Course Offerings

FIRST YEAR SEMINARS:

Speculative Visions: Science Fiction
Dr. Arthur Evans

In our Western society, the natural sciences and the humanities have often been viewed as "Two Cultures," as C.P. Snow once expressed it.  Further, with today's ongoing specialization and fragmentation of knowledge, the gulf between them seems to be growing ever wider. This course will examine a fictional genre that purposefully bridges these two worldviews: science fiction (SF). As a literature of speculation and "thought experiment," SF has a long tradition of raising fundamental questions about how we define ourselves, our reality, and our possible futures. Through a selection of readings from pre-Jules Verne to post-Cyberpunk, we will focus on a variety of recurring philosophical and social themes in SF--technology and human values, gender and identity, alienation and the "other," cybernetics and artificial intelligence, etc.--and how they reflect certain evolutionary currents in today's world and (perhaps) the world of tomorrow.  
http://fs6.depauw.edu:50080/~aevans/HONR101-02/ClassWebPages.htm

The Conflict Over the Significance of Beauty
Dr. David Field

This course focuses on a vital issue which concerns everyone--it will cover 30,000 years of art and literature and will cross disciplinary boundaries and ideologies. It does not search for THE answer to questions involving beauty, but tries to examine the centuries-old conflict over the significance of beauty.

Ancient Journeys
Dr. Pedar Foss

The 'road movie' is a familiar cinematic genre in which protagonists embark on a quest for physical, social, philosophical or spiritual transformation.  Such narrative journeys began long ago in the ancient Near East, Egypt, Greece and Rome. This class examines assumptions and presumptions about the boundaries and borders we cross, the identities we build, the negotiations we make between male and female, mortal and divine, 'self' and 'other', and the curiosity that drives us to search beyond the known. Our own course proceeds along two tracks: ancient literature and modern film, and pursues five different goals: Identity, Community, Knowledge, Salvation, and Life.

Mind, Intelligence, and Machines
Dr. Douglas Harms

In this seminar we will explore topics having to do with consciousness and intelligence in humans and machines, focusing in particular on the question of whether a computer could ever match the human brain. We will examine these issues from various perspectives including philosophy, biology, psychology, and computer science. Students will engage in discussion of course readings and complete a variety of written assignments, journals, and individual and group presentations. The goal of the seminar is for everyone in the seminar (students and teacher alike) to wrestle with the philosophical issues surrounding the topic of computers and consciousness, understand the technical dimensions of the topic, and come to appreciate humankind's role in the grand scheme of things.

Art and Revolution: Visual Polemics and Socio-Political Change
Dr. Anne Harris

This course seeks to understand the complex relationship between image and event in three separate but related scenarios of convulsive social and political change.  Augustan Rome (27 B.C.E.-14 C.E.), Revolutionary France (1789-1804), and the Birth of the Soviet Union (1917-1934) were defined and refined, tried and tested, and established and betrayed in the multiple contests between images and rhetoric's which were waged both in public streets and publications. We will study images as both provocations and products of the competing discourses (political, sociological, literary, musical, philosophical) of each period and ask the following questions: how does an image become a political symbol?  What are the mechanisms through which images are politically deployed?  How is the role of the artist reconstructed in times of social crisis?  How does the public use images in political debate?  What are the intersections of text and image in a society (sometimes violently) attempting to reinvent itself?  What can we discern from this comparative approach to art and revolution, and what are some of the ways in which new revolutions evoke efforts of the past?  We will study original sources (emerging from the competing discourses listed above) from each period as well as secondary critical scholarship, and analyze the dynamic between art and revolution in our continuing effort to understand the creation of new social and political realities through images.

