ENST 309 - Australian Environmental Issues (Study Group)
This course covers key geographic and environmental issues in Australia with a particular focus on environmental diversity. Through class lectures and discussion, critical reading, independent research papers, and field trips, the course considers how the geologic and environmental history of Australia shaped biodiversity, and how humans have affected these natural communities. Field excursions will introduce you to Australia’s rich and diverse flora and fauna, its environmental and cultural heritage, and illustrate current challenges in environmental protection and management. Trips within New South Wales include: Sydney, Canberra, Jervis Bay, Royal National Park, Budderoo National Park and Port Kembla. An additional 5 day trip takes the group to Queensland to visit the Atherton Tablelands, tropical rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
ENST 313 - Environmental Problems and Environmental Activism in the People’s Republic of China
Explores China’s complex environmental issues, their historical roots, and social implications. It also examines the rise of environmental social activism in China. The course will utilize pedagogical methods from InterGroup Relations (IGR) to provide students with the intellectual tools to analyze issues of power, privilege, and identity and by extension, their own position in the world in relation to these environmental issues. This course is linked to an extended study to China. Students will travel to the People’s Republic of China, where they will examine sites of environmental problems, but also meet activists and see their work in progress. The trip will also bring to the forefront some of the issues of power, privilege, and race issues that were discussed in the course.
Credits: 1.00 Crosslisted:ASIA 313 & SOCI 313 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
ENST 313E - Environmental Problems and Environmental Activism in the People’s Republic of China (Extended Study)
This extended study is linked to the on-campus course ENST 313. Students will travel to the People’s Republic of China, where they will examine sites of environmental problems, but also meet activists and see their work in progress. The trip will also bring to the forefront some of the issues of power, privilege, and race issues that were discussed in the course.
Credits: 0.50 Crosslisted:ASIA 313E & SOCI 313E Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
This community-based research course challenges students to work with local land trusts in solving meaningful environmental problems. Land trusts are non-profit organizations with missions to protect natural resources (e.g., clean water, forests, and open space) of value to their members. Students will work as members of an interdisciplinary team to develop solutions to complex problems faced by land trusts in central New York. Lectures and discussions regarding conservation theory and practices provide an intellectual framework for these applied projects. Students will gain practical experience working in interdisciplinary teams and using contemporary technologies to facilitate effective collaboration.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: At least two courses related to environmental studies Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Recommended:BIOL 330 Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
ENST 316 - Nature, Technology, and the Human Prospect
This course explores the complex interrelationships among Nature, technology, and people, especially the interactions that reconfigure what it means to be human. The aggregate significance of modern technologies is radically transforming the natural and human-built world in good and bad ways, even within remote societies and ecosystems. How do technologies control or influence the ways people value parts of the world over other parts, the ways they value the moment over the future and the past, the ways they value rapid change and innovation over long-standing traditions and slow-changing landscapes? These are some of the complex moral issues raised by the technological enhancement across the globe that is examined by careful reading, writing, argumentative discourse.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Food is fundamental — it sustains us and is essential for our survival — but food is more than just what we eat. Food is also a commodity with complex global markets and ecological impacts; it is highly regulated through our political processes and institutions; and it forms a key part of our culture and the social rhythms of everyday life. This course explores these many dimensions of food, focusing especially on key questions about where it comes from, how it is produced, and how it is embedded in our economic, political, and cultural institutions. Students participate in a service learning internship at Common Thread Community Farm in Madison, NY. The course also involves field trips to and guest speakers from local food and farming communities.
Credits: 1.00 Crosslisted:SOCI 319 Corequisite: None Prerequisites:ENST 232 or (SOCI 201 or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250 or SOAN 210) and students must have an open morning (no other enrolled courses) on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m., in order to accommodate the farm internship component of the course. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
Global environmental justice examines both procedural and distributive inequities as well as injustices in political relationships among nation states. Additionally, it places emphasis on a variety of global political issues, which have evolved from environmental concerns that transcend national boundaries. This intermediate course expounds on the concepts and theories of environmental justice from an international perspective. It evaluates the international frame of environmental justice from a human rights perspective and its applicability to different case studies. A close examination of the theoretical North-South relationship, in terms of dependency and exploitation of peripheral (South) countries by core (North) countries, is central to the course. It analyzes a constellation of issues labeled as global environmental justice, such as tribal exterminations, dislocations of marginalized communities, and resource conflicts. Real world examples of environmental justice cases are critically assessed to develop an understanding of the complex relationships among actors that lead to environmental injustices.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
ENST 324 - Hunting, Slaughter, Eating, and Vegetarianism
Historically, hunting for food has represented one of the most direct ways in which people have engaged with nature. Some scholars even believe that the “hunting instinct” is a fundamental aspect of human identity. People in modern industrialized societies, however, often have little idea about the origins of the flesh they consume, most of which is raised and slaughtered on an industrial-scale. While the majority continue to eat meat, poultry, and/or fish, a minority have chosen to become locavores, vegetarians, or even vegans for ethical, religious, cultural, health-oriented, or environmental reasons. Others continue to hunt and fish but within ecosystems dramatically altered by human intervention and amidst cultural landscapes complicated by commercialized and trophy hunting. Drawing upon a wide range of sources including literature, artistic and documentary films, works of popular culture, autobiographical accounts, online hunting (and anti-hunting) forums, diverse web resources, self-reflective essays, and scholarly approaches ranging from animal studies to humanistic ecocriticism, this course investigates the intertwined themes of hunting, industrial versus family farming and slaughter, eating, vegetarianism, and the ethical and existential choices they present to members of modern industrialized societies. Fishing and fish farming are also considered more briefly.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
ENST 333 - Environment and Community Health in Africa: A Case Study in Rural Uganda (Extended Study)
The majority of this extended study is held in villages proximate to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwestern Uganda. The curriculum focuses on health issues including disease prevalence and access to health care in remote villages adjacent to national parks. Ecological dimensions of human health are considered including infectious disease transmission, sanitation and access to water, nutrition and household environment. Students participate in the following educational projects with a diverse array of community leaders: 1) training workshops in research methods for clinical and community health; 2) field studies with health professionals to improve health data collection; 3) community outreach to understand environmental and community health assets and needs in the region. Ideally, students should bring background and interests in environmental studies, biology and geography. Prior research experience is not necessary; however, to be eligible, students must register for or have successfully completed one of the following courses: BIOL 220, BIOL 330, BIOL 364, BIOL 371, BIOL 491(Frey); GEOG 245, GEOG 314, GEOG 316, GEOG 336, GEOG 491(Scull or Kraly).
