University Bulletin (2020-2021)

The ability to engage in the digital world plays an increasingly important role in intellectual life. Every discipline has been affected by the digital revolution in its own way. Students will master the critical digital resources and techniques relevant to the scholarly or creative endeavors of their discipline.

For students entering Brandeis beginning fall 2019, the digital literacy requirement will be fulfilled for most students through coursework taken in the completion of their major, or through other options described in the requirements for the major. Please see the Requirements to Complete a Major for information on fulfilling writing intensive for a specific major.

There is no digital literacy requirement for students entering Brandeis prior to fall 2019.

AAAS 5a Introduction to African and African American Studies
[ deis-us dl ss ]
An interdisciplinary introduction to major topics in African and African American studies. Provides fundamental insights into Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas through approaches and techniques of social science and the humanities. Usually offered every year.
Chad Williams

AAPI/HIS 163a Asian American History
[ deis-us dl ss ]
Explores the history of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States with a focus on their lived experiences and contributions to U.S. society. Course culminates in a final AAPI digital oral history project. Usually offered every second year.
Yuri Doolan

AMST 100b Twentieth-Century American Culture
[ dl ss ]
Prerequisite: AMST 100a.
The democratization of taste and the extension of mass media are among the distinguishing features of American culture in the twentieth century. Through a variety of genres and forms of expression, in high culture and the popular arts, this course traces the historical development of a national style that came to exercise formidable influence abroad as well. Usually offered every spring.
Staff

ANTH 26a Communication and Media
[ dl ss ]
An exploration of human communication and mass media from a cross-cultural perspective. Examines communication codes based on language and visual signs. The global impact of revolutions in media technology, including theories of cultural imperialism and indigenous uses of media is discussed. Usually offered every second year.
Janet McIntosh

ANTH 129a Culture in 3D: Theory, Method, and Ethics for Scanning and Printing the World
[ dl ss ]
Designed to train students in the methods needed for the successful application of 3D modeling and printing for the documentation, conservation, and dissemination of cultural patrimony. Students will acquire the technical skills and engage in the ethical debates surrounding ownership and reproduction of such patrimony. Usually o0ffered every second year.
Charles Golden and Ian Roy

ANTH 130a Filming Culture: Ethnographic and Documentary Filmmaking
[ djw dl nw ss ]
Introduces the history, theory and production of ethnographic and documentary filmmaking. This course traces how ethnographic and culturally-inflected filmmakers have sought to depict cultural difference, social organization, and lived experiences. Students will learn the basics of non-fiction film production. Usually offered every second year.
Patricia Alvarez Astacio

ANTH 130b Visuality and Culture
[ dl ss ]
Introduces students to the study of visual, aural, and artistic media through an ethnographic lens. Course combines written and creative assignments to understand how culture shapes how we make meaning out of images and develop media literacy. Topics include ethnographic/documentary film, advertising, popular culture, viral videos and special effects, photography, art worlds, and the technological development of scientific images. Usually offered every second year.
Patricia Alvarez or Ellen Schattschneider

ANTH 137a GIS: Mapping Culture from Land, Air and Space
[ dl ss ]
Designed to train undergraduate students in basic methods of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sense (RS) technologies in archaeology. Students will design and present a geodatabase. Usually offered every third year.
Charles Golden

ANTH 138a Digital Cultures
[ dl ss ]
This course offers a 2-credit optional Experiential Learning practicum.
Examines how anthropology can contribute to the understanding of new media as transformative social-cultural forces. Explores various forms of computer-mediated and digital communication (e.g., instant messaging, blogging, social media, on-line dating) and the ways in which people interact in these different contexts of cyberspace. Explores how new forms of digital technologies are shaping forms of identity, community and society today. Involves participatory research projects with a digital public-facing life. Usually offered every third year.
Brian Horton

ANTH 158a Urban Worlds
[ dl oc ss ]
Explores some of the essential concepts of urban theory and conducts an in-depth study of urban experiences around the world. Topics include the city and marginality, urban modernity, gender and public space, gentrification, suburbanization, transgression, and urban nature. Case studies may be from cities such as Mumbai, Lagos, New York, Paris, Dubai, and Rio de Janeiro. Usually offered every second year.
Jonathan Anjaria

ANTH 161a Infrastructure
[ dl ss ]
There’s a problem with infrastructure – electricity networks, water supply systems, pipelines, ports, roads, and railroads. Most of us would agree that infrastructure should be a public thing, serve society, and allow for better life, communication, and activity. Yet infrastructures are often hidden, subterranean, and therefore prone to exploitation and hijacking. The anthropology of infrastructure aims in part at making it more visible and at deciphering the complex interaction between things, society, and politics. But anthropologists end up unearthing more than utility networks and urbanism plans. They stumble upon the very power of inanimate things to orient our experiences, from the most intimate (having sex) to the least material of them (browsing the internet). From politics to ethics and back, this course will explore our relationship to infrastructure. Usually offered every second year.
Pascal Menoret

ANTH 167a Sports, Society and the Body
[ dl oc ss ]
Examines sports from an anthropological perspective. Students will study sports cultures globally and historically. Topics include: sports and colonialism, doping controversies, gender, nationalism, spectacle, pain and ideas of the body. This course also emphasizes hands-on research and documentation of diverse sports cultures through writing and film. Usually offered every second year.
Jonathan Anjaria

BCHM 102a Quantitative Approaches to Biochemical Systems
[ dl sn ]
Prerequisite: BCHM 100a or equivalent and Math 10a and b or equivalent.
Introduces quantitative approaches to analyzing macromolecular structure and function. Emphasizes the use of basic thermodynamics and single-molecule and ensemble kinetics to elucidate biochemical reaction mechanisms. Also discusses the physical bases of spectroscopic and diffraction methods commonly used in the study of proteins and nucleic acids. Usually offered every year.
Maria-Eirini Pandelia

BCHM 104b Physical Chemistry of Macromolecules II
[ dl sn ]
Prerequisites: BCHM 100a, and one of the following: BCHM 104a, CHEM 141a, or Phys 40a, and Math 10a and b or equivalent.
Illustrates the basic principles on which biological macromolecules are constructed and by which they function. Describes overall structures of proteins, nucleic acids, and membranes in terms of the underlying molecular forces: electrostatics, hydrophobic interactions, and H-bonding. The energetics of macromolecular folding and of the linkage between ligand binding and conformational changes will also be discussed. Usually offered every year.
Julia Kardon

