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Liberal Arts: Social Sciences
	LASS200 Pirates, Witches and Slaves: Studies in Early American History 3 cr. A study of American history beginning with its roots in early America, Africa and Europe, continuing through the colonial period, the War for Independence, the Constitution and the Creek War (also known as the War of 1812), which set the stage for the developing internal conflict leading up to the Civil War. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar All College Elective
	LASS206 Seminar in Romanticism 3 cr. What is Romanticism? To what areas of intellectual life does the term have reference? To art? Literature? Philosophy? Religion? History? Politics? The answer is yes to all the above, and then some. The seminar explores the nature of this immense cultural movement while focusing on the work of the great Romantic poets, writers and artists of the nineteenth century in Europe and America. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS208 Social Psychology 3 cr. Social Psychology explores the behavior of individuals and groups in social contexts. In this course, an emphasis will be placed on how social aspects may be relevant to being an artistic individual in today’s society. Some examples of topics to be discussed are: How are our thoughts, feelings, and behavior influenced by the presence of other human beings? Can we manipulate someone else’s opinion? Does self-fulfilling prophesy exist? What are social norms? Questions related to how a person’s self-image develops, how individuals think about and react to the world, and how they understand themselves and others will also be explored. In addition, students will learn about concepts such as impression and attitude formation, persuasion, pro-social behavior, prejudice and discrimination, obedience and compliance, aggression, group psychology, and personality. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar All College Elective
	LASS209 Civil War and Reconstruction Era 3 cr. US history from the Missouri Compromise of 1820 to the presidential election of 1876. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS210 Representations of Race 3 cr. This course will look at how “race” is constructed and affirmed, drawing on images and texts from nineteenth century minstrelsy through 1950s depiction of the American family up to the current pluralistic moment. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS211 The American Century 3 cr. From the Spanish-Cuban-Filipino-American War to the present. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS214 Revolutionary Boston 3 cr. The story of Boston in the 1760s and 1770s told from the point of view of the “mobs” who populated the streets of this port city. Sailors, pirates, prostitutes, apprentices, and indentured servants all played a part in the life of Boston at the time of the American Revolution. Their stories provide new perspectives on the events of that time. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar All College Elective
	LASS215 City and Society 3 cr. Cities are places of great opportunity for many, but at the same time, they are also places of great inequality. This course introduces students to how cities function on a variety of levels, including their development and planning, racial and ethnic transformations within cities, and the role of arts and culture in urban centers. The course includes lectures, guest speakers, lively discussion, and several optional site visits that enhance our shared understanding of Boston, and by extension, other urban locales. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS216 Economic History of the US 3 cr. This course surveys the economic life of the United States from colonial times to Reconstruction, focusing upon the history of capitalism and slavery in the long nineteenth century. Often opposed to one another, we will explore capitalism and slavery as commensurable, if competitive, modes of economic theory and practice, as we interrogate the interplay of those regional, national, and international economies that shaped the nineteenth century US. Topics addressed will include the relationship between Native Americans and mercantile colonialism, the international movement to abolish slavery and the growth of American industry, the relationship between financial speculation and American geography, the impact of the American Civil War on US currency markets, and the enfranchisement of African Americans and the rise of the corporation. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar All College Elective
	LASS217 Sub-Saharan African Politics 3 cr. Sub-Saharan African Politics is an open window on African countries’ politics since the independences, i.e. the 60s. It provides students with details on African political institutions and governance. It considers African countries in general, but concentrates much more on: Angola, Congo, Gabon, Central Africa Republic, Botswana, Burundi, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo as cases covering the sub region. It depicts these countries’ political management, nation building process, cooperation, health care, and education projects. The course surveys Africa from the pre-colonial empires to republics, and depicts power structures and social limitations. A number of countries are presented in their evolution from the early 60s in order to show their political situation and changes often related to the international balance of power between the West and the East. The Cold War had a serious impact on African politics, its end inaugurated the era of African Democracies still submitted to a new kind of western presence. At the same time, Asia implements its presence in Africa and challenges the western world. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS218 Central African Art and Religion 3 cr. This course presents art produced in different parts of Africa, but concentrates on Central Africa. It discusses the understanding of symmetry versus asymmetry, and the use of color, wood, rocks, stones, iron, feathers, clothes, and other media in the production of artifacts. The class also teaches interpretation procedures, showing how religion, philosophy, and culture participate in artistry. It also explains how art and initiation participate in the same world vision, gender understanding, religion construction and power distribution in different communities. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS221 Free Speech, Free Art and the Law 3 cr. Would you like to know more about Shepard Fairey’s controversial poster of Barack Obama or “Dread” Scott Tyler’s confrontational art installation “What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag?”? Or what do you make of the attempted censorship of Chris Ofili’s “Holy Virgin Mary?” In this course we will study recent debates as well as past disputes over freedom of speech and exhibiting works of art from socio-cultural perspectives including art historical and legal views on the subject. