University Bulletin (2020-2021)

The First Year Writing Program at Brandeis University is the foundation of the University Writing Program. The University Writing Seminar introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding.

The program offers a selection of topic-driven seminars that challenge students to formulate meaningful arguments, support them with observations and evidence, and convey them clearly and persuasively. In so doing, students will engage with writing as an integral part of academic and professional life, recognizing its value and utility as well as its capacity to foster an engaged citizenry through critical thinking and discussion. By instilling and strengthening flexible writing and research skills, the program invites students to participate in the intellectual discourses of the University. Each seminar addresses the distinct discursive requirements of various disciplines, including the sciences, social sciences and humanities. Students thus learn to write effectively and confidently in any field or profession.

The requirement will be satisfied by completing one University Writing Seminar (UWS) in the student's first year, during which the student attends a Critical Conversation.

First-year students entering in the fall of 2009 and thereafter must satisfactorily complete one UWS course.

COMP 1a Composition
Prerequisite: Placement by the director of university writing. Successful completion of this course does NOT satisfy the first-year writing requirement. Enrollment limited to non-native English speakers.
A course in the fundamentals of writing, required as a prerequisite to the first-year writing requirement for selected students identified by the director of university writing. Several sections will be offered in the fall semester.
Staff

COMP 1b Composition
Prerequisite: Placement by the director of university writing. Successful completion of this course does NOT satisfy the first-year writing requirement. Enrollment open to native English speakers.
A course in the fundamentals of writing, required as a prerequisite to the first-year writing requirement for selected students identified by the director of university writing. Several sections will be offered in the fall semester.
Staff

HUM/UWS 1a Tragedy: Love and Death in the Creative Imagination
[ hum uws ]
Enrollment limited to Humanities Fellows.
How do you turn catastrophe into art - and why? This first-year seminar in the humanities addresses such elemental questions, especially those centering on love and death. How does literature catch hold of catastrophic experiences and make them intelligible or even beautiful? Should misery even be beautiful? By exploring the tragic tradition in literature across many eras, cultures, genres, and languages, this course looks for basic patterns. Usually offered every year.
John Burt and Stephen Dowden

HUM/UWS 2a Crime and Punishment: Justice and Criminality from Plato to Serial
[ hum uws ]
Enrollment limited to Humanities Fellows. Formerly offered as COML/HOI 103a.
Examines concepts of criminality, justice, and punishment in Western humanist traditions. We will trace conversations about jurisprudence in literature, philosophy, political theory, and legal studies. Topics include democracy and the origins of justice, narrating criminality, and the aesthetic force mobilized by criminal trials. This course also involves observing local courtroom proceedings and doing research in historical archives about significant criminal prosecutions. Usually offered every year.
Eugene Sheppard and David Sherman

HUM/UWS 3a Drawing upon Literature
[ hum uws ]
Enrollment limited to Humanities Fellows. Studio fee: $75 per semester. Formerly offered as FA/RECS 118b.
An interdisciplinary team-taught course bringing together the practice of studio art and the study of literature. Students use Russian fiction and poetry (and some critical theory) as source material for the creation of visual images: drawings in various media, watercolors, prints, and photographs. The nature of narrative, as it crosses disciplines, will be a focus of our curriculum. We will read works of fiction by such writers as Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Babel and Nabokov to consider the role of artists as major literary characters, and how works of art function as iconography. Usually offered every year.
Susan Lichtman and Robin Feuer Miller

HUM/UWS 4a Epic Literature
[ hum uws ]
Enrollment limited to Humanities Fellows.
Zeroes in on the most foundational of “foundational” texts. This course will study the evolution of the epic, beginning with its solemn ancient origins, in Gilgamesh, following through with the panoramic martial epics of Greece and Rome, and then investigating how Dante, a Christian Medieval poet, adapts his “pagan” predecessors to tell the story of his voyage through Hell, in The Inferno. At the end we will turn to Milton’s engagement with the entire tradition - in his epic treatment of the story of the Fall - and then to the 18th-century “mock-heroics” that parodied them all. The course will necessarily touch on wide-ranging interdisciplinary aspects of history, anthropology, comparative religion, philosophy and myth. But it will focus on intertextuality: it will scrutinize the ways in which later authors reframed, reshaped, honored and challenged the work of their predecessors. Usually offered every year.
Laura Quinney

