First Year Course Descriptions
(
= students in the class will live near each other and, in most cases, will have a roommate who is also in this class)
NEW! - THREE new courses added to accomodate larger incoming class.
EDUC 194, HIST 100, & THDA 120-02 - Check them out.
The courses are in alphabetical order, click on the letter of the department or program below for course detail.
AMST 103-01 
The Problem of Race in U.S. Social Thought and Policy
Karin Aguilar San Juan, American Studies Department
In this discussion-based and residential course, we will explore the hypothesis that 21st century racism has morphed from simple and evil formulations of bigotry and exploitation into more nefarious and decentralized systems of cultural camouflage, spatial demarcation, physical surveillance, and ideological control.
Our interdisciplinary and integrative approach will employ multiple methods of inquiry and expression, including: self-reflective essays and maps; a scavenger hunt in the Twin Cities; library research; and deep, critical analysis of arguments about race/ethnicity/assimilation/multiculturalism.
We will hone writing and speaking skills through highly structured assignments paired with open-ended conversations in order to discover the questions that truly matter to us. The semester will culminate with a short college-level paper directed toward the Clint Eastwood film, “Gran Torino.”
Class meets T TH, 9:40-11:10 am, in Humanities 112.
Living arrangements: Co-ed floor.
ANTH 194-01 Evolutionary Anthropology: Facts, Fantasies and Frauds
Scott Legge, Anthropology Department
Evolutionary anthropology is not a topic that generally comes to mind when one thinks about the greatest mysteries or debates in science. However, it could be argued that many themes of evolutionary anthropology are far more widespread than the more common scientific questions like “How did the universe form?” or “Can the laws of physics be unified?” For example, the concept of a hairy upright walking humanlike ape can be found in human cultures spanning the globe from the Pacific Northwest in North America to the Tibetan Plateau. Nothing grabs international media headlines like a Bigfoot sighting.
The history of debated discoveries in evolutionary anthropology goes back many years, and this class will examine some of the most widespread and contentious of them, as well as some of the more obscure. Topics to be covered include:
Major fraud and the dawn of evolutionary anthropology.
Discussion will center on the early 20th century finds from the UK and the debate around their importance to the scientific community.
Text – “Unraveling Piltdown: The Science Fraud of the Century and Its Solution” by John Evangelist Walsh.
The placement of evolutionary theory in the mainstream consciousness.
The role of scientific evidence and the scientific method itself will be examined from the standpoint of the debate between evolution and religion in US society. In discussing this topic we will read and discuss the book “Summer for the Gods” by Edward J. Larson.
Recent finds contributing to both the science and the hype.
New discoveries of skeletal remains of a small species of human on the island of Flores in Indonesia as well as more complete fossil skeletons than ever before from Africa from between 1.9 and 3.5 million years ago will contribute to this topic. Students will explore the recent published literature in the primary scholarly journals including: Nature, Science, Journal of Human Evolution, American Journal of Physical Anthropology and others.
The “Bigfoot” phenomenon.
Drawing upon our discussions in the previous sections we will explore the various reports from around the world of tall hairy bipedal apes. Students will have a chance to debate the evidence available and discuss what there is to be learned from the continuing search for this elusive “creature”.
Class structure: Three class hours per week. Each section or topic area will begin with a lecture to familiarize students with the major debates in the topic area. The remainder of the section will be seminar based with discussions of the readings through each topic.
Assignments: There will be a series of bi-weekly short essays relating to the discussion topics throughout the semester (6 total).
Student participation in discussions.
Final exam.
Class meets T TH, 1:20-2:50 pm, in Carnegie 06B.
ANTHROPOLOGY 285-01 World Ethnography
Sonia Patten, Anthropology Department
This course focuses on ethnography, the cornerstone of cultural anthropology. Through critical reading, discussion, films, and guest presentations, we will explore the world of the working anthropologist—how we conduct research and how we write about our findings. The class will be conducted as a seminar, with students taking responsibility for active discussion of course content. To aid us in our discussions, each student will complete brief written critical responses to assigned ethnographies and ethnographic films. Two short papers (one the product of a group project) and one longer paper (10-12 pages) focused on the student’s particular interest in ethnography will be required.
To make sure that we all have a common grounding in the most important historical roots and conceptual issues in ethnography, we will begin the course by reading Shane, The Lone Ethnographer by Sally Campbell Galman. This is an adventure story that is also powerfully instructive—and anthropologists do love to learn about people through the stories they tell!
Next we will read Culture Sketches, Case Studies in Anthropology by Holly Peters-Golden. This book will introduce us to fifteen different cultures coming from every part of the globe. Each has distinctive cultural patterns and practices; each has faced challenges of an encroaching world, with differing results. The book will provide us with a common knowledge base in cultural institutions and world views. At this point in the course we will focus our reading on selected ethnographies in their entirety. We will come to understand a great deal about the life and culture of a Ju/’hoansi woman living in the Kalahari desert of Botswana; about Andean miners; about drug dealers in East Harlem; and about Melanesian island dwellers. By the end of the course we will understand the power and challenges of the ethnographic project.
Class meets MWF, 1:10-2:10 pm, in Carnegie 05.
ART 367-01 
3D Design
Stan Sears, Art Department
Every physical object made by human hands is a work of three-dimensional design, intentional or not. Natural objects can be examined and described in terms of three-dimensional design. Most three dimensional design is essentially invisible to us, because we are surrounded by it every day, in every aspect of our lives. We do not think much about the design of our surroundings unless something seems wrong or out of place: a tree fallen in the road, a chair with too high a seat, a fork with tines too narrow, an ugly figurine on your friend's coffee table, or a barren public plaza.
Conversely, successful three-dimensional design may make us feel good without our recognizing why we feel that way: a comfortable chair with a reading lamp, an interesting garden, a lively neighborhood street, your favorite sweater, a 1965 Mustang.
This course involves problem-solving, structure-building, and the manipulation of form, materials, and ideas in three dimensions. As in spoken, written, or musical communication, a vocabulary specific to the discipline can be identified, and its basic elements described: in this case, elements of a visual language. By learning to recognize the basic elements of the language of three-dimensional design, we sharpen our ability to truly see our surroundings and can begin to articulate our own ideas three-dimensionally.
Class meets T TH, 8:00-11:10 am, in Art 135
Living Arrangement: Co-ed floor.
ASIA 194-01/WGSS 194-01 Goddesses and Ghosts: Images of Women in Chinese Culture and Literature
Xin Yang, Asian Languages and Cultures Department
Much like the vampire and mythical goddess in American and European novels, female ghost and goddess are also sources of fascination in Chinese culture. This course uses the trope of goddess and ghosts to unravel the gender politics in Chinese culture. We examine how ancient and modern literary texts revise and appropriate images of goddess and ghost to reflect changing attitudes towards gender, identity, body, and the female Other.