BIOL 39b Biology of Global Climate Change
[ dl oc sn ]
Prerequisites: ENVS 2a, BIOL 16a or BIOL 17b.
Examines the biology of global climate change from how biology informs understanding climate change to the evolutionary and ecological responses to climate change. This course includes an exploration of the primary literature. Usually offered every year.
Colleen Hitchcock

BIOL 51a Biostatistics
[ dl sn ]
Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b.
An introductory level biostatistics class providing an overview to statistical methods used in biological and medical research. Topics include descriptive statistics, elementary probability theory, commonly observed distributions, basic concepts of statistical inference, hypothesis testing, regression, as well as analysis of variance. Basic statistical analysis using the R software package will be introduced. Usually offered every semester.
Kene Piasta

BIOL 107a Data Analysis and Statistics Workshop
[ dl qr sn ]
The interpretation of data is key to making new discoveries, making optimal decisions, and designing experiments. Students will learn skills of data analysis and computer coding through hands-on, computer-based tutorials and exercises that include experimental data from the biological sciences. Knowledge of very basic statistics (mean, median) will be assumed. Usually offered every year.
Stephen Van Hooser

BUS 6a Financial Accounting
[ dl ss ]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a or ECON 10a.
Develops basic concepts and accounts and applies them to income measurement, capital values, and costs. Through the use of cases, develops the basis for rational choice and control of business activity. Usually offered every semester in multiple sections.
Robert Angell, Linda Stoller and Hagit Weihs

BUS 10a Business Fundamentals
[ dl ss ]
Prerequisite: BUS 6a. BUS 6a may be taken concurrently with BUS 10a.
Introduces the internal complexity of modern businesses and the various roles they play in society. First examines the internal workings of firms--marketing, operations, finance, and other functions. Subsequently, the relationships between businesses and their context--the economy, social issues, and government are studied. Usually offered every semester in multiple sections.
Ed Bayone, Sava Berhane and Philippe Wells

BUS 51a Introduction to Data Analytics with Excel
[ dl qr ss ]
Prerequisite: Bus 6a. May not be taken for credit by students who took BUS 51b in prior years.
Teaches students how to analyze data, how to create data visualizations, and how to use data for basic inference. The course is taught using Microsoft Excel, thus allowing students to also learn the most common piece of software used in the workplace to analyze business data. Usually offered every semester.
Philippe Wells

BUS 71a Introduction to Finance
[ dl ss ]
Prerequisite: BUS 6a. Corequisite: BUS 51a. This course cannot be counted as an elective toward the Economics major or minor.
Introduces students to topics and methods in the field of finance. Covers how firms secure financing via equity and debt markets, valuation of stocks and bonds, fundamental analysis techniques, capital budgeting techniques, relationship of risk and return, and the time-value-of-money. Usually offered every semester.
Daniel Bergstresser, Michael McKay and Yang Sun

CHEM 18a General Chemistry Laboratory I
[ dl ]
Corequisite: CHEM 11a. Dropping CHEM 11a necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. Two semester-hour credits; yields half-course credit. Laboratory fee: $100 per semester. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have passed CHEM 19a in previous years.
Introduction to basic laboratory methods and methods of qualitative and quantitative analyses. Included in the analytical methods are gas chromatography and infrared measurements. A synthesis project that includes analyzing the product by titration. Calorimetric experiment using probes interfaced with computers. Identification of unknowns based on physical and chemical properties. Analysis of the metal content of substances by atomic absorption. One laboratory lecture per week. One afternoon of laboratory per week. Usually offered every year.
Milos Dolnik

CHEM 18b General Chemistry Laboratory II
[ dl ]
Prerequisites: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 18a and CHEM 11a. Corequisite: CHEM 11b. Dropping CHEM 11b necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits. Laboratory fee: $100 per semester. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have passed CHEM 19b in previous years.
The second semester of the general chemistry laboratory program. Continued use of probes interfaced with computers to monitor pH and electrical conductivity changes in titrating weak monoprotic and polyprotic amino acids, to monitor pressure changes as part of a kinetics study, and to monitor voltage changes of electrochemical cells with temperature so as to establish thermodynamic parameters for redox reactions. Also included is identification of unknowns based on selective precipitation. Usually offered every year.
Milos Dolnik

CHEM 19a Honors General Chemistry Laboratory I
[ dl ]
Corequisite: CHEM 15a. Dropping CHEM 15a necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits. Laboratory fee: $100 per semester. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have taken CHEM 18a in previous years.
An advanced version of CHEM 18a. One afternoon of laboratory per week. One laboratory lecture per week. Usually offered every year.
Milos Dolnik

CHEM 19b Honors General Chemistry Laboratory II
[ dl ]
Prerequisite: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 19a. Corequisite: CHEM 15b. Dropping CHEM 15b necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits. Laboratory fee: $100 per semester. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have taken CHEM 18b in previous years.
Continuation of CHEM 19a. An advanced version of CHEM 18b. Usually offered every year.
Milos Dolnik

CHEM 29a Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
[ dl ]
Prerequisite: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 18b or 19b or the equivalent. Corequisite: CHEM 25a. Dropping CHEM 25a necessitates written permission from lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits. Laboratory fee: $125 per semester.
Gives experience in the important techniques of organic chemical laboratory practice of isolation and purification of organic compounds by crystallization, distillation, and chromatography, and their characterization using analytical and instrumental methods. One afternoon of laboratory per week. One ninety-minute laboratory lecture per week. Usually offered every year.
Stephanie Murray

CLAS 46a Practicum In Digital Literacy
[ dl ]
Corequisite: One course in Classical Studies and permission of the instructor. Yields half-course credit. Fulfills the digital literacy requirement for Classical Studies majors.
Provides students with subject-specific exposure and training in research and applied use of technology. Specific methods and topics will change according to student interest and technological development. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

CLAS/ENG 153b Race Before Race: Premodern Critical Race Studies
[ deis-us djw dl hum wi ]
Provides an introduction to ancient and medieval attitudes towards race and ethnicity through the theoretical lens of premodern critical race studies. Special one-time offering, fall 2020.
Caitlin Gillespie and Dorothy Kim

