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TRADITIONS AND CULTURES (TRAD)
101. Non-Western Cultures and Civilizations (3) I Historical development and fundamental concepts of a nonwestern culture. Examines how members of a particular culture are shaped by a distinct heritage of ideas, values, and artistic expressions that may be in sharp contrast to traditional western ideas and values.
African Diaspora Religion and Culture. This course surveys continental African religions and their manifestations in the African Diaspora. Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad, Cuba, Haiti and the U.S.A. are highlighted. The epistemologies and practices of the Fon, Yoruba, and Bantu peoples are analyzed to understand their continued impact on the contemporary world.
Asian Humanities: China and Japan. This course will expose students to major artistic, cultural, and literary movements in Japan from pre-history to the present day. This course will also emphasize the relationship of literature to traditional arts and rituals. Students will discover how poetry, drama, fiction, and film reflect Japanese aesthetics, nuances of manners and emotional expressions, and perceptions of nature. Religious diversity in Japan will be explored in art and literature, especially Shintoism, the Buddhist influences from China, and Zen Buddhism. Cultural transformations in Japan will be emphasized, such as aristocratic codes of conduct, samurai codes, rising power of chonin (non-samurai urban merchants and artisans), isolation and the West, and contemporary material culture. Particular attention will be given to class issues, gender categories, and critiques of social institutions and values.
Chinese Civilization. Introduces you to traditional Chinese civilization for the purposes of this course defined as: "the totality of a culture's perception of itself and the world it occupies and the ways in which that self-perception is expressed in society, politics, religion, philosophy, and the arts." The content of the course is arranged in thematic units, each unit being placed in the context of a specific historical period. We will examine the religious symbolism of ancient Chinese bronze vessels, Chinese theories of nature based on concepts like Yin and Yang, the great medieval religions of Taoism and Buddhism, and other topics. Over the semester you will learn to think more like the Chinese of centuries past to exercise your imagination, and to explore a world that is different from your own.
Colonial Latin America. This course examines 1) the history of Spanish and Portuguese exploration, conquest, settlement, and state-building in the Americas; 2) the impact of European colonization on indigenous American cultures and civilizations, especially the acts of native resistance, accommodation and adaptation that shaped the consequences of this cultural encounter; 3) the forced migration of African peoples to the Americas, including the development of slave societies, and the emergence of regional African-Latin American cultural traditions; and 4) the growth of multiracial social groups who developed new and distinctive cultural forms of their own and eventually came to challenge the cultural and political hegemony of Spain and Portugal.
Colonialism and Native Peoples. Cultural studies of indigenous groups in the Americas, Eurasia, Africa and the Pacific Rim and how these have been shaped by the colonial process.
Confucian Asia. Although the countries of East Asia and many of those in Southeast Asia have very distinct cultures, languages, and national identities today, they share one important thing: all have been heavily influenced throughout their history by the world view known as Confucianism. This course is designed to examine Confucianism in Asia through education, and the importance of ritual and propriety. Beginning at the beginning, with the life of Confucius in the 6th century BCE and the principle text that bears his name, the Analects, we will explore the central ideas of Confucianism and their adoption and adaptation by different Asian societies at different times. We will end with a consideration of issues in contemporary Asia and among the Asian-American population in the U.S. that demonstrate the continued importance of this way of thought.
The French-Speaking World. This course will consider the development of the French-speaking world from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. The first half of the course will present a historical perspective on the evolution and exportation of French language and culture from 1500 to 1900, while the second half will emphasize the cultural and artistic expressions of modern French-speaking countries other than France.
Introduction to Africana Experience. This course will introduce
students to fundamental issues and concepts in the Africana experience in the United
States, Africa, and the Caribbean, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Principle topics
of discussion will be drawn from areas of history, philosophy, political-economy,
literature and the arts, religion-culture and society.
Languages and Cultures of East Asia. This course will explore the social, historical, and linguistic aspects of the languages and cultures of East Asia and how they have changed over time, drawing from anthropology, linguistics, sociology, and history.
Many Nations of Native America. An interdisciplinary survey of native peoples in North and Central America, from their origins to present. This course is structured around the themes of sovereignty, cultural diversity, native epistemologies, the Columbian exchange, and cultural transformation and survival. These themes integrate our examination of seven native Nations, ranging from the Aztec of Central Mexico to the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic. The course focuses on homelands and origins, intercultural exchange, demography, ecological transformation, the impacts of introduced epidemic diseases, processes of colonialism, social organization and culture, education, and contemporary issues.