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS222 History of Modern Middle East 3 cr. One hundred years ago, the borders of modern Middle Eastern states did not exist. With the conclusion of World War I in 1918, however, the European powers divided up the territories of the former Ottoman Empire and created new borders, new states, and new conflicts. Beginning with the end of World War I, then, the class will explore the development of each Middle Eastern country’s unique identity and history and how they interact with one another, and with the outside world, today. In this context we will explore the differences between Sunni and Shii Muslims, Middle Eastern minorities such as Druze, Christians, Alawis, Alevis, and Ismailis, and the differences between Jews, Arabs, Turks, Persians and Kurds. The impact of the Arab-Israeli conflict, oil, the war in Iraq, and the rise of political Islam throughout the region will also be considered. The class will include readings, lectures, video, and class discussions in order to illuminate the region’s unique history and political style. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS224 Culture, History and Philosophy of India 3 cr. The course will be highly interdisciplinary and will explore the basic cultural roots of India through the study of a group of writers both ancient and modern. We will start our mental journey with the ancient Indian philosophical text “Isha Upanishad” in translation which is at the root of Indian culture and written by a group of unknown scholars in ancient times. We then come to the medieval India and read “Gita-Govinda” by Jaydeva the legend of Radha and Krishna which combines literature, philosophy and history of India during that time period. Thus, in the first phase, we read Pre-Colonial India through “Upanishad” and “Gita-Govinda” thus looking at the texts and listening to musical chanting. In the second phase, we study colonial India through Tagore’s novel “Home and the World” and study British colonization and culture of India during that time. To delve into philosophy we also read Tagore’s “King of the Dark Chamber” which deals with the critique of colonization and the notion of redemption and transcendence in colonial time. At the last phase, we construct the modern and postmodern Indian culture, history and philosophy through the writers who are writing in the USA both male and female, for example writers like Amitav Ghosh, Chitra Banerjee and Jhumpa Lahiri. We read Chira Banerjee’s “Mistress of Spices” and Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Namesake,” as well as Amitav Ghosh’s “Calcutta Chromosomes.” A special attraction of the course will be films of Satayjit Ray and Aparna Sena, the two great filmmakers of India. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS226 The Rise and Expansion of the Great Muslim Empires 3 cr. This course explores the history of successive Islamic empires and capital cities within them, from the foundation of Islam in the early seventh century to Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt at the dawn of the nineteenth century. The crusades and their continuing impact on relations between the Middle East and the west, as well as historically significant Islamic art and architecture are explored. Relations between Muslims, Christians, and Jews, as well as the lesser-known religions of the Middle East such as the Zoroastrians, Alawis, and Druze, are examined. Photos and videos that help to illuminate the region constitute an important part of this course and are used in every class. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar All College Elective
	LASS227 Markets, Minds and Mathematics 3 cr. Financial literacy. Practical knowledge about personal finance (budgets and credit) and money management (banking and the ABCs of investing). Readings and discussion on current financial topics. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar All College Elective
	LASS239 Entrepreneurship 3 cr Entrepreneurship; What does it take to start and run your own business. Prerequisites: LALW200 Lecture Elective Fall/Spring
	LASS280 Introduction to Psychology 3 cr. An examination of the dynamics of the self from the interpretative, clinical perspective. The course discusses the growth and the making of the “solid self” and explores the influences that can further or hinder the constitution of a coherent, stable personality. Narcissistic disorders, the most common psychic disorders of our time, are also addressed. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective Fall/Spring
	LASS281 Psychology of Flourishing 3 cr. This course will examine psychology as it relates to the human potential for growth and flourishing as well as for resiliency. Traditionally, psychologists have aimed at helping individuals notice and fix unwanted or dysfunctional habits, uncover and repair unfortunate or traumatic childhood experiences, or calibrate damaged brain chemistry. Rather than focusing on human weakness and dysfunction, this class will explore the human condition from a positive psychology perspective. That is, students will study concepts such as hope, happiness, optimism, and resiliency, and will survey human core character strengths and virtues. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar All College Elective
	LASS299 African Global Diaspora 3 cr. Global Black Studies. This course intends to guide students in an introductory survey of Global Black Studies. The latter are more and more imposing themselves in a discipline at the crossroad of literature, history, literary criticism, and ideologies based on the analyses of Black life within a global diaspora. Visual didactic materials and the most representative books lead the study of the historical, political, religious, social and economic dynamics of the Black experiences all around the world. All through the course, a particular stress will be put on the perception of the Black (by Blacks and by others), prejudices accumulated all through history, the diaspora in time, identities, racism, artistry, underdevelopment versus development, and creeds. Texts are selected in such a way that a chronological line goes far in the past, but also predicts much for the future. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar All College Elective
	LASS300 Race in America 3 cr. How did various peoples from America, Africa, and Europe, speaking different languages and possessing different cultures, come to be defined as “red”, “black”, and “white”, and how did later immigrants or conquered peoples from Asia and the western hemisphere get fitted into this scheme? This class will examine how race categories were formed in the colonial period and have been repeatedly remade up to the present. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS301 Social Philosophy of Art 3 cr. This course is for enthusiasts, juniors and seniors, who like ideas and think that valid reasons exist to examine art in the social, intellectual, and cultural context. Our framework is that of social philosophy. Three central themes organize the course: the pre- modern and the rise of modernity, the transition of modernity into postmodernity, and the character of art at our current moment. We will examine the roots of the modern, and the current, in the pre-modern. Why did the Romanesque give way to the Gothic? Was it just that people became bored with the same old style? If not that, then what? How far do you need to go to understand the phenomenon? The art-historical background is paramount. If you do not have this background, you should take the course at a later date. I also rely on your historical background. If you do not have a sufficient background to understand historical references this material takes for granted, you will have to make up for it by reading. I have supplied the necessary historical texts in the Reader. Our intention is not descriptive but analytic and critical. Many of your preconceived notions will be challenged. We will use examples from art-history as we need them to enlighten a larger point: the intersection between ideas, culture, society, and the art world as it evolves from the premodern into the modern, and into our current moment. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content Junior, Senior Elective