COML 100a Introduction to Global Literature
[ dl hum oc ]
Core course for COML major and minor.
What is common and what is different in literatures of different cultures and times? How do literary ideas move from one culture to another? In this course students read theoretical texts, as well as literary works from around the world. Usually offered every year.
Staff

COSI 10a Introduction to Problem Solving in Python
[ dl sn ]
Open only to students with no previous programing background. Students may not take COSI 10a if they have received a satisfactory grade in COSI 12b or COSI 21a. May not be taken for credit by students who took COSI 11a in prior years. Does not meet the requirements for the major or minor in Computer Science.
Introduces computer programming and related computer science principles. Through programming, students will develop fundamental skills such as abstract reasoning and problem solving. Students will master programming techniques using the Python programming language and will develop good program design methodology resulting in correct, robust, and maintainable programs. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

COSI 12b Advanced Programming Techniques in Java
[ dl sn ]
Prerequisite: COSI 10a or successful completion of the COSI online placement exam.
Studies advanced programming concepts and techniques utilizing the Java programming language. The course covers software engineering concepts, object-oriented design, design patterns and professional best practices. This is a required foundation course that will prepare you for more advanced courses, new programming languages, and frameworks. Usually offered every year.
Staff

COSI 21a Data Structures and the Fundamentals of Computing
[ dl sn ]
Prerequisite: COSI 12b. Graduate students may take this course concurrently with COSI 12b with permission of the Director of Graduate Studies.
Focuses on the design and analysis of algorithms and the use of data structures. Through the introduction of the most widely used data structures employed in solving commonly encountered problems. Students will learn different ways to organize data for easy access and efficient manipulation. The course also covers algorithms to solve classic problems, as well as algorithm design strategies; and computational complexity theory for studying the efficiency of the algorithms. Usually offered every year.
Antonella Di Lillo

COSI 131a Operating Systems
[ dl sn ]
Prerequisites: COSI 21a.
Fundamental structures of a computer system from hardware abstractions through machine and assembly language, to the overall structure of an operating system and key resource management abstractions. Usually offered every year.
Mitch Cherniack, Olga Papaemmanouil, or Liuba Shrira

COSI 155b Computer Graphics
[ dl sn ]
Prerequisite: COSI 12b.
An introduction to the art of displaying computer-generated images and to the design of graphical user interfaces. Topics include graphic primitives; representations of curves, surfaces, and solids; and the mathematics of two- and three-dimensional transformations. Usually offered every third year.
Timothy Hickey

COSI 164a Introduction to 3-D Animation
[ dl sn ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took COSI 65a in prior years.
Covers the fundamental concepts of 3-D animation and teaches both the theory underlying 3-D animation as well as the skills needed to create 3-D movies. Students demonstrate their understanding of the concepts by creating several short animated movies. Usually offered every third year.
Timothy Hickey

COSI 178a Computational Molecular Biology
[ dl sn ]
Open to advanced undergraduate students and graduate students.
Information and computing technologies are becoming indispensable to modern biological research due to significant advances of high-throughput experimental technologies in recent years. This course presents an overview of the systemic development and application of computing systems and computational algorithms/techniques to the analysis of biological data, such as sequences, gene expression, protein expression, and biological networks. Hands-on training will be provided. Usually offered every other year.
Pengyu Hong

ECON 83a Statistics for Economic Analysis
[ dl qr ss ]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a. Students must earn a C- or higher in MATH 10a, or otherwise satisfy the calculus requirement, to enroll in this course.
A first course in statistical inference. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, normal and binomial distributions, sampling distributions, point and interval estimation, properties of estimators, hypothesis testing, regression, and analysis of variance. Usually offered every semester.
Linda Bui, Nidhiya Menon, and Tymon Słoczyński

ECON 184b Econometrics
[ dl qr ss ]
Prerequisites: ECON 83a. Corequisite: ECON 80a or permission of the instructor. Students must earn a C- or higher in MATH 10a, or otherwise satisfy the calculus requirement, to enroll in this course. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have previously taken or are currently enrolled in ECON 185a or ECON 311a.
An introduction to the theory of econometric regression and forecasting models, with applications to the analysis of business and economic data. Usually offered every year.
Mahsa Akbari, Elizabeth Brainerd and Yinchu Zhu

ECS 100a European Cultural Studies Proseminar: Modernism
[ dl hum oc ]
Explores the interrelationship of literature, music, painting, philosophy, and other arts in the era of high modernism. Works by Artaud, Baudelaire, Benjamin, Mann, Mahler, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Kandinsky, Schiele, Beckett, Brecht, Adorno, Sartre, Heidegger, and others. Usually offered every fall semester.
Stephen Dowden

ED 165a Reading (and Talking Back to) Research on Education
[ dl ss ]
Open to education studies majors only.
In this required capstone course for education studies majors, students will review quantitative and qualitative research through disciplinary lenses. Students pursue some topic of inquiry by either reviewing and synthesizing educational research, or conducting some empirical research. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ENG 28a Environmental Literature in an Age of Extinction
[ deis-us dl hum ]
Explores literature’s role in shaping modern understandings of environmental change and damage, as well as the possibility of ecological restoration. Works include environmental classics by Thoreau, Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson as well as contemporary genres including dystopia, the thriller, and climate fiction. Usually offered every third year.
Caren Irr or Jerome Tharaud

ENG 41a Critical Digital Humanities Methods and Applications
[ deis-us dl hum ]
Introduces critical digital humanities methods and applications. Considers both theory and praxis, the issues of open and accessible scholarship and work, and the centrality of collaboration. We will investigate power relations, inclusivity, and the ethics of social justice. Usually offered every second year.
Dorothy Kim

ENG 58a Literature and Medicine
[ dl hum wi ]
How has literature grappled with illness, healing, and the patient-doctor encounter? How can poetry and storytelling communicate with experience of bodily pain--and how does the body seek to communicate its suffering without language? We examine literary responses to the body's biological vulnerabilities, and seek to contextualize the vulnerable body within the cultural and political fields that shape medical knowledge and practice. Readings in fiction, poetry, essay, and drama will suggest the art, or craftsmanship, involved in the healing sciences, as well as the diagnostic nature of literary criticism. Reading for new approaches, generated by the literary imagination, to controversial issues in medical ethics. Usually offered every third year.
David Sherman

