Course Title | Description |
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ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL ERAS |
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Classical Mythology |
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 56:606:502:01 Cross-listed: 56:606:614:01; 50:420:241:01 Th 6:00 – 8:40PM Professor Gabor Toth gtoth@camden.rutgers.edu |
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 archaeological 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.
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AGE OF REVOLUTIONS | |
Victorian Literature 56:606:521:01 Cross-listed: 56:350:571:01 T 6:00 – 8:40PM Professor Shanyn Fiske fiske@camden.rutgers.edu |
This course covers the poetry and prose of England during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Our thematic focus will be on writers’ attempts to redefine the role of literature and the intellectual life during the first half century of industrialism. During this time, rapid shifts in England’s social structure and the nation’s quest for material gains prompted reassessments of the values that had previously formed the foundations of literary culture. In attempting to understand the nature and impact of these social and ideological reformations, we will explore the dialogues and arguments between and among poets and cultural critics, liberals and conservatives, scientists and humanists, men and women. Our authors include Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, Carlyle, Newman, Ruskin, Mill, Emily Brontë, Harriet Martineau, Swinburne, Pater, Wilde, Hardy, and Yeats. Course requirements include an oral presentation, several short assignments, a mid-term paper, and a final research paper.
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STUDIES OF THE 20TH CENTURY |
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Advanced Topics: Advertising in American History 56:606:531:01 Cross-listed: 50:512:677:01 W 5:00 -7:40PM Professor Regina Blaszczyk reggieb@camden.rutgers.edu |
AMC’s popular TV series, Mad Men, has put postwar advertising in the spotlight. But vintage Madison Avenue is nothing new to historians, who have spent the past fifty years studying the impact of advertising on American life. What can we learn about the history of American society from advertising and mass consumption? Did advertising shape culture, reflect culture, or both? This seminar probes these questions through intensive readings, critical essays, and original research. Students will read a variety of interpretations and, once they have mastered the literature, will be encouraged to develop their own ideas and theories through a small research project using primary sources. |
China Today 56:606:532:01 Cross-listed: 50:516:380:01 W 6:00 -8:40PM Professor Elizabeth VanderVen evanderv@camden.rutgers.edu |
In this course, we will explore China’s rich 5000-year history and culture through an investigation of several interrelated topics, including China’s cuisine, commerce, philosophy, and habits of consumption. Our class meetings will revolve around various primary and secondary sources (textbooks, journal articles, etiquette guides, fiction, film, and recipes) pertaining to these topics. In these discussions, we will constantly strive to link China’s past with its dynamic present. The course will culminate in a ten-day trip to China, where we will visit the capital city of Beijing, the Midwestern city of Xi’an, and the bustling modern metropolis of Shanghai. In each city, we will combine visits to important historical sites, such as the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, and the Terra Cotta soldiers, with visits to sites of contemporary importance. Finally, we will explore and learn about China’s complex cuisine by visiting several well-known restaurants and food stalls. Requirements include a short paper, a midterm exam, and a travel journal. Six Wednesday evenings from 6-8:30: 27 Jan, 10 Feb, 24 Feb, 10 Mar, 21 Mar, 28 Apr. |
CULTURAL DIVERSITY |
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Purgatory: East and West |
This course brings together pre-modern Christianity and Buddhism, examining the concept of purgatory in doctrines and public images from visual arts and literature. We will also look at its impact on religion in practice, such as the cults of saints and the clerical authority. |
Women in US History 56:606:541:02 Cross-listed: 56:512:525:01 W 5:00 – 7:40PM Professor Janet Golden jgolden@camden.rutgers.edu |
This course introduces graduate students to scholarship in American women’s history, the history of American women and the use of gender as a category of historical analysis and inquiry. We focus in particular on the intersections of race, class, and gender, look at issues of economy and value, examine the links between women’s history and family history, explore the roots of social and political movements, chart the changing meaning of feminism and define the differences between women’s history and gender history. |
Growing up in Africa 56:606:541:03 Cross-listed: 56:163:654:01 M 6:00 – 8:40PM Professor Cathleen Coe ccoe@camden.rutgers.edu |
This course explores the diversity of African childhoods, in different communities and contexts. The course will explore a number of different themes: how child development and expectations for children vary in African communities, how children experience Western schooling and socialization by their communities, and how children are active agents, contributing to cultural continuity at times but also cultural ruptures in war, urban migration, and challenges to authority. We will also examine the roles of children at a variety of different ages—from babyhood to youth. Much that we read will challenge visions of childhood and expectations and roles of children learned in contemporary US communities. |
Women and Religion |
This class looks at the ways that women have been regarded in the myths, |
Playing Indian: Native Americans and American Literature 56:606:542:02 Cross-listed: 56:352:541:01 Th 6:00 – 8:40PM Professor Keith Green keigreen@camden.rutgers.edu |
