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Academic Catalog 2021-2022 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Courses
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Industrial Design |
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EDID315 Industrial Design I 3 cr.
An introduction to the design process and problem solving techniques used in industrial design. The course presents the tasks required for research, preliminary concept sketching, design refinement, presentation, and fabrication possibilities. It also introduces the use of media and drawing techniques and basic scale model-making.
Prerequisites: EDID235, EDID245
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Fall
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EDID318 Branding - Product 3 cr.
This course examines issues around industrial design in brand development, through applied problems. There is a focus on the relationship of telling compelling stories to connecting a brand with people.
Prerequisites: EDID245, EDID315
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Elective
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EDID325 Manufacturing Process II 3 cr.
An investigation of specific problems in the manufacturing development of a product. The course uses a detailed case study of a new product from its inception to its completion. Topics include cost analysis and research into the technical problems of competitive manufacturing and marketing.
Prerequisites: EDID235
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Fall
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EDID345 Industrial Design II 3 cr.
Integration of creative concepts with the development of visual communication skills, such as rendering and model-making.
Prerequisites: EDID315
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Spring
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EDID355 Professional Practice:Discovering Your Professional Self 3 cr.
Directing of students through the process of developing a professional portfolio. Basic elements of Illustrator, Photoshop, PowerPoint, Acrobat, web-based. Students required to present complete portfolio piece at reviews. [Fomerly titled Portfolio and Presentation]
Prerequisites: EDID315
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Spring
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EDID365 Product Development Laboratory 3 cr.
Explores the process of bringing a product to fruition with special emphasis on the role of the industrial designer in new product development. The course will deal with the design and development of real products. Students work with local manufacturers and their product development groups.
Prerequisites: EDID215, EDID225, EDID235, EDID315
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Fall/Spring
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EDID392 ID Course Assistantship
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EDID399 ID Independent Study
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EDID402 Design for Social Impact 3cr.
The first project is constructed to give students the broad understanding of SDI and includes
precedent studies, product/service development, research, synthesis and a final presentation.
Students work closely with a chosen non-profit or social enterprise as a means for deconstructing
and understanding as well as first hand insights into the complicated system. For the second
project, students follow the design process from inception to finalization with the end
deliverable as a presentation to pitch to venture capitalist, non-profits, endowments or community
leaders to incite traction, funding or future collaboration.
Prerequisites: Open to Seniors only
Undergraduate Elective
Fall Only
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EDID415 Industrial Design III 3 cr.
Design projects developed in full four-phase programs: Analysis and Conceptual Refinement;Final Design and Documentations; Model and Presentation.
Prerequisites: EDID345
Studio
Departmental Requirement
Fall
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EDID425 Degree Project I - Research 3 cr.
A student selected and faculty approved project of significance.
Prerequisites: EDID345
Critique
Departmental Requirement
Fall
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EDID435 Degree Project II- Development 3 cr.
A student selected and faculty approved project of significance.
Prerequisites: EDID425
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Requirement
Spring
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Liberal Arts: Freshman Seminar |
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FRSM100 First-Year Seminar 3 cr.
A rigorous and immersive intellectual experience designed to introduce the first-year student to college-level inquiry. This seminar-size course emphasizes close reading, critical analysis, information literacy, research skills, and oral communication. Course topics vary by section; the student is introduced to a discipline, field, or body of knowledge as a means of skills building and as a site for investigation and inquiry. Students participate in a range of scholarly activities, which may include but are not limited to analysis, critical writing, primary and secondary research, field experiences, and oral presentations. [Formerly titled Freshman Seminar]
Lecture/Seminar
All College Required
Fall/Spring
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Liberal Arts: Literature, Writing, and Film |
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LALW100 Thinking, Making, Writing: Using Words with Clarity and Flair 3 cr.
An introduction to art writing. Six to eight writing assignments are designed to develop deep thinking skills. Course includes expository and critical essays, with some requiring research. Students practice close reading skills with outstanding pieces of prose, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction selected for the artist. In-class writing exercises are designed to generate first material for essays. Course includes weekly critiques and re-visioning first drafts of writing work. Required library sessions focus on information literacy and research needed for the final Art Research Paper.. [Formerly known as Written
Communication]
Lecture/Seminar
All College Required
Fall/Spring
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LALW200 Literary Traditions 3 cr.
An exploration of the sources of culture through a survey of literary masterpieces from the ancient world to the seventeenth century.
Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 (Freshman Seminar
Lecture/Seminar
All College Required
Fall/Spring
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LALW203 Film Viewing and Criticism 3 cr.
A critical and creative study of the expressive elements of film and video. Class meetings consist of film viewing, evaluations, filmmaking exercises, and discussions. Students frequently write critical papers and undertake film making exercises that teach essential features of the language of film and video.
Prerequisites: LALW100
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LALW205 Children’s Literature 3 cr.
What makes a children’s book a classic? We’ll find out as we read, analyze, and enjoy the best of the field–fantasies from Peter Pan to Harry Potter, realistic novels from Anne of Green Gables to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and stories falling somewhere in between, like The Secret Garden. Though our emphasis will be on longer books for older children, we’ll also consider fairy tales and picture books. Final project: writing a “classic” children’s book, illustrating one, or both.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LALW206 Graphic Novels 3 cr.
The course explores the art and composition of the graphic novel and examines its many sub-genres, from superhero tales to memoirs to manga. The textbook is Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics. Other texts include Watchmen, Contract With God, Sandman, Maus, and Persepolis. For the final project, students create and make preliminary sketches for an original graphic novel.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LALW210 Famous Writers & their Celebrated Illustrators 3 cr.
Famous Writers and their Celebrated Illustrators combines literature and art. Discussed are great works of literature and the visual images they inspired. Writers include Dante and Cervantes. Pushkin, Gogol, Corneille, Swift, Defoe and Wilde, among others, are discussed. Illustrators include Botticelli, Dore, Delacroix, Beardsley, Picasso, Pasternak (the father), Favorsky, Baskin, and numerous contemporary illustrators.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LALW214 History and Issues of Documentary Films 3cr
Documentary, as defined by John Grierson, is the
creative treatment of actuality. Grierson coined
the term in his review of Robert Flahertys Moana
(1926). Contemporary culture expands on classical
rhetorical and observational forms to include
docusoaps, agitprop, advocacy, animation, sensory
ethnography, mockumentary, first-person, and more.
In this course we will explore the origins of
documentary, discuss the central issues of the
field, examine historical and contemporary trends,
and identify the aesthetic strategies and
techniques used by documentary makers along with
their rhetorical effects.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Spring
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LALW215 Memoir & the Artist 3cr
Learn how to tell your story so the world listens. Study contemporary memoirists to understand principles of effective storytelling in this popular genre. Memoir writing is one part experience and one part reflection. How much of each varies from one artist to the next.
Using structured in-class writing exercises and critiques, you will have the opportunity to explore various ways to approach your experience and learn to build your skills for reflection. This course culminates in your memoir project that showcases your unique and original voice using word and image combined.