ENG 62b Contemporary African Literature, Global Perspectives
[ djw dl hum nw oc ]
What is "African" in African literature when the majority of writers are somehow removed from the African societies they portray? How do expatriate writers represent African subjectivities and cultures at the intersection of Diaspora and globalization? Who reads the works produced by these writers? Usually offered every third year.
Emilie Diouf

ENG 72a The Caribbean's Asias: Asian Migration & Heritage in the Caribbean
[ dl hum nw ]
Studies fiction and theory by and about Caribbean people of South Asian origin, and Caribbean people of Chinese origin from the late nineteenth century to the present. Examines how they have been implicated in discussions of nationalism, hybridity, diaspora, and neoliberalism. Usually offered every third year.
Faith Smith

ENG 79a Screenwriting Workshop: Beginning Screenplay
[ dl hum oc wi ]
Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Enrollment is by instructor permission after the submission of a manuscript sample. Please refer to the schedule of classes for submission information. May be repeated for credit.
Fundamentals of screenwriting: structure, plot, conflict, character, and dialogue. Students read screenwriting theory, scripts, analyze files, and produce an outline and the first act of an original screenplay. Usually offered every third year.
Marc Weinberg

ENG 109a Poetry Workshop
[ dl hum oc wi ]
Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Enrollment is by instructor permission after the submission of a manuscript sample. Please refer to the schedule of classes for submission information. May be repeated for credit.
A workshop for poets willing to explore and develop their craft through intense reading in current poetry, stylistic explorations of content, and imaginative stretching of forms. Usually offered every year.
Elizabeth Bradfield or Visiting Writer

ENG 119b Poetry Workshop: Special Topics in Poetry
[ dl hum oc wi ]
Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Enrollment is by instructor permission after the submission of a manuscript sample. Please refer to the schedule of classes for submission information. May be repeated for credit.
For those who wish to improve as poets while broadening their knowledge of poetry, through a wide spectrum of readings. Students' poems will be discussed in a "workshop" format with emphasis on revision. Remaining time will cover assigned readings and issues of craft. Usually offered every year.
Elizabeth Bradfield or Visiting Poet

ENG 120a Thirties Movies
[ dl hum ]
Explores how 1930s Hollywood invented modern movies and their techniques -- Romcom, horror, suspense, crime, melodrama, feature-length animation, musicals -- responding to and profoundly altering social, political, industrial, cultural, and economic history, from the Depression to the beginning of World War II. Usually offered every third year.
William Flesch

ENG 123a Violence and the Body in Early Modern Drama
[ dl hum ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took ENG 23a in prior years.
Explores early modern understandings of the body, with particular attention to gender, sexuality, race, and nation. Considers the role of violence in determining who counts as fully human, who can be reduced to a body, and whose bodies can be severed from citizenship, recognition, and value. Explores as well the claims of the body and voice to memorialization and belonging, and the evidence of actors' bodies on the stage. Usually offered every third year.
Thomas King

ENG 137b Women and War
[ djw dl hum nw ]
Examines how African women writers and filmmakers use testimony to bear witness to mass violence. How do these writers resist political and sociocultural silencing systems that reduce traumatic experience to silence, denial, and terror? Usually offered every third year.
Emilie Diouf

ENG 139a Publishing Workshop: Literary Editing and Publishing
[ dl hum oc wi ]
Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Students will be selected after the submission of an introductory letter including student's major, writing/editing experience, why publishing is of interest to them, any experimental literary publications/performances they've experienced. This course fulfills a workshop requirement for the Creative Writing major and minor. Please refer to the Schedule of Classes for submission formats and deadlines within the Registration periods.
Editing and publishing a literary journal -- either digital, print, or in more experimental forms -- can be an important component of a writer's creative life and sense of literary citizenship. This experiential learning course will engage students with theoretical and historical reading as well as provide practical hands-on tools for literary publishing. Broadsided Press (www.broadsidedpress.org) will be used as a case study. A group publishing project will be part of the coursework, and this can be tied into journals already being published on campus. By the end of the semester, students will have a fuller sense of the work, mindset, difficulties, strategies, and values of a literary publisher. Usually offered every second year.
Elizabeth Bradfield

ENG 139b Screenwriting Workshop: Intermediate Screenwriting
[ dl hum oc wi ]
Prerequisites: ENG 79a. Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Enrollment is by instructor permission after the submission of a manuscript sample. Please refer to the schedule of classes for submission information. May be repeated for credit.
In this writing-intensive course, students build on screenwriting basics and delve more deeply into the creative process. Participants read and critique each other's work, study screenplays and view films, and submit original written material on a biweekly basis. At the conclusion of the course each student will have completed the first draft of a screenplay (100-120 pages). Usually offered every second year.
Marc Weinberg

ENG 143a The History of Mediascapes and Critical Maker Culture
[ deis-us dl hum oc ]
To decolonize book history and "maker culture," the class examines colonial erasure, colonial knowledge production, race, gender, disability, neurodiversity, sexuality in making an alternative book history that includes khipu, the girdle book, the wampum, pamphlets, zines, and wearable media technology. Usually offered every year.
Dorothy Kim

ENG 143b Chaucer’s “Global and Refugee Canterbury Tales"
[ deis-us djw dl hum ]
Focuses on situating Chaucer, and particularly the Canterbury Tales, as a global
work. We will examine black feminist writers, playwrights, and poets of the African diaspora who have revised, adapted, extrapolated, and voiced the Canterbury Tales in Jamaican patois, Nigerian pidgin, and the S. London dialects of Brixton. Usually offered every second year.
Dorothy Kim

ENG 146a Reading the American Revolution
[ dl hum ]
Explores the role of emerging literary forms and media in catalyzing, shaping, and remembering the American Revolution. Covers revolutionary pamphlets, oratory, the constitutional ratification debates, seduction novels, poetry, and plays. Includes authors Foster, Franklin, Jefferson, Paine, Publius, Tyler, and Wheatley. Usually offered every third year.
Jerome Tharaud

