Course Title Description

ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL ERAS

 

Classical Mythology
MALS Seminar
56:606:501:01 Index: 67392
Cross-listed: 56:350:527:01
M 6:00 – 8:40PM 
Professor Maria Cornelia

 

Classical mythology permeates the literature and art of western culture. This course will examine some of the major myths of the ancient world in an effort to understand their impact upon that world and our own. Using primarily the dramatic texts of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, as well as Homer’s Odyssey and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, we will study the Greek pantheon, heroes such as Odysseus, Agamemnon and Oedipus, and heroines such as Antigone, Iphigenia and Alcestis. We will also examine the way in which more modern writers such as Tennyson, Yeats and Auden have incorporated and transformed these myths in their poetry. A class presentation and a research paper are required.


 
   
Ancient Egypt 
optional trip to Egypt 
56:606:502:01 Index: 69382
M-W 6:00 -7:20 PM
Cross-listed: 50:090:301:01
50: 525:122:40 / 56:606:614:02 
Professor Gabor Toth 

The course introduces the students to the Ancient Egyptian civilization from the early Stone Age to their conquest by the Persians and Greeks. It gives a comprehensive historical account on the rise and fall of the Egyptian dynasties, analyzes archeological and anthropological evidence, discusses religious, cultural and social patterns, and examines the earliest masterpieces of art and architecture in the Egyptian world. Credit by arrangement: 3 for just the course; 4.5 for the course plus trip

   

AGE OF REVOLUTIONS

 

18 th Century Literature
56:606:521:01 Index: 68108
Cross-listed 56:350:559:01 
Th 6:00 – 8:40PM 
Professor Geoffrey Sill

 

We will view the eighteenth century this term through the prism of the novel, which became the dominant form of literary expression before the century came to an end.  We will concentrate on the depiction of sensibility and the education of the sensibilities of readers brought about through fiction.  We will read works by Daniel Defoe (Robinson Crusoe, Oxford UP, 2007, ISBN 978-0192833421); Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels, Oxford UP, ISBN 978-0192833778); Henry Fielding (Tom Jones, Oxford UP, 1996, ISBN 978-0192834973); Sarah Fielding (David Simple, Oxford UP, 1987, ISBN 978-0192817662); Frances Burney (Evelina, Oxford UP, 2002, ISBN 978-0192840318); and Jane Austen (Emma, Oxford UP, 1998, ISBN 978-0192802378), all of which except for David Simple are on the MA Comprehensive Reading List.  In addition, each student will prepare another 18th -century text on sensibility, from a list provided by the instructor.  A classroom presentation and research paper are required.


 
   

Special Topics in American Literature: Wharton and James 
56:606:521:02 Index:
Cross-listed with 56:352:540:01
T 6:00 – 8:40PM 
Professor Carol Singley

We read short stories, novellas, novels, and essays by of two of the finest American writers. Henry James and Edith Wharton defined an era and style of realism with their socially astute and psychologically complex tales of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century life in Europe, New England, and Old New York. We explore the cultural circumstances that helped to shape the careers of these two remarkable writers; the deep friendship that developed between them; and qualities of literary realism that they developed and helped bring to maturity. Assignments include 3 papers and a mid-term exam.

   

CULTURAL DIVERSITY

 

Antisemitism: From the New Testament to the Holocaust to Today 
MALS Seminar
56:606:541:01 Index: 67966
Cross-listed: 56:202:541:01 
T 6:00 – 8:40PM 
Professor Stuart Charmé

 

An investigation into the nature and historical development of antisemitism beginning with the New Testament through medieval and modern Christianity to the racial antisemitism of the Nazis. Examination of specific stages of Nazi genocide as well as its implications for modem religion, theories of human nature, and situations we may confront in the future. Integrates material from history, psychology, ethics, theology, and literature in order to evaluate possible responses.