UWS 1b True Crime Stories
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. Crime narratives have served a variety of purposes throughout American History. During the Colonial and Early Republican period, published execution confessions and sermons communicated the perils of criminal activity. Sensationalized accounts of cases such as the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby in 1932 and the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, “The Black Daliah,” helped sell millions of newspapers. Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood transformed true crime into a literary art form. Today, fans of true crime can find entire television networks and podcasts devoted to the subject. True crime is entertainment—but what does that tell us about American culture? How does the genre shape our view of the justice system and the nature of crime itself? Is there anything “true” about True Crime? Students will engage with and write about primary sources which span the Colonial period to the present in an effort to contextualize the phenomenon of crime as entertainment. Usually offered every year.
Sarah Beth Gable

UWS 2b Darwinian Dating: The Evolution of Human Attraction
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. Among animals, individuals choose mates based on biologically informative features such as long colorful tail feathers, large canines, or a red, swollen posterior. We typically assume that human attraction (and love) is much more nuanced and complex ... but is it? Many features that humans find beautiful or attractive, such as small waists, curvy hips, and large eyes, can be tied to biological explanations. Even behavioral features, such as nurturing behaviors, may be attractive for adaptive reasons. In this course, we will explore and write about biological explanations for these and many other aspects of human attraction. Using an evolutionary perspective, we will examine global patterns of attraction and challenge stereotypes of beauty. Do nice guys really finish last? Do traditionally attractive features in western cultures—such as low body weight—actually provide an evolutionary benefit, or might some preferences be culturally derived? For the final essay, students will supplement library research with data collection to produce an interdisciplinary research paper. Usually offered every year.
Elissa Jacobs

UWS 3a #MeToo: Women, Truth, and Popular Culture
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. The development of social media, now so important in our lives, has caused huge changes in popular culture. It is now more democratic, more diverse, more open, and more political than ever before. Still, some of the same old problems persist. As noted intellectual Mary Beard argues, “there are countless examples of attempts to write women entirely out of public discourse.” Another prominent woman, lyricist, artist, businesswoman, and philanthropist Taylor Swift calls out this issue in simpler terms: “when everyone believes ya, what’s that like?” Beard and Swift both raise the same central question: who is allowed to speak in public, and who is believed? Furthermore, why do we see figures in popular culture as more or less credible than one another? What kind of identities (race, gender, or class) and social messages are involved in this process of divining the truth from multiple people’s perspectives? These are the questions at the heart of this course, which will focus on modern figures of popular culture—celebrities, politicians, activists, and fictional characters—to help us understand the complex relationship between truth and power. Usually offered every year.
Bridget Kelleher

UWS 4a Medical Ethics
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. The Hippocratic Oath is a guiding principle amongst doctors: “First, do no harm.” But what if your patient is a potential mass murderer? Does the doctor’s obligation lie first with the patient or with society at large? We will explore these questions and others across a variety of genres, including the acclaimed medical mystery television series House and other forms of social media such as Ted talks and Instagram posts. In addition, students will have the opportunity to research a case study on a topic of their choice ranging from designer babies to anti-vaxers. This course will foster the development of incisive analysis and sophisticated academic writing as well as an understanding of disciplinary differences through the exploration of bioethical dilemmas. Usually offered every year.
Lisa Rourke