Some specific topics include: how the literary representation of goddesses and ghosts intersects with Confucian ideology and its social structure; how the term goddess had been appropriated by male modern reformists for their utopian desire for modernity; how the contemporary obsession with ghost fiction/film is related to Taoist concepts and everyday anxiety; and how women writers intervene within the constraints of the political and social contexts and are therefore imaged as the paranoid in a paternal framework.
We will take an interdisciplinary, multimedia approach to gender relations in modern fiction, film, memoir, and other cultural genres. Students will learn the continuation and variation of Chinese tradition in contemporary contexts as well as its intersection with modern ideologies, and develop critical views from gendered perspective.
The course is organized thematically and moves chronologically. No prior knowledge of China and Chinese is needed.
Class meets MWF, 10:50-11:50 am, in Olin-Rice 370.
BIOL 285-02/ENVI 285-01/L2 Ecology
Mark Davis, Biology Department
The subject of this course is the natural world and the current and past processes that have shaped it. Major ecological and evolutionary patterns are described and proposed underlying mechanisms are investigated through field and laboratory studies. The impact of humans on natural systems is also examined. The course is guided by a strong evolutionary approach and an emphasis on systems behavior, such as feedback mechanisms, threshold responses, and alternative stable states. Assigned readings will include articles from scientific journals as well as chapters from a textbook. Students will gain experience in writing scientific papers and presenting their conclusions orally. Students will be evaluated on their write-ups of two major field studies, their performance on three exams, and their participation in class discussions. Three hours lecture and one three-hour lab each week.
Class meets MWF, 10:50-11:50 am, in Olin-Rice 284.
Lab meets T, 1:20-4:30 pm, in Olin-Rice 284
BIOL 116-01/L1 Introduction to Community and Global Health: Biological Paradigms
Devavani Chatterjea, Biology Department
The study of community and global public health takes us to the intersection of biology and geography – from population health issues in local communities to transnational health problems and solutions in the era of globalization
Students in this course will learn how to analyze case studies in community and global health from multiple perspectives. Together we will dissect current and emerging infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, avian influenza, and multiple drug-resistant bacterial disease and chronic inflammatory conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity in terms of their biological underpinnings and how the patterns of disease are shaped by socio-political factors and cultural practices.
We will explore, through discussion of scientific papers, news articles, novels, memoirs, investigative reports, and films, the complex interplay of biology and society underlying health and the many ways that global communities work to achieve what many consider a fundamental human right – basic health.
Regular guest speakers from Twin Cities’ community health organizations as well as a hands-on community project will bring our focus to local health action in the areas of immigrant healthcare, HIV/AIDS activism, health-related design and engineering, and sexual health education. This course will also introduce first year students to the interdisciplinary Program in Community and Global Health at Macalester College.
Class meets MWF, 9:40-10:40 am, in Olin-Rice 270. Lab meets T, 9:40-11:10 am in Olin-Rice 270.
Living Arrangement: Co-ed floor.
Ronald Brisbois, Chemistry Department
From the Sherlock Holmes stories before radio to the serial radio broadcasts of mysteries and whodunits during the mid-twentieth century to the current popularity of television’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, society has demonstrated an abiding interest—regardless of the technological mode of delivery—in the entertainment value associated with the application of systematic, scientific, analytical thinking in the course of criminal investigation. Many high-profile cases from real life have captured public attention as newspaper columnists and radio and television pundits report and pontificate on such cases, especially the physical evidence. The Lindberg kidnapping and the O. J. Simpson trial created stunning examples of public theatre driven by a widespread desire in people to know the facts and try the case in their own minds. Whether in an entertaining work of fiction or through an untidy twist of everyday life, forensic science serves as the fulcrum upon which collection and analysis of physical evidence lead ultimately to testimony in a courtroom. Of course, in contemporary terms the word physical is essentially a euphemism for chemical or molecular. Paradoxically, the public fascination with forensic science stands largely in opposition to the public distrust and fear of all things chemical. In this course we will work towards developing thorough, molecular level understanding of some foundations of modern forensic science. In appropriate measure and as a function of scheduling, readings, problem sets, case studies, hands-on analytical analyses, guest lecture visits, and field trips may be used to guide our study of modern forensic science. This course requires that you practice your written communication skills, and, in that regard, the quite useful easy writer, A Pocket Reference, 3rd edition by Andrea A. Lunford will inform and support your writing mechanics.
Class meets MWF, 10:50-11:50 am, in Olin-Rice 300.
COMP 123-01 Core Concepts in Computer Science
Susan Fox, Mathematics & Computer Science Department
At its core, Computer Science is about information and process. Information becomes data that a computer can manipulate; a process describes in a standard way the steps to solve a given problem. The computer and the Internet have transformed our lives by allowing us to store and manipulate data in unprecedented ways, and by automating incredibly complex processes. This course will introduce you to computer science, including central concepts of the field such as design and implementation of algorithms and programs, testing and analyzing programs, and the representation of information within the computer. Our exploration of these central ideas will be organized around two major topics: multimedia processing and robotics. We will explore techniques for manipulating images, sound, and text, with the goal of peeking “under the hood” to see how things work. We will also use autonomous robots as a tool to learn basic programming skills, and to study issues with real-time systems, and manipulating real-world data. We will use the popular Python programming language and a number of supporting software systems. An important theme of this course is the question of design and creativity within computer science. There are standard methodologies for designing software for the computer, but there is also a great deal of imagination and creativity required. We will study software design, and will compare it to design in other contexts, from engineering to artistic endeavors. You will have a series of informal and formal writing assignments around the themes of design and creativity.
This course is held in a computer classroom and involves daily hands-on activities. Course work will include in class and out of class programming assignments, reading and writing assignments, and in-class quizzes every other week. At the end of the semester students will complete a significant project designing and implementing a computer program, and will complete a cumulative final exam.
This course has no prerequisites, and does not require any prior experience with computers or computer science, though it is certainly open to students with experience. If you are considering a major or minor in Computer Science, Mathematics, or Applied Math and Statistics, and you do not qualify to begin our curriculum in Comp 124, this would be an excellent course for you. It is also perfectly suitable for students who just want to explore a little bit of computer science and learn the fundamentals of programming. Contact me or the Math/CS department if you are unsure whether this is the course for you.
Information about required textbooks and software systems is available on the course web page: (www.macalester.edu/~fox/comp123). Several textbooks must be purchased in printed form, others are available in free, online editions. All software packages are available for free on the Web.
Class meets MWF, 1:10-2:10 pm, in Olin-Rice 256.
