
(Same as WMST 380 ) This course examines the intertwined regulation of religion and sexuality by modern states through six case studies from around the world: Nigeria, France, Norway, Iran, Uganda, and India. These cases take us through a range of political systems and both religiously homogenous and religiously diverse societies, showing how in each case the state is intimately concerned with the relationship between religion, sexuality, and sexual difference. Through our analysis of these cases, we cover topics including comparative secularisms, race and citizenship, Islamic law, postcolonial feminist and queer theory, the sociology of religious revival, and religion and global media. At the end of the course, students will have a globally-informed and nuanced understanding of the stakes of contemporary debates about religious freedom, women’s rights, and LGBTQ rights around the world. Kirsten Wesselhoeft.
Not offered in 2017/18.
One 2-hour period.
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RELI 385 - Asian Healing Traditions
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 385 ) This seminar offers a comprehensive view of the traditional medical systems and healing modalities of India and China and examines the cultural values they participate in and propound. It also includes a “laboratory” in which hands-on disciplines (such as yoga and qi-gong) are practiced and understood within their traditional contexts. From a study of classical Ayur Vedic texts, Daoist alchemical manuals, shamanic processes and their diverse structural systems, the seminar explores the relationship between healing systems, religious teachings, and social realities. It looks at ways in which the value and practices of traditional medical and healing systems continue in Asia and the West. Rick Jarow.
Prerequisite(s): RELI 231 or permission of the instructor.
Not offered in 2017/18.
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RELI 399 - Senior Independent Work
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
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Russian Studies: I. Introductory |
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RUSS 105 - Elementary Russian Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
The essentials of grammar with emphasis on the development of oral-aural proficiency. Charles Arndt III.
Open to all classes.
Yearlong course 105-RUSS 106 .
Four 50-minute periods plus drill and conversation periods.
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RUSS 106 - Elementary Russian Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
The essentials of grammar with emphasis on the development of oral-aural proficiency. Charles Arndt, III.
Open to all classes.
Yearlong course RUSS 105 -106.
Four 50-minute periods plus drill and conversation periods.
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RUSS 107 - Intensive Introductory Russian Semester Offered: Spring
2 unit(s)
Single-semester equivalent of RUSS 105 -RUSS 106 . Intensive training in fundamental language skills. Designed for beginning students who wish to accelerate their learning of Russian. Charles Arndt, III.
Open to all classes.
Five 75-minute periods, plus drill and conversation periods.
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RUSS 135 - The Russian Classics: The Great Realists of the Nineteenth Century (in English) Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
The great tradition of Russian literature with its emphasis on ultimate existential and moral questions. Selected works by such nineteenth-century masters as Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky. Nikolai Firtich.
Open to all classes. Readings and lectures in English. Russian majors see RUSS 235 .
Two 75-minute periods.
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RUSS 142 - Dostoevsky and Psychology (in English) Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Fyodor Dostoevsky was an avid student of the human mind, with particular interest in aberrant and self-destructive behavior. He drew on his observations of people from all strata of society and his four-year-long prison experience to endow his characters with fascinating psychological depth. After Dostoevsky’s death, his works have been cited by Freud, existentialist philosophers and others to support theories of their own. This course focuses on a number of works in which Dostoevsky’s depiction of psychological issues is particularly crucial to the central message he attempts to convey. Readings include three of the major novels (Crime and Punishment, The Devils, and The Brothers Karamazov) as well as a number of Dostoevsky’s shorter works. This course entails detailed examinations of the texts and discussion of how Dostoevsky’s works relate to current psychological issues and problems. Farida Tcherkassova (a); Charles Arndt, III (b).
All readings and discussion are in English.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RUSS 152 - The Russian Modernists: Decadence, Revolution, & The Avant-Garde (in English) Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Outstanding works of major twentieth-century Russian writers, with emphasis on those who broke with the realist tradition of the nineteenth century. Nikolai Firtich.
Open to all classes. Readings and lectures in English. Russian majors see RUSS 252 .
Two 75-minute periods.
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RUSS 154 - The Cinema of Andrei Tarkovsky (in English) Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
The haunting impression produced by Tarkosvky’s films is aptly summarized by Ingmar Bergman: “My discovery of Tarkovsky’s first film was like a miracle. Suddenly, I found myself standing at the door of a room the keys of which had, until then, never been given to me. Tarkovsky is for me the greatest, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream.” The course examines the work of the Russian director against the background of various “new waves” in European filmmaking, concentrating on Tarkovsky’s unique blend of poetic and philosophical cinema that, following the great Russian literary tradition, can be described as metaphysical realism. Dan Ungurianu.
Taught in English. Second six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods, plus weekly screenings.
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RUSS 155 - WW II in Russian Cinema (in English)
0.5 unit(s)
The most massive armed conflict in history, World War II also inspired an unprecedented number of films. Many of them are inevitably imbued with patriotic propaganda, yet others strive to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of war, an event that, in Leo Tolstoy’s words, is opposed to human reason and to all human nature. The course samples seminal Russian works of the genre produced from the late 1940s to our days against changing historical and ideological backgrounds. Special attention is given to cinematic masterpieces exploring war as an existential experience that probes the limits of humanity, such as The Cranes Are Flying (1957), Ivan’s Childhood(1962), The Ascent (1976), and Come and See (1985). Dan Ungurianu.
Taught in English. Second six-week course.
Not offered in 2016/17.
Two 75-minute periods, plus weekly screenings.