Credits: 0.50 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: BIOL 220 or BIOL 330 or BIOL 364 or BIOL 371 or GEOG 245 or GEOG 314 or GEOG 316 or GEOG 336 (prerequisite may be taken concurrently) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
ENST 336 - Renewable Energy: Research and Implementation
Finding energy resources that minimize damage to the environment is a challenge that today’s students will face throughout their lives. This course introduces students to renewable energy technologies as well as the issues involved in carbon capture and storage from fossil fuels. Class meetings are augmented with field trips to sites at which renewable technology is being researched or implemented.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
ENST 336E - Renewable Energy: Research and Implementation (Extended Study)
This extended study course gives students the opportunity to learn about current research on renewable energy in Norway and also learn about a very different set of beliefs regarding environmental protest than is common in the U.S. Norway has a strong commitment to mitigating global warning that is shown both in its support of research on renewable energy and its willingness to tax fossil fuel energy. In addition to visiting research labs and government offices, student also see some of Norway’s famous fjords and glaciers in order to understand the northern landscapes that are threatened by global warming.
Credits: 0.50 Corequisite:ENST 336 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
ENST 340 - Environmental Cleanup: Methods and Regulation
Introduces students to the major hazardous environmental pollution problems in the US and the regulatory framework within which these problems are managed. Students will be challenged to examine the processes and structures that lead to hazardous environmental pollution, the strategies that are used to clean up environmentally polluted spaces and determine the major hazardous pollutants that are of highest concern for federal regulators. Additionally, students will critically assess the current regulatory framework for environmental pollution control, determining the strengths and weaknesses of these statues. Finally students will be presented with the opportunity to research and develop cleanup plans for a specific contaminated site based on field trips to local sites.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
ENST 344 - Managing Complexity: America’s Public Lands
Public land management is inherently complex. Typically there are multiple interested parties and potentially competing goals such as wilderness preservation, recreational accessibility, and resource exploitation. Also, the management of public lands may rest with several agencies. Management decisions made in pursuit of one goal often have implications for other goals, stakeholders, and management agencies. Complexity theory offers a new perspective for understanding the complicated workings of ecosystems, economies, and political systems. Such complex adaptive systems are characterized by feedback loops, chaos, nonlinear dynamics, self-organization, and emergence. The aims of this course are to investigate alternative public land management strategies and apply complexity theory 1) to model qualitatively the intricacies of both natural and human-built systems, 2) to propose and evaluate fresh ecological strategies and management policies for conserving public lands, and 3) to investigate new procedures for mitigating tension among competing interests in the use of public land. The course includes some weekend field trips.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: At least two courses related to environmental studies Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
ENST 390 - Community-based Study of Environmental Issues
This project-based, interdisciplinary course examines current environmental issues in the context of community-based learning. Topics for investigation are selected by faculty, usually in conjunction with the campus sustainability coordinator, the Upstate Institute, or directly with local and regional agencies or organizations. Students get practical experience working in interdisciplinary teams to examine environmental issues with a goal of developing relevant recommendations.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: At least two courses related to environmental studies Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Recommended:ENST 202 and ENST 232 are strongly recommended. Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.
Credits: variable Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
In this senior seminar, students discuss the relevant literature (from multiple disciplines) and do research on one or more selected environmental issue or issues, chosen by the instructor. Topics differ from year to year. The goal is to achieve an advanced, interdisciplinary understanding of contemporary environmental issues.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites:ENST 390 Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Environmental Studies, Environmental Geology, Environmental Geography, Environmental Biology, Environmental Economics Majors and Minors Class Restriction: Only Senior Restrictions: Senior ENST majors & minors only; others by permission Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.