ENG 149a Screenwriting Workshop: Writing for Television
[ dl hum oc wi ]
Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Enrollment is by instructor permission after the submission of a manuscript sample. Please refer to the schedule of classes for submission information. May be repeated for credit.
Introduces students to the craft of writing for a variety of television programming formats, including episodic, late-night, and public service announcements. Students will read and view examples and create their own works within each genre. Usually offered every second year.
Marc Weinberg

ENG 151b Performance Studies
[ dl hum ]
Explores paradigms for making performance inside and outside of institutionalized theater spaces, with an emphasis on the performance of everyday life. Students read theories of theater and performance against paradigmatic dramatic texts and documents of social performance. Combining theory with practice, students explore and make site-specific and online performances. Usually offered every third year.
Thomas King

ENG 152b Arthurian Literature
[ dl hum ]
A survey of (mostly) medieval treatments of the legendary material associated with King Arthur and his court, in several genres: bardic poetry, history, romance, prose narrative. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

FA 9a Introduction to Digital Photography
[ ca dl ]
Prerequisite: One Brandeis studio art course. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.
An introduction to the visual forms and concepts of the photographic image. A range of digital techniques is covered along with aspects of the history of photography. Students must provide their own digital camera. Field trips and image presentations supplement the studio aspect of the course. Usually offered every semester.
Sheida Soleimani

FA 9b Digital Photography: Portraiture
[ ca dl ]
Recommended prerequisite: FA 9a.
Does a portrait have to include a recognizable form? And what dictates a 'photographic' portrait in a media and image saturated economy? In this class, we will be exploring the history of portraiture in photography and how it has evolved throughout the past century. From Victorian Post-Mortem photography, to social media "selfies', our language of portraiture is rapidly evolving. Students will be creating a range of portrait based projects, using a variety of digital mediums. Usually offered every year.
Sheida Soleimani

FA 10a Digital Photography: Constructing Imagery
[ ca dl ]
Through examining the notion of artifice, the creation of a photograph can adopt an interdisciplinary practice. Constructing photographic imagery concerns the arrangement and fabrication of materials to be represented as a 2-dimensional object frozen in time. This genre makes use of a vast range of techniques including staging, directing, collaging, sculpting and painting, as well as creating a performative studio based practice. Topics will include: the history and theory of the constructed image, lighting equipment and techniques, intro to editing software, as well as philosophical and political perspectives in the history of the constructed image. Usually offered every year.
Sheida Soleimani

FA 10b Intermediate Digital Media and Installation: Image/Object/Place
[ ca dl ]
Prerequisite: FA 4a, 4b, 9a or permission of the instructor. May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 10a in prior years.
Studies the installation of objects in 3-dimensional space as a common art practice and refers generally to an artist's arrangement of aesthetic material to create a theatrical experience for its viewing subject. The goal of this class is to produce installations using image-based and sculptural practices. Field trips and image presentations supplement the studio aspect of the course. Usually offered every year.
Sheida Soleimani

FA 86b Museum Studies
[ ca dl ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 85b in prior years.
An experiential learning seminar focused on the art object in the context of the museum; the history of museums (architecture, educational mission, curatorial presentation); museum ethics and provenance studies; new theories of museums and their expanded role in the community. Usually offered every second year.
Nancy Scott

FA 169a Ecology and Art
[ ca dl ]
Provides a theoretical foundation and art historical background for discussion of contemporary art that draws attention to the ecologies, primarily natural but also cultural, of which it and we are a part. Usually offered every third year.
Peter Kalb

FA 181a Housing and Social Justice
[ ca deis-us dl ss ]
Employs housing as a lens to interrogate space and society, state and market, power and change, in relation with urban inequality and social justice. It trains students to become participants in the global debates about housing. In doing so, it teaches students about dominant paradigms of urban development and welfare and situates such paradigms in the 20th century history of capitalism. It will explicitly adopt a comparative and transnational urban approach to housing and social justice, showing how a globalized perspective provides important insights into local shelter struggles and debates. Usually offered every second year.
Muna Guvenc

FA 199a Methods and Approaches in the History of Art
[ ca dl oc wi ]
Explores various ways of analyzing works of art and provides an overview of the historical development of the discipline. Designed specifically for junior and senior art history majors. Usually offered every year.
Charles McClendon

FILM 110a Film Production I
[ ca dl ss ]
Preference given to Film,Television and Interactive Media majors and minors.
An introduction to the basic principles and techniques of fictional narrative motion picture production. Each student will produce three short films. The films will emphasize dramatic development and creative storytelling through image composition, camera movement, editing, and sound. Usually offered every year.
Staff

FILM 110b Motion Picture Editing
[ dl ss ]
Preference given to film, television and interactive media majors and minors.
Students will develop visual literacy through a study of the editor's role in cinematic storytelling. The course provides an overview of the craft's history and theory and offers practical training in editing digital video with Final Cut Pro. Usually offered every year.
Staff

FILM 120a Cinematography
[ ca dl ]
Gives students the ability learn lighting, media capture techniques, camera and subject movement choreography in both analog and digital formats. They will gain knowledge of axis and frames, dynamic editing points and creating a motion picture as an essay tapestry. Usually offered every year.
Daniel Mooney

FREN 106b Writing Workshop
[ dl fl hum wi ]
Prerequisite: FREN 105a or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in a French and Francophone Studies course at Brandeis should refer to http://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#frentest.
Innovative strategies and online tools enable students to improve their creative and analytical writing skills. Students examine different types of texts, exploring their literary style, determining their authority, and exploring how words and images may move and manipulate readers and viewers. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

GER 30a Intermediate German
[ dl fl ]
Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in GER 20b or the equivalent. Four class hours per week.
In concluding the development of the four language speaking skills--comprehending, writing, reading, and speaking--this course focuses on finishing up the solid grammar foundation that was laid in GER 10a and GER 20b. It also presents additional audio and video material, films, radio plays, and newspaper and magazine articles, as well as a variety of extensive interactive classroom activities. Usually offered every year in the fall.
Kathrin Seidl

GER 106b Migration, Kultur, Synergie
[ dl fl hum ]
Prerequisite: GER 30a.
Investigates the experience of refugees and immigrants in present-day Germany and discusses processes of social transformation. Through fictional and non-fictional texts and film, we gain an understanding of their cultural, economic, political and artistic contributions and of cross-cultural collaborations. Usually offered every second year.
Kathrin Seidl