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RUSS 156 - The Cinema of Sergei Eisenstein (in English) Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
Sergei Eisenstein, a brilliant pioneer and a seminal theorist of cinema as a form of art, remains one of the most famous directors in the history of film. The course examines Eisenstein’s artistic trajectory from his early avant-garde creations of the 1920s (The Strike and Battleship Potemkin) to the late masterpieces produced during the period of high Stalinism (Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible). Special attention is paid to the cultural and historical contexts of Eisenstein’s films. Dan Ungurianu.
Taught in English. First six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods, plus weekly screenings.
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RUSS 157 - A Revolutionary Apocalypse: Russian Civil War in Film Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
The Russian Revolution of 1917, rather bloodless at its initial stages, resulted in an all out war waged from 1918 into the early 1920s. Numerous factions (Reds, Whites, “Greens,” Anarchists, nationalists and the rest, all the way down to mere adventurers and bandits) and also invading foreign armies (German, British, American, French, Polish, and many others) fought at the vast expanses of the former Russian Empire. Our course examines the legacy of the Civil War in Russian film. We cover Eisenstein’s propaganda masterpieces (The Battleship Potemkin, October), early works of Socialist Realism and also the complex body of cinematic texts of the later Soviet years in a variety of genres from high tragedy to the ironic “Eastern.” We conclude with recent revisionist takes on the topic produced during the post-Soviet period. Dan Ungurianu.
Second six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods accompanied by film screenings.
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RUSS 164 - Eurasia: Ethnic Cinema of the Soviet Union and Russia
1 unit(s)
Russia in its various historical incarnations has been a tremendously diverse multi-ethnic country and a quintessential Eurasian entity as it spans both the European and Asian parts of the continent. The courseexplores the rich tradition of Soviet and Russian “ethnic cinema,” i.e. films that center on important aspects of national identity, culture and history of particular ethnic groups, many of which became independent nations after the dissolution of the USSR. Films in question include a variety of genres from major blockbusters to experimental productions and from historical epics to comedies. We also consider some literary texts and relevant historiosophic theories, most notably Eurasianism that emerged in the wake of the Russian revolution and continues to be a productive ideology in the post-Soviet context. Dan Ungurianu.
Readings and discussions are in English. Open to all classes. Russian majors and International Studies majors see RUSS 264 .
Not offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods.
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RUSS 165 - Arts and Music in Imperial Russia (in English)
1 unit(s)
Our main focus is on the dazzling artistic explosion that took place in the Russian Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This includes the visual arts, architecture, music, and performing arts. In the introductory part we go over the highlights of Old Russian art, primarily icon painting and ecclesiastic architecture, and proceed to the imperial period paying special attention to the interaction and interpenetration of the arts in a historical context. Prominent examples include the following. Borodin’s opera Prince Igor is viewed against its literary source, a medieval epic, and linked to historiosophic debates about Russia and the East and also to orientalism in Russian and European imagination. In conjunction with Musorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov we read the eponymous drama by Pushkin, and discuss its historical background and related archetypal images projected on Russian history. Diaghilev’s legendary Ballets Russes are presented in the epoch’s drive for artistic syncretism and also a peculiar mix of Russian and cosmopolitan elements characteristic of the World of Art movement. We conclude with the radical revolutionary aesthetics of the Russian Avant-Garde that upends accepted notions of art in such spectacles as the notorious Futurist opera Victory over the Sun. Dan Ungurianu.
Open to all classes. All readings and discussion in English.
Not offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods, plus occasional film screenings.
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RUSS 168 - Vampires, Monks, and Holy Fools: The Mystical in Russia and Eastern Europe (in English) Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Focusing on these three phenomena of the Eastern European and Russian cultural-spiritual landscape will allow us to explore a number of subthemes. While examining Eastern European vampire legends, we will encounter regional folk beliefs and the paradoxical coexistence of pagan and Christian views concerning such things as liminal spaces, the unpredictability of evil, and the role of the undead. Comparisons will be made between early vampire stories and vampire incarnations in British and American literature and pop-culture. Our foray into Russian Orthodox monasticism will provide insight into the significance of mysticism, anchoritism, piety, and apocalypticism in Russia. Lastly, our study of the often scandalous and provocative behavior of the Holy Fool will help us understand how a seemingly carnivalesque inversion of values can serve as a spiritual beacon. The course will be a combination of short readings and films. Course materials and discussion will be in English. No prior knowledge of Russia or Eastern Europe is required. Charles Arndt III.
Open to all classes.
Not Offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods, plus occasional film screenings.
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RUSS 169 - The Great Utopia: Ideals and Realities of the Russian Revolution (in English)
1 unit(s)
The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing “Soviet Experiment” had major implications for the global political and ideological landscape of the twentieth century. The revolutionary era also saw an explosive proliferation of bold futuristic visions and utopian projects. The course explores reflections of the Revolution in literature, theatre, film, painting and other arts against a broad historical background. Topics include apocalyptic premonitions of the fin-de-siècle, Russian Cosmism and dreams of earthly immortality, competition among revolutionary ideologies, the art of avant-garde, Agitprop and Proletkult, Constructivism, Socialist Realism, the creation of the New Man, Stalin’s “Empire Style” and return of traditionalism, and a new – and final – wave of revolutionary aspirations during Khrushchev’s “Thaw.” The department.
Open to all classes. All readings and discussions are in English.
Not offered in 2017/18.
Two 75-minute periods, plus occasional film screenings.
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