UWS 5a The Social Life of Sugar
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. Sugar and sweeteners have played a large role in influencing human societies. From its earliest origins as an exotic substance to its commodification and democratization at the hands of capitalism, sugar has shaped empires, fueled systems of slavery, and revolutionized the human diet. Even today, this commodity continues to shape our cultures, our vocabularies, our diets, our health, and our environment in surprisingly pervasive ways. Why and how has this seemingly ordinary substance had such an impact upon our lives, and how can we constructively manage and responsibly enjoy it in the global future? In this course, we will examine its nature and the complex history of human interactions with this sweet commodity through film, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, poetry, novels, blogs, and art. We will also engage with current debates over how to manage its public health and environmental impacts and how to remedy the injustices that still accompany its production. Usually offered every year.
Robert B. Cochran

UWS 6b Guilty Pleasures and Pop Culture
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. Whether you cheer a sports team, go wild at a concert, wait in line for the latest blockbuster, or binge all the episodes of a hit show overnight, popular culture plays a huge role in our lives. But while we might proudly wear the jersey of our favorite team or post selfies from the crowd of a music festival, we enjoy some of our pop-cultural favorites in secret as though they were "guilty pleasures." But what makes a pleasure guilty? How does shame play into our consumption of culture? Why are we embarrassed about the things we love? This course will use the work of prominent cultural critics to establish an understanding of popular culture in relation to more dominant cultures and hierarchies of taste. We will examine such material manifestations as fan productions and question what our consumption patterns reveal about social, economic, and gender hegemonies. Students will have the freedom to focus their research on a pop cultural object of their choice. Usually offered every year.
Bofang Li

UWS 7a Historical Truth in Fiction
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. From Alex Haley’s Roots to Doctor Who’s time-travel adventures, this course invites students to engage with novels, short stories, films, and television series that tell historical “truths” through fiction. We will engage with stories of triumph and loss, oppression and resistance, and war and peace that bring history to life. Together we will grapple with many themes in world history with a particular focus on women, class and race in social struggles for freedom, in national movements for self-determination and in war and conflict. For their final project, students will have the opportunity to research a story of historical fiction of their choosing. Usually offered every year.
Alaa Murad

UWS 10a National Identities and the Eurovision Song Contest
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. The Eurovision Song Contest is the longest-running competition in the world. Starting in 1956, it has been an opportunity for countries to showcase their talent by often playing on cultural traits and stereotypes. National identity plays a key factor in performances and can spark controversy, unity, or both. How can Eurovision help us understand the evolving role and significance of national identity? What is national identity and how is it used? What shapes, extends, and limits identity and how does this intersect with the nation? In this course we will look at some theories about nations and national identity, examine the performative aspects of identity, and, of course, enjoy some performances from the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. For the final paper, students will explore and research a piece representative of a national identity, such as Disney’s Frozen or Hamilton the musical. Usually offered every year.
Susann Longva Vaeth

UWS 12b Domestic Labor: Class, Race, and Gender
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. In 2018, the nation’s first ever Federal Domestic Workers Bill of Rights was proposed. If successful, this legislation will be the culmination of years of lobbying to address the forces of classism, racism, and sexism that have contributed to the subjugation and devaluing of domestic workers and the labor they perform, including but not limited to: housekeeping, cooking, and childcare. Students will examine and develop arguments about the social, cultural, and economic conditions and systems that underpin the pervasive exploitation of domestic labor in the U.S. and abroad. By thinking about how domestic labor is imagined in literature, television, and film, students will unpack paradigms of privilege and power, and carefully consider the intersections of class, gender, and race. Usually offered every year.
Courtney Pina Miller