ECON 119-05 
Principles of Economics
Amy Damon, Economics Department
This course is an introduction to economic concepts and basic economic theory. The course is split between the study of microeconomics, which focuses on the decision making of individual consumers and firms and macroeconomics with focuses on aggregate level economic questions such as interest rates and government spending, among others. In this course we will develop economic tools to analyze and evaluate public policies, poverty and welfare questions, environmental policy questions, and other applied topics. This course will be primarily lecture and discussion based. Grades will be assigned based on nine problem sets, two midterms and a final, several writing assignments, and bi-weekly quizzes. Students are expected to have read the textbook chapters covered in class before coming to class.
Class meets T TH, 1:20-2:50 pm, in Olin-Rice 170.
Living arrangement: Co-ed floor.
EDUC 194 Motivating Learners: Theory into Practice
Tina Kruse, Department of Educational Studies
This course explores the critical yet complex area of educational psychology that addresses human motivation: What motivates us to learn, to change, and grow? Why do some students give up while others prosper in response to specific circumstances or environments? What can teachers, mentors, and students themselves do to support and sustain active engagement in learning?
We will study the overarching psychological theories of human motivation with specific attention academic achievement. We will examine developmental and individual differences in motivation, as well as differences by context and group membership. Other topics include attribution theory, student self-beliefs, effects of grades and testing on achievement motivation, effects of reward or praise, and student empowerment in schools and community-based youth development programs to enhance motivation.
Primary course goals:
- To support an evolving understanding of each student’s personal motivation, including reflection on individual experiences and learning orientations.
- To explore the theoretical applications in classroom and community-based educational settings. In addition to in-class learning, this goal will be accomplished through site visits within the community to observe theories in practice.
- To consider the implications of motivation theories for educational policy in the US, including a student-driven analysis of current regulations.
- To develop both a deep understanding of the psychological foundations of education in the area of human motivation, as well as a clearer view of oneself as a learner and ways to continue improving one’s own abilities as a student.
This course is taught in multiple formats; primarily a balance of lecture and student discussion. Requirements include weekly readings, class attendance and participation, writing assignments, midterm and final examinations, a research project, and group site-observation presentation. Completion of this course satisfies requirements for the major or minor in Educational Studies and the distribution requirement in the Social Sciences.
Class meets: Tu/Th 1:20-2:50 Humanities 215
ENGL 150-03 Introduction to Creative Writing
Marlon James, English Department
What does it mean to write like a storyteller? To read like a writer?
In Intro to Creative Writing we’ll answer both. To become a better writer, you must learn how to objectively analyze and critique a wide range of texts in your genre (including the text you’ll write yourself). In your literature classes you will be concerned with what things mean. In this class you’ll ask a different question: How does it work? And what do EM Forster, Jane Austen, Nabokov, Zadie Smith, Elmore Leonard and Stephen King have to say about it?
But the course is ultimately about your own writing. Intro to Creative Writing will be an introduction to the writer inside you, a person that you might be meeting for the first time. It's about the joys and challenges of expression and learning about your abilities and yourself. It's an introduction to the art of fiction, and non-fiction in all their shapes and forms, and the craft of critiquing your work and the work of your peers. The course will be run in both lecture and workshop format; lectures for the basic elements of fiction and non-fiction, and workshops where your own work will be explored and discussed.
In addition we will be exploring in depth effective works of fiction and non-fiction: old classics and young up and comers—shorts stories, prose poems and novel excerpts to see just how great writing works.
Class meets T TH, 1:20-2:50 pm, in Olin-Rice 270.
ENGL 110-01 Introduction to African American Literature
Daylanne English, English Department
This course provides an introduction to major authors and significant periods in African American literature. It will also provide an introduction to methods of literary study and analysis. We will read closely and appreciatively texts representing a wide range of genres and writers, including poetry, slave narratives, essays, short stories, novels, and plays by authors such as Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, Amiri Baraka, Toni Morrison, Essex Hemphill, and Suzan-Lori Parks. We will also study cultural and political movements such as the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 70s. Requirements will include weekly written reading responses, three papers, an in-class presentation, and participation in discussion.
Class meets T TH, 9:40-11:10 am, in Olin-Rice 370.
ENVI 194-03/GEOL 194-02 
Water Science and Policy
Roopali Phadke, Environmental Studies Department & Kelly MacGregor, Geology Department
Many scientists and political leaders argue that the world is in desperate need of a “blue revolution” to provide safe, clean and accessible water for human and ecosystem services. Drawing from the fields of hydrology, political science, geography, and history, this course will introduce students to the basic analytical tools necessary to understand surface and groundwater processes and development. This interdisciplinary course is team taught by two professors affiliated with the Environmental Studies department.
Through a focus on large river basins, we will examine historical and emerging challenges to the sustainable use of water. The course begins with an overview of scientific concepts, water laws and institutions, and development challenges such as flood prevention, hydroelectric energy generation and groundwater contamination. In the second half of the course, we will shift our attention to the application of these concepts to major world river systems, including the Nile, Yangtze and Narmada rivers. Students will choose a domestic or international river system to examine for their final poster and paper project.
Our fieldtrips will introduce students to the “Three Rivers” region of Minnesota. Students will measure water discharge during a fieldtrip to the Sunrise River, a tributary of the St. Croix River. We will discuss the effects of dams and riverfront development on the urban corridors of the Mississippi River. We will also learn about the impacts of industrial agriculture on the Minnesota River. Through lab exercises, homework, and fieldtrips, students will also be introduced to the plethora of government agencies and NGOs that are involved with river related concerns.
This course can be used to fulfill requirements for the Geology and Environmental Studies majors.
Format: This course will meet for 90 minutes twice a week. Fieldtrips may occasionally extend into the lunch hour. Student evaluation will be based on in-class labs, homework/classroom assignments, group presentations, and a 10- page final paper and poster. Students will be expected to complete one summer reading book and prepare a reflective statement before our first class meeting.
There are no required books for this course other than the summer reading text. Our reading selections will include:
- E. C. Pielou. 1998. Fresh Water. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Marq de Villiers. 2000. Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource. Boston:
Mariner Books.
- M. Reisner. 1986. Cadillac Desert. NY: Penguin Books.
- A. Roy. 1999. The Cost of Living. New York: Modern Library.
- A. Shelby. 2003. Red River Rising. Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press.
This course is unique among the first year seminars because it is team taught by a geologist and a political scientist. While both faculty members will be responsible for content, grading and instruction, we will assign students to one advisor based on their interests and background.
Class meets T TH 9:40 -11:10 am, in Olin-Rice 241
Living arrangement: Co-ed floor.
FREN 194-01: Culture and Identity: Children and Youth in Francophone Cinema
Joëlle Vitiello, French and Francophone Studies Department
This course will focus on comparative representations of national, colonial and post-colonial, racial, religious, gender, and sexual identity through a variety of films portraying internal and external conflicts affecting children and youth. Most films are selected from a corpus made of French and Francophone cinema with a few exceptions.