(Formerly titled: Memoir Writing)
Prerequisites: LALW100
Seminar
Spring
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LALW220 Why I Write, Why I Create 3cr
An introduction to Creative Nonfiction Writing for the Artist. Reading, discussions, and writing exercises will focus on best practices of this contemporary literary form including nature and environmental literature, travel, food, and adventure too. In-class writing exercises are designed to generate the first material for essays. Course includes weekly critiques and re-visioning essays. First essays will concentrate on experimental forms that encourage artist to work at the intersection of word and image or visual art. Final project will encourage the integration of work in art and design majors with one work in creative nonfiction writing.. [Formerly Titled: Creative Nonfiction]
Prerequisites: LALW100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall
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LALW222 Fantasy Worlds 3cr
Modern fantasy literature consists of fantastic stories set in imagined worlds. It features characters created by the author rather than drawn directly from traditional myths and legends. The course examines the origins of the genre, which emerged during the nineteenth century, and which has taken both epic and satiric forms. Although some attention is given to the legends, folktales, and romances that provided models and inspiration to fantasy authors, the main focus is on the classic works of the genre. Students are assigned one critical paper, one final project (create and illustrate an imaginary world that would provide a framework for fantasy fiction), bi-weekly blogs, and oral presentations. Forty to sixty minutes of class time allotted to Student Workshop/Critiques, in which students develop work-in-progress to present to instructor and peers for discussion, assessment, and advice towards course goals.
Prerequisites: LALW100
Lecture
Spring
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LALW227 The Female Gaze in Film 3cr
This course is an introduction to feminist film
and theory with a particular focus on the concept
of the Female Gaze. Students will explore issues
of representation, visual pleasure,spectatorship,
scopophilia and subjectivity. We explore how
women are represented in mainstream film, and the
function and consequence of these representations
in a social, historical and cultural context. The
course will examine the works of filmmakers such
as Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, Sally Potter,
Jane Campion and Andrea Arnold, with a specific
focus on feminist filmmakers who subvert
conventional cinematic trends.
Prerequisites: LALW-200
Lecture
Spring
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LALW229 Social Justice Documentaries 3cr
This course will introduce social justice issues
as they are represented and explored through
documentary film and video. The course provides a
conceptual overview of the forms, strategies,
structures and conventions of documentary film
and video. The class will examine documentaries
that construct arguments about the power
relations in society, while attempting to raise
awareness and motivate action for social justice.
Students will consider dominant, experimental and
emergent modes of representation; including
important documentary texts, movements,
filmmakers and selected documentary genres.
Specific topics for the course include: Mental &
Physical Disabilities, Notions of “Race”, Crime &
Punishment, Immigration, War, Gender & Sexual
Identity, Environmental Concerns, Social Class &
Workers’ Rights, Personal Narratives, Politics,
Education, and Counter Cultures.
Through this course, students should gain
knowledge of the current theoretical dilemmas and
debates in documentary filmmaking, including
questions of how to define documentaries, what
constitutes the ethical treatment of subjects and
subject matter, documentary’s construction and
positioning of audiences, as well as political
and economic constraints on documentary
filmmaking. Ultimately, the course will emphasize
critical thinking and viewing skills related to
representations of the social world through
documentaries.
Prerequisites: LALW-200
Lecture
Spring
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LALW233 Creative Writing Workshop: A Multigenre Workshop 3cr
This course introduces students to creative
writing-through poetry and fiction-and explores
hybrid genres and connections between word and
image. Students learn the elements of craft that
are particular to each genre and universal for
both. They write their own pieces that are
critiqued by peers and instructor. Students also
read literature as models for their own writing
and become familiar with contemporary literary
journals.
Seminar
Spring
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LALW300 Playwriting 3 cr.
A course that teaches the fundamentals of writing drama for the stage. Students study the craft of successful plays by Edward Albee, August Wilson, Paula Vogel and others, applying what they learn to writing their own scenes and plays. The course culminates in a public developmental reading of some of the best one-act plays written by the students.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LALW301 Monster Madness 3 cr.
We round up the usual suspects: the appalling and tragic monster and his equally tragic and appalling creator; the charismatic vampire and his bevy of vamps; the traveling salesman who finds himself transformed into a giant dung-beetle. More broadly, the course studies the idea of monstrosity and the ways in which monsters represent the shadowy side of human nature: what people fear and what they desire. The syllabus includes Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Kafka’s Metamorphosis, and Nabokov’s Lolita.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
Summer (PCE)
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LALW306 Modernist Word and Image 3 cr.
Nearly 100 years on, the visual and verbal experiments of high Modernism still have the
power to arrest our gaze and our attention. In this course, we explore the unique conversation between word and image that occurred between approximately 1910 and 1945. How did visual artists respond to innovations in poetic form? What does literature look like when it aspires to be pictorial or visual? Do artists and writers actually practice the principles laid out in their manifestos? Questions like these-and many others- guide our investigation and analysis. Texts include seminal writings from Futurism, Dadaism, and Surrealism; avant-garde poetry by Apollinaire, Pound, Stein, Williams, and others; Wyndham Lewis’ periodical Blast; Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse and other readings that complicate the boundaries between mediums, genres, and forms of
expression.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
Fall/Spring
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LALW309 Twentieth Century American Literature 3 cr.
A focus on major writers who emerged in the twentieth century. The course concentrates on late twentieth century figures and earlier modernist writers.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LALW312 Creative Writing: The Essay 3 cr.
This course, conducted as a workshop with essays read aloud and critiqued in class, provides students with an opportunity to explore through their own writing the power and variety of the essay form. From memoir to observation, personal profile to political observation, this course encourages students to transmit interior reflection and external observation into essay form. Assigned reading of essays. Grade based on 25-page portfolio (usually five essays).
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LALW317 (Im)migrant Voices: the Future of the American Dream 3 cr.
This class focuses on a variety of literary texts
that examine the experience of immigrants in the
USA from the 1950s to the present. The primary
and secondary readings, supplemented by in class
viewing of films and documentaries, offer a range
of immigrants’ narratives both in their specific
socio-cultural contexts, and in relation to this
country.
The class will shed light on American culture and
society in its unifying values and
contradictions, through the angle of vision given
by outsiders looking in, and often challenging
ideas of race, gender, identity, ‘home’, and the
American Dream.[Formerly Immigrants
in America]
Due to the intensive nature of this class, Prof.
Preziuso does not accept any student who wishes
to enroll in her class after week 1 of the
semester, hence having missed the first week of
class.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
Fall/Spring
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LALW320 Poetry Workshop 3 cr.