Subversive Theologians
Dr. Beth Benedix

This course will focus on ways in which theology is used as a form of subversion, as a means of toppling the status quo and/or devising a new basis of values. Webster's dictionary defines theology as “the analysis, application, and presentation of the traditional doctrines of a religion or religious group.” In the context of this class, “theology” is being used somewhat loosely to describe projects that may or may not be deliberately religious in purpose. The works we will encounter reside in a precarious space; they acknowledge that “theology” is a human construct used most often to implement a particular agenda (usually driven by power) at the same time that they provide a kind of blueprint for how to live according to a sense of an ultimate reality (even if, as some of these authors contend, “ultimate” reality means that there is no reality). Writers who are likely to show up on our reading list are Chuang-tzu (one of the primary voices in philosophical Taoism), Farid Ud-Din Attar (one of the primary poetic voices of Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam), Nietzsche, Freud, Kafka, Flannery O'Connor, Martin Luther King, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Tom Robbins.

After Catastrophe: Germany and the Legacy of World War II
Dr. Julia Bruggemann

This course will explore the complex legacies of war, dictatorship, and Holocaust for Germany after 1945. We will address questions of guilt and responsibility, victimhood and agency. Some important questions we will explore are: How did the physical, moral, political, and ethical destruction of the war and Holocaust influence Germany's reconstruction in the postwar context? How did contemporaries, historians, politicians, artists etc. participate in these processes? How have these discussions changed in recent years as most are eyewitnesses are dying and new generations develop their own interpretations? Some of the debates that surround these questions are: Who has the right to remember and be remembered? Who can claim to be a victim, in other words: were Germans victims - or perpetrators? Can a new German state be "normal" and overcome its historical baggage? What's the difference between guilt and responsibility and how does it affect future generations?

Rites Of Spring: Modernity, Art, and War
Dr. Joseph Heithaus 

What do art and war have to do with each other?  What happened in art and literature at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century to set the stage for the atrocities that would follow.  Our central text, Modris Eckstein’s seminal book, Rites of Spring, posits that at least one strain of Modernism emerging in the early teens is inextricably linked to the passions that lead to the trenches and stalemate of the First World War.  We will read selections from Nietzche, Wilde, Stein, and Eliot, as well as examine the art and poetry that comes out of WWI.  We will witness changes in the world of art and changes in the world that remain as legacies we continue to confront. 

Tatoo, Torture, and Adornment: The Body and Modification in Cross Cultural Context
Dr. Rebecca Upton

What are ichi marks and why are they important in Nigeria? How do we compare ritual scarification in that context to that in others such as our own? How do we understand the growing trends of body art, piercing, tattooing in the contemporary United States? Can we understand foot binding in history as similar to body building in contemporary societies? How are these observable physical phenomena linked to ideas of gender and the life cycle? Contemporary Western society teaches us to think of the body as an object with a material reality that is physically observable, but anthropology shows that we perceive our bodies through a culturally constructed body image that shapes what we see and experience. As we negotiate social relationships, our sense of a body image develops, for the two are reciprocally related. Anthropology can help us to see how body-related beliefs and behaviors vary from one society to another and can elucidate the underlying assumptions within each culture about why those beliefs and practices are so integral and important.

The purpose of this course is to examine the relationship between social constructions of gender and the physical body from an anthropological perspective. This course explores the dynamic interaction that occurs between social behavior and symbolic meaning as people attempt to alter and control themselves and others through changing body images and practices in cross-cultural contexts. This course draws upon the vast body of literature on gender in anthropology and the symbolic presentations of the body in culture and media. We will examine how, when and why certain social and symbolic body modifications are made and their relation to understandings of gender and status. We will take as a central premise the anthropological idea that these body modifications are not “exotic” but rather we will come to understand and challenge our own assumptions of identity, symbolism and the body. Through readings, films, class discussions, guest lectures and field trips to observe body modification, we will explore the basic concepts of gender and culture and focus on various ways to understand social symbolism and body politics. There are no specific prerequisites for the class although an understanding of the social construction of gender and an appreciation of cultural diversity are essential.

Religion, Conflict and Social Change
Dr. Jeff Kenney

Why has religion played such an important role in many social movements throughout the world? Why have people living in conditions of political, economic and social oppression been inclined to interpret their situation in light of the teaching of their faith? In this class, we will explore these questions, and more, by looking at three modern religious movements that promoted dramatic, if not radical, reform of their societies: Black Muslims in America, Gandhi's reform movement in India and liberation theology in Latin America. Through readings, research, films and discussion, we will come to understand the circumstances that gave rise to these movements and the role that religion played in shaping them. Students who are thinking about majoring in religious studies, sociology, history or conflict studies will find this class interesting and helpful.