Middle Eastern Humanities. Introduces students to the values, traditions, and development of Middle Eastern (Islamic) culture and civilization. This course is designed to familiarize students with the principal achievements in art, architecture and literature of Islamic civilization, to help students understand these achievements in their social and cultural contexts, and to consider the historical evolution of our knowledge and understanding of these achievements.
The Worlds of Buddhism. An introduction to Buddhism as both a religion and an array of cultural traditions, with emphasis on its various contributions to the formation of the South, Central, Southeast, and East Asian civilizations.
102. Western Cultures and Civilizations: Classical to Renaissance (3) I Historical development and fundamental concepts of western civilization, from ancient times to the Renaissance. Examines the heritage of ideas, values, and artistic expressions that shaped western tradition during that time.
Books in Dialogue: Classical and Medieval. This course aims to provide solid grounding in the Western intellectual and cultural tradition through pairing of central literary, philosophical, and theological works. The second work in each pair will be studied as a response to the first: e.g., The Aeneid to The Odyssey and Aristotle's Ethics to Plato's. Students will be encouraged to deal with each of the paired texts individually and comparatively and to compare members of different pairs, e.g., Augustine with Plato, and non-scriptural works of the Christian era with the selections from the Bible.
Democracy in Theory and Practice: The Greek Experience. Investigation of the history and growth of democratic institutions, values and ideas in ancient Greece, with some reference to contemporary relevance.
Drama and Dance in Western Cultures: Origins to 1603. Drama and dance are modes of creative expression used to communicate ideas, values, stories and myths which help define a community or culture. Both art forms employ the human body as the medium through which an audience may be engaged. Through ever-changing conventions, drama and dance reshape human experience into patterns which help us order our perceptions about the world in which we live. This course will focus primarily on principal themes in western culture as expressed in drama and dance.
History of Western Civilization: From the Rise of Cities to the Counter Reformation. This course explores the civilizations of the West by considering the development of the ideas and ideologies that shaped the institutions of the West, development directed by Human interaction and conflict on a social, political, religious, and cultural level, in addition to the intellectual. Themes of particular interest include the structure and dynamics of power, competing configurations of deity and ritual, image and architecture as tools in the acquisition of authority, and the construction of a social normative on the grounds of class, culture and gender.
Humanities: Ancient Times to Renaissance. Chronological survey of human civilizations from pre-history to the renaissance. Students will be introduced to the critical analysis of the literacy and artistic expressions that constitute the ideas and values of our collective heritage. Emphasis will be placed on the interrelation of Western and non-Western cultures and on the inter-perspectives including science, gender and psychology, politics, social conditions, religion and philosophy.
In the Beginning: Roots of Western Culture. The roots of "western" tradition(s) are often traced to the Classical Greeks. However, by the time that work on the Parthenon had begun, the peoples of the Near East and Northeastern Africa had already witnessed the rise and fall of a series of great civilizations for over ten thousand years. In fact, many of the elements of "classical" civilization can be traced to experiments made in this distant past.
Western Culture: The Italian Perspective: Antiquity through the Middle Ages. From Antiquity through the Middle Ages. Taught in English.
World History to 1600. Survey of topics in world history to 1600.
103. Western Cultures and Civilizations: Renaissance to Present (3) II Historical development and fundamental concepts of western civilization, from the Renaissance to the present. Examines the heritage of ideas, values, and artistic expressions that have shaped western tradition since the Renaissance.
The Americas - Renaissance to the Present Day. This course will expose students to major movements in the Americas from the Renaissance to contemporary times.
Architecture and Society. The built environment has a permanent and profound impact on (our) personal health, productivity and happiness, and on community life. The purpose of this course lay the foundation of architectural literacy. The basis of this knowledge is found in understanding the relationship between a society and the forms it creates. This is accomplished through studying the major components that effect architecture: region, culture, and technology. the course follows these factors through the history of western civilization, from ancient Greece to contemporary Europe and America. Greater emphasis is given to the contemporary period because radical changes in technology and resources make this information more pertinent to the present.
The Arts and Politics in Latin America. A study of the interrelationships between cultural forms and their socio-historical contexts in the development of Latin America from pre-colonial times to the present.
Books in Dialogue: Early Modern and American. This course will study four pairs of works: Thomas More's Utopia and Machiavelli's The Prince; Shakespeare's Tempest and Swift's Gulliver's Travels; Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography and Thoreau's Walden; and Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man. The aim will be to explore the ways in which the works respond to one another. Such exploration will entail the study of the satire, autobiography, and novel--and how the author develops his thematic interests through the manipulation of the literary forms.
Democracy and Its Limits: The Modern Experience. This course examines some difficulties stemming from the theory and practice of modern democratic life, especially in the context of American democracy. The course examines such issues by a careful and intensive reading of some classic writings on democracy. In addition, attention will be paid to the historical circumstances and contemporary conditions of democracy in the United States. The aim is for the student to acquire a more well-rounded and critical perspective on the situation of democracy in modern life.