In this course, students write, revise, and share poems as a community, experimenting with new subjects and forms-and ways of responding attentively to classmate’s poems. Additionally, they consider published poetry to learn key elements of poetic craft. Students assemble their original poems into portfolios to demonstrate their command of imagery, diction, stanza, line, voice, form, prosody (sound and rhythm), and other aspects of richly dynamic poetry.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LALW323 Nationalism in Music & Literature 3cr
This course focuses on the interplay of folk and sacred music and idioms, language and dialect, and regionalist and nationalist literature in the evolution of 19th-century musical regionalist and nationalist expression. It treats the confluence of history and geography, the significance of minority-language rights and expression, and the development of human rights and religious freedoms as central to understanding artists’, composers’ and authors’ motivations.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Spring
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LALW326 Asian Cinema: Postwar India, Japan & China 3cr
This course looks at the development of Asian cinema through the lens of three of the most important national film industries: India, Japan, and China. How do the films from these countries reflect diverse but interrelated cultural traditions? How is the cinematic representation of these traditions shaped by a dialogue with Hollywood and European film? How does the development of post-war Asian cinema reflect the shift from a national to a more global film market? This course explores these and other related questions though a combination of weekly film screenings, lecture, and class discussion. Directors include Satyajit Ray, Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa, John Woo, and Wong Kar-Wai.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall & Spring
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LALW329 Literature & Culture of the Great War 3 cr
The Great War (1914-1918) altered global politics, national cultures, language, consciousness, and aesthetics in ways that the world is still processing. This course explores the culture into which the war exploded; the lived and written experience of soldiers and civilians alike; and hallmarks of the diverse body of literary and artistic output that responded to the horrors of mechanized trench warfare, shellshock, and massive loss. The reading list includes works by Robert Graves, David Jones, Guillaume Apollinaire, Virginia Woolf, Erich Maria Remarque, Wilfred Owen, and others.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture
Elective
Fall/Spring
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LALW338 Film Script Writing; Adaptation 3cr.
Students learn film scriptwritng, film aesthetics, and fundamental features of literature and film viewing, discussing and evaluating films derived from selected fiction. Students compare remakes of fiction filmed multiple times. Students learn and employ industry-standard script writing software to create, discuss and evaluate original screenplays they themselves create from works of fiction. [Fromerly Film Script Writing]
Prerequisites: LALW-200
Fall and Spring
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LALW340 Black Cinema:American Myth, Racial Ideology and Hollywood 3cr.
“What is “”Black Cinema”“? How did “”Black Cinema”” originate? What gives “”Black Cinema”” a
distinct voice of its own? Must “”Black Cinema”” only be directed by African Americans, feature an
all Black cast, or only address a Black audience and “”Black issues”” in order to qualify as
“”Black Cinema”“? Should we differentiate between “”Black Cinema”” and “”Cinema”“? What are the
ethical, social and political implications central to making these distinctions? This course
examines those questions while chronicling the history and present state of “”Black
Cinema”“(from the early 20th century filmmaking of Oscar Micheaux; Blaxploitation films of Gordon
Parks and Melvin Van Peebles; fiction films by Charles Burnett, Spike Lee, Lee Daniels, Steve
McQueen and Dee Rees; documentaries by Marlon Riggs, Stanley Nelson and June Cross; as well as
animation films made for TV and media streamed online). Despite the contributions to cinema by
these distinguished people of African descent, there remains a significant need for Black cinema
studies within the broader areas of Africana Studies in the US and abroad. For these reasons,
this course explores how Black authorship, content and reception have been defined and
reconsidered in relation to dominant American myths, racial ideology and film industry
practices, that have long presented limited and distorted social and political constructs of
African Americans and the African Diaspora in cinema. This course challenges those portrayals
and assumptions through thoughtful inquiries into the intricate modes of racial coding of moving
images.
Prerequisites: LALW-100 & FRSM-100
Fall Only
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LALW341 Writers of the Black Atlantic 3cr
This class offers a cross-cultural survey of
black literature in the 20th-Century. It
explores the ways black writers from Africa,
Europe, and the Americas share a globalized
perspective that is not distinctly African,
European, or American but rather a multicultural
perspective that historian Paul Gilroy has called
the culture of the Black Atlantic. Based on the
history of transatlantic crossings of the slave
trade and its aftermath, this Black Atlantic is a
confluence of diverse cultural traditions.
Covering topics such as slavery, racism, and
colonialism, this class focuses on the ways
writers of the Black Atlantic have used this
multicultural perspective to establish a critical
voice for expressing the black experience in the
20th-Century.
Prerequisites: LALW-200
Lecture
Spring
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LALW342 Fiction Workshop 3cr
This course supports students to write original
fiction prompted by assignments on the
fundamental elements of the craft and the study
of published fiction. Students share and provide
feedback to other students in critique workshops.
Discussions focus on what comprises a good story,
with an emphasis on characterization, narration,
plot, scene, setting, dialogue, and style, and
ways of generating one’s own stories. Comparisons
between written and graphic narratives are also
explored.
Prerequisites: LALW-200
Seminar
Fall
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LALW346 Camelot: Tales of King Arthur 3 cr.
A study of the literary epics of the legends surrounding Camelot and King Arthur, their origins in the middle ages and subsequent variations.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LALW348 Storyforth: Expressing Human Experience In Art and Design 3cr
Part of the magic of design work is to understand
and express human needs based on interviews,
observations, and research. In this course, our
conventional ideas on writing a story about a
person’s experience may be challenged when we
read about the White House butler for eight
presidents or a story of a gypsy for our times.
Profiles from current literature show new ways to
describe experience. Come explore how you might
give voice to your clients’ needs. Three main
essays and presentations are required: a
description of a client or group of clients, a
study of the challenges in expressing specific
experiences, and a story crafted to show the
relationship between one art design and a human
need.
Prerequisites: LALW-200
Seminar
Fall
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LALW365 Women’s Literature in Comparative Perspective 3cr.
In this course we read and discuss twentieth century and contemporary women writers and
critical thinkers who traverse more than one culture, nationality, and geography. Their
writings focus on women’s identity, experiences and creative practice in response to colonial and
post-colonial histories, sexism, racism, and various forms of inequity and oppression. The
course invites students to reflect on equity, cultural competence, inclusion and empathy in the
readings and class discussion. In line with its comparative perspective, the course places in
dialogue writers from the Americas and the Caribbean, the Middle-East and West Africa, in a
dynamic play of resonance and dissonance, similarities and differences. The weekly classes
allow for the integration of in-depth discussions, close reading of the texts,
presentations, and critiques of visual arts. You are invited to think transversally across these
texts, and to forge connections between the themes of the class, the reality you know, and
your creative process. [Formerly Women’s Literature in International Perspective,
Women’s Literature in Global Perspective]
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture
Fall & Spring
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LALW400 Directed Study 3 cr.
A Liberal Arts directed study is a research project selected by a student in a Liberal Arts discipline. Typically, the study results in a research paper of thirty plus pages or the equivalent, as agreed upon by the faculty member supervising the project. Because of its advanced nature, a Liberal Arts LALW directed study is open only to seniors and is limited to one per semester. No more than two Liberal Arts directed studies may be counted toward Liberal Arts degree requirements. Students seeking to register for a LALW directed study must execute a directed study proposal form that describes the proposed project, includes a bibliography, and describes the final project. Liberal Arts directed studies proposals require the approval of the Liberal Arts Department chair.