Credits: variable Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
From the films we watch to the personal profiles we maintain online, media saturates our lives. Film and mass media can be powerful determinants of ideology, identity, and historical consciousness. This course is a historical survey of media technologies and environments, combining course readings with a required weekly film screening. The theoretical concepts introduced in this course enable students to critically approach the visual culture around them: just how immersed are we in the virtual, and what are the strategies for engaging with or disengaging from virtual worlds? Students learn to respond to film and media as proactive, critical, and articulate viewers. Students also acquire the vocabulary, conceptual strategies, and interpretive skills necessary to closely analyze the form and content of film and media, as well as the ability to set their own relation to the ideologies all representations convey.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite:FMST 200L Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Senior Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FMST 200 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This course explores the production and reception of film in a global context, as well as the various ways individuals and communities around the world create and receive film. Students explore the concept of “national cinema,” the interplay of local aesthetic traditions and transnational industrial and artistic practices, the role of cinema in diasporic communities, and the impact of global capitalism on film production, distribution, and exhibition. Films depicting immigration, exile, the refugee, insider/outsider status, and other modes of geographic movement are explored.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite:FMST 210L Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FMST 210 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Regulating and being regulated by a variety of information flows on a daily basis from SMS texts, snapchats, and tweets, to live news feeds, corporate data transfers, and government communiques. We increasingly experience our private and public lives as a hypermediated encounter with the world at large. What impact do these media flows have on our experiences of the local and the global? Simultaneously, how should we understand contemporary mass media themselves as “global”? Have transformations in print, broadcast, and digital media fundamentally altered how we think of the near and the far, the familiar and the foreign, the national and the transnational, the West and the non-West? This course will address these questions through the two structuring notions of the “flow” and the “counter-flow,” and analyze the role that media play as both a unifying and a divisive agent, consolidating identities and nationalisms in some instances, and de-territorializing the same in others.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite:FMST 212L Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FMST 212 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Introduces students to major trends and issues in French cinema, while giving them the necessary tools to perform critical analysis of French films and a wider exposure to French and Francophone culture and history. Taught in English.
Credits: 1.00 Crosslisted:FREN 223 Corequisite:FMST 223L Prerequisites:FMST 200 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FMST 223 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This course explores cinematic representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer identities in Europe, Africa, and North America, as well as their associated sociocultural, legal, and political debates. By examining a variety of nations and time periods—from France in the 1930s to the United States in the 1960s to Senegal, The Gambia, and Nigeria in the 21st century—this course outlines the industrial trends and censorial mandates that have refracted sexual orientation identity through the moving image.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite:FMST 230L Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FMST 230 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.
Credits: variable Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
FMST 320 - Post War European Film History and Theory
This course is an introduction to the methods, concepts, movements, and reception of European cinema from 1945 to the present. Selectively surveying the history and theory of Western, Central, and Eastern European filmmaking, the course juxtaposes the close study of narrative and film form with theoretical texts. From neorealism to the transnational in film, from the postcolonial to double occupancies, lessons emphasize the historic hybridity of commercial and experimental film in Europe and complicate auteurist approaches to European film culture. The postwar thematic motifs which continually surface in European film’s changing social and aesthetic landscape (marginality, desire, and the metropolis) is a focal point of discussion and reflection.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite:FMST 320L Prerequisites:FMST 200 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FMST 320 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
To what extent does watching a movie imitate the body’s own sensorial encounters with the world? How do filmmakers use color, sound, lighting, movement, editing and space to create embodied experience? This course is an introduction to these and related questions by examining both cinema’s bodily representations, and the relationship between the viewer’s body and the events on the screen. The approach is organized around weekly film screenings that include silent film, art cinema, experimental cinema, classical Hollywood melodrama, and the horror film. Readings explore phenomenological theories of the body by Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Vivian Sobchack, Jennifer Baker, Elena del Rio, Laura Marks, Martine Beugnet, and Steven Shaviro. Students explore related approaches such as affect theory, feminism, and the relationship of bodily representation to painting, especially in the depiction of masochism.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite:FMST 324L Prerequisites:FMST 200 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FMST 324 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
This course surveys the traditions of personal, experimental, ethnographic, and political documentary filmmaking. This overview of the history and aesthetics of documentary examines its origins, forms, goals, and contemporary styles while at the same time problematizing its canonical readings and reception. Issues covered include documentary styles, documentary representation of history and memory, the filmmaker’s relationship to the subject and the viewer, and the impact of technology on documentary techniques. Particular attention is paid to the influence that certain social and political movements have had on documentaries and filmmakers. A required film series accompanying the class includes works by directors such as Flaherty, Riefenstahl, Wiseman, Rouch, Morris, Moffatt, and many others.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite:FMST 333L Prerequisites:FMST 200 or a cinema studies course Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FMST 333 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Explores the various ways in which sound and music have functioned in film, television, and contemporary media culture. Tracing film history from silent film through the so-called “gold era” to today’s blockbusters and independent films, students examine a series of film scores and soundtracks, thinking about commonly employed musical devices, the dramatic functions of diegetic music and underscore, the psychology of listening, and the interaction between sound and image. Throughout the semester, students also consider the ways in which music and sound function alongside narrative and visuals in television soundtracks, music videos, and various internet-based media. In addition to examining the evolving styles of film composers, particular attention is devoted to cinematic/media “borrowing” of existing classical and popular music; the integration of film, music, and media industries; and the ways in which music and sound work with other elements of film and media to reflect and construct social and cultural identities. Through readings, screenings, and written assignments, students acquire the tools and language to analyze and discuss the complex ways in which music, film, and media interact.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite:FMST 340L Prerequisites:FMST 200 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FMST 340 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
FMST 341E - Performing & Media Arts in Hong Kong (Extended Study)
A three-week extended study course in the spring. The course offers students an immersive experience in Hong Kong’s vibrant performing and media arts scene. It includes visits to live performances, film screenings, museums, and galleries, as well as lectures and walking tours with Hong Kong-based scholars on the city’s history, arts, and culture.