Modernist Architecture
Dr. Michael Mackenzie

This course will examine the ideas and aesthetics of Modernist architecture, focusing on the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier. It will examine the development of a recognizable style (straight lines, flat roofs, glass walls), aesthetic ideals (truth to materials, clarity of form and organization) and social ideals (housing for everyone as an engine of social equality) in the architecture and urban planning ideals of the 20th century. We will look at individual houses as well as public works and the development of the skyscraper, in Germany, France, and the American Midwest, as well as in the Middle East, India and Japan. We will approach architecture from a number of angles: technical; aesthetic; political, social and cultural history; intellectual history. In the end, we will seek to answer the question, How does the built environment shape and reflect our experience of the world?

Ruin and Re-begetting
Dr. Andrea Sununu 

Our study of the imagery of ruin and re-begetting will allow us to explore a triple theme--creation, destruction, and re-creation--and to consider how language conveys the human attempt to counter fragmentation, chaos, or oblivion.  Reading works by Tolstoy, Woolf, Plato, Shakespeare, Kingsolver, Faulkner, Dickinson, and many others, we will explore the longing to triumph over transience, destruction, and death.  It is the hope that throughout the semester, students will find words that matter--not only in texts they will read, but also in their own writing.  Accordingly, it is the hope that the course will help students develop control over language, so that they may, by expressing ideas clearly, concisely, and elegantly, take pleasure in their own creations. 

Literature of Social Protest: American Voices from the Margins
Dr. Valarie Ziegler

This seminar considers voices of social protest in American society from the late nineteenth century to the present. It examines a variety of genres, including novels, film, popular music, cartoons, theological and political treatises, autobiography, and utopian/dystopian literature. Particular attention is devoted to movements for civil rights, economic justice, and gender equality.

HUMANITIES SEMINARS:

Captivity Narratives
Dr. Harry J. Brown

Scholars often cite the Indian captivity narrative as the only literary genre native to America. In these stories, women and children fall prey to Indian attack and become the tormented captives of an alien culture. Then, over time, the captives grow to accept the alien culture and even to love their former captors as a newfound family. Sometimes they are ransomed, returning to their former lives wearing strange clothes, speaking strange languages, and practicing strange customs. Sometimes, to the horror of those who knew them, they choose not to return, rather to embrace a new identity and a new life. What happens to a person when she is violently uprooted from one life and transplanted in a new one? How does she change? How can we view such captives as agents of cultural exchange? We will investigate these questions from historical and literary perspectives. In addition to a selection of archival evidence of Indian captivities, we will read the classic narratives of Mary Rowlandson and Mary Jemison; historical romances such as James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, Conrad Richter’s The Light in the Forest, and Michael Blake’s Dances with Wolves; and reverse captivity narratives, stories in which Indians are abducted by whites, such as Zitkala-Sa’s Impressions of an Indian Childhood, Thomas Berger’s Little Big Man, and Louise Erdrich’s The Antelope Wife. Finally, we will consider the ways this uniquely American literary tradition, born of intense emotional trauma and racial conflict, informs current discourses of alien abduction, kidnapping, and hostage situations.