Prerequisites: LALW200 enrollment senior elective, and consent of the instructor.
Lecture/Seminar
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LALW402 Advanced Poetry Workshop 3cr.
In this workshop, students write, revise, and discuss their own poetry in peer critique
workshops as they sharpen their poetry writing skills beyond an introductory level and examine
how their own poetry is situated in the context of contemporary poetry. Guided by peer critique
and the instructor’s feedback, they assemble a final collection of poetry, possibly
demonstrating how their poems intersect with their own major. Students also delve into a wide
array of published poetry to deepen their understanding of poetry, compose a statement of
their aesthetics, gain experience as editors, and write a critical study of some poets in relation
to their own aesthetics. Finally, as a collective, students read their poems in public
and/or publish a compilation of selected poems and artwork.
Prerequisites: LALW-320 or LALW-308 or LALW-233 or by permission of
instructor.
For permission, please email Cheryl Clark
(cclark@massart.edu) a sample of 5 poems in one document
with a brief explanation of why you would like to take this
workshop. Include a list of relevant courses you have
taken. If I find that this sample is not sufficiently
strong, indicating that your command of poetry writing is
insufficient for success in the class, I will let you know
by e-mail as soon as I can. Send the sample as soon as
possible.
Spring Only
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LALW403 Artist’s Writing 3 cr.
A workshop in which initial drafts and subsequent revisions of students’ writings are photocopied, distributed to all members of the class, and critiqued. The objective is to help students develop artist’s statements that: (a) are appropriate to the purposes for which they are written; (b) articulate what the student wants to say about their art; and (c) communicate clearly to the intended audiences. [Formerly titled Writing an Artist’s Statement]
Prerequisites: Seniors Only
Lecture/Seminar
Senior Elective
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LALW407 Literature & Culture of the Great War 3cr.
The Great War (1914-1918) altered global politics, national cultures, language,
consciousness, and aesthetics in ways that the world is still processing. Planned for the
centenary of the beginning of Great War hostilities, this course will explore the culture
into which the war exploded; the lived and written experience of soldiers and civilians
alike; and hallmarks of the diverse body of literary and artistic output that responded to
the horrors of mechanized trench warfare, shellshock, and massive loss. The reading list
includes works by Robert Graves, David Jones, Guillaume Apollinaire, Virginia Woolf, Erich
Maria Remarque, Wilfred Owen, and others.
Prerequisites: LALW-200
Spring Only
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LALW410 Opera and the fusion of the Arts 3 cr.
What is opera? German composer Richard Wagner described it as a “total art work,” combining music, drama, singing, and scenic design. This course encourages new ways of thinking about the relationships between different artistic disciplines and forms. Students view and discuss a selection of operas from the seventeenth through twentieth centuries. No classical music background is required, and no one is expected to sing. In a final project combining artwork and critical writing, students imagine and design a production for an opera of their choice.
Prerequisites: LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LALW411 Man Vs. Wild and Other Stories We Tell 3cr
Droughts scorch the Middle East and the American
southwest. Wildfires rip across Indonesia. Rising
sea levels are already beginning to swallow up
island nations, and warming waters are decimating
ocean life. As the effects of climate change
wreak havoc on human societies and ecosystems
across the globe, they also shine an increasingly
bright spotlight on how human beings think about
and interact with the natural world. This class
will explore changing attitudes toward nature
over several centuries, including, and
especially, the present day. We will discuss the
role that writing and art have played in shaping
our understanding of the natural world over time
(with possible selections from Genesis, Edmund
Burke, William Wordsworth, Charles Darwin, and
Henry David Thoreau). We will also explore how
writers, artists, and filmmakers are confronting
the representational challenges posed by climate
change today (possible readings include Margaret
Atwood, Oryx and Crake; Paolo Bacigalupi, The
Water Thief; Indra Sinha, Animal’s People; Kim
Stanley Robinson, Green Earth; selections from
Bill McKibben, Stacy Alaimo, William Cronon, bell
hooks, E.O. Wilson, and Eduardo Kohn; films such
as Racing Extinction, This Changes Everything).
Over the course of the semester, you will
undertake research on an interdisciplinary
project that investigates a site of human-nature
interaction of your choosing, traces its impact
on the world, and explores creative ways to
express this impact. You will receive feedback on
this project in beginning, intermediary, and
final stages, and it will include both written
and creative components. We will have several
exciting opportunities to broaden our
perspectives on this topic. First, this course
will be participating in the interdisciplinary
Sustainability Studio in the DMC, through which
we will be opening several of our classes to the
public. Second, we will meet multiple times over
the semester with Professor Nava’s summative
elective course, which approaches many of the
issues we will be addressing from a scientific
perspective that will deepen our humanistic one.
Prerequisites: LALW-200
Seminar
Spring
|
| |
-
LALW412 Your Ted Talk 3cr
Students conceive, propose, revise, and deliver an original ten-minute TED-style talk that presents a participant’s senior (studio-department) thesis, or a participant’s artist’s statement, or a participant’s statement of core beliefs. Participants review widely-shared TED Talks and the research, literature, and other sources informing them. Students critique each other’s TED Talks. Talks are digitally recorded and edited by Mass Art technicians. Talks may be internet-posted.
Prerequisites: LALW-200
Seminar
Fall and Spring
|
| |
-
LALW413 Film Curating 3cr
In this digital age of access to videos on
demand, there remains a steady increase of film
festivals, cinémathéques, art houses and the
prominence of curating - both as a concept and
career path. This seminar course mostly consists
of screenings and lectures that will provide
students with a historical, theoretical and
practical overview of film curating. Bringing
together the art form and strategies behind
showcasing films, this course offers an academic
and hands-on exploration into the role of film
programming and presentation in an age when
analog has fallen from grace and digital
distribution technologies are transforming both
the traditional notion of film exhibition and
commercial side of distribution. One of the key
attractions of the course is the behind the
scenes access students have to innovative and
thought provoking filmmakers, producers, film
festival programmers, critics and other industry
insiders. Student participation at leading film
festivals and independent film gatherings is tied
into the course. Using the MassArt Film Series
(TBD), Independent Film Festival Boston, Boston
Asian American Film Festival, DocYard, MFA
Boston, ICA, Emerson Bright Lights Film Series,
Boston Latino International Film Festival,
Brattle
Theater, Harvard Film Archives, Coolidge Corner
Theater, Boston Palestine Film Festival, and
other local film outlets as our laboratory,
students will assume hands-on integral roles in
managing all means of operation entailed in film
curation. At the end of the semester, students
will curate a film-related event of their own
choosing, drawing on the combined knowledge,
resources and expertise gathered from this course.
