ANT 332 Men and Masculinities
A study of how maleness is understood and experienced with particular attention to the different ways in which masculinity has historically been defined and achieved in various groups and cultures. The course also examines the ways in which constructions of manhood intersect with race, class, sexuality, age and other dimensions of identity.
ARH 374 Non-Western Art
An introduction to the visual culture of the Islamic world, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Americas. Students investigate the art production of specific societies and peoples. Monuments familiar to many people and discussed in this course include the Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan; the Taj Mahal in India; the Chinese Emperor's clay army at Shaanxi; Japanese woodblock prints; the sculptures of Easter Island; the art and architecture of the Olmec, Mayan and Aztec peoples of Mexico; Machu Picchu of the Inca of Peru; Anasazi pottery of the American Southwest; the Mississippian mounds of North America; and the Chi Wara crest masks of the Bamana peoples of Mali.
ARH 377 European and American Modernism
A survey of the art and architecture of Europe and the United States beginning ca. 1860 that considers the traditional fine arts of painting, sculpture and architecture along with newer art forms such as photography and film, collage, installation and happening. From Manet's Olympia to Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, students study artworks that have challenged the status quo and changed forever the world around us. Prerequisite: ARH 261 or permission of the instructor.
CHE 471 Current Topics in Chemistry (one credit hour)
A study of current research topics in chemistry through critical analysis of the scientific literature and by presentations from visiting scholars. Students are expected to actively participate in discussion and to give both formal and informal presentations. Prerequisite: One CHE course numbered higher than 300.
CRW 150 Fundamentals of Fiction Writing
A workshop class devoted to the writing of short stories and to relevant readings designed to guide and inspire the beginning fiction writer.
CSC 390 Programming Challenges (one credit hour)
An opportunity to apply ideas from data structures and the wider world of algorithmic problem solving to writing programs for solving challenging problems. The focus will be on clever and interesting problems and the creative process of transforming the problem statement into a correctly running program. Prerequisite: CSC 223 or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for additional credit.
ENG 350 Romanticism
An examination of the aesthetic and thematic developments of poetry and prose in the Romantic period, with emphasis on Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats.
ENG 364 Reaching Toward Concord
An examination of Concord , Massachusetts , as a center of literary creativity in the mid-nineteenth century. In addition to authors who actually reached Concord at one time or another, students consider those who gravitated toward it in one way or another. Authors considered could include Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, Hawthorne, Whitman, Dickinson, Melville, with a few twentieth-century echoes. The course includes readings about pertinent historical events and cultural experiments such as Fruitlands and Brook Farm. Prerequisite: Junior English majors only.
ENG 387 U.S. Fiction in the 21 st Century
An investigation of particularities, preoccupations, and trends in contemporary American fiction. Focusing on literature from the 1990's to the present, the course looks at the effects of contemporary society, scientific advancement, world events, and literary traditions on the fiction being written and published today. Sampling from a variety of recent works, the class will begin to identify and examine some fundamental features of our current moment.
FRE 261 The Francophone World
An introduction to contemporary Francophone literary texts, articles and films in French-speaking regions of Quebec, Canada, Northern and Western Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean; consideration of the geography, history and politics in these societies. Prerequisite: FRE 220 or placement.
FRE 412 French for International Relations
Study of French with an emphasis on international trade. Students develop their linguistic skills while focusing on marketing, shipping, and import/export concepts. Students also study the role of the European Union in the current world economy. In this skills-based course, students also learn to use appropriate technical vocabulary for different business contexts, work on translation, write professional correspondence, and view/read about current events related to the world of business. Cross-cultural differences regarding the work place also is studied. Students summarize current articles on issues in the fields of commerce, finance, or economics. Prerequisite: FRE 260 or 261 or permission of the instructor.
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GER 440 Man-Machine: Androids and Automata in German Literature
The apparent ease with which we have come to speak of various “interfaces” between man and machine cannot belie the fact that even today it is difficult to answer two ostensibly simple questions: what is a machine, and what is a man? These questions—and the historically variegated ways in which they have implicated one another—form the core of a class that traces the appearance of figures like the golem, the homunculus, the marionette and the android in works stretching from the eighteenth to the late twentieth century. In the texts, films, and other media we pay particular attention to those moments in which man appears as the doppelganger of his doppelganger, the machine. How are such moments staged in literature, philosophy and film? And what are their aesthetic, epistemological and political implications? Prerequisite: GER 210 or 220 or placement.
HIS 308 19th-Century Europe
A topical examination of central issues in Europe during the age of industrialization.
HIS 386 National Myths and Dubious Heroes
This course examines the violent nature of state formation throughout history and the heroes who have emerged as key characters in national myths about the establishment of states. It begins with the biblical story of David which serves as a paradigm for nation building and hero making throughout history. Case studies from Asia , Europe , Africa , Latin America and North America are examined.
MAT 420 Putnam Seminar (one credit hour)
The Putnam Exam is a notoriously challenging annual mathematical competition. This is a course on problem-solving focusing on Putnam-style problems. Students learn strategies for tackling such problems and become familiar with the style by working out problems from past Putnam exams, discussions, and presentations to the group. The semester culminates in taking the Putnam exam. Prerequisite: MAT 230.
MUS 196 Kentucky Music Ensemble (one credit hour)
This ensemble focuses on music with roots in and around Kentucky , including bluegrass, old-time, string-band music, and Appalachian folk-ballads. Special attention is given to the distinct role of each instrument within the ensemble. When appropriate, the group will work together to create its own arrangements of songs and tunes, focusing specifically on how to give a piece an overall contour. An ensemble such as this would typically include an upright bass, a guitar, a mandolin, a banjo, a fiddle, and one or more singers. Depending on what students are available and interested, other possibilities might include a dobro or dulcimer. Prerequisite: By audition and/or permission of the instructor.
PHI 327 Philosophy and Literature
This course explores the close connection between philosophy and literature through the philosophical investigation of phenomena taken from common experience but “discovered” and made visible in literary works. The course also explores the idea that the integration of philosophy and literature can lead to profound new phenomenological insights. Readings include both philosophical theory and works of literature.
PHI 454 Topics in Analytical Philosophy
What is reality? Is the material world all that exists? Are properties such as being red different from things? What does it mean to say that something is the same thing at different times? What, if anything, persists through change? These are some of the questions addressed in this course. Students critically engage contemporary analytical readings from three topics in theories of reality: realism and anti-realism, properties, and persistence through time. Prerequisite: One PHI course.
REL 132, 332 Islam
An exploration of the beliefs, practices, institutions, and history of Islam from the inside – as its adherents see them. Particular attention is given to the current revival of Islam.
SOC 310 The Sociology of Family Life
This course examines in some detail two important issues in family sociology as case studies. Students then use the model of these cases to pursue research projects in a workshop format. Cases for 2008: African-American marriage patterns and the falling birthrate in the industrial nations. Prerequisite: SOC 103 or permission of the instructor.
SPA 345 Modern Spanish Drama
This course presents an overview of the dramatic currents of the 20 th and 21 st centuries plus an in-depth analysis of representative works. The class also focuses on the importance of performance of the works and spectator participation and reception. Students perform a short piece of theater. Prerequisite: Two of SPA 230, 240, 250, 260, 270; or permission of the instructor.
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