Fall 2009 Courses - M. A. Humanities

HISTORY:

HUM252H Great Historical Figures (Fred Simonelli) Sunday 
For as long as mankind has studied the past, the question has been asked: do great men and women create the events that change society, or do critical events bring forth great men and women to meet the challenges of change? We will study the lives of six agents of change in history for clues to the elusive answer: Hildegard of Bingen, Charles Darwin, Mahatma Ghandi, Ho Chi Minh, Rev Martin Luther King, Jr., and Golda Meir.

HUM268H/HUM203E Travel Study:  October 1 to 12, 2009 Scotland, Wales, and England (Fred Simonelli/Millie Kidd) tba

HUM264H Myths and Realities of Secret Societies in History (Jane Crawford) Saturday 

Popular Culture is full of intimations that secret societies run the world. What is the historical evidence about secret societies in history? This course will overview the “perennial philosophy” of secret knowledge and its manifestations in history, including ancient mysteries, alchemy, Templars, Rosicrucians, Freemasonry and contemporary groups.  Join us in this fascinating journey.

CULTURAL STUDIES

HUM275CS Monsters and Monstrosities (Justine VanMeter) Sunday 

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz has argued that culture is simply the ensemble of stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. We will investigate and interpret the stories that we construct – about ourselves and about “the Other” – by exploring literary works that revolve around figures of dread: the vampire, the specter, the witch. We will focus on various time periods (but will relate each of these to our contemporary experiences) and various locations (with emphasis on England/Ireland, various aspects of the Caribbean/West Indies and Africa, and the United States).
(SYLLABUS)

HUM289CS The Terrorist in Fiction and Music (Michael Heim) Saturday  

The image of the terrorist now belongs to high art. Novels by John Updike (Terrorist) and Ian McEwan (Saturday) join the operas of John Adams (Death of Klinghoffer and Doctor Atomic) to explore the terrorized imagination. This seminar travels down the twilight road where darkness leads to a deeper appreciation of daylight. We place several works of artistic imagination against popular television and films such as “24” and “Redacted” (DePalma).  (SYLLABUS)

ENGLISH

HUM249E Narrative and 9/11 (Scott Bryson) Sunday

In this course we'll explore various responses writers have offered to the events on September 11, 2001.  We'll read both fiction and non-fiction from a number of perspectives.  We will pay special attention to the aims, rules, and rhetoric of narrative.  In other words, we'll watch for what the authors are trying to do as they tell their stories about this highly emotional event.  (SYLLABUS)

HUM249E The American Short Story (Ben Huang) Saturday

HUM203E/HUM268H Travel Study:   October 1 to 12, 2009.  Scotland, Wales and England (Millie Kidd/Fred Simonelli) tba

CREATIVE WRITING

HUM231CW Writing Poetry (Marcos Villatoro) Saturday

HUM230CW  Writing Noir (Joan Johnson)  Sunday

Whether it is a screenplay on the order of Robert Towne's Chinatown, or a novel, short story or graphic novel, you will spend a semester crafting your own masterpiece in the noir tradition.  We will study the components that go into the genre: the twisted motives, back alleys, personalities and relationships, plus the twisted turns with shadows, rain, shiny cars, sequins and black nylon stockings. . .  Easy field trips to real haunts nearby.  (SYLLABUS)

CAPSTONE:

HUM296A Capstone Project Workshop (Millie Kidd) dates tba

HUM296B Capstone Project (Millie Kidd)

HUM297A,B,C,D Capstone Project Continuation (Millie Kidd)

HUM298 Introduction to the Humanities (Fred Simonelli) dates tba