East and West
Dr. Harry J. Brown

Although we hesitate to view the struggle in Iraq as a religious or cultural war, both George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein have occasionally described the conflict as a “crusade.” Saddam has fashioned himself a reincarnation of Saladin, the twelfth-century conqueror of the European kingdoms in Palestine, while Bush has appealed to a “higher father” to explain his decision to go to war. In what sense does the present conflict between radical Islam and the West have its roots in the medieval Crusades or, as some historians have suggested, in the more ancient struggle between Greece and Persia? In part, we recognize that these recurrent conflicts between East and West arise from acute historical causes, such as the harassment of Christian pilgrims or the destruction of the World Trade Center. But to what extent do they arise from more chronic ideological antipathies, such as the opposition of democracy and despotism, or Christianity and Islam? In there a “spiritual frontier,” as the historian Aziz Atiya has suggested, that has historically defined relations between East and West? Our inquiry will be divided in three parts: the Greco-Persian Wars, the Crusades, and the “War on Terror.” In addition to reading historical and philosophical sources, we will consider the influence of these conflicts on the arts and, in turn, the influence of the arts on the way we understand these conflicts. Our survey will include selections from Herodotus, Xenophon, Aristotle, Aeschylus, the Koran, Fulcher of Chartres, Villehardouin, Bernard of Clairvaux, Geoffrey Chaucer, Salman Rushdie, Anthony Swofford, Nathaniel Fick, Marjane Satrapi, Charles Krauthammer, and Francis Fukuyama, as well as a range of contemporary films. By discovering patterns in these conflicts, we will seek a deeper understanding of the complex and seemingly irresolvable conflict that has characterized our world in this decade.

Comedy
Dr. Csicsery-Ronay

Comedy is one of the most ancient and yet most contemporary literary genres. Its roots lie deep in myth and religious rite. At the same time, it is probably the single most popular of contemporary entertainment genres. In this class we will study varieties of classical European and contemporary comedy, with special attention to formal structures, aspects of performance, theories of laughter and "the comic spirit," and the relations between comedy and other genres, such as romance, tragedy, satire, and melodrama. We will pay close attention to certain thematic motifs that appear to be constants in the comic tradition, such as inflexibility, the clown dance, absent-mindedness, mistaken identities, nonsense, and missed timing. Texts will include most of the following: Aristophanes: Lysistrata, The Birds; Shakespeare: Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night; Molière: The Misanthrope, The Physician In Spite of Himself; Chaplin: Payday & The Gold Rush; Hawks: Bringing Up Baby; Cukor: The Philadelphia Story; Sturges: The Lady Eve; The Marx Brothers: Duck Soup; Martin: L.A. Story; J. and E. Coen: The Big Lebowski.

The Politics Of Art in Weimar- and Nazi Germany
Dr. Cleveland Johnson

The Weimar Republic, established after Germanys defeat in World War I, was arguably the most free, democratic society in Western history.  It was, of course, replaced in 1933 by the most repressive regime of modern times – Nazi Germany.  This seminar examines the role of the Arts (literature, theatre, film, art, and music) in both of these societies, the increasing politicizing of the Arts, and the direction the Arts took when their creators found themselves forced into internal and external exile.

Our Violent Make-Up
Dr. William Little

Made in America. This label, stitched into fabric and stamped into plastic, is designed to mark a product as specifically, distinctly American. Read carefully, however, one may hear in the phrase the echo of a larger cultural idea, namely that America promises one the possibility of having it made. Heard this way, the phrase Made in America also reverberates with the idea that, in America, the promise of having it made is linked to the idea of making oneself up. What, though, does it mean for the American self to be a figure that makes up itself?  The term make up contains layers of meaning. The verb ‘to make up’ means to beautify, to dress up, to cover up, to pretend, to fabricate, to invent, to compensate (e.g., to make up for a deficit), to reconcile (e.g., to make up after an argument), to catch up (e.g., to make up an exam one has missed).  The noun ‘make-up’  refers to cosmetics and to character; one’s make-up is, paradoxically, what one applies to one’s exterior and what one contains in one’s interior (one’s inherent qualities or fundamental personality).  The term make up thus simultaneously suggests the essential and the superficial, the genuine and the fake, achievement and lack, credit and debt. If our national identity is defined, at least in part, by its investment in make up, the question as to what constitutes ‘the American character’ is an immensely complicated and, in the context of contemporary global concerns, pressing one.