FMST 350 - Hollywood and the World: Performing Gender and Sexuality Onscreen
Explores the construction and performance of gender and sexuality in and through Hollywood film. Using a variety of critical approaches, the class examines the various ways in which gender and sexual identities are represented and signified onscreen in a variety of films from the silent period through the early twenty-first century. Particular attention is paid to how Hollywood films have historically reproduced and/or questioned contemporary gender roles and sexual identities, and how cultural narratives surrounding masculinity, femininity, sexuality, and queerness have been challenged and/or reaffirmed in Hollywood productions. In addition to close examinations of onscreen performances, generic conventions, technical practices and aesthetic styles in specific films, the class explores various ways in which the spectator’s gender and sexuality have been implicated in film viewing over the course of the twentieth century. Coursework includes required weekly film screenings and writing assignments, analysis papers, and in-class presentations.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite:FMST 350L Prerequisites:FMST 200 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FMST 350 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
FMST 374 - Anthropology of Media: Mass-Mediated Cultures
Examines media in local, national, and global contexts. More specifically, it draws on media theory and on specific ethnographic cases to discern the social force of modern mass-mediated communication within and across contemporary cultures. Topics include the technologization of old media, language and performance; the emergence of mass-mediated “imagined” communities; and new media social networks.
Credits: 1.00 Crosslisted:ANTH 374 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
This course uses a social scientific approach to examine the role that the media plays in American politics. Key areas of inquiry include the function of the media in democracy, the news-making process, campaigning through the news, political advertising, media effects, governing through the news, and infotainment/satire.
Credits: 1.00 Crosslisted:SOCI 375 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: (SOCI 201 or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250 or SOAN 210) or FMST 200 Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Sociology & Anthropology, Sociology, Film & Media Studies Majors and Minors Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.
Credits: variable Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
FMST 400 - Special Topics in Film and Media Studies
This seminar offers an advanced level study of a specific and narrowed field within the discipline of film and media studies. Each year, this course focuses on topics that reflect the breadth of film and media studies at Colgate. Faculty teach in the area of their scholarly expertise on a rotating basis. The seminar may focus on an in-depth study of a filmmaker, or a school of film, or genre, or focus on an advanced study of the history and theory of television or media, among other things.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites:FMST 200 and one additional cinema studies course in the FMST minor Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FMST 400 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.
Credits: variable Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 121 - Introduction to French Language & Culture I
The FREN 121,122 sequence is a highly interactive course that introduces students to the basic skills of understanding, speaking, reading and writing in the French language. The sequence acquaints students with the rich world of Francophone culture through conversations, the discussion of short texts, the French language table and coffee hours, film, and other resources. Online tools help students understand and appreciate the nuances of French grammar, vocabulary, and expression. Language Placement Guidelines
Credits: 1.00 When Offered: Fall semester only
Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 122 - Introduction to French Language & Culture II
FREN 122 builds upon the skills of understanding, speaking, reading and writing in the French language acquired in FREN 121. Increased proficiency in speaking is achieved through class presentations, debates, films and discussions relating to contemporary issues in the Francophone world. Language Placement Guidelines
Credits: 1.00 When Offered: Spring semester only
Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 201 - Intermediate French: Conversation and Composition
This course is designed to improve students’ ability to understand, speak, read, and write French. Class time is devoted to communication activities, to a study of intermediate grammar, conversational vocabulary, and Francophone culture.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two or three years of secondary-school French, or a one- year college elementary French course. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Restrictions: Not open to students who score 3 or higher on the French AP language exam Recommended: May be taken as a refresher course by students who studied French in secondary school as follows: three years of study ending at least one-half year before, four years of study ending at least a year and a half before. Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 202 - Intermediate French: Conversation, Culture, and Literature
Designed to increase the student’s ability to understand, speak, read, and write French, this course emphasizes development of reading comprehension. A review of the more difficult points of intermediate grammar is included. A major focus is the acquisition of skills necessary for the study of literature. This course includes vocabulary study, conversational practice, and short compositions based on readings.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Three to four years of secondary-school French, or FREN 201 or equivalent Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Restrictions: Not open to students who have received credit for 202 by scoring 4 on the AP exam Recommended: Students with more than four years of HS French should not register for FR 202. Those students should register for the appropriate 300-level courses. Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This course analyzes some outstanding works of French literature that are available in translation. Works are chosen from various periods and are considered within their historical and cultural context. Taught in English.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Introduces students to major trends and issues in French cinema, while giving them the necessary tools to perform critical analysis of French films and gain a wider exposure to French and Francophone culture and history. Taught in English.