	LASS302 Gender, Class and Race in American Film 3 cr. This class looks at film as an important part of mass culture. The course is a social science course, not a “film viewing” one. Expect to analyze sociological themes having to do with gender, class, and race as such themes are reflected in the actions of the film’s characters; in their relations with other characters; in their expectations, hopes, and dreams; and, implicitly, in the film’s cinematic, visual aspects. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS303 Abnormal Psychology 3 cr. This course will provide an introduction to the field of abnormal psychology. Questions around what qualifies as “abnormal” or “normal” in historical and cultural contexts will be explored. In addition, students will study diagnostic criteria and statistical data of the major mental disorders as compiled in the DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Treatment options for each disorders and associated theoretical perspectives will be examined. The role of environment, genetic factors, psychodynamics, neuropsychology, and biochemistry in the determination of psychopathology will also be discussed. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS304 Arab-Israeli Conflict This course explores the origins and development of one of the most intractable conflicts of our time - the Arab-Israeli conflict. It explore relations between Arabs and Jews under the Ottoman and British Empires between 1882 and 1948, and war, the prospects for peace, and the peace process after the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948. The course examines the diplomatic and military options the two sides have used, the impact of oil, religious fundamentalism, political militancy, and prospects for the peaceful resolution of the more than century-long conflict. In addition to a main textbook, excerpts from biographies and autobiographies of Israeli, Palestinian, and other Arab leaders are included . Extensive use of video, including newscasts, documentaries and dramatic movies dealing with the conflict, produced both from within the region as well as abroad, are used in every class and constitute a major part of this course. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar All College Elective
	LASS305 How Language Works 3 cr. An introduction to basic linguistic concepts, including word play, language games, and the symbolic power of language. Supplementing the course textbook are : Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass; cartoons by Saul Steinberg; remarks by Oscar Wilde and Groucho Marx; puns by Shakespeare; paintings that incorporate words; newspaper headlines; advertising slogans; bumper-stickers; word puzzles and brain teasers. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar All College Elective
	LASS306 Ancient History from Prehistory to Rome 3 cr. A survey of the extensive period from the Old Stone Age to the fall of Rome in the fifth century AD. The course first investigates the ancient river valley civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China, concentrating on the major achievements of each. The second half of the course offers a detailed account of the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome and an in-depth discussion of Judaism and early Christianity. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS309 History of Modern Europe 3 cr. A comprehensive overview of the last four centuries of European history. The course surveys political and international history, social history, and intellectual history. Students gain a deep appreciation for the rich complexity of European civilization and a solid understanding of the continuity of events from the seventeenth century onward. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS318 Seminar: Reading Marx 3 cr. A critical reading and discussion of some of Marx’s writings on history, philosophy and society, plus commentary. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100; LALW200 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS321 Bonds of Love: Attachment and the Brain 3 cr. This course examines intimate human relationships ranging from infancy through adulthood by exploring new findings in neuroscience as well as in developmental/relational/depth psychologies. The course treats questions about selfhood and emotion; the capacities for empathy, attachment and solitude, and received ideas of love in the relationships we form. Readings in psychology, neuropsychology and fiction; documentary and popular film clips. Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100; LALW200 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS351 Intellectual History of Modern Europe 3 cr. A study of major trends in Europe from the French Enlightenment to the present. Topics include an analysis of the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and major nineteenth and twentieth century schools of philosophy and criticism. Prerequisites: LALW200 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS354 Marxist Perspectives on Art 3 cr. An introduction to the relationship between art and politics, with emphasis on the application of Marxist ideas and categories to the arts. Prerequisites: LALW200 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS357 Civil Liberties 3 cr. An analysis of the relationship between the individual and the law, showing how and why the law is “political.” Students study the effects of politics and economics on the issue of constitutional rights. Prerequisites: LALW200 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS359 Technology and Change 3 cr. A study of the relationship between technological advance and social, economic, political, intellectual, and artistic change. Historical in method, the course concentrates on the last two hundred years. Prerequisites: LALW200 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS360 Memory and Dreams 3 cr. This course explores the intersecting realms of memory and dream. Dreaming is an entirely subjective experience, but how objective is remembering? How do we understand phenomena like post-traumatic or implanted or false memories? How can culture construct our memories–and our forgettings–for us? How can we separate identity from memory and either from forms of fiction? The world of dream: meaningful, nonsense, prophetic, usable? As in our work on memory, we’ll call on current neuroscience and neuropsychology, see film clips, read case histories, fiction, analytic theory. In preparation for the final project people will keep a nightly dream journal. In all this we’ll be asking questions about the nature of consciousness and subjectivity, about the existence of a coherent self over time, and about the creative uses to which memory and dream may be put. Prerequisites: LALW200 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective
	LASS401 On Truth and Value 3 cr. The course is organized around the following core questions: What is truth and is it attainable? Why is truth important? How do we get to know objective reality? What is a “good life” in the ethical sense, and why should one desire to live a “good life”? Prerequisites: LALW200 Lecture/Seminar Culturally Diverse Content All College Elective

