ENROLL

Sandra E Rousseau

Through texts, images and films coming from different continents, this class will present Francophone cultures and discuss the connections and tensions that have emerged between France and other French speaking countries. Focused on oral and written expression this class aims to strengthen students’ linguistic skills while introducing them to the academic discipline of French and Francophone studies. The theme will be school and education in the Francophone world.

Prerequisite: French 204 or equivalent

Sandra E Rousseau

Persepolis, Syngue Sabour, Le rocher de Tanios—three prize-winning texts written in French by authors whose native tongue was not French but Arabic or Farsi. In this class we will direct our attention to the close—albeit problematic—relations between France and the Middle East (broadly considered) through an analysis of cultural and literary objects. What has this “French connection” meant for the Middle-Eastern and for French culture?

Prerequisite: One French course beyond French 204 or instructor permission

Brendan P LaRocque

While Islam in popular thought is often associated solely with the Arab world, in reality eighty percent of the world’s Muslim population is not of Arab ethnicity.  The countries of South Asia--particularly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh--are collectively home to the largest number of Muslims. After examining the early background of the appearance and growth of Islamic societies and governments, we will explore the rich history of the expansion of Islam into the Indian subcontinent. We will take account of the role of trade and conquest in the early centuries of Islamic expansion and study the development of specifically Indian forms of Islam. The nature and impact of the Indo-Islamic empires will receive our attention, as will the interaction of Muslims with non-Muslim communities in medieval and early modern India. This will be followed by a look at the period of colonial rule, and an analysis of the specific historical contexts that gave rise to specific religious nationalist movements. We will then trace out how, once established, these movements developed according to their changing relationships to national liberation movements, secularism, state administrative systems, global economic shifts, and changing social demands. 

Adeeb Khalid

Through readings in primary sources in translation, we will discuss the major intellectual and cultural movements that have influenced Muslim thinkers from the nineteenth century on. Topics include modernism, nationalism, socialism, and fundamentalism.

Prerequisite: At least one prior course in the history of the Middle East or Central Asia or Islam

Greg G Marfleet

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to comparative and international public policy. It examines major theories and approaches to public policy design and implementation in several major areas: international policy economy (including the study of international trade and monetary policy, financial regulation, and comparative welfare policy), global public health and comparative healthcare policy, institutional development (including democratic governance, accountability systems, and judicial reform), and environmental public policy.

Prerequisite: Statistics 120 (formerly Mathematics 215) strongly recommended, or instructor permission

Kristin C Bloomer

The history of Christianity usually focuses on Jesus: the stories and doctrines that have revolved around him. This course will focus on Mary and the many ways she has contributed to the various lived traditions of Christianity. We will, for example, consider the mother of Jesus (Miriam, as she was first called) as she has figured in literature, art, apparition, and ritual practice around the world. We will also consider Mary Magdalene, her foil, who appears in popular discourse from the Gnostic gospels to The Da Vinci Code. Case studies, texts, images, and film will be our fare.

Diane M Nemec Ignashev

Rejected by every major publisher, first released in France in 1955 by a press known for pornographic trash, Vladimir Nabokov's scandalous novel about a middle-aged immigrant college professor obsessed with a twelve-year-old girl continues to feed controversy as well as to challenge and delight readers with its labyrinthian narrative, endless wordplay, innumerable intertextual allusions, and troublesome eroticism. In addition to reading the novel, we will focus on critical approaches that address the cultural clash underlying the ostensible plot, changing reception, and reception of the novel outside the US. Thus warned, you are invited to join the jury in deliberating the designs and delights of this twentieth-century literary classic.

Anna M Dotlibova

In this course students use authentic materials to learn about selected aspects of Russian culture in global context, while continuing to develop their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills. For students who have completed the language requirement in Russian.  

Prerequisite: Russian 204 or instructor consent

Silvia Lopez

Prerequisite: Spanish 204 or proficiency

Not open to seniors