Prerequisites: LALW-200
Seminar
Instructor’s Discretion
|
| |
-
LALW414 Why Novels Now? Create Your Own Long-Form Fiction 3cr
Why Novels Now? Create Your Own Long-Form Fiction, an LALW Summative Elective, is designed for upper-level students with an active interest in the longer forms of fiction, especially those who are completing the Creative Writing Minor. Why Novels Now? is a defense of the need for leisurely literature in our electronically-rushed world; it is both an inspection of the history and future of novels and a craft class in which each student plans and writes their own novel or graphic novel. To unlock valuable storytelling secrets, we’ll compare two well-made novels: E. M. Forster’s 1910 English classic Howards End and Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, her 2005 parallel to Forster’s book that’s set in the Boston area. Other course texts: Jane Smiley’s 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel and Scott McCloud’s Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels. Each class session will include an in-class writing workshop aimed at practicing a different technique of the writing craft.
Prerequisites: Take 15 cr from Lib. Arts
Seminar
Spring
|
| |
-
LALW415 Creating a Comic Book 3cr
In this course, you will be both students and
creators of the graphic novel form. We will begin
by familiarizing ourselves with the history of
“sequential art,” from comic strips to superhero
comics, from comics to graphic novels. After
establishing this larger historical context,
though, most of our time will be spent on
exploring the possibilities of the form. To do
this, we will seek out and study cartoonists who
have experimented with comics and graphic novels.
Through a series of weekly in-class and
extracurricular sketching and writing
assignments, you will also experiment with the
form. Ultimately, you will draft, revise, and
complete a polished, substantial graphic
narrative that tells a story of your choosing;
and a preface that contextualizes your narrative
within the class’s readings and your personalized
research.
This is a Summative Elective Liberal Arts class,
meant to represent the culmination of three to
four years of integrating liberal arts and studio
classes at MassArt. The assignments in this class
embody this synthesis. As you write and re-write
your comic, you will draw on analyses of other
graphic novels, research tailored to your story,
and feedback from your peers and me. This course
is especially suitable for students who have
studied graphic novels in other settings but is
open to all who are intrigued by the endless ways
to tell stories through comics.
Prerequisites: Take 15 credits from Lib. Arts
Seminar
Spring
|
| |
-
LALW416 I Hear America Singing 3cr
Specifically engaging works about America by
Americans, this course emphasizes the
sociocultural work of the musical as conveyed
through its elements of music and dance. With
scripts and soundtracks as the primary texts,
students will experience and analyze a selection
of works, critically engaging issues such as
adaptation, musical genre, performance history,
and representations of gender and race.
Prerequisites: LALW-100, LALW-200 and 9 credits from Liberal Arts
Seminar
Fall
|
| |
-
LALW423 Shakespeare and Identity:Race, Religion, Gender, and Sexuality On the Elizabethan Stage 3cr
This course considers the topic of identity from the standpoint of the Age of Shakespeare late 1500s to early 1600s). The syllabus focuses on eight early modern English plays by William Shakespeare and his contemporary, Christopher Marlowe that explore issues related to different types of identity (race, religion, gender, and sexuality). Shorter supplementary readings include poems, essays, and treatises from Shakespeare’s time, as well as classical writings that Shakespeare and his contemporaries would have known. Students are assigned one critical paper, one final project (create a mise en scéne of one of the plays on the syllabus), bi-weekly blogs, and oral presentations. Forty to sixty minutes of class time are set aside for Student Workshop/Critiques, in which students bring work-in-progress to present to instructor and peers for discussion, assessment, and advice towards course goals.[Formerly titled Shakespeare and the
Other]
Prerequisites: LALW200
Seminar
Fall and Spring
|
Liberal Arts: Mathematics and Science |
| |
-
LAMS200 The Universe 3 cr.
This course is an introductory cosmology course that focuses on the large scale physical phenomena in the universe. Examples of covered topics are Big Bang, Black Holes, Neutron Stars, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, etc. Class meetings comprise instruction, class discussions, and problem solving. In addition, students use simulations in Astronomy and Cosmology to gain more extensive exposure to the covered topics, and explore them through lab-based activities.
Prerequisites: FRSM100
Lecture/Seminar
|
| |
-
LAMS203 Physics of Music 3 cr.
This course uses principles of physics to understand musical instruments, scales, and chords. Required background: students must be able to find notes from written music on an instrument of their choice. The course draws upon algebra.
Prerequisites: FRSM100
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
|
| |
-
LAMS206 Biomimicry 3cr
Biomimicry is the study of the structure and function of biological systems as models for the design and engineering of materials. In this course, students become acquainted with basic concepts in biology, physics and engineering. Building upon this foundation, the course treats how designers solve design problems by mimicking nature.
Prerequisites: FRSM100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall & Spring
|
| |
-
LAMS208 Bacteria Assassins 3cr.
Almost everyone has taken antibiotics at some point during their lives and we read every day about deadly “superbugs” that are resistant to antibiotics. But what does this resistance mean and how did we get here? The course examines the antibiotic resistance problem and an often-touted possible alternative, bacteriophages. Bacteriophages are viruses of bacteria and were discovered exactly 100 years ago during the First World War. Students examine and synthesize the biology, history, ecology, and applications of these two types of bacteria killers to better understand the treatment of bacterial infections today and what may come in the future. This course helps students understand current events and science relevant to their lives - such as on antibiotics and antibiotic resistance, emerging diseases (such as Ebola), and the human microbiome. No laboratory experience is required.
Prerequisites: FRSM-100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall & Spring
|
| |
-
LAMS209 Wetlands Science and Policy 3cr
This course is intended as a rational approach to
wetland conservation balanced with responsible
development. People need to live somewhere and to
draw water from somewhere. But wetlands serve
many vital functions and oftentimes are highly
valuable ecosystems that should be protected. In
the course, students gain an interdisciplinary
knowledge of wetland definitions, classification
systems, origins, and natural processes of
wetland environments. We discuss wetlands across
the globe, including boreal, temperate, and
tropical climates. We investigate hydrology,
soils, and vegetation and their relationship to
ecosystem processes, societal values, and
management. We examine human use, modification,
exploitation, jurisdictional delineation, and
management options, along with legal and
political aspects of wetlands. This is a broad
course, also encompassing forestry, coastal
management, energy, climate change, agriculture,
history, and ecosystem succession. We will
attempt four optional field trips, weather
permitting, in our field experience weekend.
Prerequisites: FRSM-100
Lecture
Spring
|
| |
-
LAMS267 Natural Disasters in a Global Environment 3cr
Natural Disasters is offered as a Laboratory- style 4 credit course. Students will acquire skills in the areas of mathematic, analytical, and quantitative skills through weekly laboratory exercises and field trips.