The course is intended to offer an introduction to theoretical concepts that students are likely to encounter in various disciplines during the course of their studies at Macalester. It is also intended to familiarize students with current theoretical vocabulary, writing thoughtful essays, conducting academic research, reading texts and films, analyzing film sequences, and becoming familiar with issues that affect the world we live in, locally and globally.
During the course of the semester, we will watch films such as Chocolat by Claire Denis, Wild Reeds by André Téchiné, West Beirut by Zouad Doueiri, The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun by Djibril Diop Mambety, 400 Blows by François Truffaut, Au-revoir les enfants by Louis Malle, Le Gone du Chaaba by Christophe Ruggia, Daughters of the Dust by Julia Dash, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and Man on the Wharf by Raoul Peck.
Movies will be screened outside of class-time, on Sunday evenings or at a time determined by the class.
Readings include two novels Return to Beirut by Andrée Chedid and Sardines by Nurrudin Farah. The course will also include essays on cinema, on theoretical concepts, and criticism on the material read and seen for the class.
Classwork includes a two-part journal (with specific instructions), several writing assignments (as well as re-writes), including sequence analyses and interpretations, an oral presentation to the class, discussions, written exams and class participation. The class is taught as a small seminar, with a mixture of short information lectures, introduction of materials by students, and class discussions.
Class meets MWF 10:50 -11:50 am, in Humanities 402.
GEOG 111-02 
Human Geography of Global Issues
David Lanegran, Geography Department
Are you curious about the landscapes of the Twin Cities? Do you like to explore new places? Do you want to know why things are located where they are? Ever wonder about where people will live in the near future? Do you like looking at maps?
If you said yes to any of these questions, you should consider taking Human Geography as a First Year Course. Geography will enable you to answer these questions and a whole lot more with its spatial perspective and techniques of map analysis. Human Geography will give you a holistic view of your new surroundings and beyond.
Human Geography is the study of the ways through which all places on earth are interconnected and how the human use of Earth’s surface varies over space. Field trips to places such as St. Anthony Falls immigrant commercial streets and a variety of neighborhoods during the semester, will show how geography can be applied to countless situations. Through taking Human Geography students will learn about the ways people give order to space; the growth and distribution of human population; patterns of settlement and land use, as well as the geography of economic development and modernization. An emphasis on the geography of recreational spaces will allow students in the course to gain a better understanding and knowledge of the Twin Cities they will be able to enjoy their entire Macalester career. Students will compile the knowledge they gain from the field work, class lectures and a variety of assigned readings in papers they will write with the help of their writing assistant. In addition students will be responsible for leading discussions of readings.
Class meets MWF, 9:40-10:40 am, in Carnegie 107
Living arrangement: Co-ed floor.
GEOL 150-02/L3 
Dynamic Earth and Global Change
Karl Wirth, Geology Department
In recent years it has become increasingly important to understand the consequences of human endeavor on the natural environment. Humans are now affecting the environment in an unprecedented way. Major dams affect the distribution of water and sediment; soils are being degraded or lost; groundwater levels are dropping; deserts are expanding; sea level is rising; and our hydrocarbon resources are in short supply. The Dynamic Earth and Global Change course provides a framework for understanding the natural processes of global change and the evolution of the Earth. The origins of mountains, the eruption of volcanoes, and the drifting of continents will be examined in the context of the unifying theory of plate tectonics. River systems, groundwater availability, earthquakes, desert environments, and coastal processes all have profound effects on the human condition and will also be studied.
The objectives of the course are 1) to help students develop a lifelong interest in learning about the Earth, and 2) to provide an introduction to the natural processes that govern the evolution of the Earth and the effects of human activities. The course begins with an overview of the origin of the solar system and other planets. Students then learn to recognize and interpret the significance of important minerals and rocks. This is followed by a detailed examination of the composition, structure, the evolution of the Earth’s interior, and the plate tectonic model. The last portion of the course focuses on surface processes, including the hydrologic cycle, soil formation, stream processes, water resources, coastlines, deserts, and glacial environments.
The course objectives will be accomplished using a variety of formats, including: lecture, readings, laboratory exercises, group projects, field trips, exams, and a final project. In particular, the course will emphasize active and problem-based learning in which students work in groups to solve problems. This approach requires that students are fully engaged and active participants in their learning. Regular attendance in the classroom, laboratory, and field is essential for successful team performance. Emphasis will also be on developing skills of critical thinking, problem posing, data interpretation, map reading, 3D visualization, oral presentation and writing. Field trips will introduce students to important geological concepts and the geology of Minnesota. Students will be assessed on both individual and team performance.
Class meets MWF, 9:40-10:40 am, in Olin-Rice 187. Lab meets TH 8:30-11:10 am in Olin Rice 187.
Living arrangement: Co-ed floor.
GERM 255-01: 
German Cinema Studies: Art/Horror
Linda Schulte-Sasse, German and Russian Studies Department
One often hears horror movies referred to as trash. Does horror necessarily “deserve” this condemnation (or plug)? Why does an occasional horror film like The Silence of the Lambs win respectability or even a best-picture Oscar? What are the criteria by which we determine whether any film or work of art is good, bad, or perhaps not art at all? The course will examine horror films from various periods and places, some of which were repudiated at their release only to be recuperated later as arthouse classics. But all challenge cultural assumptions about art and horror as mutually exclusive categories, and all employ shock, horror, and gore as compelling means of representing social anxieties and historical traumas. Our objective will be to reflect on questions of aesthetic valuation, and to explore the themes, narrative strategies, and audience effects of horror; we will draw on a variety of theoretical approaches like Freud’s notion of the uncanny or Todorov’s of the fantastic. Likely examples will include pre-World War II Germany (Wiene, Murnau, Lang), postwar France (Franju), 1960s England (Michael Powell), 1970s Italy (Dario Argento), depression-era USA (Tod Browning), and contemporary “post-modern” cinema (Romero, Cronenberg, Michael Haneke).
Course prerequisite: guts. First, films like Tod Browning’s Freaks (1932) or Franju’s Les Yeux sans Visage (1960) will disabuse you of any notion that Quentin Tarantino invented grossness. Second, you may find that by seriously engaging film studies, introducing theoretical concepts, and doing what some call “over”-reading, the course will “ruin the fun.” My hope is that the opposite will be the case (and that fun and work are no more mutually exclusive than art and horror).
Student obligations: a series of short papers, oral presentations, and one longer research paper. Two exams and an informal log responding to class readings. Hopefully the Twin Cities will offer some cultural events relevant to our theme that we can visit as a class.
Class meets MWF, 10:50-11:50 am, in Humanities 401, plus film screenings.
Living arrangement: Single-sex floors.