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Courses

LASS200 Pirates, Witches and Slaves: Studies in Early American History 3 cr.

LASS206 Seminar in Romanticism 3 cr.

LASS208 Social Psychology 3 cr.

LASS209 Civil War and Reconstruction Era 3 cr.

LASS210 Representations of Race 3 cr.

LASS211 The American Century 3 cr.

LASS214 Revolutionary Boston 3 cr.

LASS215 City and Society 3 cr.

LASS216 Economic History of the US 3 cr.

LASS217 Sub-Saharan African Politics 3 cr.

LASS218 Central African Art and Religion 3 cr.

LASS221 Free Speech, Free Art and the Law 3 cr.

LASS222 History of Modern Middle East 3 cr.

LASS224 Culture, History and Philosophy of India 3 cr.

LASS226 The Rise and Expansion of the Great Muslim Empires 3 cr.

LASS227 Markets, Minds and Mathematics 3 cr.

LASS239 Entrepreneurship 3 cr

LASS280 Introduction to Psychology 3 cr.

LASS281 Psychology of Flourishing 3 cr.

LASS299 African Global Diaspora 3 cr.

LASS300 Race in America 3 cr.

LASS301 Social Philosophy of Art 3 cr.

LASS302 Gender, Class and Race in American Film 3 cr.

LASS303 Abnormal Psychology 3 cr.

LASS304 Arab-Israeli Conflict

LASS305 How Language Works 3 cr.

LASS306 Ancient History from Prehistory to Rome 3 cr.

LASS309 History of Modern Europe 3 cr.

LASS318 Seminar: Reading Marx 3 cr.

LASS321 Bonds of Love: Attachment and the Brain 3 cr.

LASS351 Intellectual History of Modern Europe 3 cr.

LASS354 Marxist Perspectives on Art 3 cr.

LASS357 Civil Liberties 3 cr.

LASS359 Technology and Change 3 cr.

LASS360 Memory and Dreams 3 cr.

LASS401 On Truth and Value 3 cr.