This course aims to tackle the question by exploring modern instances of the American compulsion to remake the self.  Most of the course will be devoted to the study of twentieth-century fictional narratives—novels, drama, film—that feature characters who seek to reinvent themselves in some radical fashion. In addition to these texts, we will examine cultural phenomena such as the popularity of blackface entertainment and the performances of the escapologist Harry Houdini. Beginning with the rags-to-riches myth cultivated by the nineteenth-century author Horatio Alger, we will trace what might be called a modern American history of impersonation and imposture. The various escapades and confidence games that mark this history will lead us to consider how the American character is inextricably bound up with violence: violence perpetrated by the modern, self-oriented version of the American dream, which promises but cannot deliver perfect make-up; violence (social, political, racial, sexual) suffered by the individual subject, catalyzing the desire to make up; violence (deception of others, conning) perpetrated in the process of making up; self-inflicted violence perpetrated in an effort to erase the past and realize the American dream.  Our understanding of how violence is related to psychological and characterological make-up will be facilitated by study of recent developments in psychoanalytic theory.

Enlightenments and Their Critics
Keith Nightenhelser

In this seminar we will examine some distinct historical periods that have been viewed as periods of "Enlightenment:" the so-called "Age of Reason" of Eighteenth Century Western Europe, the Sophistic Movement of Fifth Century B.C.E. Greece, the "Chinese Enlightenment" that rejected Confucian traditions as a model for developing China in the 1920's, and Twentieth-Century European intellectual movements such as existentialism and the Frankfurt School of left-wing Marxism. All these alleged Enlightenments attracted critics, and we'll examine their claims, as well as the philosophers, poets, historians, and other thinkers advocating a particular brand of "Enlightenment."  Alongside our examination of these historical periods, we will read and reflect critically upon statements about the study and value of the Humanities.  Readings: selections from Homer, Herodotus, Sophocles, Thucydides, Plato, Voltaire, Pope, Lessing, Rousseau, Kant, Wollstonecraft, Horkheimer, Adorno, Nietzsche, W. E. B. du Bois, Sartre, Peter Gay, and Bernard Williams.

Explanation and Understanding in the Social Sciences
Keith Nightenhelser

Explanation and understanding in the social sciences. In this course we'll look at concepts of causation, explanation, and understanding in different social sciences, such as history, political science, psychology, economics, and anthropology. We will read both theoretical explorations of how social sciences can support such claims, and case studies from specific fields.

Text into Art in the Ancient World
Dr. Rebecca Schindler

This seminar investigates the relationship between artistic narrative and literary imagery from the Sumerians (Mesopotamia, 3200 BC) to the early Roman Empire (Augustus, 1st centuries BC/AD). A series of case-studies present a number of questions about our theme. How did artists create narrative, often on a limited canvas, and authors create images? Did artists seek simply to illustrate a text or did they innovate on the story? Could this relationship work both ways? Much of the art produced in the ancient world was made for public consumption. Thus, we will consider how political and ideological messages were transmitted through artistic display. In the private sphere art could serve to enforce certain social and moral values. We will also look at how public performance, through the production of drama and the ritual procession, influenced both art and text. Our subjects come from across the Mediterranean world, from Egypt and the Near East to Greece and Italy; and we will look at both public and private monuments. Our texts include ancient Near Eastern poetry (e.g., the Hymns to Inanna and the Epic of Gilgamesh); Homer’s Odyssey; selections from Greek poetry; plays by Aeschylus, Euripides, and Aristophanes; Virgil’s Aeneid, Augustus’ Res Gestae; and selections from other Latin authors.

Digital Narrative
Dr. Harry Brown

In the past, inventions such as the printing press, radio, film, and television have radically influenced narrative forms. This course considers the relation between technological change and storytelling in the digital age, investigating the impact of computers on the ways we define, construct, disseminate, interpret, and enjoy narratives. More specifically, we will consider the narrative problems and possibilities presented by texts and images that change in response to user action. Can we reconcile interactivity with established ideas about plot structure and character? What is the relation between stories, riddles, and puzzles? How has the task of the writer changed in the digital age? We will begin with a brief cultural history, examining the ways in which contemporary digital narratives have grown from the confluence of such diverse phenomena as the Aristotle’s Poetics, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and the ARPANet. We will survey experimental fiction by Edgar Allan Poe, Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, and Milorad Paviÿ; as well as theoretical selections from Roland Barthes, Janet Murray, Espen Aarseth, Marie Laure-Ryan, and George Landow. We will devote the greatest part of the course, however, to the application of these historical and theoretical ideas to specific digital genres, including interactive fiction such as Zork and A Mind Forever Voyaging; hypertext fiction such as Shelley Jackson’s Patchwork Girl and Stuart Moulthrop’s Victory Garden; adventure games such as Myst and The Longest Journey; role-playing games such as Oblivion; and god games such as Black and White. Although we will play some of these games and discuss the significance of technical functions such as word parsers and hyperlinks, specific technical expertise or videogame experience is not necessary.

