UPDATED 3/30.
This page is subject to change. We will update the list of available courses and their course descriptions as we receive such new information.

Fall 2010 American Studies courses at Rose Hill

AMST 3010-R01        APPROACHES TO AMERICAN STUDIES        Glenn Hendler  W 11:30 am-2:00 pm

A team-taught seminar, drawing on faculty in different areas of American Studies, the seminar provides a focused exploration of some aspect of American history and culture and forms the basis of the senior essay. The theme for this year's Senior Seminar is "Print, Publics, and Culture." This course will examine major themes and exemplary case studies in the history of American print culture. By reading a range of literary, historical, critical, and theoretical texts, it will consider such ideas as print's capacity to construct and define communities, the relationship bewteen print and democracy, and the mediating role of technology. Topics will include the rise of a print public sphere in the eighteenth century, the burgeoning market for poetry, novels, and women's magazines in the nineteenth century, and developments of a social justice press and a queer literary tradition in the twentieth century. The course work will be aimed towards facilitating the design and completion of a successful senior thesis in American Studies.

Fall 2010 courses at Rose Hill cross listed with American Studies

AFAM 3132-R01     BLACK PRISON EXPERIENCE                 Mark Chapman                MR 2:30-3:45pm
This course examines the experience of African Americans in the prison system, with a special emphasis on religion as a transforming agent.
[H] [D, P]

AFAM 3134-R01     FROM ROCK AND ROLL TO HIP HOP    Mark Naison                     TF 1:00-2:15pm
A study of urban youth culture through an examination of musical forms and their evolution from the post WWII era to the present. Begins with Rock and Roll and ends with Rap and Hip Hop.
[A] [C, D]

AFAM 3138-R01          NON-VIOLENT PROTEST              Bentley Anderson                 MR 4:00-5:15pm
This course examines the genesis of non-violent direct action protest in modern history. Starting with the writings of David Henry Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy, the class will focus on Gandhi in South Africa and India. Influenced by these non-violent people, their philosophies, and their social/political movements, the course will examine the modern Civil Rights Movements in the United States, especially the practice of non-violent direct action as embodied in the lives of Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King, Ella Baker, members of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Finally, the class will study the life and times of Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko, both of South Africa, looking for the roots of their non-violent philosophies and practices.
[H] [P]

AMCS 3359-R01              AMERICAN CATHOLIC WOMEN WRITERS    O'Donnell, A  MR  230-3:45pm
This course will explore American Catholic Women's imaginative writing and the ways in which it reflects the broad range of attitudes and the complexity of feeligns towards the Church American women havegiven voice to in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Students will read poetry, fiction, and memoir written by writers such as Dorothy Day, Mary McCarthy, Denise Levertov, Flannery O'Connor, Mary Karr, Alice McDermott and Mary Gordon. In addition, we will discuss the ways in which these writers have shaped the public discourse regarding the imaginative, religious and practical life of American Catholics.
[L, R] [C]

ARHI 2250-R01            PRE-COLOMBIAN ART                 Barbara Mundy                   MR 10:00-11:15am
Introduction to the art of Mexico, Central America and Peru from its beginnings to the time of its contact with Europe. Examination of architecture, sculpture, ceramics, and paintings in the context of such cultures as Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Aztec, Chavin, Mochica, Tiahuanaco, and Inca.
[A] [C]

COMM 3108-R01     MOVIES & AMERICAN EXPERIENCE             Meir Ribalow           T 2:30-5:00pm
A study of the American character as portrayed in American feature films from the early 20th century to the present. Lab fee.
[A] [C]

COMM 3108-R02     MOVIES & AMERICAN EXPERIENCE              Meir Ribalow          T 6:00-8:30pm
A study of the American character as portrayed in American feature films from the early 20th century to the present. Lab fee.
[A] [C]

COMM 3110-R01       PEACE, JUSTICE, AND THE MEDIA           Christ Brandt             TF 2:30-3:45pm
This course analyzes the ways in which the media represent the issues of peace and justice. Considering the relevance of peace and justice for democratic practicies, the variety of media depictions of such issues will be analyzed. Topics such as environmental and economic justice, poverty and the poor, race and gender, war and peace, and media values and ethics will be covered.
[A] [C, P]

