Ethnic Studies

COURSES IN ETHNIC STUDIES

ETHNIC STUDIES ELECTIVES:  SPRING 2015

SOCIAL SCIENCES COURSES
PSY 390   Cross-Cultural Psychology                           T 6:00-9:00 pm   Yueping Zhang
Relations between culture and human behavior. Examination of topics in psychology from a multicultural, multiethnic perspective, with special emphasis on cultural influence on research methods, self-concept, communication, emotion, social behavior, development, mental health. Cultural variation, how culture shapes human behavior, and psychological theories and practices in different cultures.

RHMS 313    Politics of Public Memory                      W 6:00-9:00 pm
G. Mitch Reyes
Investigation of public memory as the public negotiation of the past for political purposes in the present. How different cultures have remembered and rhetorically constructed traumatic historical events such as the Holocaust and institutionalized slavery. Role of communication and persuasion in public acts of remembrance.

RHMS 340   Media Across Cultures        M 3:00-4:30; Th 3:30-5:00 pm   Peter Christenson
Theoretical perspectives on the political and social role of mass communication in developed and developing nations. Mass communication organizations, content, regulatory models, audiences in diverse cultures. Implications of public versus private ownership of mass media. Evaluation of claims of U.S. cultural imperialism. Minority and ethnic media.

SOAN 255    Medicine, Healing, and Culture        MW 3:00 – 4:30 pm    Sepideh Bajracharya
Culturally patterned ways of dealing with misfortune, sickness, and death. Ideas of health and personhood, systems of diagnosis and explanation, techniques of healing ranging from treatment of physical symptoms to metaphysical approaches such as shamanism and faith healing. Non-Western and Western traditions.

SOAN 275  Africa:  Social/Cultural Persp             MWF 10:20-11:20 am   Maryann Bylander
The diverse peoples of Africa from precolonial times to the present day. Comparisons of religion and aesthetic expression based on political, economic, and social organization. Historical and ethnographic readings challenging the stereotypical view of a continent of isolated, unchanging tribes. Processes such as migration, trade, conquest, and state formation that have brought African societies into contact with one another and with other continents since
prehistoric times.

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ARTS & HUMANITIES COURSES
ART 207   Pre-Columbia Art                                 MWF  10:20-11:20am
Matt Johnston
Overview of the art of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca civilizations, other major early Central and South American cultures. Examination of architecture, sculpture, ceramics, painting; how the arts played a key role in developing a sense of continuity within these societies across time and distance.

FREN 450    Self Expressions                                  TTh 1:50-3:20 pm Isabelle DeMarte
Special topics or issues of French/Francophone literature and culture. Emphasis on stylistics, fine points of idiomatic usage and academic writing. Extensive oral and written work culminating in a research paper written and presented in French.

HIST 142 Modern Latin America                           MW 3:00-4:30 pm
Tamara Feinstein
Confrontation with the complexity of modern Latin America through historical analysis of the roots of contemporary society, politics, and culture. Through traditional texts, novels, films, and lectures, exploration of the historical construction of modern Latin America. Themes of unity and diversity, continuity and change as framework for analyzing case studies of selected countries.

HIST 217  Emergence of Modern South Asia        MWF 9:10-10:10 am  David Campion
The social, economic, and political history of the Indian subcontinent from the 18th century to the present. The cultural foundations of Indian Society; the East India Company and the expansion of British power; the experience of Indians under the British Raj; Gandhi and the rise of Indian
nationalism; independence and partition; postcolonial South Asian developments in politics, economy, and culture. Thematic emphasis on the causes and consequences of Western imperialism, religious and cultural identities, and competing historical interpretations.

HIST 242    Borderland: US-Mexico-16C-Prsnt     TTh  1:50-3:20 pm
Staff
The concept and region known as the Borderlands from when it was part of northern New Spain to its present incarnation as the U.S.-Mexico border. Thematic focus on the roles of imperialism and capitalism in the formation of borderlands race, class, gender, and national identities. The transformation of this region from a frontier between European empires to a borderline between nations.