“His Blood Be Upon Us!”
Christian Antisemitism from the Gospels to the Present
Dr. Mitchell Merback

This course explores the origins and changing forms of a specifically Christian set of ideas and doctrines, perceptions and attitudes, concerning Judaism, the Jewish people, the nature of Christian-Jewish relations, and what for many centuries has been called “the Jewish problem.” Among the issues examined are: anti-Jewish tropes in the Gospels and the alienation of the early Jesus movement from rabbinical Judaism; the core doctrines of theological anti-Judaism; the dynamics of religious violence and its connections to pilgrimage and crusade; the major anti-Judaic accusations of the Middle Ages; demonological conceptions of the Jewish body and Jewish ritual practices; the negative stereotyping of Jews in Christian art; the impact of Protestant reform, humanism and Christian Hebraism in the sixteenth century; the phenomenon of “philosemitism”; the shift from religious anti-Judaism to racial and political forms of antisemitism; the “silence” of Pope Pius XII in the face of Nazi crimes; and the survival of antisemitic conspiracy theories among the radical Christian right in America today. Although the focus is on Christian civilization and culture, along the way we will also learn a good deal about Jews, Judaism, historic Jewish life in Europe, and Jewish thinking about tolerance, intolerance and coexistence with Gentiles. Readings encompass a wide variety of primary-text sources, as well as historical analysis by authors from diverging points of view; also the visual sources from the medieval and early modern periods will be studied.

SCIENCE SEMINARS:

Science Wars
Dr. Victor DeCarlo

"Science Wars" is the label attached to the passionate, often acrimonious, clash of ideas about the nature and methods of science occurring within the academic community.  In one camp, there are the so_called “postmodern” thinkers who assert that science, like other human activities, is shaped by cultural, economic, and political forces; one widely shared conviction of these critics is that even the knowledge claims of science are just cultural constructions with no special epistemic status.  The other camp consists of scientists and others who believe that the laws of nature are objective and approximately true and who, in growing numbers, perceive criticisms of science by postmodernists as attacks on rationality.

In this seminar, we will explore the main issues of contention in the ongoing Science Wars between critics and defenders of science.  Along the way, we will ask _ and try to answer _ some basic questions about the nature of science.  Readings will include essays and commentaries from a broad sampling of participants on both sides of the debate.

Cosmological Questions
Dr. Victor A. DeCarlo and Dr. Marcia A. McKelligan

An interdisciplinary, team-taught course which addresses ancient and perplexing questions about the universe as a whole.  The course will consist of four major elements: (1) a study of the development of Western cosmology, particularly the change from belief in the Aristotelian earth-centered cosmos to the Copernican sun-centered model, and from there to the current picture of the cosmos, in which the earth and our solar system occupy no special position; (2) an examination of the current state of knowledge about the origin, large-scale structure, and probable future of the universe; (3) discussion of a range of philosophical questions centering on whether the universe shows evidence of intelligent design or purpose; (4) discussion of an assortment of interesting questions connected to cosmology, such as the role of mind in the universe, the possibility of time travel, and the search for extraterrestrial life.

Evolution and Human Nature
Dr. Kevin Moore

This seminar will examine scientific approaches (particularly an evolutionary psychological approach) to important aspects of human nature, including aggression, cooperation, sexual behavior, aesthetics, and emotion.  We will look at historical attempts to develop scientific accounts of human nature, and examine their strengths, weaknesses, and motivations.  We will examine and critique current scientific explanations of and theories about controversies such as violence, rape, mate choice, and beauty.  Throughout the semester we will consider whether 'social science' is or should be any different from  'natural science,' what it means to apply a scientific approach to human beings (and what assumptions we make when we do), and what scientific account of human nature and behavior implies about issues like determinism, responsibility, and choice.