COMM 3112-R01                  MEDIA LAW                     Arthur S. Hayes                       MR 4:00-5:15pm
This course is designed to introduce the communication and media studies major to the basic issues in the field of media law. Examined here are the Constitutional principles underlying the major Supreme Court cases that have established the parameters governing the use of communication technologies in the country. Special focus will be given to the various legal changes posed by new media. Juniors and Seniors only.
[A, H] [C, P]

COMM 3205-R01     JOURNALISTS & THE LAW              Arthur S. Hayes             MR 11:30 am-12:45pm
Students should think of this course as a media law handbook for journalists. We will examine U.S. Supreme Court and federal appeals court opinions and other materials with the aim of developing: (1) an understanding of the fundamentals of free speech-free press law, (2) and ability to spot when journalists' conduct may lead to lawsuits alleging libel, violations of national security, violations of the fair administration of justice and defendants fair trial rights and invasion of privacy, (3) an understanding of journalists’ rights and privileges under the law, (4) the skills to read and analyze court opinions and reason as lawyers do.
[A] [P]

COMM 3451-R01             FILMS OF ALFRED HITCHCOCK           M. Shanahan             M 6:00-8:30pm
A critical examination of Hitchcock's cinema. Students explore Hitchcock's major films, including Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho from a variety of perspectives, including psychoanalytic, narrative and feminist theory. Emphasis on Hitchcock's role in the British and American studio system and his mastery of cinematic technique and language. Lab fee.
[A] [C]

COMM 3476-L01              ETHICAL ISSUES IN MEDIA                  Tom McCourt          TF 10:00-11:25am
Review of ethical principles and examination of media-related issues such as freedom of expression, the right to privacy and the public's right to know.
[A] [C, P]

COMM 3566-L01          MEDIA EFFECTS                     STAFF                                             T 2:30-5:00pm
This course explodes the age-old controversies surrounding children's media. At least since Plato called for the banishment of the poets from the Republic to shield children from "harmful" ideas, adults have been worrying about the impact of mediated communication on the youngest members of society. In recent centuries, the emergence of new communication technologies has been consistently accompanied by calls for censorship and regulation in the name of protecting young audience members. Examining the methodological, ethical, political and philosophical challenges of studying children and media, this course provides an overview of the existing research on the effects of media on the youngest viewers and considers the complex and multifaceted nature of the debates about how to protect children and teens without violating the First Amendment.
[A] [C]

COMM 4001-L01            FILMS OF MORAL STRUGGLE             Michael Tueth             MR 4:00-5:15pm
This course studies the portrayal of human values and moral choices both in the narrative content and the cinematic technique of outstanding films. Class discussion tends to explore the ethical aspects of each film's issues,while numerous critical analyses of the films are offered to develop the students' appreciation of the films' artistic achievements.
[A, R] [C] Lab fee.

COMM 4002-R01               VALUES IN THE NEWS                        Arthur Hayes              W 11:30am-2:00pm
An examination of how news constructs and mediates personal and social values. This course considers how news frames discourse about reality, and then analyzes the framing of specific values, ethical issues and moral behaviors.
[H] [C, P]

COMM 4005-R01  DIGITAL MEDIA AND PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY   James A. Capo TF 1:00-2:15pm
An examination of the choices and responsibilities which shape the personal identity and common humanity for those who regularly employ the tools of digital media and computer technology. Regular use of digital media enables individuals to separate from their physical selves and from the community spaces in which they have traditionally lived. This course focuses on the resulting ethical tensions.
[A] [C, P]

ECON 3453-R01               LAW AND ECONOMICS                     Booi Themeli                   MR 8:30-9:45pm
This course applies microeconomic analysis to traditional areas of legal study, such as contract, property, tort and criminal law. The approach applies the 'rational choice' framework used in economics to analyze the purpose, effect and genesis of laws. Attention is paid to the effect of legal structures on economic efficiency. Economic analysis of law is one of the fastest growing and most influential areas of both economic and legal scholarship. This course is of value to both the general economist and students planning to attend law school.
[H] [P]

ECON 3453-R02              LAW AND ECONOMICS                            Booi Themeli            MR 10:00-11:15pm
This course applies microeconomic analysis to traditional areas of legal study, such as contract, property, tort and criminal law. The approach applies the 'rational choice' framework used in economics to analyze the purpose, effect and genesis of laws. Attention is paid to the effect of legal structures on economic efficiency. Economic analysis of law is one of the fastest growing and most influential areas of both economic and legal scholarship. This course is of value to both the general economist and students planning to attend law school.
[H] [P]

