Category: Inside Only Classes

ETHICS AND TOLSTOY / REES 408/605 / STEVEN SHANKMAN 

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is one of the greatest and most influential masters of the novel. The Russian literary classics of the nineteenth century, including the fiction of Tolstoy, made a profound impression on Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995), perhaps the greatest modern philosopher on the nature of ethical obligation and its relation to what it means to be human. We will carefully read Tolstoy’s shorter fiction as well as his final novel, Hadji Murád, paying special attention to what Tolstoy’s fiction has to say about ethics understood in Levinas’s sense: my inescapable responsibility for a unique and irreplaceable other. We will read Ethics and Infinity, a reasonably accessible and brief series of interviews with Levinas, and we will look for connections between Tolstoy’s fiction and Levinas’s thought.

GREEK AND ROMAN EPIC / CLAS 301 / MARY JAEGER

The field of classics embraces Greek and Roman culture from the prehistoric to the medieval periods. This class focuses on analysis of the heroic tradition and epic themes in the Homeric poems, the works of Hesiod, and the Aeneid. Emphasis on literary criticism and intellectual history.

ETHICS / PHIL 102 / CAROLINE LUNDQUIST 

The fundamental assumption behind this course is that reading, writing, thinking and talking about ethics can help us to become better people, live richer, more meaningful lives, and inspire us to work together to improve our world. Hence the chief purpose of this course is to foster an ongoing engagement with meaningful ethical questions.
We will begin by examining a selection of potential “threats” to ethics, including relativism, egoism, false consciousness and moral luck, and then consider whether or to what extent moral theories can help mitigate those threats and guide our ethical thinking. Along the way, we will consider numerous questions that have historically posed, and continue to pose, serious challenges to ethical philosophers and philosophical laypeople alike. We end by applying our tentative beliefs and conclusions to a selection of contemporary moral issues.

INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE NARRATIVE / CHN 410 / STEPHEN DURRANT 

In this class, we will examine the Chinese narrative tradition, focusing attention on three different works that span approximately 2200 years: the Zuo Tradition, dating from roughly 320 BCE; the early Ming dynasty (1368-1644) novel Three Kingdoms, sometimes referred to as Romance of the Three Kingdoms; and the early twentieth century stories of Lu Xun, particularly his provocative novella “The Real Story of Ah Q,” arguably the most important piece of Chinese narrative written in the past 150 years. While this limited survey will hardly give you an adequate taste of the many varieties of narrative across the long course of Chinese literary history, it does allow us to dip into the “beginnings” of three very different and interconnected periods in this long history.

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY / GEOG 444/544 / SHAUL COHEN

How do we understand the concept of “culture”? What factors contribute to cultural difference, what does that mean in the world, and why is it important? This course approaches culture as a set of evolving and overlapping processes, rather than as something that is fixed in time and place. It will explore the power relations that are part of cultural, and affect people based on who they are (or who they are told that they are) and where they are. Cultural Geography gives us tools to examine the ways culture is produced and practiced in different communities, societies, and scales. The class will draw upon a wide range of readings and experiences, and students will engage in dialogue about the worlds they live in, the cultures they are part of, and the ways that they interact with power and place.

READING INEQUALITY IN AMERICA THROUGH THE LENS OF ETHNOGRAPHY / SOC 410 / ELLEN SCOTT

This country was founded on principles of inequality, despite aspirations otherwise stated in the Constitution. In the generations since, the fundamental inequalities based on race, gender and class, as well as other bases of difference and identity, remain foundational to our society. While the way social inequality is exercised and enforced has changed, the fact of our society being built on a bedrock of inequality has persisted, and class inequality is greater now than at any time in the history of this nation. In this course, we will read about the structures and experiences of race, gender and class inequality in the United States through ethnographies, sociological sources that rely on in-depth, rich data to examine complex social conditions.

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION / CAS 407/507 / KATIE DWYER 

This course will explore concepts in intercultural understanding as well as build skills in conflict resolution, cross-cultural work, coalition building, and individual self-reflection. We will examine both the broad frameworks for discussing cultural differences as well as thinking through the ways identity and context influence our experience of the world and our encounters with one another. Conflict resolution theories and skills will be a focus. We will also discuss intercultural encounters in a variety of specific contexts, including education, the workplace, and in humanitarian efforts. We will ground these concepts in our own experiences, and include real-world applications in our own lives.