UWS 16a Sex and Advertising
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. Sex Sells! It’s the immortal truism of the advertising industry. But how does sex sell? For decades, advertisers have used hot bods and innuendo to suggest that power and pleasure can be bought. In the 1970s, the battle cry, “You’ve come a long way, Baby!” pushed cigarettes as the hip accessories of feminism and the sexual revolution. Today, brands blend consumerism with gender activism, invite LGBTQ to the mainstream marketplace, and tempt millennials with new promises of sex and success. In this course, students find and write about advertising that delights, infuriates, and perplexes them. In the first essay, they dissect their choice of pornographic food commercials, Budweiser bromances, and Calvin Klein billboards that titillate consumers and reshape social constructs of masculinity and femininity. The research paper challenges students to locate and comprehend recent studies of sex and gender in advertising and apply them to a defined set of ads or a major campaign of their choice. Usually offered every year.
Doug Kirshen

UWS 17b Bodies of Evidence: Forensic Science in Fact and Fiction
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. In 2009, a woman was found murdered in rural Louisiana. There were no witnesses, but seeming evidence led police to suspect undocumented immigrants. The victim’s DNA, however, did not match any of the Mexican suspects. Years later a new forensic technology generated a portrait of the killer – a blonde male of Northern European ancestry, and an arrest was made. Forensic science has not only helped to identify the dead, to solve crimes, and to bring culprits to justice. Forensic techniques, accepted at the time but later discredited, have also led to false convictions, as in the case of a man found guilty of rape who spent decades in prison before DNA tests confirmed his innocence, or in the case of an arsonist who was exonerated by the State of Texas in 2011 but had been executed years earlier. This course invites students to explore the achievements and shortcomings of forensic science. We will investigate the work of forensic anthropologists, take a look at real-life cases to learn about the history and effectiveness of investigative techniques, and analyze how forensic science has been portrayed (and transformed) in popular television series such as Bones, CSI, or Crossing Jordan. Usually offered every year.
Katrin Fischer

UWS 20b “Bad” English
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. A thick accent, bunch of grammar errors, jumble of different languages, and so on: it feels embarrassing to speak “bad” English. We casually hear or say, “you speak very good English!” Is it a compliment or insult? What do we assume as “bad” and what counts as “good”? In this seminar, we will look into how different forms of English are represented and consumed in literature, film, video, and visual art, starting with the film Lost in Translation. Students are welcomed to bring in and share their own experiences on issues including “foreignness,” migration, language learning, and translation, to name but few. By focusing on how multiple Englishes meet and clash in fictional and real environments, we will try to rethink the hierarchies of language and culture. Our ultimate goal is to reflect on how this conversation could influence both our class environment and daily lives. Usually offered every year.
Nai Kim

UWS 22a Black Voices in the Twentieth Century
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication, and as a way of thinking and understanding. Students will complete a series of writing assignments, engaging in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing, and revising, while working both in peer groups and individually with their instructor. Our focus will be on black voices in twentieth century American culture, ranging from the essays of W. E. B. DuBois to contemporary film. We will discuss a range of literary and historical movements such as the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Arts Movement, and black feminism. We will explore questions of identity, sociology, history, culture, and aesthetics. This course will encourage us to think about questions including: How does a minority voice make itself heard by an often indifferent cultural majority? How does one politically persuade an often hostile audience? How is one’s personal history and sense of identity influenced by historical, political, and cultural circumstances? What happens at the intersections of gender and race? In this class we will grow as readers and writers as we listen to the voices that have already discussed these issues, and as we craft our own responses to these questions. Usually offered every year.
Ryan Hitchcock

UWS 23b The Cosmos
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. Why are we fascinated and intrigued by outer space? What moved the United States to engage in the “space race” in the 1960s, and why is Elon Musk now intent on colonizing mars? To begin our exploration of the universe we will study Carl Sagan’s 1977 PBS series Cosmos. Sagan famously observes, “we are made of star stuff ,” because the material produced by stellar explosions many years ago is the same material out of which we are made. The final research project gives students the opportunity to choose from a variety of films, documentaries, and stories such as Star Wars, The Martian and Battlestar Galactica to make their own argument about what our interest in the stars reveals about who we are as a people. Usually offered every year.
Yi He

