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ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL ERAS |
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Ancient Philosophy |
A study of the major philosophers in the ancient world. |
Art of the Middle Ages Advanced Undergraduate Course 56:606:501:02 Cross-listed: 50:082:320:01 Th 1:30 – 4:20PM Professor Susan Jones |
Art of the Middle Ages in Europe from fourth to fourteenth centuries. Includes examination of the art of the Byzantine, Carolingian, Ottonian, Romanesque, and Gothic periods. |
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In this course we will read a number of works by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, studying them within their own historical context as well as exploring their relevance to later literary / historical periods. In addition to Greek tragedies like Medea, Trojan Women, the Theban trilogy, and the Oresteian trilogy, we will examine modern adaptations / interpretations of these classical works such as Christa Wolf’s feminist play Medea: A Modern Retelling; Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies (as a modern Antigone); and Freud’s appropriations of the Oedipus and Electra stories. Along with primary texts, we will read critical works by Simon Goldhill, Jean-Pierre Vernant, Edith Hall, Jennifer Jones, and others that amplify and theorize ongoing conversations between the ancients and the moderns. Course requirements include active class participation, an oral presentation, a mid-term paper, and a longer final paper. |
EARLY MODERN ERA |
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Renaissance Drama |
A consideration of some of the greatest plays of the English theatre by Shakespeare’s contemporaries. The course will include comedy, tragedy and tragicomedy by Marlowe, Jonson, Webster, Tourneur, Middleton and Ford. Dramatic form will be examined in light of the conventions of the Elizabethan stage and the poetic practice of the Renaissance. The course will be conducted seminar style and each student will be asked to give one short class presentation on an assigned play. A research paper is also required. |
AGE OF REVOLUTIONS |
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The Sentimental Novel
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Though neglected until recently by modern critics, the sentimental novel dominated fictional discourse in the second half of the eighteenth century. Novels of sentiment were intended not merely to extract tears from the reader, but also to elicit a sensibility to the trials of the less fortunate and a desire to relieve their sufferings through benevolence. There was, in short, a moral to this genre that is part of its continuing claim to importance. We will read (depending on the availability of texts) such novels as Sarah Fielding’s The Adventures of David Simple, Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield, Lawrence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey, Frances Sheridan’s Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph, William Godwin’s Caleb Williams, and Frances Burney’s Cecilia or The Wanderer, as well as contextualizing materials from The Spectator, Rambler, and other sources. |
Modern Political Theory Advanced Undergraduate Course 56:606:522:01 Cross-listed: 50:790:372:01 and 50:050:201:02 MW 1:20 – 2:40PM Professor Alan Tarr |
The leading figures of Western political theory from Hobbes to the present. Students in the course will read Locke’s Second Treatise; Mill’s On Liberty; Rousseau’s Discourse on Inequality and portions of The Social Contract; Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France; Marx’s Communist Manifesto and selections from The German Ideology; and Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil. |
STUDIES OF THE 20TH CENTURY |
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Postwar America |
This course explores the history of the United States from 1945 to the
present. Among the topics explored are the Cold War, the Red Scare, the Korean War, the Civil Rights movement, the struggle for social justice, the Vietnam War, the feminist movement, suburbanization, popular culture, Presidential elections and politics, counter-culture movements, the new right, environmental politics and the role of young people in shaping and responding to ongoing social changes. |
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Develops the history of international modern architecture with an emphasis on American and European architecture and planning and on major architects; technological advances; and philosophical, sociological, political, and cultural causes in the changes of style and form of modern buildings. |
CULTURAL DIVERSITY |
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African-American Literature
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This course explores the African American novel since World War II. It begins with Ralph Ellison’s indispensable meditation on blackness in the first half of the twentieth century,Invisible Man, and moves towards more contemporary texts such as Toni Morrison’s haunting rumination on family and slavery, Beloved. Course participants will become familiar with the considerable body of criticism related to this literature as well as understand the social and historical conditions that inform its production. Course requirements include regular class participation, an annotated bibliography, an oral presentation, and a substantial research paper. |
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STUDIES OF IDEAS |
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A survey of major texts and themes in the modern history of rhetoric, this course examines rhetoric’s rebirth in the 20th century as an intellectual tradition with distinctive and important contributions to the study of discourse and to the formation and transmission of civic virtue. Within that broad charge, we will consider in particular how rhetoric contributes to the pedagogy of composition, conceived multimodally as text, speech, and visual display. Among the major contributors to the rhetorical tradition whose work we will read and discuss are Mikhael Bakhtin, Kenneth Burke, Wayne Booth, Jacques Derrida, J. L. Austin, Chaim Perelman and Lucille Olbrechts-Tyteca, Judith Butler, and Gunther Kress. Weekly one page response papers, a midterm and a final exam, and a substantive researched essay. |