RACE AND ETHNICITY AND THE LAW / ES 452/552 / MICHAEL HAMES-GARCIA 

This independent reading course will focus on race and urban policing. We will consider developments around community policing and civilian review in cities like New York and Los Angeles and the history of policing in Baltimore and Chicago. We will also look at the role of policing internationally, at the U.S. border, and in colonial spaces like Puerto Rico and Hawai’i. Of particular interest will be the relationships between policing agencies and communities of color.​ This course has a reading and conference format, relying exclusively on written exchanges between students and the professor. It satisfies an upper-division ES elective requirement for Ethnic Studies majors and minors and also counts toward the General Social Science major with a focus in Crime, Law, and Society.

ANTHROPOLOGY: CULTURE AND PSYCHOLOGY / ANTH 410 / DIANE BAXTER 

Culture and Psychology (Psychological Anthropology) is the sub-field of cultural anthropology that focuses on the relationships between cultural and psychological fields. It poses a variety of questions, such as: how does culture impact individual psychology? What is the “self” and how is identity formed? Is there such a thing as “human nature,” and, if so, what were/are the forces that have created it? How does emotion arise? What is the relationship between culture and mental health and illness?In this course, we will begin by examining basic principles and core controversies in psychological anthropology. We will then explore three major areas in psychological anthropology: self/selves/identity; emotion; and mental illness. Our readings include two excellent books: Disciplined Hearts which focuses on identity, colonial history, and loneliness among the Flathead Indians, and Saints, Scholars, and Schizophrenics, a study of family, development, and mental illness in rural Ireland.

TOLSTOY’S SHORT AND LATER FICTION / CAS 407/507 / STEVEN SHANKMAN 

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is one of the greatest and most influential masters of the novel. The Russian literary classics of the nineteenth century, including the fiction of Tolstoy, made a profound impression on Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995), perhaps the greatest modern philosopher on the nature of ethical obligation and its relation to what it means to be human. We will carefully read Tolstoy’s shorter fiction as well as his final novel, Hadji Murád, paying special attention to what Tolstoy’s fiction has to say about ethics understood in Levinas’s sense: my inescapable responsibility for a unique and irreplaceable other. We will read Ethics and Infinity, a reasonably accessible and brief series of interviews with Levinas, and we will look for connections between Tolstoy’s fiction and Levinas’s thought.

LEGAL PROCESS / PS 275 / ALISON GASH 

This class explores the nature of the American judiciary—its structure, its players and its impact on American public policy

UNIVERSITY MATHEMATICS 1 / MATH 105 / CRAIG TINGEY 

Topics include logic, sets and counting, probability, and statistics. Instructors may include historical context of selected topics and applications to finance and biology.

THREE WAYS OF THOUGH IN EARLY CHINA: CONFUCIANISM, TAOISM, LEGALISM / CHN 407/507 / STEPHEN DURRANT 

Philosophical thought blossomed in China during a period of major political and social disruption that extended from the fifth to the end of the third century BCE, centuries usually called the “Warring States Period” (zhanguo shidai 戰國時代). In fact, Chinese traditionally described this as a time of “many masters of philosophy and numerous schools of thought” (zhuzi baijia 諸子百家). Among these “numerous schools of thought,” three gained special importance: Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism. These three philosophies proposed different solutions to the disruption of that period, and each has exercised considerable influence throughout the subsequent course of Chinese history. To some extent they still constitute a critical part of the foundation of contemporary China.

All classes cancelled due to Covid-19.