This course explores the representation of North American Indians in American literature, both by Native Americans as well as by other groups. It moves from texts like Mary Rowlandson’s The Sovereignty and Goodness of God (1682), the first English-language Indian captivity narrative published in North America, to more recent texts like Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues (1996), a playful yet provocative consideration of American Indian identity in the late twentieth century. The course hopes to give students a breadth of perspectives on Native American representation by way of attention to Native and non-Native cultural productions as well as a long historical view. Representative authors and critics include Mary Rowlandson, William Apess, Lydia Maria Child, Sarah Winnemucca, Henry David Thoreau, Sherman Alexie, Philip J. Deloria, Lucy Maddox, Alice Walker, Gretchen M. Bataille, and Leslie Marmon Silko. A short paper, long paper, annotated bibliography, and presentation are required. |
STUDIES OF IDEAS |
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Topics in Rhetoric: Literacies in Twenty-first Century
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A key insight motivating this course is that in the 21st century literacy is experienced in the plural, as literacies. Once imagined in singular terms, literacy (understood to include both reading and writing) has evolved into a global term for various competencies of mode (verbal, visual, digital) required for effective participation in academic, cultural and civic affairs. Conceived as an orientation to the contemporary landscape of literacy studies, this course situates literacy in both cognitive and social contexts but with an emphasis on the social (including political and economic) aspects of who reads, writes, composes, texts and under what conditions. After establishing multi-legged contexts for studying literacy (Cushing et al. /Literacy: A Critical /Sourcebook/) /we encounter landmark texts in the study of (print) literacy, e.g., Shirley Brice Heath’s /Ways With Words/ and Deborah Brandt’s /Literacy in American Lives/, before turning to the complex relations between academic and community literacies (e.g., Eli Goldblatt’s /Because We Live Here/). In the final unit of the course we examine changing contexts for literacy as an effect of the digital revolution and seek to understand the significance of literacies as multiple, braided constructs for both cultural studies and for educational programs and policies. To ground our engagement with broad movements in the local and particular, we turn to ethnography as a research method, applying an ethnographic lens to literacy practices in locally accessible contexts. The result of such investigation is a seminar paper (12-15 pp) in addition to short responses to weekly readings and a midterm exam. |
Rational and Irrational Minds 56:606:601:02 Cross-listed: 56:830:675:01 M 6:00 – 8:40 PM Professor Bill Witlow bwhitlow@camden.rutgers.edu |
This course examines ideas about human rationality and irrationality, especially as they have been expressed in the literature and science of Western thinkers from the time of Descartes. Western culture has often exalted rationality as the essential mark of superior mental, moral and social development. But what does it mean to be rational? And, conversely, what does it mean to be irrational? To explore answers to these questions, the course will use modern cognitive psychology as an organizing framework for discussion. However, it will draw on a wide variety of perspectives, incorporating literary, philosophical, historical, and clinical sources to amplify the breadth of the discussion. |
ARTS AND LITERATURE |
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Modern Literature and Theory 56:606:611:01 Cross-listed: 56:350:594:01 M 6:00 – 8:40PM Professor M. A. Habib mhabib@camden.rutgers.edu |
A comparative study of modern texts from various cultures, Anglo-American, European, Indian and Islamic. We will look at a variety of genres, and our study will be informed by various theoretical perspectives impinging on feminism, religion, colonialism, and international political developments in the twentieth century. One journal, one paper and and an examination. |
Art of Egypt Advanced Undergraduate Course 56:606:611:02 Cross-listed: 50:082:310:01 Th 1:30 – 4:20PM Professor Susan Jones susjones@camden.rutgers.edu |
The course will review the art of ancient civilizations of the Nile River Valley from the Old Kingdom through the Ptolemaic period. The monuments of Egypt have been a source of wonder and curiosity from Herodotus to Hollywood. This course explores them from their Neolithic roots through their incorporation into the Roman Empire the period of the some of the most famous ancient art in the world. This course will examine this art pyramids, the Great Sphinx, Nefertiti’s bust, Tut’s tomb within its ancient context and reveal its original meaning. |
German Music and Culture Advanced Undergraduate Course 56:606:612:01 Cross-listed: 50:082:492:02, 50:700:498:01; 50:700:499:01; 56:606:614:02 T 6:00 – 8:40 PM Professor Joseph Schiavo schiavo@camden.rutgers.edu |
This study tour will offer students a unique opportunity to explore the rich history, culture, and music of the eastern states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, and Thuringia. Our journey will begin with four days in Berlin, with a day trip by bus or train to Potsdam and Sanssouci. Then on to Leipzig via Wittenberg and Dessau, with an overnight stay in Leipzig. From Leipzig, a day trip to Halle, then to Dresden. Students will visit homes and museums dedicated to seminal composers, artists, and writers including Bach, Liszt, Handel, Luther, Cranach, Goethe, Schiller, and more. Students will be expected to attend pre-trip seminars, keep a travel journal, attend concerts, and write a paper on a topic related to the subject of the course. Six Tuesdays TBA 6-8:30.