HISP 194-01 Susurros del Pasado: Whispers towards the 21st Century
Galo González, Hispanic Studies Department
For centuries, Indigenous peoples have been fighting to be recognized by states and nation states of the world. In recent years, the rights of Indigenous peoples recaptured the global attention from nations and institutions (i.e.: United Nations) who have been involved in preserving their way of life and their future. Since 1993, the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations has been responsible for developing a universally accepted document entitled “Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
The course “Susurros del Pasado: Whispers toward the 21st Century” will explore the definition of “Indigenous peoples” and its implication within the context of the Americas, and provide a forum for discussion of the suffering, oppression and discrimination experienced by this particular population. The course will also outline continuing struggles for freedom, for cultural and even their physical survival, by examining specific literature and cultural production authored by 20th and 21st century indigenous and non-indigenous authors from North, Central and South America. The chosen literature and cultural texts will illustrate trans-cultural and de-colonization processes, and resistance to assimilation.
The following authors and films will be the source of our readings and class discussion: Sherman Alexie (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, 2007; and The Toughest Indian in the World, 2000), Jose Maria Arguedas (Yawar Fiesta, 1941), Victor Montejo (Testimony: Death of a Guatemalan Village, 1987; and Sculpted Stones, 1995), Rigoberta Menchú (I Rogoberta Menchú. An Indian Woman in Guatemala, 1983), and Subcomandante Marcos (Questions And Swords. Folktales of the Zapatista Revolution, 2001); among the films, “Apocalypto (2007),” “Cabeza de Vaca (1993),” “The Mission (1986),” “A Place Call Chiapas (1998),” and other films. Students will also read and discuss theories proposed by Erica-Irene Daes (United Nations Human Rights Prize 1993), Ronald Niezen, Walter Mignolo, Pamela Wilson, and Michelle Stewart, among others.
Evaluation: The work for this course consists of: extensive readings, research exercises, writing essays, and a combination of lectures, group and individual presentations, and class discussions. Students will be evaluated on the basis of:
1. Class participation/ group presentations 25%
2. Midterm essay examination (take-home) 15%
3. Final term paper and oral presentation (15 minute) 30%
4. Short essays (three 5-page papers) 30%
_____
Total 100%
Students must complete all these criteria to get credit for the course.
Class meets MWF, 12:00 am – 1:00 pm, in Humanities 214.
Hist 100-01 Discovering World History
Ellen Arnold, History Department
We are not the first people to try to understand and change the world we live in. This introductory survey will cover the history of human exploration, from pre-history through the present. By the end of the semester, you will have a better understanding of how and why different groups of people have: 1) explained and explored the world 2) learned how to control and adapt to the natural world, and 3) interacted with other societies, shaping their own world-views in relationship to others. By mapping out the general trajectories of human explorations and cultural contacts, we will look for deeper patterns and processes, and explore how history is the story of both change and continuity.
But history is not only about big patterns: it is also about individual people. We will balance our big scope with learning about individual explorers, including a medieval Islamic traveler who tried to see the entire known world, a young naturalist who tries to ride giant turtles, a nineteenth-century woman trying to deal with life in the Arctic, and a Russian who was the first person to perform a space walk. We’ll read their own accounts of their travels and explorations, and these first-person primary sources will be the basis of written work and discussions of how historians use and analyze evidence. We will also use these accounts to wrestle with the problems of how individuals matter in a global context.
Class meets MWF 8:30-9:30 OM111
HIST 112-01 The Global in the Local: Modern Laughs
Ernesto Capello, History Department
This course investigates the experience of modernity from a humorous perspective. Focusing on the satiric gaze of twentieth-century comedians we will consider the importance of space, place, history and memory and how these factors impact our visceral sense of what's funny. Laughter is an inherently social act conditioned by one’s environment and prejudices and has been theorized as such by Henri Bergson and a wide range of thinkers across cultures. We will consider the local and global resonances of the work of humorists, their commonalities, and the particularities of the experiences and sites that shaped their work. Besides seminal theorists like Bergson, Freud, and Bakhtin, we will be concerned with artists, writers, and performers from a variety of genres including the Marx Brothers, Cantinflas, Alfred Jarry, Monty Python, and native Minnesotan Charles Schultz. We will contemplate the cabarets of Berlin, Chespirito’s vecindad in Mexico City, and St. Paul’s own Fitzgerald Theater, host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” moving forward and backward in time and space in order to sharpen our perception of how time effects comedy. Rubber chickens, Groucho glasses and SNL impressions welcome.
Class meets T TH, 3:00-4:30 pm, in Old Main 003.
HIST 140-01/ ASIA 140-01 
Introduction to East Asian Civilization
Yue-him Tam, History Department
This course introduces the cultures and societies of East Asia from
the earliest times to the present day from an historical perspective.
Primarily an introductory course for beginners, this course considers
a variety of significant themes in religious, political, economic,
social and cultural changes in the region with emphasis on China and
Japan. To a lesser degree, major changes in Korea and Vietnam will
also be examined.
ASSIGNMENTS & ASSESSMENT:
Map Exercise 5%
Attendance & Discussion Participation 20%
Mid-term Exam 15%
2 short papers (5-6 pages each, topics own choice) 40%
Weekly Summaries of Readings (1-2 pages each week) 20%
REQUIRED READINGS:
Required readings are mostly assigned from the following books:
John K. Fairbank, Edwin 0. Reischauer, Albert M. Craig. East Asia:
Tradition and Transformation .(Houghton Mifflin).
Conrad Schirokauer, A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese
Civilizations. (Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich).
Also, the following books are recommended:
Frederick W. Mote. Intellectual Foundations of China. (Alfred A. Knopf).
John Naisbitt. Megatrends Asia: Eight Asian Megatrends That Are
Reshaping our World. (Touchstone).
Other readings will be assigned from other publications and journals,
including daily newspapers such as the New York Times, Japan Times and
China Daily from time to time.
Class meets T TH, 9:40-11:10 am, in Old Main 011.
Living arrangement: Co-ed floor.
HMCS 194-01 
Race/Silent Film: Griffith & Micheaux
Clay Steinman, Humanities and Media and Cultural Studies Department
An introductory, first-year course on raced representation in US silent film, concentrating on a comparison of the productions of D. W. Griffith and Oscar Micheaux, perhaps the leading white and black filmmakers of their time. These films were made and exhibited within separate cinemas shaped by white supremacist institutions, and, most important, with segregated audiences in mind. Comparisons illuminate the way the works reproduce strikingly different discourses of race, gender, and class. Attention will be paid to the distinctive editing styles of the two sets of films, and the way in which such styles, like their cinematography, can be seen as raced. Extensive discussions, readings, and screenings (for which extra time has been included in the schedule). Several essay exams and one short paper required.
Class meets MW, 7:00-10:00 pm in Humanities 401.
Living arrangement: Co-ed floor.