Prerequisites: FRSM-100
Lecture
Fall
|
| |
|
| |
-
LAMS301 Desert Ecology and Field Bioar 3cr
This research-based hybrid course will provide an
introduction to the biodiversity and ecology of
the deserts of the Southwest U.S. This course is
a hands-on, novel exploration of the integration
of science, technology, nature, and art. There is
an optional camping field trip to the deserts of
the Southwest in which we will utilize the
natural habitat as our studio+lab to develop and
explore creative methods of biological inquiry
and hybrid, experimental art. Through scientific
methodology, close observation, and art-making in
the field, we will conduct novel research on
ecological, behavioral, and morphological aspects
of desert flora and fauna in their natural
habitats. The unique wildlife and distinct
habitats of the Southwest deserts have long been
a source of wonder and inspiration for
naturalists, biologists and artists. The
Chihuahuan, Sonoran, and Mojave Desert regions
have the highest levels of species endemism in
North America. The starkly varied environments of
state and national parks in the Chihuahuan,
Mojave, and Sonoran Deserts offer a unique
opportunity for artists to get hands-on
biological research experience in some of the
world’s most unique ecosystems. Participation in
the camping field trip is strongly encouraged but
is not required. Please contact instructor for
more information.
Lecture
Fall
|
| |
-
LAMS320 Environmental Science 3 cr.
A study of the principles of ecology, a science intertwining many biological and physical science disciplines. The course distinguishes the scientific, technological, and social domains. It treats complex human impacts and environmental concerns (such as biodiversity, population size, food and energy resources, air and water pollution, waste management, recycling, and sustainability) and raises issues of environmental ethics, risk assessment, and policy planning.
Prerequisites: FRSM100
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
|
| |
-
LAMS324 Sustainabilty Science 3 cr
What is the nature of sustainability? How can we learn from and with nature, its biological
diversity and ecosystems, to become more resilient? Practical examples, field visits,
readings, and discussions will give students the opportunity to learn about emerging
interdisciplinary sciences and solution-driven technologies based on green chemistry and
biomimicry. Through explorations of the water-energy-food nexus, adaptations to climate
change, and sea level rise, students can explore how we can become self-sustainable in the era of
Anthropocene. The intention of the course is to give students a greater understanding of how
science can inform public policies. In addition, attention will be paid to how science relates to
art and design making, and vice versa.
Fall and Spring
|
| |
-
LAMS327 The Science of Climate Change 3cr
Climate change impacts us all. The media bombards
us daily with the effects, policy, and financial
aspects of this phenomenon. Few students and lay
persons however, understand completely the basic
science of climate change. In this course, you
will learn about the difference between climate
change, the greenhouse effect, and global warming;
the basic science of how our atmosphere formed,
how it has changed through time, and how humans
are impacting both weather and climate. Through a
reading and critical-though based class, we will
learn about and discuss (orally and in writing)
the impacts of climate change on agriculture,
weather, economics, and poorer nations. We will
discuss how science needs to more clearly inform
policy at national and global levels, grapple with
the social justice element of weather-related
phenomena in poorer nations, and will dispel
common myths surrounding global warming. We will
discuss techno-fixes designed to engineer the
atmosphere to be cooler. Students will complete a
research paper based on our readings and
discussions that shows clearly what we can and
should do about climate change. The class is
solution-oriented (no doomsday thinking allowed),
and we will conclude with discussing a mix of
returning to a more harmonious way of obtaining
our food and energy as well as the role technology
plays (ex: GMO foods, green building, and
renewable energy technologies) in our future. We
will go on two field trips during class time,
complete a series of laboratory/in-class exercises
as small groups, and will attend lectures off
campus.Climate change impacts us all. The media bombards
us daily with the effects, policy, and financial
aspects of this phenomenon. Few students and lay
persons however, understand completely the basic
science of climate change. In this course, you
will learn about the difference between climate
change, the greenhouse effect, and global warming;
the basic science of how our atmosphere formed,
how it has changed through time, and how humans
are impacting both weather and climate. Through a
reading and critical-though based class, we will
learn about and discuss (orally and in writing)
the impacts of climate change on agriculture,
weather, economics, and poorer nations. We will
discuss how science needs to more clearly inform
policy at national and global levels, grapple with
the social justice element of weather-related
phenomena in poorer nations, and will dispel
common myths surrounding global warming. We will
discuss techno-fixes designed to engineer the
atmosphere to be cooler. Students will complete a
research paper based on our readings and
discussions that shows clearly what we can and
should do about climate change. The class is
solution-oriented (no doomsday thinking allowed),
and we will conclude with discussing a mix of
returning to a more harmonious way of obtaining
our food and energy as well as the role technology
plays (ex: GMO foods, green building, and
renewable energy technologies) in our future. We
will go on two field trips during class time,
complete a series of laboratory/in-class exercises
as small groups, and will attend lectures off
campus.
Lecture
Fall and Spring
|
| |
-
LAMS352 Art & Mathematics 3cr
Through a survey of the central branches of
mathematics, art and mathematics are studied as
expressions of creativity, arising from a common
source.
Prerequisites: FRSM-100 and LALW-100
Lecture
Fall
|
| |
-
LAMS400 Directed Study Math/Science 3 cr.
A Liberal Arts directed study is a research project selected by a student in a Liberal Arts discipline. Typically, the study results in a research paper of thirty plus pages or the equivalent, as agreed upon by the faculty member supervising the project. Because of its advanced nature, a Liberal Arts LAMS directed study is open only to seniors and is limited to one per semester. No more than two Liberal Arts directed studies may be counted toward Liberal Arts degree requirements. Students seeking to register for a LAMS directed study must execute a directed study proposal form that describes the proposed project, includes a bibliography, and describes the final project. Liberal Arts directed studies proposals require the approval of the Liberal Arts Department chair.
Prerequisites: FRSM100
Lecture/Seminar
|
| |
-
LAMS401 BioAesthetics and the Human Animal 3cr
This course explores aesthetics in nature and the
evolutionary processes of sensory drive and
natural and sexual selection. The course will
critically examine both anthropocentric and
ecological schemes on the aesthetic diversity of
nature, focusing on the creative agency of
non-human organisms and objective and subjective
models of inquiry. The course evaluates and
challenges historical,contemporary and emerging
perspectives on what is art, who/what can create
it, and on interactions between the science and
art. Through a combination of discussion, guest
lectures and collaborative projects students will
explore various topics focused around the
biological and evolutionary bases of creativity,
art and design.
Prerequisites: FRSM-100
Seminar
Spring
|
| |
-
LAMS402 Eating and the Environment 3cr
Eating and the Environment is offered as a Laboratory- style 4 credit course. Students will acquire skills in the areas of mathematic, analytical, and quantitative skills through both laboratory exercises and a series of field trips.
Prerequisites: FRSM-100
Seminar
Spring
|
Liberal Arts: Social Sciences |
| |
-
LASS208 Social Psychology 3 cr.
Social Psychology explores the behavior of individuals and groups in social contexts. In this course, emphasis is placed on how social aspects may be relevant to being an artistic individual in today’s society. Topics include: 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 are explored. In addition, students 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
|
| |
-
LASS211 The American Century 3 cr.