HIST 398-2   Race, Ethnicity & Popular Music         MW 3:00-4:30 pm     Khalil Johnson
This course explores a multicultural history of the United States in sound and song.  As Ronald Radano, one of the scholars we will read this semester, has argued, the ways we discuss music can have a tangible influence on the social and political world, because debates about music stand in for larger social issues with real life consequences.  We will read texts that demonstrate how music has facilitated the creation of American identities that recognize and celebrate difference, while offering alternate visions for what it means to be (and sound) American. We will see music as primary sources in order to investigate how musical genres may act as reservoirs of shared history and collective identity. And through diverse topics – from blues music and the rise of Jim Crow to 19^th century tribal dancers draped in American flags on the Pine Ridge reservation to connections between elevator music and the Spanish American war – we will learn about how music and race have intersected with broader themes in U.S. history such as segregation, assimilation, internment, imperialism, and global capitalism.

HIST 400   Colloquium:  Eastern Europe            TTh 11:30 am-1:00 pm   Maureen Healy
Earthquakes, floods, epidemics, famines: the list of disasters suffered and/or caused by humanity over the centuries is as diverse as it is long. Together we will examine how historians have employed methods ranging from the analysis of poetry to the interpretation of archaeological remains to make sense of these and other sorts of disasters. Whether we read about the volcanic destruction of Pompeii, the famine that killed millions during Mao’s Great Leap Forward, or the devastation of New Orleans by
Hurricane Katrina, we will continually assess the ways in which historians have tackled questions like the following: To what extent can we classify disasters as “natural” on the one hand and “human-made” on the other? What do disasters reveal about the values and power dynamics of the societies in which they occur? Is it possible to use what we have learned about past disasters to prevent or mitigate future ones?

HIST 450   History Seminar                                    TTh 9:40-11:10 am   Benjamin Westervelt
Work with primary documents to research and write a major paper that interprets history. Topical content varies depending on instructor’s teaching field. Recent topics: the Americas; the United States and Asia; European intellectual history since 1945; women in American history; Indian policy on the Pacific slope; World War II, the participants’ perspectives; the British Raj; cultural nationalism in East Asia. May be taken twice for credit. Enrollment preference given to history majors and minors.

SPAN 370  LatinAm/Spain: Enlightment-Present     TTh 1:50-3:20 pm
J. Toledano Redondo
Introduction to major trends in Latin American and Spanish literature from the Enlightenment period to present day. Selected works from Latin America and Spain read in the context of cultural and historical events.

TH 382   American Th/Drama: 19C-Present M3:00-4:30; Th3:30-5:00pm  Robert Camp
Readings in modern and contemporary American theatre. Topics include the origins of realism, American expressionism, noncommercial art theatre, African-American playwriting, women in theatre, canonical family plays, the Federal Theatre Project, the musical, Broadway comedy, filmed adaptation of stage drama, the advent of experimental and postmodern theatre, and the evolution of theatrical forms and themes in relation to historical and social change.

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ETHNIC STUDIES COURSES:  FALL 2014

CORE COURSES:  
HIST 240  Race & Ethnicity/U.S.                                       Jane Hunter
MWF 1:50-2:50 pm
Investigation of the history of categories of race and ethnicity in the United States, primarily focused on the historical production of conceptions of racial and ethnic difference. Examines the origins, uses, and mutations of ideologies of race and ethnicity, as well as how these ideologies intersect with empire and nationalism, sexuality and gender, capitalism and labor relations, and scientific knowledge. Considers both chronological and thematic approaches. Examines scholarly work, visual culture, and memoir. Open to all students.         

ELECTIVES:  Arts & Humanities

ART 451         Art in the Qing Dynasty                               Ben David
MW 3- 4:30 pm        
Reading and critical analysis organized around themes or problems in art history. Focus varies depending on instructors teaching and research areas

ENG 319           Post-Colonial Lit: Afr/Ind/Carib          Rishona Zimring
TTh 1:50-3:20 pm
Post-World War II literary works and essays exploring the literary and cultural issues raised by the collapse of the colonial world order. Western travel and primitivism; decolonization and national allegories; authenticity and the invention of tradition; immigrant dreams; constructions of race; women and the nation; adolescence and the novel of education. Rhys, Rushdie, Emecheta, Coetzee, Achebe, Ghosh. 

FREN 330       Francophone Literature                        Philippe Brand
MWF 1:50-2:50 pm
Major works by Francophone writers outside of France (Africa, Canada, Caribbean). Focus on sociocultural issues as expressed in literature. Class discussion, short papers, oral presentations, midterm, final.