ECON 3850-R01       ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS               Darrly McLeod                MR 4:00-5:15pm
Good economic analysis underlies many successful environmental policies, from reducing air and water pollution to the Montreal Accord limiting ozone-depleting gases. However, the environmental challenges of global warming, biodiversity and sustainable development are increasing global as well as politically and economically complex. This course reviews the key economic ideas underlying past successes and explores potential solutions for sustaining economic growth with environmental preservation in rich and poor countries alike.
[H] [P]

ECON 4110-R01            ETHICS AND ECONOMICS             Booi Themeli                        MR 2:30-3:45pm
This course examines how ethical considerations enter into economic decisions. Readings include writings by moral philosophers and the founders of economic thought as well as recent research on ethical issues. Topics for discussion may include childcare, trade liberalization, welfare reform, healthcare, poverty, pollution, and economic sanction.
[H] [P]

ECON 4110-R02            ETHICS AND ECONOMICS              Booi Themeli                       MR 4:00-5:15pm
This course examines how ethical considerations enter into economic decisions. Readings include writings by moral philosophers and the founders of economic thought as well as recent research on ethical issues. Topics for discussion may include childcare, trade liberalization, welfare reform, healthcare, poverty, pollution, and economic sanction.
[H] [P]

ENGL 3356-R01    INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES      James Kim   TF 2:30-3:45pm
An introduction to key issues in Asian American Studies, viewed through a transnational frame of reference. Topics will most likely include patterns of Asian migration to the U.S., exclusion laws, Japanese American internment, model minority discourse, and Asians and Asian Americans in film and media.
[L] [C, D]

ENGL 3649-R01    WOMEN'S LITERATURE: THE AMERICAN TRADITION       J Cooper   TF 1:00-2:15pm
Our focus in this course will be American women's fiction and poetry from the nineteenth century to the present. As we proceed, we will explore the following questions: Is there one tradition of American women's literature? What are some of the main themes and techniques of American women's literature? How useful is "women's literature" as a category? Possible authors include Harriet Jacobs, Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein, Zora Neale Hurston, Eudora Welty, Toni Morrison, Marge Piercy, Leslie Marmon Silko, Alice Notley, and Bharati Mukherjee.
[L] [C]

ENGL 3673-R01          POSTMODERN AMERICAN NOVEL           Daniel Contreras       TF 10:00-11:15am
Postmodernism marks the time and space after WWII; the globe has become the global market, producing wide ranging cultural and political effects. These effects are explored in various experimental novels by American writers including Philip K. Dick, Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo, William S. Burroughs, and David Foster Wallace. This course will concentrate on a selection of novels that attempt to make sense of a world dominated by commodities and images in a time of endless war.
[L] [C]

ENGL 4129-R01      FOUR MODERN CATHOLIC WRITERS           Richard Giannone    M 2:30-4:30pm
This seminar will consider the writings of Dorothy Day (1897-1980), Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964), and Walker Percy (1916-1990). These four authors, who arguably can be termed reformers as well as artists in their own right, are the principal critics of the modern Catholic predicament before and after World War II. Each in her or his way saw a church in drastic need of rebuilding and sought to restore what had collapsed and had been left unheeded by what was essentially an immigrant institution.
[L, R] [C]

HIST 3635-R01           SCIENCE IN POPULAR CULTURE                  Asif Siddiqi             MR 2:30-3:45pm
This course will survey the intersection between science and popular culture in modern history. How do ideas about science and technology appear in our everyday lives? What kind of perceptions do lay people entertain about science and scientists? What shapes these perceptions? Where do we get our ideas about technology from? How are our expectations of the future shaped by perceptions (and often misperceptions) of scientific knowledge? The course will be firmly grounded in history, tracing the evolution of popular science through important transformations in the modern era, including the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, Colonialism, and the traumas of the twentieth century, particularly in the American and European contexts. Through the semester, we will study a variety of popular scientific forms, such as science fiction, magazines, comics, graphic novels, sci-fi movies, and TV shows.
[H] [C, P]

HIST 3657-R01            AMERICAN CONSTITUTION                   Saul Cornell                 TF 1:00-2:15pm
The role of constitutionalism in the development of American society. The concept of a higher law, federal-state controversies, economic growth, and the expansion of personal rights will be considered in the context of American social history.
[H] [P]