From the Spanish-Cuban-Filipino-American War to the present.
Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
|
| |
-
LASS229 History of Jazz 3cr
The history of jazz music, people, and culture, from nineteenth century origins to today. A survey of major artists, groups, and periods, including New Orleans jazz, the Swing Era, Bebop, and other movements. Reading of historical sources and recent commentary inform the study of jazz in American society and global culture. Guided listening builds understanding of form and structure in this art form. No knowledge of music notation required.
Prerequisites: FRSM100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall & Spring
|
| |
-
LASS230 Financial Literacy 3cr
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 and FRSM100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
|
| |
-
LASS230 Financial Literacy & Careers 3cr.
Practical knowledge about personal finance including taxes, credit, how to budget, save, and
invest. Learn how to define your career goals to explore opportunities and successfully present
yourself to the working world. [Formerly titles Financial Literacy]
Prerequisites: FRSM-100 and LALW-100
Fall and Spring
|
| |
-
LASS232 Free Speech, Democracy and Artists 3cr
This course examines freedom of speech, a fundamental right indispensable to democracy and indispensable for artists. The tension between liberty and control of speech is central to many forms of media and artistic expression. The course examines speech broadly by examining topics such as: speech during wartime or in time of fear; hate speech; speech by students; and libel and slander. In addition, the course examines free speech controversies involving obscenity and pornography, or merely nudity, including controversies concerning artistic expression in film and literature. Students consider speech on television, the Internet, and social media. The course also treats symbolic expressions of speech, such as flag burning and painting; as well as campaign financing as speech. The course focuses primarily on U.S. law–most of the readings will be excerpts of U.S. Supreme Court cases–but the course includes a comparative component, incorporating laws regulating speech and expression in other nations.
Prerequisites: FRSM100, LALW100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall & Spring
|
| |
-
LASS233 Music Cultures of the World 3cr
The course explores selected music and rhythms from throughout the world. Students explore various folk, popular, indigenous, and hybrid music from every continent and surveys the development of musical traditions through the development of contemporary world music. The course also treats several American musical traditions, including country, folk, and musical transmissions from Europe, expressive cultural traditions from indigenous peoples of America, and black musical traditions in the New World. This is a Liberal Arts course with required readings, written assignments, and listening work. Under a different course number and requiring different assignments, this course may also provide studio credit in selected studio departments. [Formerly titled: The World of Music]
Prerequisites: FRSM100. LALW100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall & Spring
|
| |
-
LASS236 Music and Society 3cr
The course considers how music expresses and inspires social change. By examining the origin and inspiration of major works of classical music, such as Haydn’s Farewell Symphony, Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro, Mendelssohn’s Reformation Symphony, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, and Shostakovich’s Babi Yar Symphony, the course considers what music reveals about history.
Prerequisites: FRSM100; LALW100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall & Spring
|
| |
-
LASS241 Twentieth Century World History 3cr.
This course is a survey of the twentieth century world history to understand the recent past world affairs. We will start with the legacies of industrialization and imperialism in the nineteenth century and the making of the new world, then discuss the two world wars in the first half of the century, along with increasing nationalist movements, revolutions, and important economic, social and cultural changes around the world in the rest of the twentieth century and the beginning of our current century. We will emphasize global and transnational linkages and comparisons while investigating local and national dynamics. Students from all fields are encouraged to participate in this class to learn critical analytical skills (through rigorous research and writing and peer evaluations), apply their skills and perspectives to examining important current issues, and develop a deep sense of global awareness and citizenship.
Prerequisites: LALW-100 & FRSM-100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall & Spring
|
| |
-
LASS242 Film Music 3cr.
This course treats the evolution of film music
from silent movies until the present. It
introduces students to musical syntax, the
aesthetics of film music, and the means by which
composers synchronize music and script to convey
mood and render action vivid. Working
chronologically, the course explores the
increasing importance of music in cinema and how
music functions as an expressive element in a
film. The course treats composers who wrote
almost exclusively for the cinema (i.e., Charlie
Chaplin and the contemporary John Williams),
treats classical central European composers who
migrated to the screen composition from wartime
Europe (i.e., Korngold, Waxman, Alexandre
Tansman, Bronislaw Kaper), and treats
composer-director/producer collaborations such as
Eisenstein-Prokofiev, Rota-Fellini/Visconti, and
others. The course additionally treats the role
of ethnic music (Morocco, India, China, Japan) in
world cinema. Two term papers are assigned, one
dealing with a composer-director partnership, the
second treating the function of score in a major,
iconic film such as Gone with the Wind. The
textbook is Mervyn Cooke’s A History of Film
Music.
Prerequisites: LALW-100 & FRSM-100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Spring
|
| |
-
LASS245 Cities and Society 3cr.
Cities are fascinatingly complex places, and for millennia people have flocked to them for a host
of reasons. Some people have looked to cities as a way to escape the ennui of rural existence,
some have gathered in cities for economic opportunity, and many others have arrived simply
to be in close contact with different groups of people. Taking “the city” as our primary unit of
analysis in this course, we will attempt to explore some of the major themes and processes
that affect most urban areas, along with offering some historical perspective on the trends that
have created “the city” as we find it today.
Prerequisites: LALW-100 & LALW-200
Fall and Spring
|
| |
|
| |
-
LASS249 Queer Studies:Beyond Traditional Ideas of Gender and Sexuality 3cr
This class offers students a chance to ground
their own artistic and academic projects in a
working theoretical and practical knowledge of
the discipline of Queer Studies; both the
historiography and current work being done in the
field. Our goal is to establish a classroom
environment of mutual respect where queer ideas
about artistic challenges and choices can be
developed and shared in a supportive and safe
academic and working environment grounded in
solid social science methodology. We will examine
the development and current state of the academic
discipline of Queer Studies as it has emerged
from both Women’s Studies and Gender Studies. Our
method will be to research both archival and
current academic and multi-media sources to see
where the field stands as an academic discipline
but also as an applied paradigm for social
justice and artistic action. Special attention
will be paid to the development of connections
between applied Queer Theory and artistic and
life choices for today’s working artist. The list
of class materials will be fluid and
inter-disciplinary and rely on input and research
from all class members, reflecting the core
nature of the discipline itself.
Prerequisites: FRSM-100 and LALW-100
Lecture
Spring
|
| |
-
LASS250 Philosophy of Religion 3cr
The course explores the concept of God and the sacred, the grounds forand challenges to religious belief, the credentials of mystical experience, the implications of religious pluralism, and the idea of a religiously ambiguous world. Readings will be drawn from classical and contemporary thinkers.
