Spring 2021

The description and analysis of various forms of visual culture, including both mass media and "high" art representations, both Western and non-Western images.

Examination of the ways that different nations and cultures have remembered the Vietnam War or the American War as it is called in Vietnam. (Duplicates credit in former AMST 377)

Examines the relation between U.S. national culture, race, and popular culture.

Examines political and cultural change in the United States during the decade of the 1960s.

Introduction to an interdisciplinary study of American political, cultural and social life with a particular emphasis on the Western United States as a region. Recommended preparation: HIST 200, ENGL 263

A survey of narratives accounting for the global dimensions of Black migratory experiences between Africa, Europe and the Americas, from early modern trajectories to contemporary times.

Ancient Roman values, ideas, and institutions of relevance to later periods of civilization.

The lives of prominent Greeks, Romans and others in their ancient historical and biographical contexts and in modern reevaluations through various written and visual media.

Comparative study of works from a broad range of cultural traditions that originate from, and provide insight into, vital global locations outside the Western sphere.

Comparative study of Latin American cultures, especially vis-a-vis those of Europe and the U.S. Materials drawn from literature, but also film, opera, history, cultural theory.

Survey of literary and other cultural texts from the 19th to the 21st centuries, with emphasis on the individual and social change.

Introduction to works of major women writers from the Middle Agesto the 20th century in their literary, social, and cultural contexts.

Studies of the presence and influence of Zen Buddhism and Daoism in Asian literature, with a focus on China and Japan.

Study of the structures through which we shape our experience in religion, philosophy, literature, music, and the visual arts, and of competing theories of interpretation. Students may not take this course on a P/NP basis.

An issues-based introduction to critical theory in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, especially as it relates to philosophy, art, design, and visual culture.

A critical history of art, design, visual culture, and visual theory since 1960, addressing through a postcolonial/decolonial lens the concepts and practices of "global" art.

Representations of marginalized groups in digital media, and how they have shaped conversations, altered public discourse and policy, and impacted the lives of underrepresented people.

Exploration of dance as an art form in its artistic, political, and socio-cultural climate. Studies of the continuum of dance within its historical context.

An introduction to and overview of the contemporary cinemas of East Asia: China (Hong Kong, the People's Republic, and Taiwan), Japan, and Korea.

Introduction to the history of Chinese, Japanese and Korean ethical thought; perspectives on human nature, historical writing,and aesthetic implications. Conducted in English.

Survey of Korean film, the film industry, and critical issues from the colonial period to the present.

A study of emotional intelligence through literature, history and the arts with a focus on anger, happiness, love and empathy.

Close study of Shakespeare's plays and poems to introduce his language, stagecraft, literary "genius," social and literary contexts, precursors and rivals, and legacy.

Intensive reading of major writers to 1800.

Intensive reading of major writers, 18001950.

Intensive reading of representative writers.

Introduction to major forms, styles and theories of narrative, with attention to characterization, plot, genres, ethics, empathy, perspective, audience and social conditions.

Study of literary modes of narrative and their uses in medical understanding, character formation, social identity, and relations between mind and body.

Study of forms of nonfiction writing, focusing on craft and process: how it works and how to read, write and write about it.

Historical survey of the traditions of lyric poetry from Shakespeare to the contemporary, examining the genre's multiple forms of literary, visual, and aural expression.

Questions of gay and lesbian identity, expression and experience in a variety of literary and cultural forms; emphasis on sexual politics, equality and difference.

Novels, stories, essays, poems, and plays written in and about California from the Gold Rush to the present.

Literary travel using novels to explore regional culture and unify the study of literature, history, geography, politics and social studies.

Examination of legal problems and concepts in English and American literature. Recommended preparation: CORE-102 or ARLT-100; WRIT-140.

Study of prose written in English since 1945, principally fiction of the past two decades.

Study of poetry written in English since 1945, with special emphasis on the last two decades.

Literary studies in the relationship between fiction and drama and their adaptation as films.

An exploration of cultural haunting in post-Revolutionary France, grounded in critical approaches to literature, with a focus on collective memory, loss and historical violence.