UWS 24a Conceptions of Friendship
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. Joey and Chandler, Woody and Buzz, Thelma and Louise, Hermoine and Harry: over the years, television and movies have provided numerous definitions of “friendship” through various depictions of “besties” and “bosom-buddies.” These definitions naturally reflect the changing societal values and cultural norms from which they emerge. The same can be said for depictions about friendship from the ancient world. The relationships between Ruth and Naomi, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, David and Jonathan, or Achilles and Patroclus can provide rich insight into the boundaries of friendship that still hold true today. In this course, we will consider numerous depictions of friendship and consider what assumptions they convey in their time and place. Through reading a novel or short story from popular culture or the ancient world, watching a television episode of Friends or Black Mirror, or critically examining a movie like Toy Story or Clueless, we will seek answers to questions like: What are the benefits of friendship? What role does gender play in friendship? What do friendship-depictions tell us about how audiences view and participate in friendship? Our understanding will be facilitated through modern studies of friendship from psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Through engagement with primary source material in combination with class discussions, we will learn analytic and writing skills that will enable us to think critically about what it means to be a friend. Usually offered every year.
Carey Slaeker

UWS 32a True or Truthiness?
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. The topic of this course is contemporary notions of “truth value.” As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. “Truth, Even unto Its Innermost Parts”—Whose truth, which parts? What’s behind the contemporary notion that “the truth” can’t be known because—in truth—only “truths” are there? Is it quantum physics and an undead cat? Internet deceit? Postmodern hangover? Through a wind-whirl reading tour (excerpts, in ordered sequence) we’ll use our exploration of commentary new and old to sharpen academic reading, writing, and critical reasoning skills in exercises ranging from “unpacking” arguments, to pre-writing, brainstorming, graphic-organizing, speed-drafting, reverse outlining, line editing and big-picture revision. Readings on our theme include philosophy—Plato, Sartre (bad faith), Simon Blackburn (Truth: A Guide for the Perplexed), Sissela Bok (Lying), Richard Rorty (relativism), Stephen Colbert (truthiness); science, psychology and neurology—David Hume—impossibility of empirical knowledge claims; Karl Popper—falsifiability theory of knowledge; Darwin—epistemological status of consensual agreement about knowledge claims; history—Tolstoy’s “confluence of infinitesimals” notion; Wittgenstein limits of ladder language, and literature—Sally Rooney’s Normal People. Usually offered every year.
Gordon Ruesch

UWS 34a Reading and Writing Boston
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. What is Boston? Boston is best known for baked beans, Fenway Park, The Boston Marathon, and over 50 colleges and universities that attract nearly 200,000 students in the Greater Metropolitan area. In the 1700’s, Boston was called the “Athens of America” because of its literate and engaged citizenry, wisdom, knowledge and education. Boston is a city of FIRSTS: the first public park, Boston Common, in 1634; the first public school, Boston Latin, in 1635; the first street-car subway system in the nation in 1897. In 2017, Boston ranked fifth in the world for innovations including cultural assets, education centers, transportation, and biking/walking accessibility. From the Esplanade on the Charles River, the Back Bay, Fens and Boston Common to the newer 15-acre Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, the beauty of Boston is unsurpassed. In this section of UWS, we will be using material on the City of Boston and its neighborhoods, with readings that focus on the historical, sociological, literary and contemporary beat of the city. The main goal for UWS is to further develop your academic research and writing skills , and this course will utilize the City of Boston as a textbook, enabling you to “experience” Boston, close to where you have chosen to spend your college years. Usually offered every year.
Marsha Nourse