HIST 3752-R01             COMING OF THE CIVIL WAR                   Paul Cimbala             MR 10:00-11:15pm
A history of the sectional crisis in America, focusing on the questions: Why did the South secede? Why did the North decide to fight rather than allow it?"
[H] [P]

HIST 3775-R01               THE EARLY REPUBLIC                      Saul Cornell                 TF 11:30am-12:45pm
The course studies the birth of American democracy and capitalism from the revolution to the age of Jackson.
[H] [P]

HIST 3791-R01             AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY I         Claude  Magnum            T 2:30-5:00pm
An examination of the black experience in the U.S. from colonial times through Reconstruction.
[H] [D, P]

HIST 3826-R01               MODERN US WOMEN'S HISTORY        Roberta Gold                MR 4:00-5:15pm
This course explores the history of American women from 1848 to the present. We'll study women's experiences in the home, family, workplace, and political sphere. The interplay among gender, class, race, and sexuality will receive particular attention.
[H] [D]

HIST 3862-R01            HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY                     Daniel Soyer          MR 11:30-12:45pm
This course surveys the history of New York City from its seventeenth-century origins as a Dutch colony to its twenty-first-centry status as a cosmopolitan post-industrial city. The course will proceed chronologically, but will focus on several themes: the people of the city, in particular their origins in waves of immigration and internal migration; the use of space in the city, especially the social meaning and rise and fall of distinct neighborhoods; urban politics, including the recurring conflict between political machines and reform movements; social problems such as crime and disorder; and the tension between the city as a seat of power and wealth, on the one hand, and as a site of poverty and dislocation, on the other. In addition, important events in the city's history will be discussed, including Leisler's Rebellion, the 1863 Draft Riots, the creation of the modern urban infrastructure, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, consolidation of the five boroughs, the 1968 teachers' strike, and September 11. One week will be devoted to the controversial role of Robert Moses in building the modern city, as well as alternative visions to his. The goal of the course is to enable students to view New York four-dimensionally, with layers extending back in time and space as well.
[H] [P]

MUSC 2014-R01            JAZZ, A HISTORY IN SOUND                  Larry Stempel        MR 11:30am-12:45pm
This course studies jazz historically from the turn of the twentieth century to the present, through both the shifting relations between black and white cultures in America, and the changes in musical tastes and practices over time. It considers the development of New Orleans, Swing, bebop, modal, fusion, and contemporary jazz styles, with special attention to the contributions of Armstrong, Ellington, Parker, Davis and Coltrane.
[A] [C]

PHIL 3417-R01           RACE AND MORAL RECOGNITION               Ann Murphy           TF 8:30-9:45am
This course willexamine the impact of perceived race differences on moral recognition both in thought and in historical fact. Narrative and historical materials will illustrate ways these affect the meaning of human dignity, equality, common humanity and moral worth.
[R]  [D]

PHIL 3720-R01             AFRICAN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY              Judith Green    MR 11:30am-12:45pm
Using texts by Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, W.E.B. DuBois, Alain Locke, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, James H. Cone, Angela Davis, Cornel West, Patricia Hill Collins, Howard McGary, William E. Lawson, Leonard Harris, Lucius Outlaw and others, this course will focus on pillars, prophets and prospects for African American philosophy, a "philosophy born of struggle" created by profound critical and transformative voices from times of chattel slavery to the present that plays an influential role in American philosophy and American society today.
[R] [D]

POSC 2211-R01           AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES            Richard Fleisher       MR 2:30-3:45pm
Examines the workings of American political parties and their role in the political system. Analyzes the effect of parties on the campaigns of presidential and congressional candidates, the influence of parties on the electoral decisions of voters, and the impact of parties on the workings of both the presidency and Congress as policymaking institutions.
[H] [P]

POSC 2213-R01                  CONSTITUTIONAL LAW                   Robert Hume              TF 10:00-11:15am
A casebook approach to an examination of the selected problems in constitutional law and the federal system, such as jurisdiction, justiciability standing, collusive suits, mootness, judicial review, political questions doctrine, the executive branch and the Supreme Court, the legislative branch and the Supreme Court and the Commerce Clause.
[H] [P]