JAPA 194-01/LING 194-01/WGSS 194-01 Language and Gender in Japanese Society
Satoko Suzuki, Asian Languages and Cultures Department
Japanese is considered to be a gendered language in the sense that women and men speak differently from each other. Male characters in Japanese animation often use boku or ore to refer to themselves, while female characters often use watashi or atashi. When translated into Japanese, Hermione Granger (a female character in Harry Potter series) ends sentences with soft-sounding forms, while Harry Potter and his best friend Ron use more assertive forms. Do these fictional representations reflect reality? How do these distinct forms come about? Do speakers of Japanese manipulate their language to express themselves? These are some of the questions discussed in this course. Students will have opportunities to learn historical background of gendered language, discover different methodologies in data collection, find out about current discourse on language and gender, and compare gender expressions in Japanese with those in English. No Japanese language ability is required.
Class meets T TH, 1:20-2:50 pm, in Leonard Center 36.
Living arrangements: Single-sex floors.
MATH 153-01 Data Analysis/Statistics: Statistical Analysis of Sports and Games
Vittorio Addona, Mathematics & Computer Science Department
In this course, we will learn about the core descriptive, probabilistic, and inferential methods used in statistics. These topics will be motivated through games of chance and strategy, and by using real data from a variety of sports. Quantitative analysis of sports data has become a serious research field. Baseball was the first North American sport to be studied by statisticians. The term coined by Bill James for this field, “sabermetrics”, is widely recognized in the statistical community, and many professional sports teams now employ academic statisticians to help them gain an advantage over the competition. The acceptance of sabermetrics (aided by the popularity of books like Moneyball) has led to quantitative research in other sports, as objective decision making continues to replace the haphazard “gut feelings” used in the past.
The plethora of examples that are sports related are not restricted to “traditional” sports data. For example, one might wonder about the NCAA’s compliance with Title IX (a federal law which requires that men and women be provided equal opportunities to participate in athletic programs) since its enactment in 1972. This is just one of many possible topics which would constitute an excellent term project.
As we will see, at the core of this course is a desire to answer questions of interest in impartial and meaningful ways. Of course, ultimately, this is a statistics course and so we will learn about different methods used to analyze data such as hypothesis testing, interval estimation, and regression modeling. But we will not lose sight of the fact that, in statistics, the final analysis is only one aspect of the process used to answer questions. For example, measurement issues are a crucial, but often overlooked, piece of the puzzle: How do we evaluate NCAA compliance?, How do we decide which of two players is better?, How do we assess strategies in a game?.
The class meetings will be a mixture of lectures by the professor, in-class assignments, student presentations, and a few special guest lectures. Many of the in-class assignments will require the free statistical software package, R, but no prior experience with R is necessary. Neither calculus, nor statistics, is a prerequisite for the course, only high school mathematics. What is most important is an interest in discovering statistics, a desire to be engaged in class, and a willingness to be a valuable contributor to class discussions. Your course grade will be based on class participation, assignments, quizzes, a midterm exam, a final exam, and a term project. The term project will allow each student to explore a topic of their own interest. It should be noted that this course fulfills the natural science distribution requirement and the quantitative thinking general education requirement.
The text(s) for this course have not been finalized but will likely include a general introductory statistics book, like Statistics, by McClave and Sincich. Any book(s) will be supplemented by papers, websites, and chapters from other books, all provided by the professor.
Class meets MWF, 10:50-11:50am, in Olin-Rice 245.
MATH 136-01 Discrete Mathematics
Daniel Flath, Mathematics & Computer Science Department
In this course we will explore the world of discrete mathematics. The term “discrete” is as opposed to the continuous mathematics of calculus, where objects blend smoothly into one another. In discrete mathematics, the objects of interest can be arranged, listed, or counted. Examples are Pascal’s triangle, integer sequences, bit strings, sets and subsets, finite graphs, hypercubes (including the tesseract), Fibonacci numbers, prime numbers, trees (of the mathematical variety), permutations, and partitions. Many of these discrete objects play a central role in computer science, and the applications in that field are abundant.
One big branch of discrete mathematics is combinatorics, or the art of counting. In fact you might call this partly a course in counting. We will learn many techniques for listing and counting, especially recursion and induction. We count with integers, so their study, called number theory, is also a big part of discrete mathematics.
Your grade in the course will be based on written problem sets and projects and a few in- class quizzes. Some of the projects will be done in small groups and some will be done individually. The writing comes in several varieties: expository writing, where you describe an interesting mathematical discovery; algorithmic writing, where you describe a procedure for solving a problem; mathematical proof, where you formally argue that a statement is true; even textbook writing, where you motivate, explain, and illustrate a mathematical concept for people wishing to learn the subject.
There are no formal prerequisites, but some mathematical sophistication is necessary, the kind that can be obtained through a solid high school mathematics program. Most important is an interest in exploring, learning, and writing about mathematics.
This course is required for both the math and the computer science major and it fulfills the natural science distribution requirement.
Class meets MWF, 1:10- 2:10 pm, in Olin-Rice 243.
MUSI 194-01 Music and Freedom
Mark Mazullo, Music Department
The concept of freedom both lies at the heart of human rights discourse and provides the spark that ignites any number of musical movements. Intended for students with strong interests in the intersection between the performing arts and the humanities, this course serves as an introduction both to the concept of human rights as it has developed in Western societies since the late 18th century, and to the history of music in the cultures that have fostered such ideals. It intends to introduce students to the study of music (and, by association, the arts in general) from social, cultural, and critical perspectives, using the framework of human rights as a common theme. It also aims to contextualize the discourse of human rights within the history of arts and ideas, providing students with a sense of the term’s changing meanings and emphases over time and across space. We will explore traditions in both Western art music (from the late eighteenth through the twentieth centuries) and twentieth-century popular music (from the mid-1940s to the present) in a search for the ways in which music has served socio-political ideologies – overtly through the aims of its composers, and unintentionally through the conditions of its reception. Individual units will focus on such topics as opera in the late 18th and early 19th centuries (Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Beethoven’s Fidelio), musical nationalism in 19th-century Europe, music in the American Civil Rights movement, human rights and “social deviance” in 20th-century opera (Alban Berg’s Wozzeck and Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes), the challenges of musical critique and protest under totalitarianism (Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, “Babi Yar”), representations of freedom in 20th-century piano music (Frederic Rzewski and John Cage), and responses to terrorism in popular music (Bjork, Wilco). A final unit will involve individual oral presentations, with students devising their own topics on the intersection of music and human rights in contemporary musical contexts of their choosing.
No prior background in music is required for the course, although it is assumed that any student taking this course will have a true interest in a variety of musical traditions, including not only familiar popular styles, but opera, symphonic music, and abstract piano music as well. I take “freedom” to signify a number of ideals, which span real-political and abstract-aesthetic realms. Music can represent, convey, and “mean” freedom in infinite ways, in other words, and it is the intention of this course to expose students to this diversity, opening more questions about music’s relationship to human rights than providing answers.