HBRW 124a Hebrew for Business, Doing Business in Start-Up Nation
[ dl fl wi ]
Prerequisite: Any 30-level Hebrew course or permission of the instructor. Does not meet the requirement in the school of humanities.
Provides students with tools and competence to deal with the Israeli business community. For advanced-intermediate Hebrew students who wish to gain cultural understanding and business language speaking skills. Usually offered every second year.
Sara Hascal

HBRW 167b The Sleeping Beauty: The Revival of Modern Hebrew
[ dl fl hum ]
Prerequisite: Any 40-level Hebrew course or permission of the instructor.
An advanced course that surveys the origins of the Hebrew language and its development throughout the centuries, focusing on its major stages (biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern). Explores the unique phenomenon of its revival as a spoken language and its adaptation to the modern world. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

HISP 198a Experiential Research Seminar in Literary and Cultural Studies
[ dl hum oc wi ]
May be taught in English or Spanish.
A research seminar in which each student has the opportunity to become an “expert” in a Hispanic literary or cultural text/topic that captures her or his imagination, inspired by a study abroad experience; an earlier class in Hispanic Studies; community-engaged learning; etc. Instruction in literary/cultural theory, researching a subject, and analytical skills necessary for developing a scholarly argument. Students present research in progress and write a research paper of significant length. Usually offered every year.
Fernando Rosenberg or Jerónimo Arellano

HIST 8a Globalization in History
[ dl ss ]
Seeks to historicize "globalization"—to explore its extension and transformation since its emergence in the sixteenth century. The principal task is to analyze the key dynamics that drove—and periodically interrupted—this process, and to give particular attention to its perception and impact. Usually offered every second year.
Gregory Freeze

HIST 50b American Transformations: Perspectives on United States History, Origins to the Present
[ dl ss ]
Investigates U.S. history in a wider world, from its origins to the present, starting with the premise that American History itself is a construct of modern empire. Only by investigating the roots of power and resistance can we understand the forces that deeply influence our world as we live it today. Usually offered every second year.
Abigail Cooper

HIST 80a Introduction to East Asian Civilization
[ djw dl hum nw ss ]
A selective introduction to the development of forms of thought, social and political institutions, and distinctive cultural contributions of China and Japan from early times to the beginning of the nineteenth century. Usually offered every year.
Heyward James

HIST 111b The Iranian Revolution: From Monarchy to the Islamic Republic
[ djw dl nw ss ]
An examination of the roots of the Iranian revolution of 1979, the formation of the Islamic Republic, and its evolution over the past 30 years. Usually offered every second year.
Naghmeh Sohrabi

HIST 140a A History of Fashion in Europe
[ dl ss wi ]
Looks at costume, trade in garments, and clothing consumption in Europe from 1600 to 1950. Topics include sumptuous fashion, class and gender distinctions in wardrobe, and the rise of department stores. Usually offered every third year.
Alice Kelikian

HIST 147b Twentieth-Century Russia
[ dl ss ]
Russian history from the 1905 revolution to the present day, with particular emphasis on the Revolution of 1917, Stalinism, culture, and the decline and fall of the USSR. Usually offered every second year.
Gregory Freeze

HIST 153b Slavery and the American Civil War: #1619 Project
[ deis-us dl ss ]
A hard look at American slavery from the Middle Passage to Mass Incarceration, plus an investigation into the Civil War through the lens of Black self-emancipation. Uses the tools and insights from #1619 Project. Usually offered every second year.
Abigail Cooper

HIST 157b Marginalized Voices and the Writing of History
[ deis-us dl ss wi ]
Seeks to understand not only the system but the inner lives and cultures of slaves within that system. This course is a reading-intensive seminar examining both primary and secondary sources on American slaves. Focuses on the American South but includes sources on the larger African diaspora. Usually offered every second year.
Abigail Cooper

HIST 158b Social History of the Confederate States of America
[ deis-us dl ss ]
An examination of the brief life of the southern Confederacy, emphasizing regional, racial, class, and gender conflicts within the would-be new nation. Usually offered every third year.
Abigail Cooper

HIST 162a Writing on the Wall: Histories of Graffiti in the Americas
[ djw dl ss ]
Focuses on the history of graffiti in the U.S. from 1960s forward. Includes the historical role of Caribbean migration, the impact of criminology and economic recession of the 1970s on graffiti culture, and the relationship between private property, public space, and graffiti. Usually offered every second year.
Gregory Childs

HIST 170a Italian Films, Italian Histories
[ dl ss wi ]
Explores the relationship between Italian history and Italian film from unification to 1975. Topics include socialism, fascism, the deportation of Jews, the Resistance, the Mafia, and the emergence of an American-style star fixation in the 1960s. Usually offered every second year.
Alice Kelikian

HIST 173b Digital History, Digital Historians: What's it All About?
[ dl ss ]
"Digital Humanities" are becoming widespread as a research approach to history. These qualitative and quantitative methods offer historians new research insights and efficiencies. This course explores Digital Humanities through reading, discussion, and experimentation to discover their strengths and weaknesses. Usually offered every year.
Amy Singer

HIST 174b History Lab: Research and Writing in History
[ dl ss wi ]
Offers a unique opportunity to engage in real historical research. Through research into key themes in history, it introduces components of the historian's craft, opens up archives and exposes students to the exciting field of digital humanities research. Usually offered every second year.
Hannah Muller

HIST 186a Europe in World War II
[ dl ss wi ]
Examines the military and diplomatic, social and economic history of the war. Topics include war origins; allied diplomacy; the neutrals; war propaganda; occupation, resistance, and collaboration; the mass murder of the Jews; "peace feelers"; the war economies; scientific warfare and the development of nuclear weapons; and the origins of the Cold War. Usually offered every third year.
Paul Jankowski