POSC 3121-R01                    NEW YORK CITY POLITICS                    Bruce Berg           MR 10:00-11:45am
An analysis of the New York City political system. Attention will be paid to the participants in New York City government and politics, the factors that influence policy making in New York City, as well as public policies produced by that system.
[H] [P]

POSC 3309-R01    WOMEN IN AMERICAN POLITICS        Monika L. McDermott        MR 4:00-5:15pm
This course examines the role of women in three major areas of American politics: women as citizens and voters; women as candidates of elective office; and women as political officeholders. This course analyzes each of these areas in the context of the unique experience women have had both historically and currently.
[H] [P]

PSYC 3600-R01                   MULTICULTURAL ISSUES                           STAFF                        TBA
Prerequisite: PSRU-1000. The focus of this course is the multicultural applicability of scientific and professional psychology. Traditional psychological theories, scientific psychology, psychological tests, and the practice of psychology will be examined and critiqued from cultural and socio-historical perspectives. Contemporary psychological theories and research specific to men, women, gay men, lesbians, and race/ethnicity will be reviewed.
[H] [D]

SOCI 3020-R01  IDENTITIES AND INEQUALITIES IN AMERICAN
                               SOCIETY: RACE, CLASS, GENDER, SEXUALITY       Orit Avishai        TF 1:00-2:15pm
Why do men earn more than women? Why do Blacks and Latinos earn high school diplomas at a much lower rate than Asian Americans? Why did the confirmation hearing of Judge Sonya Sotomayor stroke debates about mediocracy? Why did it take until 2008 for the U.S. to elect its first non-white president? These questions all resolve around privileges, stereotypes, and discriminations associated with race, gender, class, ethnicity, and sexuality. In this course, we will discuss how three dimensions of identity (along with our age, ability, status, nationality, etc.) structure our experience of the world and our life chances, and we learn how sociologists make sense of differences and inequality in American society.
[H] [D, P]               

SOCI 3405-R01                GENDER, RACE, CLASS                             Kurti, Z                  TF 10:00-11:15am
This course examines the relationship between gender, race, and class as overlapping dimensions of social experience in the U.S. Drawing on a variety of sources, including theoretical, ethnographic, and literary writings, each of these dimensions is considered as part of a complex approach to social problems.
[H] [D, P]

SOCI 3456-R01        MODERN AMERICAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS     Bilous, A       MR 11:30am-12:45pm
Social movements in 20th-century America have been vehicles of political protest, social change, and sometimes also resistance to change. Under what circumstances are social movements successful and what has been their impact on American institutional life and popular culture? In addition to a general andtheoretical assessment of social movements, this course introduces students to particular movements that have formed over such issues as alcohol consumption, racism, war, and abortion.
[H] [D, P]

SOCI 3711-R01        AMERICAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS           Collins             M 6:00-8:00pm
This seminar course focuses on the administration of criminal justice and its relation to society, the police, prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, jury and correction agency. Observations at the courthouse allow for examination of constitutional rights, plea bargaining, jury selection, insanity defense and media coverage.
[H] [P]

SOCI 4960-R01 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN US IMMIGRATION     Gilbertson          R 4:00-6:00pm
Immigration patterns have significantly affected the development of U.S. society since its inception. In the 1990s, the United States experienced a record number of new immigrants, and the present decade is maintaining a high volume of immigration, perhaps heading to another record. This course uses a sociological perspective to address various impacts of immigration in U.S. society. Students will become familiar with the leading conceptual and theoretical perspectives of prominent topics in international migration research; and become familiar with the research methods and findings in the prominent topics of international migration research. The range of topics covered in the course include historical and macro contexts of migration, gender and migration, labor market incorporation, social incorporation and assimilation, theories of international migration, migration and state policies, impacts of migration on communities, religion, and human rights issues.
[H] [D, P]

SPAN 3002-R01  TOPICS IN SPANISH-AMERICAN CULTURE   Arnaldo Cruz-Malave  MR 11:30-12:45
The study of Spanish-American society through its cultural expressions: literature, art, music, film, and print journalism. To focus, in a given semester, on topics such as "Literature and Art in Colonial Spanish America," "Literature and Film in Contemporary Spanish America," "Revolution in Spanish American Literature and Art," "Civilization and Barbarism," "National Identity, Race, and Gender in Spanish America," "Dictatorship and Resistance in Spanish America," and others.
[L] [C, D]