Class meets MWF, 10:50 – 11:50 am, in Music 202.
PHIL 115-01 Problems of Philosophy
Geoffrey Gorham, Philosophy Department
The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates is said to have declared “the unexamined life is not worth living." This course examines the fundamental puzzles of human life using historic texts and modern films. Some of the problems that will concern us are:
What is the relation between experience and reality?
What is the difference between opinion and knowledge?
What is the relation between reason and faith?
What is the relation between the mind and the body?
Are humans free?
What is the self?
What is time? Is time travel possible?
What is the ultimate meaning of life?
What is morality? Why should I be moral?
What is the best or happiest life?
Along with reading classic philosophical texts by philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant and Nietzsche, we will also view a number of films that address philosophical problems, such as Rashomon, Seventh Seal, the Matrix, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and so on. Although film is a very recent human invention (compared with philosophy) it seems to be an excellent medium for philosophical reflection. So we will investigate certain philosophical puzzles about the nature of film itself: Why do films engage us so deeply? Why do we enjoy terrifying films? What is the nature of time and space in film?
Most class meetings will consist of brief lectures followed by general discussion of the readings and films. Coursework will consist mainly of short papers, reviews and commentaries.
Class meets MWF, 9:40-10:40 am, in Old Main 002.
PHYS 194-01 Cosmology: From the Big Bang to Galaxies, Stars and Planets
John Cannon, Physics and Astronomy Department
This first-year course is designed to provide a sweeping overview of the origins, evolution and fate of our universe. Beginning with the Big Bang, the cosmos underwent a remarkable series of transformations that produced “normal” and “dark” matter. Some of this matter subsequently formed into galaxies, stars, and each of us. However, matter is only a small part of the story: “dark energy” has been lurking in the background. We have recently learned that our universe is not only expanding, but is actually accelerating as a result of this mysterious component.
To understand these remarkable changes and properties, this course will begin with an overview of the properties of nearby astronomical bodies (e.g., stars and galaxies) and the methods that we use to learn about them. We will then discuss the Big Bang model in detail, using it to discern the characteristics of the universe when it was very young. We will conclude by extending these models forward in time with an emphasis on the ultimate fate of the universe.
This course is ideal for students who are intrigued by astronomy or by the nature of the universe. The material is most accurately described mathematically; previous or concurrent experience with calculus is preferred but not required. Credit will be assigned that is equivalent to PHYS 113.
Class meets MWF, 9:40 – 10:40 am, in Olin-Rice 404.
POLI 265-01 Work, Wealth and Well-Being
David Blaney, Political Science Department
Wealth has held an allure for many modern thinkers. The creation of a wealthy society is often associated with “civilization” and human “refinement” or “progress” and this issue has been central to the thinking of political economists since the 18th century at least. How does work create wealth for the individual and for society? How, or when, does individual and social wealth translate into individual and/or social well-being? And, how does the character of work affect individual well-being or happiness? We will examine the answers given to these questions by major writers within the political economy tradition.
Part I of the course will examine the foundations of political economy as those are expressed in the work of Adam Smith. We will read excerpts from Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments so that we can place his political economic theories in the context of his broader social and ethical thought. We will then read The Wealth of Nations in some depth, focusing especially on those sections that examine the relationship of work and wealth in society as a whole and how wealth is acquired by individuals.
Part II of the course will focus on work and well-being. We will begin with the critical reading of the labor process in capitalist production found in Karl Marx’s work, especially the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 and several selections from Volume 1 of Capital. Marx’s theories have spawned a vast literature examining in great detail the (changing) character of work in various sectors and various time-periods. Richard Edwards’ Contested Terrain provides the essential conceptual and historical backdrop for understanding the changes that have taken place in the later twentieth century and continue to characterize work of various kinds in the twenty-first century. A series of case studies of different sorts of work in different locales will allow us to assess Marx’s claims about work and well-being under capitalism and compare them to predictions about work and well-being we might draw from Smith.
Part III of the course will focus more directly on wealth, consumption, and happiness. The first few chapters of W. Stanley Jevons’s The Theory of Political Economy (where he outlines the utilitarian assumptions that guide much of contemporary economic thinking) will launch our discussions of this topic. We will then read selected contemporary authors—political scientists, economists, anthropologists, and cultural theorists—who explore the nature of consumption and the state of happiness and well-being in a capitalist consumer society.
Throughout the course, we will consider the implications of our reading for our lives as producers and consumers.
Course assignments will include (1) short, weekly essays in response to the readings; (2) three longer essays (max. 5 pages), responding to the readings for each of the three sections of the course [You will revise the first essay as one of the key assignments for the course]; and (3) a research exercise on the theme of work and well-being.
Class meets MWF, 10:50-11:50 am, in Carnegie 204.
PSYC 194-01 
Psychology in the Cinema
Eric Wiertelak, Psychology Department
This course focuses on the presence and utilization of psychology, psychologists and psychological principles as plot mechanisms in feature length films, specifically in the form of portrayals of psychologists, demonstrations of psychological principles, and depictions of psychological phenomena. The examination of the fanciful, exploitative and/or veridical nature of such portrayals, demonstrations and depictions in film will be a major organizing theme of this discussion and media based course.
Class meets MWF, 9:40- 10:40 am, in Olin-Rice 301.
Living arrangement: Co-ed floor.
RUSS 194-01 
Things Don’t Like Me
Julia Chadaga, Russian Studies Department
The hapless hero of Yuri Olesha’s novel Envy laments: “Things don’t like me. Furniture purposely sticks out its legs for me. A polished corner once literally bit me. My blanket and I have always had a complicated relationship...” Olesha was writing in the turbulent decades after the Russian revolution, when the Bolsheviks, who had just come to power, sought to abolish religion in favor of a materialist approach to life, while Constructivist artists proclaimed a new way of thinking about things, not as possessions but as “comrades.” By transforming our relationship to material objects, by envisioning them as equals rather than things to be exploited, consumed, and possessed, we would ultimately transform our social relations, and treat one another more humanely. A bright, benevolent future was on the horizon.
Olesha’s novel is very much a product of its time, yet its hero’s plight is a universal one. We all have a contentious relationship with our material reality. The blankets are tangled, the roads are icy, the colors of the walls are wrong, the sun is too hot, the universe is too big. Once our basic needs are met, why do we continue to adapt, transform, and refine our physical environment? Why and how do human beings invest objects with meaning—and at what cost to others? How do the objects that surround us shape the world of ideas, emotions, and other essential aspects of human existence? Drawing upon the insights of scholars from such fields as history, literature, anthropology, visual art, architecture, and material culture studies, we will seek answers to these questions. We will read literary texts and analyze how the authors reflect as well as imagine material reality, and how they deploy concrete objects to create meaning in their work.