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History of the English Language 56:606:612:02 Cross-listed: 56:615:530:01 T 6:00 – 8:40 PM Professor Richard Epstein repstein@camden.rutgers.edu |
This course will address the growth and structure of the English language from its origins to the present, with attention to methods of linguistic description. In addition to more traditional historical linguistics (i.e. the effect of language change on the phonology, morphology, semantics and syntax of the language), we will devote considerable attention to socio-historical influences on the development of English, addressing, in particular, questions relating to authority in language: Standard vs. non-standard dialects of English, the rise of dictionary making, spelling reform movements, etc.
Course requirements: Midterm exam and course paper. NOTE: *Please have the course syllabus, reading list, and other introductory handouts with you at the first class session. They will ONLY be available through Electronic Reserves (along with all outside readings) THEY WILL NOT BE DISTRIBUTED IN CLASS, so please come prepared! |
POLITICS AND SOCIETY |
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American Political Thought |
This course analyzes diverse perspectives on American politics and American society from the Founding era to the present. The first third of the course examines the Founding period, focusing particularly on the thought of Thomas Jefferson and on The Federalist Papers. The second third of the course examines political htought in the nineteenth century, including Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and the political thought of Abraham Lincoln. The final third of the course examines African-American political thought (Douglass, DuBois, Malcolm X, and King), as well as more contemporary thinkers. Requirements include extensive reading exclusively in primary sources and a series of short papers. |
History of Childhood 56:606:622:01 Cross-listed: 56:163:531:01 W 6:00 – 8:40PM Professor Susan Miller millersa@camden.rutgers.edu |
DESSCRIPTION FORTHCOMING
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PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION |
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Death and Dying: The Human Dilemma Advanced Undergraduate Course 56:606:641:01 Cross-listed: 50:840:395:01 TTh 11:00 – 12:20PM Professor Joanna Lightner joannalightner@msn.com |
An exploration of the way world religions try to make sense of the inevitablity of our death. We will look at rituals around death, notions of body/spirit relationships, conceptions of the afterlife, and issues around euthanasia, burial, and mourning. We will also read personal memoirs as a way to understand th human struggle to find meaning in life in the face of death. You will be encouraged to integrate new ideas with your personal reflections through discussion and writing. |
Journeys to the Other World Advanced Undergraduate Course 56:606:641:02 Cross-listed: 50:840:394:01 MWF 10:10 – 11:05AM Professor Kenneth Banner banner@camden.rutgers.edu |
Most religions and cultures around the world have stories of ascending to heaven, descending to hell or traveling to another reality. They usually take the form of dreams, visions, near-death experiences or even claims of physical ascent. This course will examine accounts from both the ancient past and the modern world. It will explore how scholars study such narratives and what they can teach us about religious experience and religion itself.