UWS 37a The Biology of Morality
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. Humans often consider themselves to be "the moral animal," distinguished from other animals by our complex and socially derived systems of morality, characterized by empathy and cooperation. However, when comparing humans with the rest of the animal world, are we really so different? In this course, we will examine through discussion and writing the degree to which human morality is grounded in our evolutionary past. We will explore the development of human morality during childhood and adulthood through the lens of evolution and will look at classic scientific tests of morality/ethics (e.g., the trolley problem). Additionally, we will engage with evidence for morality in non-human species and probe the degree to which our primate relatives engage in altruistic, empathetic, and moral behaviors. During the final paper, students will have the freedom to choose their own topic and to utilize interdisciplinary literature in their exploration of the nature and nurture of morality. Usually offered every year.
Elissa Jacobs

UWS 39a Science Studies and the Problem of Truth
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. We depend upon scientific research to guide many facets of our lives, from medicine to technology to social and educational policy and beyond. Considering the current trend of ignoring science – for example, the climate change denial movement – we may live in a dangerous time to question the validity and objectivity of scientific knowledge. But there is also a dark history of scientific research and knowledge on marginalized populations: 'science' continually found that women were less emotionally stable then men, and people of color were less intellectually capable than white people; the now-infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study intentionally left a population of black men with untreated syphilis for 40 years, all in the name of science ('science' for whom, we might ask). As such, it may be even more dangerous to let the enterprise of science march on unquestioned than to hold it under a critical lens. This course will examine materials from fields such as Science Studies, Feminist Philosophy of Science, and Critical Data Studies, all of which hold science up to the standards of truth and objectivity, of freedom from bias and ideology, that it claims to have. Our goal in critiquing science is to strive toward better and more just uses of scientific methods and thinking, so that we see the realities of the world more clearly and less ideologically. Usually offered every year.
Joshua Lederman

UWS 43a Storytelling in Business
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. Storytelling plays a crucial role in our lives. We draw on stories to make meaning of ourselves and others, to shed light on our experiences, and to express who we are or would like to be. The same holds true for businesses. Storytelling is not only a core competency of business leaders but an indispensable component of functional organizations. Successful companies take pride in compelling stories; troubled companies tend to lack institutional stories and a culture of storytelling. Capable business leaders are effective storytellers, and strategic storytelling has been a proven means of initiating change and of turning companies around. This course invites students to investigate the power of stories and storytelling in business contexts. By analyzing texts from various media, we will discuss questions such as: What characterizes effective stories? What is the importance of storytelling and story-making in companies? How can storytelling bring about organizational change? Which traits do storytellers and business leaders share? What is the connection between storytelling and leadership? Usually offered every year.
Katrin Fischer

UWS 43b Animals in a Human World
[ uws ]
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing, and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructor. How do we define our relationship with animals: which we keep as livestock, which we keep as pets, and which we keep in zoos? Human-animal interactions have developed over hundreds of thousands of years; in that time, animals have had a significant impact on human behavior and on the development of human societies. In this class, we will explore the deep history of the relationship between humans and animals. We will consider how different cultures and subsistence strategies cultivate different interspecies dynamics, and particularly how domestication changes the way we perceive animals and their place in the world. To explore these questions, we will use multiple lines of evidence, including ethnographic data, material culture, and scientific analyses of faunal remains. Students will have the opportunity to research and write about the relationship between humans and animals in a wide variety of ancient and modern cultures. Usually offered every year.
Catherine Scott

UWS 48a Love: Where, When, How, Who?
Introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing, and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructor. What is love? How does society encourage or discourage it? Who gets to fall in love and why? For many years, the study of love seemed to belong to poets, painters, singers, and playwrights. Scholars in different fields like history and anthropology avoided studying love, claiming that it was too special—too personal, maybe too sacred—to be a topic of reflection and analysis. Yet love is all around us. What does it mean and do? This course explores films, case studies, and more to explore how love conforms to and challenges the prevailing social order and becomes a force for change or continuity. We will analyze readings about how people living in Africa, the USA, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East have described and experienced love as a vital emotion within or despite the expectations they face. Students will research a love-related issue of their choice and may choose from texts including written narratives, ethnographies, legal studies, films, works of art, novels, and other mediums. Usually offered every year.
Martha Lagace