Credits: 1.00 Crosslisted:FMST 223 Corequisite:FREN 223L Prerequisites:FMST 200 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite:FREN 223 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 226 - Interplay of Language, Culture, and Identity in Martinique
Explores the history of resettlement and development of cultural identities on the French Caribbean island of Martinique from 1635 to the present.
The complex interdisciplinarity of the processes of créolization and cultural hybridization in Martinique is discussed within the context of the cultural narratives of the three major ethnic groups (French, African, and Indian), their reciprocal influences, and most importantly, their respective adaptive strategies to the process of resettlement. The course is taught in English.
Credits: 1.00 Crosslisted:ALST 226 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.
Credits: variable Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 351 - Introduction to French Literature: From Chivalry to Versailles
As an introduction, through reading and discussion, to three diverse and formative periods of French literature, this course shows the inspiration and variety of expression that mark each period. Readings include selections from La Chanson de Roland, courtly romance, the fabliaux (all medieval writings are read in modern French versions); prose and poetry of Renaissance France; tragic and comic writers of the French classical theater.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: At least four years of secondary-school French or FREN 202 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Restrictions: Students who complete a 400-level course in French may not register for this course. Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 352 - Introduction to French Literature: Birth of the Modern
This course studies major works, principal authors, and literary movements of French literature in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: At least four years of secondary-school French or FREN 202 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Restrictions: Students who complete a 400-level course in French may not register for this course. Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 353 - Introduction to French Literature: Literary Innovations in the 20th to 21st Centuries
This course offers a close reading of some representative works of the 20th and 21st centuries. Selections are chosen from the shorter fiction and essays of outstanding French writers and include such authors as Apollinaire, Gide, Sartre, Camus, Ionesco, Ponge, Ernaux and Modiano.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: At least four years of secondary-school French or FREN 202 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Restrictions: Students who complete a 400-level course in French may not register for this course. Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 354 - Introduction to French Literature: The Francophone World
Offers an overview of various bodies of literature written in French outside of France, focusing on five main geographical areas that historically constituted the French empire: the Caribbean, North Africa, West and Central Africa, Asia, and North America. Full texts as well as excerpts from a variety of genres are studied in the context of the history and geography of those regions. Through the exploration of key literary texts, particular attention is given to the effects of colonialism on language, identity, and artistic creation.
Credits: 1.00 Crosslisted:ALST 354 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: At least four years of secondary-school French or FREN 202 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Restrictions: Students who complete a 400-level course in French may not register for this course. Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 361 - Advanced French Composition, Grammar, and Conversation
This course is structured as a review of grammatical principles with emphasis on correctness in expository composition in French. Assignments include frequent essays as well as translation exercises. Not open to students who score 5 on the AP language exam, except by special permission of instructor. Must be taken on campus to fulfill major or minor requirements.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Restrictions: Not open to students with a score of 5 on AP language exam, except by permission of instructor. Must be taken on campus to fulfill major or minor requirements. Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.
Credits: variable Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
A study of cultural expression through the writing of formal compositions and the analysis and translation of texts. The course is designed to give advanced students a finer feeling for French style, an awareness of shades of meaning, and a mastery of certain difficulties not discussed in lower-level language courses.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 421 - The Baroque and Classic Theater in France
This seminar traces the development of French theater through close readings of major and influential theatrical works from the 17th and 18th centuries. Major dramatic genres such as tragedy, comedy, and romantic drama and their development are examined in their historical and cultural contexts. Through critical readings of these plays, the course identifies an evolving sensibility concerning the definition of the hero and the contingencies of fate, love, and personal choice. The course considers as well the shifting set of literary conventions through which playwright and audience negotiated these ideas. Authors studied may include Corneille, Racine, Molière, Marivaux, Beaumarchais.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 423 - The 18th-Century Epistolary Novel in France
This course examines some of the French 18th century’s most celebrated “letter novels.” Through readings of Montesquieu, Graffigny, Rousseau, and Laclos, the course focuses on the formal and thematic development of the epistolary genre over a period of some 60 years. The novels are read against a historical background stretching from the reign of Louis XIV through the French Revolution.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 425 - Libertine Fiction of the French 18th Century
Beginning in the 17th century under the label libertinage érudit, libertine fiction evolves into a major genre in the Enlightenment. The course follows its development through readings of Prèvost, Crébillon fils, Diderot, Denon, and Sade, and explores the following questions: How do philosophy, fiction, and sexual politics coalesce in libertine literature? How can one reconcile libertinage - a way of living and writing frequently reduced to passion and sensuality - with the broader currents of the most “rational” century in French literary history? An exploration of libertine literature thus entails a focus on cultural history, and serves as a point of departure for a broader reflection on the Enlightenment.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