Interpretation and analysis of works of the imagination, exploring language, thought, and cultural traditions in relation to one another. (Satisfies GE-B, Humanistic Inquiry) Open only to Freshmen.

Critical appreciation of various forms of human expression, evaluating works of literature, philosophy, and the arts to enable informed opinions about ideas and values. Offered by a professional school.

Patterns of American development from Colonial times to the present. Duplicates credit in former HIST-200.

The social, political, religious, intellectual and cultural landscapes of Europe and the Mediterranean, c. 300 to c. 1400.

Political, intellectual, and cultural developments in Europe,1300-1815. Renaissance and Reformation; absolute monarchy,scientific changes, and Enlightenment; French Revolution andNapoleon.

Study of the lives of selected individuals who have helped to shape Chinese politics and culture.

Japan from the earliest times to the present; social, cultural,and political dimensions.

History of South Asia from the tenth century to the present day; examines imperialism, capitalism, nationalism, and immigration.

Introduction to the history and the study of the Middle East from ancient to modern times.

Examination of high-profile murders and murder trials in order to explore major social, political, and cultural issues from the colonial period to the present.

A thematic approach to California history from precontact to present; focus on peoples, environment, economic, social, and cultural development, politics, and rise to global influence.

Major ideas, personalities, and movements in Jewish history from antiquity to the present in light of the interaction of the Jews with the general culture.

Investigates how food and food traditions create and cross religious and social conflicts between Jews, Christians and Muslims by exploring faith, practice, thought and ethics.

Investigates contemporary conflicts in the discovery of the ancient world. Students will ask essential questions about the power of discovering and showcasing specific narratives.

Examines contemporary Arab state-society relations using literature to illustrate how people construct meanings and portray issues of national, social, and cultural significance.

Explores questions about human beings and their place in nature, including questions about knowledge, mind and body, freedom and determinism, and the existence of God.

Exploration of basic questions about the nature of reality. Topics may include personal identity, freedom and determinism, causation and laws of nature.

Critical study of controversial social issues such as abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, war and terrorism, sexual morality, affirmative action and economic justice.

Explores philosophical treatments of the problem of the meaning or purpose of human life. (Duplicates credit in former PHIL 155)

Philosophical theories of law and applications to controversies of importance to society and our legal system, such as free speech, civil disobedience, and selfdefense.

How does science differ from pseudo-science? When is it rational to accept a scientific theory? And do such theories provide genuine knowledge of reality?

The trials of Socrates, Joan of Arc, the Salem witches, Galileo, Scopes and the Nuremberg and Eichmann trials; their social and cultural consequences.

Survey of the changing beliefs and practices of the Christian religion from its origins through early modernity (100 CE - 1500 CE), with special attention to different varieties of Christian literature.

Focus primarily on works of Buddhist literature written in a variety of genres. Introduction of basic teachings that link Buddhist traditions across time and space.

Introduction to Islam, emphasizing its historical and cultural development since the seventh century C.E., and the basic teachings of Islam.

Comparative analysis of biblical works and how they were employedby various writers in major works of Western literature.

Varieties of religious experience as reflected in the literature, art, and cultic practices of the Hellenistic world.

Examines various topics in the process of rapid modernization and globalization in Buddhism including environmentalism, gender, nationalism, social activism, and war and peace.

Russian cultural identity from its beginnings until today. The Eastern Orthodox tradition, its traumatic confrontation with Western culture, and their continuous interaction.

Tolstoy's major works in the context of his ethical views.Readings and lectures in English.

Principal writers and their works from Colonial times to the present. Non-majors may write assignments in English. Recommended preparation: advanced comprehension of oral and written Spanish.

Examination of how gender and sexuality have been constructed, experienced and legislated.

Genealogies of queer theory, from psychoanalytic theories to feminism and post-structuralism; evolving concepts of gender; relation to social justice, resistance and power.

Experiential course examining how beliefs about mortality are produced by history, gender, culture, and context; how the handling of death shapes urban society.