HS 263f Applied Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
[ dl ]
Meets for one-half semester and yields half-course credit. Prerequisite: HS 297f or permission of the instructor.
Designed for students wishing to receive advanced training in GIS. Instruction includes geospatial data management and archiving, raster and vector analysis techniques, and basic GPS instruction. Emphasis is on 'hands-on' training using ARCView GIS software; qualitative skills in data gathering, analysis, and presentation; and understanding the potential of GIS as a tool for planning and evaluating development projects. Includes a computer lab. Usually offered every year.
Ravi Lakshmikanthan

HS 297f Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
[ dl ]
Meets for one-half semester and yields half-course credit.
A primer for non-specialists on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and its capabilities as a tool for planning and monitoring. Students learn how to determine an organization’s GIS requirements, focus on those requirements during planning, and apply the requirements to assess the size and scope of the system needed. Includes a computer lab. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

HSSP 100b Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health
[ dl qr ss ]
Core course for the HSSP major and minor. Open to juniors and seniors only.
Provides an orientation to the science of epidemiology, the quantitative foundation for public health policy. As a comprehensive survey course, students from varying academic backgrounds are introduced to biostatistics and major epidemiological concepts, and provided with training in their application to the study of health and disease in human populations. Case studies examine how environmental, physical, behavioral, psychological, and social factors contribute to the disease burden of populations. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

IGS 10a Introduction to International and Global Studies
[ dl ss ]
"Globalization" touches us more every day. Introduces the challenges of globalization to national and international governance, economic success, individual and group identities, cultural diversity, the environment, and inequalities within and between nations, regions of the globe, gender, and race. Usually offered every year.
Kerry Chase or Chandler Rosenberger

LING 105a Phonetics
[ dl ss ]
Prerequisite: LING 100a.
Introduces the production and perception of the sounds of human speech in the world's languages. Covers the transcription of speech, articulatory phonetics (anatomy and physiology of speech), acoustic phonetics (transmission of speech), and auditory phonetics (perception of speech). Usually offered every second year.
Keith Plaster

LING 140a Architecture of Conversation: Discourse and Pragmatics
[ dl oc ss ]
Prerequisite: LING 100a or permission of the instructor.
Assuming a theory of sentence-level linguistic competence, what phenomena are still to be accounted for in the explication of language knowledge? The class explores topics in language use in context, including anaphora, deixis, implicature, speech acts, information packaging, and pragmatics of dialogue. Usually offered every second year.
Sophia Malamud

LING 197a Language Acquisition and Development
[ dl oc ss ]
Open to all students.
The central problem of language acquisition is to explain what makes this formidable task possible. Theories of language acquisition are studied, and conclusions are based on recent research in the development of syntax, semantics, and phonology. The overall goal is to arrive at a coherent picture of the language learning process. Usually offered every second year.
Sophia Malamud or Keith Plaster

MATH 16b Applied Linear Algebra Practicum
[ dl oc ]
Prerequisite: MATH 15a or MATH 22a. Yields half-course credit.
Introduces fundamental skills for both computing and oral communication in the context of applied linear algebra problems. Includes basics of Python, numpy, and matplotlib. Usually offered every year.
John Wilmes

MUS 101a Theory and Musicianship I: Part 1
[ ca dl ]
Admission by placement exam to be given in class on the first day of instruction. Corequisite: MUS 102a.
A first course for students who already read music, but wish to develop a deeper involvement. Students investigate how music "works" by composing exercises based on examples of tonal music and literature that students are practicing for performance. Focuses on elementary harmony and voice-leading, counterpoint, analysis, and model composition. In the required one-hour lab (MUS 102a), students practice sight-singing and dictation, skills essential to music literacy. Usually offered every year.
Staff

MUS 107a Introduction to Electro-Acoustic Music
[ ca dl ]
Prerequisite: Any music course or permission of the instructor.
A course designed to give students basic studio skills and a context for listening to and working in electronic music. Topics include basic acoustics, sound design, digital and analog recording techniques, and assignments on the pioneers and current practitioners of electro-acoustic music. Involves hands-on experience in the use of MIDI-controlled synthesizers, samplers, production equipment, and includes individual studio projects based on individual studio time. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

MUS 160b Electro-Acoustic Music Composition (Laptopping)
[ ca dl ]
Preference given to students who have taken MUS 107a and majors in the departments of the School of Creative Arts.
A continuation of work begun in MUS 107a, with emphasis on composition and performance in the electro-acoustic medium. Course focus is on individual and collaborative projects. Work is carried out in BEAMS (Brandeis Electro-Acoustic Music Studio), but every effort will be made to equip students to compose on their own computers and to work collaboratively using the Internet. Composition projects are based on models since 1948 in the genres of musique concrete, "pure" and "live" electronic music, music for instruments and tape, and multidisciplinary works. A final project leads to the production of a concert. Usually offered every second year.
Eric Chasalow

MUS 161a Electro-Acoustic Music Composition
[ ca dl ]
Prerequisite: MUS 107a or MUS 160b, or permission of the instructor. Intended for graduate students and advanced undergraduates.
Composing for electronic media. Advanced topics in software synthesis, sound design, studio production. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

MUS 180b Proseminar in Digital Musicology
[ ca dl ]
Deploys computational tools and methods to answer questions about music. The hands-on proseminar, for graduate students and advanced undergraduates, will teach music encoding and introduce various analytical methodologies in order to answer a variety of music research questions. Usually offered every third year.
Karen Desmond

NBIO 136b Computational Neuroscience
[ dl sn ]
Prerequisite: MATH 10a and either NBIO 140b or PHYS 10a or approved equivalents.
An introduction to concepts and methods in computer modeling and analysis of neural systems. Topics include single and multicompartmental models of neurons, information representation and processing by populations of neurons, synaptic plasticity and models of learning, working memory, decision making and neural oscillations. The course will be based on in-class computer tutorials, assuming no prior coding experience, with reading assignments and preparation as homework. Usually offered every second year.
Paul Miller

NEJS 10a Biblical Hebrew Grammar and Texts
[ dl hum ]
Prerequisite: HBRW 20b or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. May not be used to satisfy the World Languages and Cultures requirement.
A review of biblical Hebrew grammar followed by a survey of the major genres of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Torah, history, prophecy, psalms, wisdom). Texts are read in Hebrew; the course is taught in English. Emphasis on literary and grammatical aspects of the texts. Usually offered every year.
Staff