   

ARTS & LITERATURE

 

Chinese Art
56:606:611:01 Index:74609
Cross-listed: 50:082:363:01
Th 1:30 – 4:20PM
Professor Susan Jones

 

Considers Chinese painting, sculpture , architecture, ceramics, printmaking, metalwork, and textile arts and their historical religious, and social contexts.

   

Three Centuries in American Poetry
56:606:612:01 Index: 73714
Cross-listed: 56:350:511:01
T 6:00 – 8:40PM 
Professor Tyler Hoffman

 

In this course we will study American poetry of the seventeenth, 
eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, from the colonial period 
through the Revolutionary era and Civil War up to the dawn of 
modernity (and mass culture). You will read many poets you have never 
heard of and do research on a poem that has never been written about 
extensively. Our main concern will be to chart how the forms and 
rhetoric of poetry change to reflect changing cultural circumstances 
(with the poetry itself often becoming a tool of public political 
discourse). We will read the work of canonical poets working within 
these formative years (Bradstreet, Taylor, Wheatley, Freneau, Bryant, 
Whitman, Dickinson), but also will attend to less prominent poets and 
their surprisingly interesting contributions

   

Latin American Art and Culture
56:606:612:02 Index: 74736 
Cross-listed: 50:082:485:01
W 1:20 – 4:00PM 
Professor Roberta Tarbell

 

Native-American, colonial, and modern art and architecture of Lation America in their cultural context. Material culture traced either thematically or chronologically. Topics change from year to year. This course may count toward th eLatin American Studies minor.

   

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

 

Design in Barcelona
8-10 pre-trip sessions 
Trip to Spain, May 2008
56:606:613:01 Index: 68631
Cross-listed: 50:082:492:01 / 50:080:489:01
Professor Allan Espiritu

 

The International Studies trip to Barcelona, Spain is to explore the city through graphic design and to facilitate an exchange of ideas and to develop a discourse about contemporary design practices in a foreign country. While open to all undergraduate and graduate students as a general survey to understanding contemporary graphic design, the course will focus primarily on the knowledge and techniques that are familiar to more experienced graphic design students. The trip will include visits to various design studios and agencies, museums and the exploration of Barcelona’s visual and cultural language.

   
Peruvian Art
International Studies trip to 
Peru – March 2008
56:606:613:02 Index: 74604
Cross-listed: 50:080:490:01 & 50:082:492:03
Professor Ken Hohing

A photography-based course consisting of classroom seminars in conjunction with the International Studies tour to Peru during Spring Break, 2008. The course will focus on basic camera operation and photographic techniques for portraiture, landscape and wildlife photography. Students are required to attend pre and post trip seminars to be scheduled in early spring. Locations in Peru include Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu & the Sacred Valley, and the ruins of Ollantaytambo and Sacsayhuaman. Grade credit can be earned through participation in the group photography project “Messages to America”, which investigates societal issues and international perceptions through portraiture and sociological data collection. No pre-requisite or prior photographic knowledge is required. Students must supply their own camera equipment.

 

   

Literary Ireland
56:606:614:01 Index: 74709
Cross-listed: 56:350:505:01 / 50:350:390:01
M – W 4:20-5:40PM
Professer Tim Martin

 

May 24-June 2, 2008
This course will introduce students to the rich variety of Irish literature of the late nineteenth- and twentieth century: first (in Camden), with readings in fiction, drama, and poetry of the period; then (in Ireland), with explorations of its historical and cultural context. We will study works by Joyce, Yeats, O’Casey, Synge, Liam O’Flaherty, and Seamus Heaney, among others, and we will visit such sites as the medieval monastery at Clonmacnoise and the Georgian estate of Powerscourt, as well as many cultural sites in and around Dublin: the James Joyce Centre, Trinity College, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Kilmainham Gaol. The tour will be divided between the East and the West of Ireland: between cosmopolitan Dublin, with its theatres and museums, and romantic Galway, including an overnight visit to Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. In between, we’ll spend two nights in the medieval city of Kilkenny. Classes will meet for eight of the fourteen weeks of the Spring term (including the first). Because the tour begins immediately following Commencement, graduating students must complete course work before the tour begins: a midterm, a final, a short paper, a journal.  

