European Cultural Studies
S = Objectives
European Cultural Studies (ECS)
offers students the opportunity to study English and continental
literature in translation in conjunction with one or more
related disciplines: fine arts, history, music, philosophy, politics,
sociology, theater arts.
Students will be able to count
appropriate courses taken in clusters toward the ECS concentration.
ECS is for those students who
feel adventurous, who want to explore the interrelationships of
literature with various other disciplines in order to gain a broader
perspective of what constitutes "culture." With the
advent of an ever-changing Europe, students in ECS will be better
prepared, in all areas, to keep abreast with current and future
events.
Many of our students spend some time abroad to get a feel for the cultures in which they are most interested. ECS concentrators have gone on to graduate schools (in history, politics, English, and other fields), have entered law school, business school, and advanced programs in international studies.
S = How to Become a Concentrator
It is highly advisable that
students make a decision no later than the middle of their sophomore
year in order to take full advantage of the ECS concentration.
Normally, students will choose
to focus on either the early period (from the Middle Ages to the
mid-1700s) or the modern period (from mid-1700s to the present
day). Variations within the scheme can be worked out with the
coordinator.
Each concentrator will plan a program in consultation with the coordinator.
S = Committee
Stephen Dowden, Coordinator and Undergraduate Advising Head
(Germanic and Slavic Languages)
Rudolph Binion
(History)
Eric Chafe
(Music)
Dian Fox
(Spanish)
Jane Hale
(French)
Gila Hayim
(Sociology)
Arthur Holmberg
(Theater Arts)
Edward Kaplan
(Romance and Comparative Literature)
Jytte Klausen
(Politics)
Richard Lansing
(Italian)
Paul Morrison
(English and American Literature)
Jerry Samet
(Philosophy)
Nancy Scott
(Fine Arts)
Robert Szulkin
(Russian)
S = Requirements for Concentration
The concentration consists
of 10 semester courses (11 if the student elects to write a thesis).
A.
ECS 100a (The Proseminar), to be completed, if possible, no
later than the junior year.
B.
Two comparative literature courses: It is recommended, but not
required, that one of these courses be selected from COML
102 through 107. The other course may be selected from any COML
offering, as long as the subject matter is European and appropriate
to the student's program.
C.
Three courses in European literature. The six European literatures
offered are: English, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.
The foreign literature courses listed below have been specifically
designed for use in the ECS curriculum and are taught in translation.
Courses in English literature may be used to fulfill this requirement.
For courses in comparative literature and Italian literature consult
the appropriate sections of this Bulletin.
D.
Three courses selected from the following seven related disciplines:
fine arts, history, music, philosophy, politics, sociology, and
theater arts. In consultation with the coordinator, students may
be able to use courses from additional departments (e.g., NEJS,
anthropology, etc.) so long as such courses are appropriate to
the student's program in ECS.
E.
Students who elect to write a Senior Thesis will enroll in ECS
99d. Before enrolling, students should consult with the coordinator.
An appropriate GPA is required to undertake the writing of a thesis.
Honors are awarded on the basis of cumulative GPA in the concentration
and the grade on the honors thesis.
F. All seniors not enrolling in ECS 99d (that is, not electing to write a senior thesis) have a choice of electing one additional course in any of the three segments of the concentration: either an additional course in comparative literature, or an additional course in any of the six European literatures, or an additional course in any of the seven related areas.
S = Special Notes Relating to Undergraduates
Courses in the seven related
disciplines are generally available for ECS concentrators. Any
questions should be addressed directly to the appropriate representative
of the department (fine arts, Professor Scott; history, Professor
Binion; music, Professor Chafe; philosophy, Professor Samet; politics,
Professor Klausen; sociology, Professor Hayim; theater arts, Professor
Holmberg).
ECS concentrators are encouraged to pursue study abroad, either in England or on the continent. Credit will be applied for appropriate equivalent courses. Interested students should consult with the coordinator and the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
S = Courses of Instruction
S = (1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students
ECS 99d Senior Thesis
Signature of the instructor required.
This course is independent research under the supervision of the thesis director. Usually offered every year.
Staff
G = (100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students
ECS 100a European Cultural Studies: The Proseminar
[ cl26 wi hum ]
Enrollment limited to 18. A library intensive course.
The theme for 1997-98: The Culture and Context of Modernism. Usually offered every fall.