Science and Mysticism
Dr. Howard Pollack-Milgate

The goal of this class is to put into question the absolute separation between the humanities and the sciences by investigating the theme of "science and mysticism."  It is intended for students from all fields.  The thesis which will be examined in the course is that the mystical side of science is not an extraneous factor which is eliminated as science becomes ever "purer," but that it is always an element in the scientific outlook.  We will attempt to view science not as an investigation of a world given independently of us, the investigators, but also as a study of ourselves in contact with a reality not of our own making, thus at the same time a "humanity" and a form of mysticism.  Following an initial orientation which will set the terms of our investigation, we will examine closely four theories from the history of science (including the present day) in which "science" and "mysticism" cannot clearly be separated.  Texts will consist of primary works by the  authors of the particular theories as well as imaginative interpretations of each theory (including works of literature and philosophy).  Though I have proposed four topics of my own (mathematical mysticism, alchemy, psychoanalysis, and quantum reality), I am open to substituting others based on student interest (possibilities include, but are not limited to: ecology, magic, astrology, theories of evolution, New Age medicine, chaos theory, and genetics).  An interest in science is assumed (along with an open mind), but no particular scientific background is required.

Evolution of Consciousness
Dr. Bruce Serlin

With the acceptance of Darwin's theory of evolution, it is fair to ask: At what stage of evolution did consciousness appear and what novel function or functions did it serve? In other words, what were the selective pressures that favored the development of consciousness? Alternatively, if one accepts arguments put forth by Gould and Eldridge it is conceivable that consciousness is a by-product of some other developmental process that has ultimately found a use. Ultimately, this use or uses must be identified. In either case, to begin one must define what is meant by consciousness to be in a position to determine why and when it arose. It is an activity that has been defined in a variety of ways by various workers in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy. Students will be presented with readings from a number of fields to aid in the development of their own working definition of consciousness. Readings will focus on what mental skills or cognitive capacities are required along with what perceptions of both external and internal stimuli, qualia, must exist.

SOCIAL SCIENCE SEMINARS:

Social Science
Dr. Robert Calvert

The Themes of the Seminar:   Our purpose in this seminar is to get some sense of how, when, and why the social sciences as we know them emerged as the significant intellectual and cultural force they represent today, and beyond that to ask, broadly, what the effects of the social sciences have been for the society they have presumed to study.  Our first step will be to examine the effort to create a science of man and society, an effort inspired by the success of the natural sciences and (for some of its devotees) dedicated to distinguishing such a science from both religion and the humanities.  We can then consider the thesis that the social sciences today (or some of them anyway), notwithstanding their efforts at scientific detachment and value-neutrality, nonetheless serve the latent function of providing a kind of moral discourse for a society that has for its own ideological reasons tried to banish conceptions of the good life from the public realm.   That is, contrary both to conventional conceptions of "science" and to conventional understandings of what it means to think, argue, and decide morally, much of social science today can be usefully seen as giving more or less clear answers, if sometimes highly controversial ones,  to some of the most important moral questions of our time.

Colonial Conquest in History, Fiction, and Film
Dr. David Gellman 

This course will explore how historians, fiction writers, and filmmakers attempt to help us experience the past.  To do so, we will concentrate on stories about the European conquest of the Americas – a subject that has long captured the imagination of artists and historians alike.  The clash of cultures, adaptation, survival, heroism, and villainy coalesced in unpredictable ways and with uncertain outcomes as Europeans and native peoples struggled with one another to shape the future.  Storytellers in the West continue to extract meaning from such events.  Examining early contacts between “whites” and “non-whites” are often seen as a pathway to enriching our understanding of the contemporary world and to reconstructing the independence of long-subjugated peoples.  The course will consider the different ways in which historian’s narratives, literary fiction, and films attempt to achieve these and other purposes.  We also will compare the raw material for historical storytelling – the documentary record – to subsequent narratives of distant events.