ARTS AND LITERATURE |
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Literary and Cultural Constructions of Childhood |
This course examines changing concepts of childhood as reflected in a range of literary and cultural texts from a variety of cultures and periods. We consider the representations of children and childhood throughout literature and culture; the impact of the concept of childhood on intellectual and aesthetic traditions; the role of childhood in imagination and memory as well as in actuality; and the notion of childhood as a discursive category useful for understanding human subjectivity and the human condition. |
History of Opera Advanced Undergraduate Course 56:606:612:01 Cross-listed: 50:700:337:01 W 6:00 – 8:40PM Professor Julianne Baird |
A critical survey of the continuing tradition of opera emphasizing the relationship of music and drama through selected works of varied composers. |
INTERNATIONAL STUDY ABROAD |
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South African Literature
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In this course we will read work by some of the most accomplished writers in the English language, all of whom live (or lived) in South Africa. The history of South Africa is a violent one, but in recent years, with the end of the racist apartheid state, a new multiracial democratic society has emerged and the process of healing and reparation has begun. The literature—short stories, novels, poetry, and plays—we read will take account of this remarkable history and the diverse ethnic population of the country, which includes (as a result of European colonization and forced enslavement) British, Dutch, and Southeast Asian peoples, in addition to native Africans. The course will focus on literature of the last thirty or forty years and will include two Nobel Prize winners, Nadine Gordimer and J. M. Coetzee. We will also watch several films of the apartheid and post-apartheid eras. The course lasts eight weeks and culminates in a trip during Spring Break to South Africa, where we will experience first-hand some of the places we have read about, visiting world-class wineries, reading on the beach by the Indian Ocean, and going on safari in Kruger National Park. We will also tour several museums, meet with practicing writers, and go to a play or two in Cape Town and Johannesburg. |
Baroque Musical Masterpieces with trip to Eastern Germany (May 2009) 56:606:613:02 Cross-listed: 50:700:498:01, 50:700:499:01 Meeting time TBD Professor Julianne Baird |
This course will introduce students to 18th-century Germany’s musical and architectural jewels. First in Camden, with study of an opera by Handel and vocal and instrumental works by J.S. Bach. Then, in Eastern Germany with explorations of their historical and cultural contexts. Visits to the Sans Souci and Charlottenburg Palaces in Berlin, to the Thomas and Nikolaikirche the Bachmuseum in Leipzig, the Handelhaus in Halle, the Goettingen Handel Festival and the Frauenkirche of Dresden. A short paper and a listening exam will be required. |
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MESSAGES TO AMERICA is a photography-based course consisting of classroom seminars in conjunction with the International Studies tour to London during Spring Break, 2009. The course will focus on basic camera operation and photographic techniques for portraiture, and landscape photography. Students are required to attend pre- and post-trip seminars to be scheduled in early spring. Contact instructor <khohing@camden> or the International Studies Office for a full itinerary. 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. Student proposed projects must be approved by the appropriate academic department and the instructor. No pre-requisite or prior photographic knowledge is required. Students must supply their own camera equipment. |
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This course will be an introduction to French Literature and Civilization in Southwest France, with an emphasis on several famous writers and movements that are connected to this historical region: the Troubadours of Medieval France, Montaigne, Montesquieu, Paul Valéry and François Mauriac. We will become acquainted with the history of the French Cathars and the Albigensian Crusades as well as more modern French history and will discuss the art of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, in preparation for our visit to his birthplace and the museum dedicated to his work. At the end of the semester, we will have the opportunity to visit Southwest France and discover for ourselves this less well-known but fascinating region in France. In Camden, we will explore the literary, cultural, and historical background of this area of France, the ancient provinces of Languedoc and Aquitaine, reading selections from the works of the authors mentioned above. Then, we will study the writers sur place, (in the place where they lived or were born) during a study tour to two major cultural centers in France – Toulouse and Bordeaux. In Toulouse, we will discover churches and castles dating from the Middle Ages and then experience 21st century technology by visiting Airbus, the headquarters of the European aerospace industry. There will be excursions to the medieval fortress towns of Albi and Carcassonne, and visits to the picturesque villages of Gaillac and Cordes-sur-Ciel. We will then travel to Bordeaux, with its famous Garonne River, beautiful churches and the Château de la Brède. We will include a stop in the medieval town of Saint-Emilion, world-famous for its vineyards (one of UNESCO’s “world heritage” sites), where there will be a wine-tasting. The best way to explore the culture and civilization of a country is to experience it first-hand. The tour will take place immediately following exams in the spring, from May 12 to May 20, 2009 and will return in time for graduation. |