Drama and Dance in Western Cultures: 1603 to Present. Drama and dance are modes of creative expression used to communicate ideas, values, stories and myths which help define a community or culture. Both art forms employ the human body as the medium through which an audience may be engaged. Through ever-changing conventions, drama and dance reshape human experience into patterns which help us order our perceptions about the world in which we live. This course will focus primarily on principal themes in western culture as expressed in drama and dance.
Humanities: Renaissance to Present. Chronological survey of human civilization from the eve of the New World and African colonization, concluding with the contemporary world.
Technology and Society: Introduction to Science, Technology and Society. This course is an introduction to the social, historical, and ethical contexts of knowledge, science and technology. Although science and technology are perhaps the defining features of contemporary Western society, all cultures have distinct forms of knowledge and technical practices, which reflect their relationships to the natural world and other peoples. In this course we will discuss a range of questions relevant to scientists, engineers, and the general public, about the causes and contents of scientific and technical information, basing these discussions on a broad historical understanding of science and technology in various cultures.
The Making of American Cultures, 1600-1877. This course introduces students to the history of the United States before 1877. It focuses on the creation of a distinctive set of American cultures. Central themes include the colonial meeting of Spanish, French, English, native American, and African American cultures; the development of distinctly American Creole cultures in the eighteenth century; race and conquest; the American Revolution and the creation of a republican political culture; the transformation of that political culture through struggles over industrialization and wage labor, slavery, and women's rights; and the revolution in American political culture and social relations during the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Russia: From Empire to Federation. This course is designed to familiarize students with Russia--its culture, history, politics, economy, peoples, languages, traditions, and role in the world today. Upon completion of the course students will be able to understand and discuss intelligently past and current events relating to Russia. They also will have gained a familiarity with the many perspectives available for studying a country that continues to play a significant role in world events. And beyond all this, they should have a good background for discussion of major events relating to Russia and problems in the twentieth-century world.
104. Topics in Culture and Civilization (3) I Explores select topics in human culture in the context of how humans, as historical beings, are shaped by the thoughts and actions of our predecessors; and that we will influence the lives of those who follow us. The course examines culture as a distinct heritage of ideas, values, and artistic expressions that undergo continual adaptation due to social changes.
Comparative Religions. A study of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, including both ancient and modern developments in their cultural contexts.
Critical Cultural Concepts. This course examines--through literature, film, art, and philosophy—different concepts critical to the shaping of primarily "Western" culture(s), with a glance at similar concepts in "non-Western" cultures. The course is also "critical" in the sense that it asks students, through virtually weekly take-home quizzes, to critique these concepts, taking the wheat and letting the chaff be still. Topics may include the ideology of war or human rights; the problem of evil; the figure of the Trickster; and others.
Eroticism and Love in the Middle Ages. Courtly love was a discovery of the High Middle Ages and became the dominant theme in literature, the arts, philosophy, and even in religion. This course will examine the concept of love as discussed by medieval poets from the 11th through the 15th centuries and cover the wide spectrum of European history culture seen through the lenses of the theme of "love."
Intellectual Foundations of International Relations: Classic Theories and Modern Debate. Addresses the origins and context of international relations theory in an historical context as well as referring to recent disputes.
Justice and Virtue. This course will introduce you to some of the central and historically important questions and ideas in moral and political thought and philosophy through the works of some of the most important thinkers in the western tradition.
Mind, Matter and God. Mind, Matter and God is a historical survey of the western philosophical conceptions of mind, matter and God starting with the ideas of the ancient Greeks and advancing to include primary figures in the medieval, early modern and, possibly, contemporary periods. The primary aims of the course are to acquaint students with a set of ideas that are fundamental to western culture and to foster critical thinking on abstract questions of profound intellectual and cultural importance.
Oral and Spiritual Roots of Traditional Cultures. Exploration of the cultural insights in two mythological traditions: Ancient Mediterranean, origin or Western rationality and monotheistic belief; Native American, influences now being recognized.
Science and Inquiry. The effects of modern science on western civilization have been profound. A moment's thought will reveal applications of science that have transformed our way of life. But aside from its practical benefits (and costs!), modern science has had an equally profound intellectual impact. An educated man or woman at the close of the twentieth century has a vastly different view of the world, and of the power of science to reveal that world, from the views of Aristotle, of Dante or even of Newton. This transformation has been brought about in large part by the development of scientific thought. In this course we shall examine the distinctive features of scientific inquiry. We shall aim to understand the power and also the limitations of scientific methods.