Topics will include: inanimate objects that challenge the distinction between animate and inanimate; the body on the boundary between “person” and “thing”; objects of desire and the commodity fetish; sacred objects; monuments and museums as embodiments of material memory and catalysts for controversy; glass and the transformation of vision; clothing as identity, convention, and second skin; food and its multiple cultural meanings. Texts will include: Olesha, Envy; Capek, R.U.R; Gogol, “The Overcoat”; Shelley, Frankenstein; De Maupassant, “Ball-of-Fat”; Vertov’s film, Man with a Movie Camera, and Lang’s film Metropolis; versions of the Golem narrative; Nabokov, “The Visit to the Museum”; Haraway, “A Manifesto for Cyborgs”; Barthes, Mythologies; Baudrillard, The System of Objects; selections from Marx, Capital; Susan Stewart, On Longing.
Students will learn the art and science of close reading as well as develop analytical and writing skills. They will write a summary of a theoretical text; a short analytical paper; a longer research paper about a specific product or commodity and its cultural impact; and a personal narrative describing an object that is particularly meaningful to them. Students will work with a writing assistant on developing and revising their essays. A library visit will introduce students to the resources available to them for scholarly exploration.
The course will consist of mini-lectures, class discussion, and oral presentations. Students will work together on a group project, investigating an object or the use of a building material in the Twin Cities. We will also have a field trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Class meets T TH, 9:40-11:10 am, in Humanities 212.
Living arrangement: Co-ed floor.
SOCI 110-02 Introduction to Sociology
Khaldoun Samman, Sociology Department
This course provides students with a critical perspective in interpreting social inequalities in the US and globally. Mainly the course will have students debate two perspectives on the social origins of inequality and the political and ethical consequences such perspectives embody. The first is what we will call the internalist/culture of poverty thesis which explains inequalities in terms of characteristics belonging to particular groups (e.g., cultural or religious beliefs, socialization and childrearing practices, educational and vocabulary attainment, modernizationist discourse of developed and underdeveloped societies…). The second perspective we will explore is the relational/structural theory of social and global inequality. Sociologists of this sort prefer to focus on asymmetrical power relations between groups (e.g., symbolic markers of distinctions; cultural capital; the social construction of gender, class, and race; core-periphery capitalist relations between poor and rich countries…).
The objective of the course is to provide students with sophisticated sociological studies on both sides of the debate dealing with social and global inequalities. The course attempts to demonstrate that even though many of the authors we cover apply social scientific methods, the fact that they come at the same empirical evidence from different theoretical perspectives ultimately determines their interpretation and understanding of the causes of social inequalities. Here students may discover that the lens through which they look may turn out to be a political, moral, and ethical choice. For the second objective, students discover that these two perspectives, when combined in a dialectical way, may provide an alternative perspective than either has to offer in isolation. For instance, instead of seeing socialization practices of the poor as tied to lack of objective skills required to become upwardly mobile, the student can learn to combine this perspective with the structural perspective so as to see those skills not simply as objective characteristics but as socially constructed – in other words as symbolic markers of distinctions (i.e., as class, race, gender, and global performances) used unconsciously by the elite of the world to reproduce their class, gender, racial and global hegemony. This way, as Julie Bettie has argued in her Women Without Class, instead of seeing certain “cultural traits” as dysfunctional or pathological and blaming a specific group, the focus is on changing social and global cultural constructs of rich and poor that produces poverty and inequality in the first place. It is the highly racialized, genderized, and classed constructs of social inequalities that have to be first deconstructed before we can hope to alleviate those inequalities. Hence, “culture” is a big part of the story, maybe just not in the way many of us think it is.
Class meets MWF, 2:20 – 3:20 pm, Carnegie 208.
THDA 120-02 Acting Theory and Performance I
Harry Waters Jr., Theater and Dance Department
An introduction to the fundamental techniques of realistic acting. Through improvisation, physical and vocal exercises, text and character analysis, and scene studies, the student is introduced to the process of acting preparation and performance.
There is an in-depth exploration of the craft of acting coupled with opportunities to visit institutions and artists in the Twin Cities, while researching many styles of performance to augment your own personal growth. There will be challenges to prior presumptive theater experiences, while learning and sharing intense intimate revelations among your peers.
This is a course about process; the process of learning how to write at a college level, the process of learning how to time manage homework and rehearsal, the process of approaching a monologue and scene work, and the process of stepping fearlessly into unknown territory within the safety of our theater performing spaces. All students are required to volunteer 4 hours of tech time for each stage production in the fall, as well as ushering one night. We encourage students who have little or no theater experience to take this course as a part of their introduction to the Macalester College experience.
Class meets MWF, 2:20-4:30 pm, in Theater 3.
THDA 194-01 Theater and Performance in the Twin Cities
Lara Nielsen, Theater & Dance Department
The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are second only to New York City for the number of theatre and performance tickets sold annually, supporting an active creative community, and artistic institutions. In this class we attend to many aspects of performance in the vibrant Theatre and Performance communities -- including Dance -- of the Twin Cities. We will attend theatre and dance performances throughout the city as a group, and study the genres of their crafts through the examination of texts and performance in the classroom.
The course meets once a week (Wednesday night), in order to facilitate a schedule of evening excursions, and on-campus seminars. The viewing of performances alternates with campus classroom seminars (sometimes every other week, or every second or third week), in which we discuss plays and other kinds of performance practices, reflect on their enactments in performance, learn about the key terminologies for the poetics of work in performance, and develop our capacities for interpretational strategies in the performing arts.
We will also study the distinctive missions (and audiences) of such acclaimed institutions as the Walker Art Center, the Southern Theatre, the Penumbra Theatre, the Ten Thousand Things Theatre Company, the Guthrie Theatre, The Theatre at the University of Minnesota, and Macalester’s own mainstage theatre productions. In sum, we make Macalester's Fine Arts Division, and the Theatre and Dance Department, our critical home: they are our laboratory spaces for studies in artistic form in Theatre and Performance.
Course Texts:
Auslander, Philip. Theory for Performance Studies (Routledge 2008)
Leasch, Robert. Theatre Studies: The Basics (Routledge 2008)
Moliere, Tartuffe
(others texts TBA, as seasons have yet to be announced!)
Required texts will be available in the bookstore, and when possible, they are also on reserve in the Library.
Course Requirements:
This class requires evening attendance to and participation in all performances.
Response writing assignments to all performances: (2-4 pages in length, varying by assignment). Such writings are an important part of evaluating student progress and participation.
Attendance to Macalester mainstage post-production talks (theatre and dance).
Reading and written homework assignments, in class writing exercises.
In-class performance experiments.
The willingness to experiment with reading, too!
Class meets W, 7:00-10:00 pm, in Theater 205.