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Religious Pluralism in South Asia 56:606:642:01 Cross-listed: 56:606:614:04 M 6:00 – 8:30 PM Professor Shin-yi Chao sychao@camden.rutgers.edu |
This course explores the impact of religion on the cultural heritage and political reality of South Asia. Religion leaves a significant mark on the development of paintings, architecture, music, dance, literature, sculpture, philosophy and legal traditions of South Asia. Religious values were also a major source for the emergence of nationalism in South Asia in the first half of the last century. By understanding religion, we will have a better grasp of South Asia in the past, present, and future. Three religions are in the focus: Hinduism (an umbrella term for the various religious teachings and practices in South Asia that can be traced back 5000 years), Islam (whose adherents founded the Mogul dynasty that ruled India until the 19th century), and Sikhism (a syncretic development of Hinduism and Islam). Course work includes readings from scripture, religious stories, political commentaries, scholarly analysis, and trips to the Golden Temple, Durgiana Temple, Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, the Jama Masjid (mosque), and Ganges Ghat (stepts). The tour will be divided between cosmopolitan New Delhi, with its treasures and museums, and the cities of Amritsar, Jaipur, Agar, and Varanasi. The requirements for the course are a short paper, a reading journal or long paper, and a final exam. |
INTERNATIONAL STUDY ABROAD |
Please note: Study abroad courses may vary in terms of number of credits earned. Please contact instructor for more information regarding fees, credit options and trip times.. |
Literary Ireland 56:606:613:01 Cross-listed: 56:350:506:01, 50:350:390:01 M 4:00 – 6:00 PM Professor Timothy Martin timmartin@camden.rutgers.edu |
This course will introduce students to the rich variety of Irish literature of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries: first (in Camden), with readings in fiction, drama, and poetry of the period; then (in Ireland), with explorations of the historical and the cultural traditions out of which this literature grew. 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 ancient burial grounds at Carrowmore and the medieval monastery at Clonmacnoise, 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. Two days in Sligo, Yeats’s summer haunt in his youthful days, will give students a sense of life in the Irish towns. Six Mondays TBA 2:50-5:10.
Cost and payment schedule TBA |
A Lost Generation: American in Paris 56:606:613:02 Cross-listed: 56:350:505:01; 50:350:389:01 By Arrangement Professor Tyler Hoffman thoffman@camden.rutgers.edu |
This course will feature the poetry, fiction, and non-fiction of some of the most prominent—and some not so prominent—Amercian expatriate writers living in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. We will read and discuss in Camden the work of such authors as Gertrude Stein, Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Sherwood Anderson, Djuna Barnes, Ezra Pound, and E. E. Cummings. In May (May 13-23) we will travel to Paris and get to know the writing at street-level, going on walking tours of the city. We will sit in the café where Hemingway composed one of his most famous short stories; we will visit the sites of some of the most modish expatriate salons; and we will see where some of these writers lived (many in Montparnasse) and are buried (in the cemetery Père Lachaise). Of course, we will also take in the cultural landscape of Paris more generally as it intersects with the work of these artists: the Eiffel Tower; the cathedral of Notre Dame; the Louvre; the Latin Quarter; the Moulin Rouge close to Montmartre; and some incredible public gardens. A short paper, an oral presentation, a reading journal, a final exam.
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Writing about Place (Paris) 56:606:613:03 Cross-listed: 56:350:505:02; 50:350:389:02 By Arrangement Professor Lisa Zeidner zeidner@camden.rutgers.edu |
This couse will allow writers to explore the way location and landscape make their way into creative work. We’ll read some great contemporary fiction and nonfiction dealing with Paris in particular, including Adam Gopnick’s PARIS TO THE MOON and Deborah Eisenberg’s short stories. Then we’ll use the trip as a way of exploring the foreign landscape as the inspiration for our own work, especially involving the creation of the non-tourist experience. (Want to get mugged? Go breakdancing in the suburbs?) Note MFA students may take either the literature or writing segment of the course for credit. Course fulfills craft or elective components of MFA degree requirements.
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Ancient Egypt 56:606:614:01 Cross-listed: 56:606:502:01; 50:420:241:01 Th 6:00 – 8:40PM Professor Gabor Toth gtoth@camden.rutgers.edu |
See course description at 56:606:501:01
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German Music and Culture 56:606:614:02 Cross-listed: 56:606:612:01; 50:082:492:01;50:700:498:01; 50:700:499:01 T 6:00 – 8:40PM Professor Joseph Schiavo schivao@camden.rutgers.edu |
See course description at: 56:606:612:01
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China Today 56:606:614:03 Cross-listed: 56:606:532:01 W 6:00 – 8:40PM Professor Elizabeth VanderVen evanderv@camden.rutgers.edu |
See course description at: 56:606:532:01
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Religious Pluralism in South Asia (Trip to India) 56:606:614:04 Cross-listed: 56:606:642:01 Professor Shin-yi Chao sychao@camden.rutgers.edu |
See course description at: 56:606:642:01
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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 |