Mr. Dowden
L =
European Literature
L =
The following courses are appropriate
for the ECS concentration and their respective foreign literature
concentrations: French, German, Russian, and Spanish. The course
abbreviations have the following values: FECS = French and European
Cultural Studies, GECS = German and European Cultural Studies,
RECS = Russian and European Cultural Studies, and SECS = Spanish
and European Cultural Studies.
FRENCH
FECS 157a Topics in French Film
(Formerly FECS 184a)
[ cl13 cl26 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation. Signature of the instructor required. May be repeated for credit with special permission.
Topics may include: Méliès, the Lumière brothers, and the early years; politics in the cinema; films of the Occupation and the Resistance; women directors; the Cahiers du Cinéma group; the Nouvelle Vague; France and (versus?) Hollywood. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Harth
FECS 170b History of French Culture
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
We shall illuminate the relationship between the moralist tradition and the daily lives of four representative authors. We shall locate the writers in their periods, outline their cultural and social frameworks, and try to understand their views of life and death, passion and reason, pleasure and pain. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Gendzier
FECS 174b Contemporary French Civilization
[ cl23 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
Organized around the notion of La Vie Quotidienne in France. We shall study the world of ideas, letters, movies, theater, and painting, the current status of political and literary theory, architectural innovations, and feminist criticism. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Gendzier
FECS 182b French Literature and Painting
[ cl23 cl26 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
Explores the interrelations between French painting and literature through selected texts and corresponding visual images of the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include Romanticism, Realism, Symbolism, Surrealism, Cubism. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1993.
Ms. Hale
L =
GERMAN
GECS 165a German Film in Cultural Context
[ cl13 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
A study of important German films, from the time of silent movies to the present, and their relationship to the literary, artistic, and political developments of their time. Films are chosen to highlight their varied functions as works of art, entertainment, information, propaganda, and social criticism and to allow comparison with their literary sources. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Frey
GECS 166b Dreams and Nightmares: The Third Reich on Film
[ cl13 hum ]
Explores the reflection of National Socialism and life under its regime in the films of the Third Reich (1933-45), and looks at the reaction to its triumphs and horrors in post-war German films and abroad. Unabashed propaganda, use of mass psychology, escapism and estheticism, conformity and individuality, collaboration and resistance are some of the topics we discuss. Conducted in English with special assignments for German concentrators. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Frey
GECS 170b Starting from Zero: German Literature Since World War II
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in German and in English translation.
We will trace efforts of a new generation of writers to come to terms with the horrors of war and totalitarianism, with postwar
materialism, and with Germany's east-west division and reunification. Literary investigation, supplemented by films, will focus on major writers and poets such as Grass, Borchert, Wolf, Böll, Celan, Duürrenmatt, Frisch, Weiss, and Handke. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 1994.
Mr. Frey
GECS 180b European Modernism and the German Novel
[ hum ]
A study of selected novelists writing after Nietzsche and before the end of World War II. This course will explore the culture, concept, and the development of European modernism in works by Broch, Canetti, Döblin, Jünger, Kafka, Mann, Musil, Rilke, and Roth. Readings and discussions in English. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Dowden
GECS 182b Nietzsche
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
Covers Friedrich Nietzscheís life and writings, emphasizing the historical and cultural setting. Usually offered every third year. Will be offered in the spring of 1998.
Mr. Dowden
GECS 195b German Modernism and the Fascist Backlash
[ cl26 cl33 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
Focusing on Berlin in the heady twenties and troubled thirties, we explore German literature and film, theater and cabaret, and art and architecture, which initially flourished in excessive freedom and then reacted to intense political pressure and repression. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 1996.
Mr. Frey
L =
RUSSIAN
RECS 130a Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature
[ cl25 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
A comprehensive survey of the major writers and themes of the 19th century including Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, and others. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
RECS 134b Chekhov
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
Offers a detailed investigation of the evolution of Chekhov's art, emphasizing the thematic and structural aspects of Chekhov's works. Attention paid to methods of characterization, use of detail, narrative technique, and the roles into which he casts his audience. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Szulkin
RECS 135a The Short Story in Russia
[ cl25 hum ]
Conducted in English with readings available in Russian for concentrators and in English translation. No prerequisites for nonconcentrators.
Focuses on the great tradition of the short story in Russia. This genre has always invited stylistic and narrative experimentation, as well as being a vehicle for the striking, if brief expression of complex social, religious, and philosophical themes. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
RECS 136b The Literature of Autobiography, Childhood Reminiscence, and Confession
[ hum ]
Conducted in English with readings available in Russian for concentrators and in English translation. No prerequisites for nonconcentrators.