Specific subjects include Spanish and French missionaries, the African slave trade, Virginia and the story of Pocahontas, frontier violence in early New England, and James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans.  We will also compare narratives about the Americas with stories of New Zealand, Africa, and Vietnam. 

Invisible Illness, Visible Death: HIV/AIDS in the African Continent
Dr. Rebecca L. Upton

This course will explore the physiological and social phenomena of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the continent of Africa. It will draw upon a myriad of perspectives, from anthropology to biology to literature and political science and will introduce students to a varied means through which we can understand the spread and implications of the disease world-wide. Often, Westerners and others have viewed the AIDS epidemic as residing largely among populations in the African continent or as a disease that was generated and a result of those living in the continent. Additionally, some have argued that HIV/AIDS does not exist or should not be treated – some illness conditions are acceptable and/or explainable in different cultural contexts. This course will provide an opportunity to challenge and investigate just how and why such views have emerged and persisted and what the implications of those views may be for individual lives and global policies.

Mantras, Meridians and Modern Medicine: Healing Across Cultures
Dr. Janet L. Vaglia

We live in a society that has access to some of the most sophisticated technology and medical care, ranging from complicated surgeries to vaccines and medications. It might be said that Western medical technology caters to a sense of ‘visibility’ – if the disease-causing agent, or the reason for ill-health can be ‘seen’, then it must be possible to eradicate or alleviate the problem. But are the terms ‘medicine’ and ‘healing ’ really equivalent? And isn’t it interesting that Western culture has come to rely on the powers of modern medicine as a safety net for when we lose control of health, while other cultures emphasize nurturing health. In this course we will explore how other cultures, such as China, Tibet and India, view and practice healing. I hope you will be challenged to enter into the realm of the more ‘elusive.’ For example, As Michael Milburn, a Biophysicist, has asked "Is it possible to reconcile a commitment to science with arcane concepts like qi – the mysterious ‘energy’ so central to the theory of Chinese medicine."

We will put on the table both classic texts and modern texts that speak to the cultural practices of medicine and healing from historical, religious and philosophical perspectives. We will also critique films that document how different cultures diagnose and treat illness. By the completion of this journey, I hope you will have a foundation for discussing the possibilities and limitations of healing modalities across cultures. And…what is the future of medicine?

Reason, Power, Values, and Propaganda: How Social Sciences Seek Explanation and Understanding
Keith Nightenhelser

In this course we'll look at concepts of causation, explanation, and understanding in different social sciences, such as history, political science, psychology, economics, and anthropology. We will read both theoretical explorations of how social sciences can support causal and explanatory claims, and two major sets of case studies. Our theoretical readings will deal with rational choice, social norms, analyzing power in social groups, and the basic principles that account for the effectiveness of propaganda. The first set of case studies will compare approaches to understanding mass killings and genocides. The second set will compare some different approaches that anthropologists have taken in understanding the differing values of different cultural groups. Students will write some very short and informal reaction papers, three short papers, and one term paper. There will be a narrow selection of available topics for the short papers, but the lengthier term paper will be on a topic devised by the student.
Before the first class meeting, students will be asked to read Pratkanis and Aronson's book "Age of Propaganda," and about half of Samantha Power's book "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide."

Religion, Conflict and Social Change
Dr. Jeff Kenney

Why has religion played such an important role in many social movements throughout the world? Why have people living in conditions of political, economic and/or social oppression been inclined to interpret their situation in light of the teaching of their faith? In this class, we will explore these questions and more by looking at three modern movements that have promoted dramatic, if not radical, reform of their societies (possible case studies include Black Muslims in America, Gandhi’s reform movement in India, liberation theology in Latin American, the Iranian Revolution, global fundamentalism, and political Islam).  Through readings, research, films and discussion, we will explore and analyze the circumstances that gave rise to these movements and the role that religion played in shaping them.  An underlying question driving the course will be:  How do the methods employed by the social sciences shape our understanding of the role of religion in social movements?  To answer this question, we will juxtapose social scientific and humanities-based approaches to the cases.