HIST 141        Colonial Latin American History                Elliott Young
TTh 9:40-11:10
History of Latin America from Native American contact cultures through the onset of independence movements in the early 19th century. Cultural confrontations, change, and Native American accommodation and strategies of evasion in dealing with the Hispanic colonial empire.

HIST 209        Japan at War                                                STAFF
MWF 12:40-1:40
In-depth study of the causes, dynamics, and outcomes of the wars fought by Japan in Asia and the Pacific from the late 19th century through World War II. The trajectories of Japanese imperialism, sequence of events leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor, social impact of total war. Japan’s wartime culture as seen through diaries, newspaper articles, propaganda films, short stories, government documents. Short- and long-term effects of the atomic bomb and the American occupation of Japan.

HIST 222        Britian: Age Revolution 1688-1815       David Campion
MWF8:00-9:00 am
A history of Britain and its people from the Glorious Revolution to the end of the Napoleonic War. The end of absolutism and the rise of the constitutional monarchy; the Augustan Age: arts, letters, and religion; the Atlantic world and British overseas expansion; the Enlightenment and
scientific revolution; the American Revolution and its aftermath; union with Scotland and Ireland and the creation of the British national identity; the revolution in France and the wars against Napoleon; the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution.

HIST 226        Twentieth-Century Germany                Maureen Healy
TTH 9:40 – 11:10 a.m.
Origins and consequences of World War I; attempts to develop a republican government; Nazism; evolution of the two Germanies after 1945 and their reunification. Readings on relationship between individual and state, pressures for conformity, possibility of dissent.

HIST 239        Construct American Landscape               Reiko Hillyer
TTh 9:40-11:10 am
Political, social, economic, and aesthetic forces that have helped shape ordinary built environments: farms, fast-food restaurants, theme parks, sports stadiums, highways, prisons, public housing. Patterns of economic growth and decline, technological innovation, segregation, gentrification, capital migration and globalization, historic preservation, and changing ideologies about nature and the city.                                         

HIST 328        The British Empire                                   David Campion
MWF 10:20-11:30
The history of British overseas expansion from the early 17th century to the end of the 20th century. Theories of imperialism; Britain’s Atlantic trade network; the Victorian empire in war and peace; collaboration and resistance among colonized people; India under the British Raj; Africa and
economic imperialism; the effects of empire on British society; the creation of the British Commonwealth; the rise of nationalism in India, Africa, and the Middle East; decolonization and postcolonial perspectives. Extensive readings from primary sources

HIST 348        Modern Cuba                                                Elliot Young
TTH 1:50 – 3:20 p.m.
Development of the modern Cuban nation from the independence movement of the mid-19th century to the contemporary socialist state. Focus on how identity changed under the Spanish colonial, U.S. neocolonial, Cuban republic, and revolutionary states. 1840s to 1898: wars of independence, slavery, transition to free labor. 1898 to 1952: U.S. occupation and neocolonialism, Afrocubanismo, populism. 1952 to the present: Castro revolution, socialism, U.S.-Cuban-Soviet relations

HIST 400      Reading Colloquium - History of History    Elliott Young
W 6:00-9:00 pm
Reading and critical analysis of major interpretive works. Organized around themes or problems; comparative study of historical works exemplifying different points of view, methodologies, subject matter. Focus varies depending on instructor’s teaching and research area.

HIST 450        History Seminar                                          Jane Hunter
TTH 9:40 – 11:10 a.m.
Work with primary documents to research and write a major paper that interprets history. Topical content varies depending on instructor’s teaching field. Recent topics: the Americas; the United States and Asia; European intellectual history since 1945; women in American history; Indian policy on the Pacific slope; World War II, the participants’ perspectives; the British Raj; cultural nationalism in East Asia. May be taken twice for credit. Enrollment preference given to history majors and minors.

IA 296            Human Rights/Int’l Politics       Heather Smith-Cannoy
MW 3:00-4:30 pm
Tensions surrounding sovereignty, or nonintervention, in the face of increasingly severe human rights abuses. Overview of the philosophical underpinnings of human rights as well as prominent debates in the human rights literature. Critical examination of the doctrine of sovereignty in international relations theory and practice. Analysis of the international community’s ways of preventing human rights violations, including political and judicial enforcement of human rights norms.