Despite the difficulties in attempting a genuine autobiography, childhood reminiscence, or confession, Russian writers from Avvakum on have undertaken to express themselves authentically within these forms. Readings will be drawn from Avvakum, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Nabokov, and others. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
RECS 137a The Heroine in Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature
[ cl7 cl37 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
Examines questions of female representation and identity in readings from Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Aksakov, Goncharov, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
RECS 143b History of Russian and Soviet Film
[ cl25 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English.
A history of the development of Russian/Soviet film from the 1890ís to the present. The course is conducted as a lecture course, but with considerable emphasis on the viewing and critique of many of the films discussed, in whole, or in some instances in part. Usually offered in odd years.
Ms. Broude
RECS 146a Dostoevsky
[ cl20 hum ]
Conducted in English with readings available in Russian for concentrators and in English translation. No prerequisites for nonconcentrators.
A comprehensive survey of Dostoevsky's life and works, with special emphasis on the major novels. Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
RECS 147b Tolstoy
[ cl11 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
Studies the major short stories and novels of Leo Tolstoy against the backdrop of 19th-century history and with reference to 20th-century critical theory. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
RECS 149b Twentieth-Century Russian Literature, Art, Film, and Theater
[ cl13 cl25 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
We focus on the three decades from 1900 to 1930 and their various artistic movements as reflected in literature, painting, and theater. We will explore the interrelationships between artistic movements and the political scene. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Szulkin
L =
SPANISH
SECS 150a Golden Age Drama and Society
[ cl2 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
The major works, comic and tragic, of Spain's 17th-century dramatists. We will consider Cervantes's brief witty farces; Tirso's creation of the "Don Juan" myth; Lope's palace and "peasant honor" plays; and Calderón's Baroque masterpieces, which culminate Spain's Golden Age. Usually offered in odd years.
Ms. Fox
SECS 169a Columbus: Encounters and Inventions
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
The course's purpose is to familiarize the student with the vicissitudes of the figure of Christopher Columbus, in literature, selected historiographical works, and those texts that have come down to us as his. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
SECS 182b The Spanish Civil War
[ cl29 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
We will focus on works illustrating the background of the Civil War, its development and influence on fiction, art, film, theater, poetry, and journalism of later decades. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1995.
Mr. Mandrell
SECS 183a Spanish Fictions and Films of Modern Life
[ cl13 hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
A consideration of literary, visual, and cinematic texts that address modern life, including the nature of the modern and of modernity, in late 19th- and 20th-century Spain. Topics include the individual in the modern world, technology, and fragmentation. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1994.
Mr. Mandrell
SECS 185b Realism in Modern Spain
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
A study of the trajectory of prose fiction in 19th-century Spain in relation to various historical trends and cultural traditions. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1993.
Mr. Mandrell
L =
A Selected List of Courses
L =
For comparative literature,
consult the comparative literature offerings in this Bulletin;
for English literature, consult the offerings under the Department
of English and American Literature.
The following courses from
the various departments associated with ECS represent, in most
instances, a mere selection from among the total courses in that
department that "count" toward the completion of the
ECS concentration. For full descriptions consult the appropriate
department. Be sure to consult Theater Arts for ECS courses although
they are not cross-listed. Check with the coordinator for a listing.
L =
FINE ARTS
FA 58b
High and Late Renaissance in
Italy
FA 60a
Baroque in Italy and Spain
FA 70a
Paris/New York: Revolutions
of Modernism
FA 71a
Modern Art and Modern Culture
FA 170b
Nineteenth-Century European
Painting and Sculpture
L =
HISTORY
HIST 52b
Europe from 1789 to the Present
HIST 132a
European Thought and Culture:
Marlowe to Mill
HIST 132b
European Thought and Culture
Since Darwin
L =
MUSIC
MUS 42a
The Music of Johann Sebastian
Bach
MUS 43a
Mozart and Eros
MUS 45a
Beethoven
MUS 56b
Romanticism and Music
MUS 57a
Music and Culture: From Romanticism
to the Modern Era
L =
PHILOSOPHY
PHIL 113b
Aesthetics: Painting, Photography,
and Film
PHIL 138a
Metaphysics
L =
POLITICS
POL 11b
Introduction to Comparative
Government: Europe
POL 156b
West European Political Systems
POL 181b
Red Flags/Black Flags: Marxism
vs. Anarchism, 1845-1968
POL 194a
Politics and the Novel
L =
SOCIOLOGY
SOC 2a
Introduction to Sociological
Theory
SOC 141a
Marx and Freud
SOC 164a
Existential Sociology