THREE WAYS OF THOUGH IN EARLY CHINA: CONFUCIANISM, TAOISM, LEGALISM / CHN 407/507 / STEPHEN DURRANT

Philosophical thought blossomed in China during a period of major political and social disruption that extended from the fifth to the end of the third century BCE, centuries usually called the “Warring States Period” (zhanguo shidai 戰國時代). In fact, Chinese traditionally described this as a time of “many masters of philosophy and numerous schools of thought” (zhuzi baijia 諸子百家). Among these “numerous schools of thought,” three gained special importance: Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism. These three philosophies proposed different solutions to the disruption of that period, and each has exercised considerable influence throughout the subsequent course of Chinese history. To some extent they still constitute a critical part of the foundation of contemporary China.

FUNDAMENTALS OF ALGEBRA AND MATHEMATICAL MODELING / MATH 101 / CRAIG TINGEY 

Math 101 is designed as a “bridge” to college math. It starts with a review of some fundamental concepts and then goes over the basics of algebra and other concepts needed for the more advanced math classes.

RESEARCH METHODS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE / CAS 407 / KEVIN ALLTUCKER

This class is an introduction to the methods and perspectives used in social science research. Topics include ethical and cultural issues in research, quantitative and qualitative inquiry, sampling, measurement, research design, data analysis, and how to write a research proposal. After completing this course you will be a more skillful consumer of published research, understand the strengths of quantitative and qualitative research and their limitations, and be able to write a professional research proposal.

WORLD LITERATURE / ENG 405 / STEVEN SHANKMAN

In this course, we will read foundational works from three different ancient cultures: China, Greece, and Israel. We will pay particular attention to the question of the kinds of values that these foundational works were meant to instill in their ancient audiences. What does each culture have to say about extending or rejecting hospitality toward the stranger, on the one hand, and the very nature of what it means to be human, on the other? Emphasis will be on close and attentive reading of texts. In this class, you will develop the ability to appreciate and analyze literary texts from a variety of cultural and linguistic traditions in the ancient world. In our increasingly multicultural world, both in the classroom and in the workplace, you will be increasingly expected to develop what is called “intercultural competence.” This class, by exposing you to foundational texts from three ancient and very different cultures, will boost your “intercultural competence.”

PRISONER NARRATIVES AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS / CAS 407/507 / KATIE DWYER

This course explores social change and conflict resolution through the lens of autobiography by incarcerated individuals whose stories and leadership influenced social movements and conflict situations. We will focus on four case studies: the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the US Civil Rights Movement, and issues of criminal justice reform today. Please note that this is a readings/correspondence course and therefore students will be expected to go above and beyond in completing the readings and considering them critically, and in completing excellent written work.

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND POLITICAL CHANGE / PS 386 / GERRY BERK

Periodically American politics breaks from its routine of interest group lobbying and elections; previously silent groups find a public voice; the disempowered find the courage and imagination to experiment with new forms of participation; and fundamental questions about power and democracy are posed. Still, as routinely as they arise, social movements often evaporate and politics returns to business-as-usual. What is the source of these periodic upheavals in American politics? What do the aspirations, successes and failures of social movements tell us more generally about the possibilities and limits for democratic and social reform in the United States? This course will look at 4 episodes in social movement history: the rise and fall of the labor movement in the twentieth century; the relationship between the integrationist civil rights movement and the black power movement; the “new social movements” of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, which shaped the “culture wars” that are still with us; and the movements for equality and identity that have emerged since the financial crisis of 2008.

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION / CAS 407/507 / KATIE DWYER 

This course will explore concepts in intercultural understanding as well as building skills in conflict resolution, cross-cultural work, coalition building, and individual self-reflection. We will examine both the broad frameworks for discussing cultural differences as well as thinking through the ways identity and context influence our experience of the world and our encounters with one another. Conflict resolution theories and skills will be a major focus. We will also discuss intercultural encounters in a variety of specific contexts, including education, the workplace, and in humanitarian development efforts. We will ground these concepts in our own experiences, and include real-world applications in our own lives.

THEORIES OF CARCERAL EDUCATION / GEOG 410/510 / SHAUL COHEN

In this course we will survey a broad range of contemporary carceral theorists in relation to education in prison settings, and the ways higher education in particular has served as a source of political and personal empowerment for incarcerated individuals. We will draw from carceral geography to analyze the elements of belonging, place, and control in relation to social dynamics inside, as well as exploring successful case-studies of prison education programs.