   

Ancient Egypt and Jordan
Trip to Egypt and Jordan 
May 2008
56:606:614:02 Index: 74733
Professor Gabor Toth

 

Please reference Ancient Egypt course description above.

   
French Literature in Burgundy and Paris 
French literature in translation 420 Graduate Liberal Studies 606
May 13-2, 2008
56:606:614:03 Index: 
Professor Norman Ellman
nellman@camden
Six monday afternoons 2 1/2hours

An introduction to French literature and civilization, with emphasis on important writers connected with Burgundy and Paris–Molière, Diderot, Hugo, and Colette, among others. We will become acquainted with French history and civilization from the Age of Classicism to the present, including several major artistic movements.  

At the end of the term, we will study these writers sur place, in the place where the works originated and the authors lived.  In Burgundy, we will visit sites of historical and artistic significance, including Dijon, the Clos de Vougeot, and the medieval town of Beaune.  As part of “tasting” French civilization, there will be a dégustation de vin (wine-tasting).  On the way to Paris, we will visit the Renaissance castle of Fontainebleau.  In Paris, we will visit the Palace of Versailles and several of the greatest museums in the world: the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Rodin Museum.  Students will also have a chance to explore Paris on their own–the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, and thebateaux mouches. 

Note: the tour will take place immediately following exams, returning in time for Commencement.  Students may participate solely in the foreign-study portion of the course, but will receive less credit.  Estimated price TBA.

   

POLITICS AND SOCIETY

 

Radical Politics 
56:606:621:01 Index: 71472
Cross-listed: 50:790:480:40
T & Th 7:30 – 8:50PM
Professor Ayubi

 

Political protest movements and methods of radical political change.

   

Radical Islam Challenges the West
56:606:621:02 Index: 75022
Cross-listed: 50:790:428:01
T & Th 1:30 – 2:50PM
Professor Kim Shienbaum

 

This course introduces students to the  place of radicalism within the Islamic world, and examines and analyzes why, when, how and even whether  it poses significant security challenges to the liberal democratic tradition of the West.The course will also focus on the relationship of this challenge to the forces of globalization.

   

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION

 

Modern Social & Political Philosophy 
56:606:641:01 Index: 73832 
Cross-listed: 50:730:319:40 
M & W 6:00 -7:20PM
Professor Young

 

Critical examination of the philosophical problems involved in theories of the state and society. Topics include the nature and justification of political obligation, civil disobedience, violence, natural rights, and justice.

   

Philosophical and Religious Perspectives on Childhood 
56:606:641:02 Index: 74737
W 6:00 -8:40PM
Professor John Wall

 

This course explores the meaning and significance of childhood in society. It does so from a variety of Western philosophical and religious points of view. The first half of the course critically examines some of the most influential writings on childhood in history, from antiquity to modernity. We ask how these texts respond to such questions as the nature of childhood, the aims of child rearing, and responsibilities to and of children in society. The second half investigates the social ethics of childhood today. It looks into disputes about the purpose of families, children’s relations to culture, and national and international children’s rights.

   

RESEARCH IN LIBERAL STUDIES

 

56:606:689:01 Index: 67283
Professor Stuart Charmé

Independent study of a special interest to the student, under supervision of an advisor chosen in consultation with the program director.
   

56:606:690:01 Index: 67284
Professor Stuart Charmé

 

 
   

MATRICULATION CONTINUED

 

56:606:800:01 Index: 64716 
Professor Stuart Charmé

 

If for some reason, you cannot register for courses in Spring 2008, you should register for Matriculation Continued. You pay only a $57 fee, which allows you to remain a member in good standing of the Liberal Studies Program, use the Rutgers library and other facilities, and saves you from the trouble of being re-admitted in the following semester.