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Argentina and Uruguay are united based on their common history and shared traditions. Both countries share similar environments, taste for food, arts, music, sports and fashion. The capitals, Buenos Aires and Montevideo, are within a 30-minute flight or a 2 and a half hour ride by ferry. Both cities proudly make up the River Plate culture. Yet there are also major characteristics that distinctly identify each country. The cultural trip to Argentina and Uruguay focuses on these differences and similarities by visiting four cities on the banks of the River Plate: the capitals of Argentina and Uruguay, the historic town of Colonia del Sacramento, and the upscale vacation spot on the southern tip of Uruguay, Punta del Este. The students will make the trip as part of course work for a seminar on The Cities of the River Plate. This seminar will prepare students for the cultural tour by conducting research on key aspects of the region’s history and culture. Seminar topics incorporate literature, architecture, immigration, popular culture (tango and soccer), and national identity. Included in the itinerary is the political center Plaza de Mayo and the picturesque neighborhood of La Boca in Buenos Aires; a visit to a typical “estancia” (ranch); the National Immigration Museum; the Museum of the Gaucho (Montevideo); and a UNESCO “World Heritage” site: Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. The group will also attend a live tango show that demonstrates the history of this dance. The course requirements include readings, a travel diary, and participation in the group travel seminars. |
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Psychologists generally view the mind as universal, exhibiting few differences across societies and historical periods. The assumption has been that while the “contents” of minds may differ across cultures, the processes underlying thought are the same. In recent years, research in the field of cultural psychology has challenged this assumption by suggesting that cultural practices shape a wide variety of psychological processes. In this course, we will examine how culture influences how people process information about themselves and the world. Topics include cultural differences in self-construal, cognition, perception, and other basic psychological processes. The class will meet for the first eight weeks of the semester during the time indicated by the course schedule. During spring break, all registered students will participate in a ten-day trip to Japan. Our tour will focus on exploring the cities of Kyoto and Tokyo, with side trips to Hiroshima, Nara, and Hijemi. In addition to meeting with Japanese psychology professors, we will see such sites as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle, the White Heron Castle, the site of the 1945 atomic bombing in Hiroshima, and in Tokyo, neighborhoods such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Harajuku. |
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This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to the field of Developmental Psychopathology. Developmental Psychopathology is an approach to studying mental health problems in different stages of development, with a special focus on factors that contribute to the emergence of psychopathology and factors that protect against it. During this class, we will apply this approach to the understanding of childhood disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Depression, and Anxiety disorders. This semester, the course will include a special focus on the cross-cultural differences and similarities in conceptualizations of children’s mental health. We will discuss cross-cultural variation in how mental health and illness are thought about, assessed, and treated. The class will meet for the first eight weeks of the semester during the time indicated by the course schedule. During spring break, all registered students will participate in a ten-day trip to Japan. Our tour will focus on exploring the cities of Kyoto and Tokyo, with side trips to Hiroshima, Nara, and Hijemi. In addition to meeting with Japanese psychology professors, we will see such sites as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle, the White Heron Castle, the site of the 1945 atomic bombing in Hiroshima, and, in Tokyo, neighborhoods such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Harajuku. |
POLITICS AND SOCIETY |
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Violence, Revolution, and Terrorism |
CLASS CANCELED. |
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CULTURE AND CRITICISM |
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Material Culture 56:606:631:01 Cross-listed: 56:512:588:01 T 5:00 – 7:40PM Professor Regina Blaszczyk |
Examination of material forms and uses in American history, including artifacts, the built environment, and domestic and public spaces.
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PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION |
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Examination of the principal philosophers in nineteenth- and twentieth-century America. Critical discussion of the transcendentalists, the idealists, Pierce, James, Dewey, and Whitehead.
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Philosophical and Religious Perspectives on Childhood |
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 |
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56:606:689:01 |
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 |
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MATRICULATION CONTINUED |
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56:606:800:01
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If for some reason, you cannot register for courses in Fall 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. |