LAS 200         Latin American Stds    Juan Carlos Toledano Redondo
MWF 1:50-2:50 pm
Theoretical approaches to the study of Latin American culture. Focused study of particular writers, artists, and musicians. Topics include indigenismo, nationalism, post-colonialism, the African diaspora, borderlands, and hybridity. Interdisciplinary approach integrates literary, historical, and anthropological modes of inquiry in this team-taught, bilingual class. To earn Hispanic studies credit, students must do their papers in Spanish.

MUS 306       World Music:  Latin Am/Car            Beth Szczepanski
TTh 9:40-11:10 am
Survey of musical traditions and styles of the Caribbean and Middle and South America, including Afro-Cuban music, salsa, Latin jazz, and folk music of the Andes. Study of the music, instruments, and performance through readings, recordings, live performance when possible. Historical developments, how the music is used. Social function, political context, art, poetry, literature, religion as they assist in understanding the music and its culture.

SPAN 360       LatAm/Spain: PreColumbian-Barq   Matthieu Raillard
MWF 12:40 -1:40 pm
Introduction to major trends in Latin American and Spanish literature from the beginnings to the Baroque period. Selected works from Latin American and Spain read in the context of cultural and historical events.

SPAN 446    Hisp Lit/Culture: Scifi    Juan Carlos Toledano Redondo
MWF 9:10-10:10 am
Study of a genre, an author, a literary movement, or a topic in Hispanic literatures and cultures (Peninsular and/or Latin American, or U.S. Latino). Extensive oral and written work culminating in a research paper written in Spanish. May be taken twice for credit with change of topic.

Electives:  Social Sciences
RHMS 406       Race, Rhetoric and Resistance          Kundai Chirindo  
MW 6:00-7:30 pm  
How gendered identities and relationships are rhetorically constructed through everyday interaction. Role of rhetoric in social scientific study of gender and interaction. Survey of theories and empirical research on gender similarities and differences in communication with attention both to the explanations given as well as the rhetorical strategies scholars use to persuade.

SOAN 266        Social Change in Latin American            Sarah Warren
TTh 9:40-11:10 am    
Dynamics of social change in Latin America, with a particular focus on revolutionary transformations.  Comparative analysis of social change in Cuba, Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, and other countries. An introduction to key concepts from development theory, social movements research, cultural studies, and political economy analysis.

SOAN 285        Culture/Power in Middle East                Oren Kosansky
MW 3:00-4:30 pm 
Introduction to the anthropology of the Middle East and North Africa, with an emphasis on the relationship between global and local forms of social hierarchy and cultural power. Topics include tribalism, ethnicity, colonialism, nationalism, gender, religious practices, migration, the politics of identity.

SOAN 334       Anthropology of Suffering             Sepideh Bajracharya
TTh 1:50-3:20 pm                              
An anthropological perspective on the modern subject and experience of suffering. Topics include the role, experience, and representation of suffering in illness, addiction, grief, poverty, inequality, religion, globalization, and violence. The relationship that social, economic, political, and subjective perspectives on suffering have to practices and possibilities of healing, rights, pleasure, peace, resistance, and faith. The methods and ethics of studying and representing suffering in popular culture, modern social theory, and ethnography.

SOAN 349      Indigenous People                                    Sarah Warren
TTh 11:30-1:00 pm
Indigenous peoples, indigenous identity, and social movements for indigenous rights. How indigenous identity is defined, constructed, and maintained, and the rights that indigenous people have and can claim. The relationship between international organizations, including the United
Nations, and indigenous movements. Central focus on North and South America with some comparative cases from Asia. Sociological theories of social movements, identity politics, and racial formation.

SOAN 398 Migration in the Global South                  Maryann Bylander
M 3-4:30/Th 3:30-5:00pm
Considers contemporary causes, consequences, and meanings of migration within the Global South (broadly defined). Focuses on both labor and forced migration and pays attention to movements and flows within Africa and Asia. Key topics include the migration-development nexus, guest-worker programs, global care chains, urbanization, refugee/IDP movements, development-induced displacement, environmentally motivated migration, and migrant rights.

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