A detailed study of the lyric poetry of Louise Labé, Pierre Ronsard, Joachim du Bellay, and Clément Marot. The course explores how each writer seeks to create his or her own unique poetic style within the context of the intense literary creation and experimentation that characterize Renaissance France. Special attention is given to the themes of love and Classical mythology as sources of poetic inspiration. Some attention to Renaissance painting, to the lyric poetry of François Villon, and to selected prose of Marguerite de Navarre, Montaigne, and Rabelais is given in order to illustrate the enormous and varied impact of humanism and the Italian Renaissance.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This course examines some of the relationships between Enlightenment thought and the dominant forms of written expression in the French 18th century. Through readings, students consider a number of the Enlightenment’s most pressing concerns, such as moral and political philosophy, religious and civil tolerance, natural law, and the role of literature and the arts in society, among others. Authors read include Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Beaumarchais, and Sade.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This course studies the evolution and transmutation of conventions of quest literature from the Middle Ages to the present day. The course examines the significance of the changes within the genre as reflections of the cultures from which they emerge. Readings range from the romances of Chretien de Troyes to the contemporary French novel.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
The course provides a detailed study of two major comic writers of French classical literature, emphasizing especially the creation of individual comic and satirical styles within the classical tradition. The course examines both specific themes such as the images of king, court, and society, and also more general literary and cultural questions. These include the nature of comedy, the relationship between popular culture and literary art, and the problem of literary translation. Readings are drawn from the farces, short plays, and major works of Molière and from the Fables, the Contes et nouvelles, and selected minor poems of La Fontaine, as well as from La Fontaine’s legacy in pictorial art and folklore.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
The theme of the court is used to explore the major works in prose and poetry of classical France, reading these works as examples both of insightful social analysis and of outstanding achievements in literary style and art. Readings are drawn primarily from the works of Madame de Sévigné, Racine, Pascal, La Rochefoucauld, Madame de Lafayette, and La Bruyère. Key topics include the relationship between writer and society in 17th-century France, Versailles as a theatrical setting for the Sun-King, and literature as both social commentary and divertissement. The seminar also studies the theme of the court as it is expressed in 17th-century painting and music.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 440 - Contemporary French Civilization (Dijon Study Group)
This course examines, by means of lecture and discussion, the impact of geography, demography, history, politics, economics, patterns of behavior, and the French cultural heritage on contemporary France.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
This course focuses on some of the major poets of the 19th century, by studying their work in the context of the greater political, social, and historical events of the time. Readings concentrate on representative texts of the following poets: Lamartine, Alfred de Vigny, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, Hugo, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Mallarmé, and others.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This course analyzes some major poets of the 20th century in the context of greater artistic, political, and social movements. Readings focus on representative texts of the following poets: Apollinaire, Claudel, Valéry, Breton, Jouve, Emmanuel, Bonnefoy, Ponge, Jaccottet, and others.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Examines the development and specificities of 20th-century autobiographical texts. While the main focus is on the texts themselves, some related theoretical problems are also considered, such as the conditions and possibility of writing the “self”; autobiography’s link to other types of personal writings; its relationship to fiction; and its role in our modern definition of “humanity.” This genre being rooted in questions of the emergence of the “self,” particular attention is given to women, homosexuals, and francophone writers, who were traditionally regarded as “other.” Authors read may include Proust, Gide, Sartre, Beauvoir, Sarraute, Leiris, Yourcenar, Bigras, Laye, Leduc, and Roy.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 447 - The French Novel in the Romantic Period
This course focuses on the novel in the first half of the 19th century. The texts selected for discussion, as well as the visual materials used in the course, are centered on the representation of the hero in crisis in post-revolutionary France. The course examines critically such issues as le mal du siecle, changing conceptions of the self and gender relations in the wake of the French Revolution, social ambition and the desire to succeed, and the impact of the city on the individual. Works by such authors as Chateaubriand, Mme de Duras, Hugo, Sand, Constant, Stendhal, and Balzac are studied in the context of the dominant literary mode of Romanticism and the changing political and social scene under the Restoration and the July Monarchy.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This seminar focuses on the novel in the second half of the 19th century. Works by such authors as Dumas fils, Flaubert, Maupassant, Daudet, and Zola are studied in the context of the literary modes of realism and naturalism, and their reaction against Romanticism. The texts selected for discussion, as well as the visual materials used in the course, are usually centered on the representation of women, changing definitions of femininity and masculinity, and leading social and ideological issues of the time.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This seminar examines some of the most important novels and plays of the first half of the 20th century, until World War II. Authors read generally include Gide, Proust, Breton, Malraux, and Giraudoux. The following questions are discussed: How did these writers see their role in the rapidly changing social and political climate of the period? How did they transform the two dominant literary modes of the end of the 19th century (naturalism and symbolism) to express more modern concerns? How is one to understand the emergence of an introspective hero who so often searches for his or her identity on the margins of society?