Prerequisites: FRSM-100 and LALW-100
Seminar
Spring
|
| |
-
LASS253 East Asia: Modernity Redefined 3cr
With astonishing rapidity, the nations of East
Asia have emerged as an imposing presence on the
world stage. Their rich and varied cultures have
influenced other regions of the world in ways
that have helped to redefine modernity. Along
with the recent US strategic shift to the
Asia-Pacific, it has become imperative in our
time to study modern East Asia and to understand
its impact on global politics and culture and its
relevance to our daily lives. This course follows
the main themes in East Asian history since 1600,
focusing primarily on China, Japan, Korea, and
Vietnam. We will study long-term changes and
continuities in East Asian society, politics,
culture, art, and economy. We will also study the
dramatic changes that have taken place in East
Asia’s relationship with the rest of the world.
Classes will combine lectures with class
discussions, presentations, and films.
Lecture
Fall
|
| |
-
LASS254 Immigration and Race in the USA: The American Experience 3cr
Often portrayed as a “nation of immigrants” with
ample and equal opportunities for the “huddled
masses,” the United States has a long and
complicated history of immigration marked not
always by open doors but rather by exclusion,
marginalization, and contestation. Immigration
has helped define American national identity, and
it continues shaping its political debates,
economic patterns, social transformations, and
cultural life. It has become even more salient
and contentious since the 2016 presidential
election. This class places contemporary
immigration debates in historical context and
provides a systematic review of American
immigration history in local, national and global
contexts.
We will start with the early stages of
immigration since the colonial era and then place
the great waves of European, Asian, and Mexican
immigration during the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries in the context of comparable
and relatable global migrations across the world.
We will discuss the rise of federal laws on
immigration in the late 19th century and the
tightened immigration control and restriction in
the early 20th century, followed by the impacts
of WWII and the ensuing Cold War on immigration.
The rest of the class will focus on the more
recent immigrant and refugee communities from
Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa,
highlighting the changing patterns of migration
since the 1965 immigration reform (including the
changes in post-9/11 America).
Lecture
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
All College Elective
Fall/Spring
|
| |
-
LASS281 Psychology of Flourishing 3 cr.
This course examines 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 explores the human condition from a positive psychology perspective. Students study concepts such as hope, happiness, optimism, and resiliency, and surveys human core character strengths and virtues.
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 examines how race categories were formed in the colonial period and have been repeatedly remade up to the present.
Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
|
| |
-
LASS302 Gender, Class and Race in American Film 3 cr.
This class analyzes film as an important part of mass culture. The course is a social science course, not a “film viewing” one. It treats sociological themes such as gender, class, and race as these 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
All College Elective
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LASS307 Medieval and Renaissance History 3cr
This course encompasses no less than twelve centuries of European history extending from the last decades of the Roman Empire in the West to what is often referred to as the Early Modern period (I.e., the 16th century), the era characterized by the rise of powerful centralized monarchical states and empires. Throughout, a determined effort is made to precisely define broad historical concepts such as “civilizations” and “intellectual revolutions.” For example, we will ask what particular historical and cultural elements made the Medieval West a distinct civilization? In the same manner, what presumably different and distinct elements formed and shaped the civilization of Byzantium? What was the Renaissance, both in Italy, and north and west of the Alps? Where and how does the Renaissance intersect with the Reformation and the Reconnaissance, enormously significant historical phenomena in themselves?
Prerequisites: LALW100, FRSM100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall & Spring
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LASS308 Narcissism, Aggression and Creativity 3cr
Are we really capable of falling in love with an image of ourselves, as in the story of Echo and Narcissus? If so, what are the consequences? Do contemporary cultural themes cast a light on the story? What impulses motivate these thoughts and processes? This course utilizes a psychoanalytic approach to discover and analyze themes that emerge from an awareness of creative impulses. What blocks them? What role does aggression play in the responsiveness to the creative impulse? Psychoanalytic literature, in combination with contemporary themes, questions and illuminates the art making process.
Prerequisites: LALW100, FRSM100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall
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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 an understanding of the continuity of events from the seventeenth century onward.
Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LASS312 Technology and Language 3cr
The course investigates the relationship of languages of expression to tools and communication technologies. Through interdisciplinary exploration of various modes and practices, from the language of typography, audio/visual expression, to dynamic languages of interaction, social media and crowd sourcing, students gain knowledge and understanding of current issues of social communication in the context of dynamic media technology. The course introduces students to recent developments, theory and criticism of communication design and technology through selected case studies involving the work of historical and contemporary inventors, designers, artists and new media innovators.
Prerequisites: LALW100,FRSM100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall
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LASS314 Race Uncut:America in Black and White 3cr
How do race and class operate not just in categorizing people, but in maintaining and reproducing the socio- economic life and in
shaping common experience of history and present. We will focus on African Americans and white Americans and discuss what race means, and what class means – historically, culturally, and economically – in the context of the American dream. 6 cinematic representations will serve
us as prompts to examine in depth selected historical themes, from the Civil War to the
present. [Formerly Titled Race,Class and the American Dream]
Prerequisites: LALW-100 and FRSM-100
Lecture
Undergraduate Elective
Fall and Spring
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LASS318 Seminar: Reading Marx 3 cr.
A critical reading and discussion of some of Karl Marx’s writings on history, philosophy and society, plus commentary.
Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100; LALW200
Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective
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LASS320 Fashion and Culture 3cr.
Fashion is both a reflection of and influence on culture. This course can examine clothing in
context, exploring the phenomenon of fashion in terms of technological developments, aesthetics,
and body politics (gender, race, sexuality, and class) as well as its connection to cultural
identity and the global economy. Focusing the examination on specific key moments in fashion
history from the French Revolution to today, the course will foster critical thinking and writing
about fashion from a multidisciplinary perspective. The meaning of fashion at these
select and pivotal historical periods will be gleaned through diverse sources - fiction,
diaries, paintings, histories, and design theory- and be complemented by direct examination of
objects.
Prerequisites: LALW-100 & FRSM-100
Fall Only
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LASS323 Minds,Brains&Consciousness 3cr
What is the mind? Some of history’s most profound
thinkers have attempted to answer this question,
yet the nature of the mind remains elusive and
hotly debated in contemporary philosophy. Can the
mysteries of conscious experience be reconciled
with a naturalistic, scientific world view? Is
the mind really just a kind of computer, a
machine made of meat? What is thinking, and can
computers do it? In this course, we will
investigate what Francis Crick has called the
Astonishing Hypothesis-“that “You,” your joys and
your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions,
your sense of personal identity and free will,
are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast
assembly of nerve cells and their associated
molecules.
Prerequisites: FRSM-100 and LALW-100
Lecture
Fall and Spring
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LASS325 Gender Identity and the F-Word(feminism) 3cr
What does it mean to call oneself (or someone
else) a ‘feminist’? How does gender intersect
with other social hierarchies to shape both how
we see, and how we are seen by, others? In this
advanced undergraduate elective, we will consider
efforts to reveal, unravel, and remedy the
conceptual, psychological, and economic
dimensions of gender oppression. We will examine
the intersection of sexism with racism,
heterosexism, and class exploitation, and
investigate the role of the concept of difference
in creating and maintaining structural
inequalities.
Prerequisites: FRSM-100 and LALW-100
Lecture
Spring
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