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This seminar examines how questions of identity, agency, intersectionality, and individual and collective responsibility inform major works of French literature of the late 20th and 21st centuries, and how literature can be used to make sense of them. Authors may include de Beauvoir, Duras, Sarraute, Djebar, Bey, and Cixous.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This seminar examines the literature written in French by Maghrebi and Beur women authors since the early 1980s. The product of a colonial and post-colonial history, this is a literature where cultures, histories, identities, genres, and languages intersect. It gives voice to new questions of identity and self-definition through the exploration of traditional as well as innovative forms of writing. In order to establish the historical and cultural contexts in which this body of literature has emerged and is growing, the course includes an overview of the history of Franco-Maghrebi relations and Maghrebi immigration to France. Through the reading of texts by Maghrebi and Beur authors, this course explores and discusses issues such as imperialism and colonialism, post-colonialism, cultural translocation, identity politics, gender and race, religion, multilingualism, sexuality, urban development and design, etc.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 469 - Topics in French Literature (Study Group)
This course is taught at the University of Burgundy as part of the Dijon Study Group.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This seminar, offered on an irregular basis, provides the opportunity for extensive study of the works of the most distinguished authors writing in the French language. It is taught by faculty members who have particular interest and expertise in the literature to be examined. This is a category 1 course.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This seminar provides the opportunity for extensive study of the works of the most distinguished authors writing in the French language. It is taught by faculty members who have particular interest and expertise in the literature to be examined. This is a Category II course.
Credits: 1.00 When Offered: On an irregular basis
Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
FREN 485 - Words into Paintings: Paintings into Words
The course focuses on the way in which painters often paint subjects taken from literature and on the way writers, particularly poets, are fascinated by images from the visual arts. Students will explore the interrelated topics of “poets on painting and paintings on poetry” and on the transposition of paintings into words and words into paintings. The course concentrates on such painters as Poussin, Chardin, Delacroix, Manet, Gauguin and Van Gogh and on a number of writers whose work focuses very specifically on painters and paintings - Diderot, Baudelaire, Yves Bonnefoy, among others.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two 350-level French literature courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Students pursuing honors in French enroll in this course.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.
Credits: variable Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
GEOG 111 - Global Shift: Economy, Society, and Geography
We are living in a time of genuinely global change. People throughout the world are increasingly affected by common developments such as the introduction of new technologies, increasing economic competition, climate change, rapid urbanization, shifting gender roles, political violence, environmental degradation, international migration, and the persistence of hunger and disease. Yet, global change is not a uniform process; certain aspects of global change can have very different consequences for people living in different settings. This course uses the perspective of human geography to understand the increasingly globalized world of the early 21st century. Students will identify and examine various dimensions of change in human wellbeing by exploring critical demographic, social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental trends. To comprehend the implications of these global shifts, students will examine the dynamics of the processes influencing them and consider the key issues raised by them. This will necessitate taking a close look at how change is occurring not only at the global scale but also in particular regional and local settings, ranging from North America to Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
The spatial scale, magnitude, and pace of human-induced environmental changes over the past 300 years are unprecedented. It is essential to undertake reasoned assessments of the complex and interrelated political, socioeconomic, technological, cultural, and biophysical factors leading to environmental changes if society is to manage them appropriately. This course is an introduction to the major environmental problems of resource depletion, pollution, and ecosystem transformation. It explores the effects of environmental changes on society, as well as societal responses to them, and enhances understanding of the causes of these changes from multiple theoretical perspectives.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
Provide students with a general understanding of the processes and spatial distribution of the Earth’s primary physical systems and the ways in which humans interact with these systems. Course emphasis is divided into three areas: atmospheric processes, the spatial dynamics of vegetation and soils, and landform development. Students are introduced to the basic physical processes and interactions that operate within each of these categories, with special focus on the ways in which these factors relate to contemporary environmental problems.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
Human-induced climate change–global warming–is the defining environmental and social issue of our times. That people are dramatically altering the climate is now the resounding consensus in the scientific community. Potential short- and long-term impacts include biodiversity loss, sea-level rise and coastal flooding, more intense storms, threats to human health, and disruptions of freshwater supplies and food security. But while the global community increasingly understands the basic processes driving climate change, and is starting to appreciate the consequences of a warmer world, the coupled social and biophysical dynamics of global warming are complex and the issue remains controversial. This course explores climate-society relationships in industrial and pre-industrial periods, and considers the multifaceted natural and human dimensions of global warming. It also highlights the integrative natural and social science modes of analysis commonly used in the discipline of geography.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
“End of the world” scenarios have been linked to global pandemics, super-volcanoes, artificial intelligence, and melting permafrost. “Is the Planet Doomed” uses these and other examples to study contemporary catastrophism. The course explores arguments that suggest the world may have reached “peak humanity.” Potential mass extinction events arise from the convergence of biological, climatic, economic, technological factors on one hand, and war on the other. The course analyzes these factors using the integrative modes of analysis commonly used in the discipline of geography. And it exposes how geography affects the catastrophic imaginary.
Credits: 1.00 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
This course focuses on the theory, function, and application of geographic information systems (GIS). The analytical powers of GIS are rooted in its ability to manage large volumes of geographically referenced data representing both physical and social characteristics. As such, GIS has become an important analytical approach in most subfields of geography. This course begins with an examination of basic mapping concepts, geographic data issues, symbolism, and generalization. Course emphasis then shifts to issues in GIS data structure, collection, and input. Once a solid understanding of these GIS foundation issues is achieved, course attention turns to the analytical powers and applications of GIS. These topics are reinforced by a series of exercises dealing with local geographic data. The course makes use of the ArcGIS geographic information system and involves map digitization, geographic data collection (using global positioning systems, satellite imagery, and aerial photography), database management, and spatial analysis.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite:GEOG 245L Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
Credits: 0.25 Corequisite:GEOG 245 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
GEOG 248 - Quantitative Analysis of Geographic Data
Introduces students to the nature of quantitative research in geography and the spatial sciences through the statistical analysis of social, environmental, and spatial data. This research methods course is thus unique within the department in illustrating the analytic commonalities between human and environmental geography. Students develop a critical perspective on issues of measurement of empirical data collected or available to geographers. Students consider the implications for validity and reliability in measurement of social and environmental geographic concepts using quantitative methods of measurement and data collection. Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to data collection and sampling of social, environmental, and spatial data are demonstrated. Students actively engage in the statistical analysis of geographic data to both describe frequency distributions of social, physical, and spatial characteristics, and to explain patterns of variation in outcome variable using statistical modeling. Students are challenged to undertake hypothesis testing and multivariate statistical analysis as well as to effective communicate the results of statistical analyses to readers of all subdisciplines of geography.
Credits: 0.50 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Restrictions: Students who have completed MATH 102/CORE 143S or BIOL 220 need instructor permission Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
This course acquaints students with key principles and practices of original scholarly research. It first emphasizes the key role in research of a clearly formulated question, one that is significant and workable and is grounded in a conceptual framework drawn from the existing literature. It then focuses on the techniques and rationale of a particular method of research, which will vary from semester to semester. Examples of possible foci include statistical analysis, interviews, community-based and participatory research, content analysis, or the interpretation of historical primary sources. In close consultation with the instructor, students will design, carry out, and report on a research project employing that method to answer a question of their own design.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
Mass media is a key set of institutions in modernity that shape our perceptions of the world, with important impacts on what we take to be reality. The media “frames” that structure how media is produced, conveyed, and consumed form the discourses that we use to understand mass politics and culture in our daily lives. This course provides students with the methodological tools to empirically study media frames through content analysis. Content analysis takes the stuff of media, such as music lyrics, news stories, or advertisements, and systematically analyzes the content for the explicit and implicit frames that represent the issues and perspectives conveyed through media. The course provides students hands-on training in content analysis through a series of workshops on content sampling, collection, coding, and analysis that culminate in a final research project. This course meets for the first 7 weeks of the term and may be used to satisfy the 0.50-credit methods requirement for the sociology major.
Credits: 0.50 Crosslisted:SOCI 251 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Geography, Sociology, Environmental Geography Majors and Minors Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Introduces students to the nature of qualitative social science research using interviews. Interviews are a flexible method of in-person data collection that include a range of structures (from structured surveys to open-ended questions), with varying group sizes (from one to a large focus group), and using multiple methods of eliciting responses (verbal questions, oral history, photo-elicitation, etc.). Students develop a critical perspective on different epistemological approaches to research and analysis within the contemporary social sciences, including issues of generalizability and the validity and reliability of qualitative methods. A series of hands-on original research projects provides students with the skills of interview protocol design, sampling for interview projects, interview facilitation, data management and analysis, and professional communication of research results.
Credits: 0.50 Crosslisted:SOCI 253 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Geography, Sociology, Environmental Geography Majors Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.
Credits: variable Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
Examines the violent networks of the illicit global economy: from guns and drugs smuggling, to human trafficking and animal poaching among others. Drawing from multiple scholarly traditions, it compares the concrete geographical organization of these illicit networks - that is, where and how they become grounded - and asks the following questions: What are the relationships of these illegal activities to legal circuits of power and profit? In what ways are transnational criminal networks redefining the nature of contemporary violence and the meaning of peace?
Credits: 1.00 Crosslisted:PCON 304 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
Focuses on episodes in modern history when events in the Middle East have had geopolitical consequences. Students examine how things happening “over there” have repercussions (or generate concerns about repercussions) in the international system of states as a whole. In order to pay close attention to the systemic effects of events in the Middle East, case studies privilege the moments in between major wars that shook the region. Of necessity, the course focuses extensively on the period known as “The Cold War.” Analyses are organized around the careers of three fluids: oil, water, and blood. The first two are quite “dear” in the Middle East and have organized entire political economies. The evidence would suggest that the third has not been considered as precious, particularly by the great powers and would-be hegemons of the modern era.
Credits: 1.00 Crosslisted:MIST 305 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
Achieving some degree of happiness is a primary goal for most people. Certainly, a huge industry has emerged in recent years to feed the public’s desire for ways to improve their happiness. There is also a rapidly growing amount of research on the subject. This course starts with an overview of the diverse, multidisciplinary scholarship on factors that may contribute to happiness. But the main goal of the course is to consider themes central to the discipline of geography: how do environmental changes, efforts to achieve sustainable development, and culture affect the geography of happiness? Do people achieve a greater sense of well-being when interacting with wilderness or by exploring nature in their backyards? Does environmental stewardship improve happiness? What roles do attitudes about food and leisure play in how happy people are? Students explore these questions via out-of-class excursions, films, diverse mix of scholarly and popular press readings, guest speakers, and individual research projects.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None