NEJS 123a Maps, Graphs and Timelines: Technology and Design in Historical Research
[ dl hum oc ]
Learn the practical skills to represent data digitally as graphs, maps, timelines and other models. Students will develop their own research projects in topics of their interest and learn to think critically about the opportunities and pitfalls that digital methods pose, for scholarship, inclusion and for social justice. The course will include extensive practical instruction. Usually offered every second year.
Alexander Kaye

NEJS 186a Introduction to the Qur'an
[ djw dl hum nw ]
Traces the history of the Qur'an as text, its exegesis, and its role in inter-religious polemics, law, theology, and politics. Examines the role of the Qur'an in Islamic teachings and its global impact. Usually offered every second year.
Suleyman Dost

PHIL 107b Kant's Moral Theory
[ dl hum ]
An examination of the main philosophical issues addressed in Kant's Critique of Practical Reason from the perspective of their relation to works specifically belonging to his ethical theory: the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals and the Metaphysics of Morals. Usually offered every second year.
Kate Moran

PHIL 114b Topics in Ethical Theory
[ dl hum ]
Prerequisite: PHIL 1a, or PHIL 17a, or PHIL 23b. May be repeated for credit.
Is morality something we have reasons to obey regardless of our interests and desires, or do the reasons grow out of our interests and desires? Is the moral life always a personally satisfying life? Is morality a social invention or is it more deeply rooted in the nature of things? This course will address such questions. Usually offered every year.
Staff

PHIL 123b Neuroethics
[ dl hum wi ]
Focuses on the philosophical and ethical implications that arise from advances in neuroscience. We will investigate questions like: What are the evolutionary origins of moral judgement? Does evolutionary theory shed light on morality? Do our moral motivations derive from reason or pre-reflective intuition? Do psychopaths have moral responsibility? Do we have free will? Is there an obligation to enhance ourselves? Should drugs be used to enhance mental functioning? Is it moral to grow human organs in animals for purposes of transplantation? Usually offered every third year.
Staff

PHIL 131a Philosophy of Mind
[ dl hum wi ]
Covers the central issue in the philosophy of mind: the mind-body problem. This is the ongoing attempt to understand the relation between our minds -- our thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and so on -- and our bodies. Is the mind just a complex configuration of (neural) matter, or is there something about it that's irreducibly different from every physical thing? Topics include intentionality, consciousness, functionalism, reductionism, and the philosophical implications of recent work in neuroscience, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence. Usually offered every year.
Jerry Samet

PHYS 19a Physics Laboratory I
[ dl ]
May yield half-course credit toward rate-of-work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits.
Laboratory course designed to accompany PHYS 11a and 15a. Introductory statistics and data analysis including use of microcomputers and basic experiments in mechanics. One afternoon or evening of laboratory per week. One one-and-a-half-hour lecture per week. Usually offered every year.
Gabriella Sciolla

PHYS 19b Physics Laboratory II
[ dl ]
May yield half-course credit toward rate-of-work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits.
Laboratory course designed to accompany PHYS 11b and 15b. Basic experiments in electricity, magnetism, and optics. Basic electrical measurements. Determination of several fundamental physical constants. One afternoon or evening of laboratory per week. One one-and-a-half-hour lecture per week. Usually offered every year.
Seth Fraden

POL 99b Senior Research: Honors Thesis
[ dl oc wi ]
Students will consult with the head of the politics honors program before being assigned to a professor for the supervision of their theses and will participate in a biweekly colloquium. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 119a Seminar: Red States, Blue States: Understanding Contemporary American Voters and Parties
[ dl ss ]
Why is support for redistributive policies weak at the same time that American economic inequality is climbing? Why are poorer states, that are more reliant on Federal support, more likely to vote for Republican candidates? In this course, students will pursue guided, independent research. Usually offered every year.
Lucy Goodhart

POL 123a Seminar: Political Psychology
[ dl ss wi ]
Open to juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
Explores public opinion, political socialization, and political behavior through the lens of psychology. Applying psychological theory to traditional topics in political science is emphasized. Usually offered every year.
Jill Greenlee

POL 137b Seminar: Psychology of Political Violence
[ dl ss ]
Why do people become terrorists? Social scientists argue that organizations use terrorism because it is a rational means for obtaining their objectives. But why do individuals sacrifice themselves for a cause? Drawing on behavioral economics and criminal psychology in addition to political sociology, the course will review new approaches to the study of extreme political violence. Usually offered every year.
Jytte Klausen

POL 141a Elections and Electoral Systems in Comparative Perspective
[ djw dl oc ss wi ]
Introduces students to the scientific study of elections and electoral systems from a comparative standpoint. Students will be exposed to social scientific literature on elections, analyze these processes from a comparative perspective, and learn how to use digital tools, such as ArcGIS and online mapping software (GIS) to analyze electoral processes. Usually offered every year.
Alejandro Trelles

POL 160a The War on Global Terrorism
[ dl ss ]
Intended for juniors and seniors, but open to all students.
Explores how 9/11 changed our lives. The course surveys the build-up of Al Queda leading up to the 9/11 attacks and ten years of counter terrorism. Students are given an introduction to Jihadist doctrines and Al Queda's structure, as well as theories about the cause of terrorism. Usually offered every year.
Jytte Klausen

POL 163a Seminar: The United Nations and the United States
[ djw dl oc ss wi ]
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
Investigates the United Nations organization and charter, with an emphasis on the integral role of the United States in its founding and operation. Using archival documents and other digitized materials, explores topics such as UN enforcement actions, the Security Council veto, human rights, and the domestic politics of US commitments to the UN. Usually offered every second year.
Kerry Chase

PSYC 51a Statistics
[ dl qr ss ]
Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or the permission of the instructor. This course normally should be completed by the end of the sophomore year.
Covers the fundamentals of descriptive and inferential statistics. Techniques useful in the behavioral sciences will be emphasized. Students learn the theory of statistical decisions, practical application of statistical software, and how to analyze journal articles. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

RECS 100a Russian Soul: Masterworks of Modern Russian Culture
[ dl hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian. Satisfies the Proseminar requirement for the Russian Studies major.
Examines masterpieces of modern Russian culture in literature, film, philosophy, art, music, theater, opera and ballet. How has Russian culture treated such common human themes as life, death, love, language, identity, and community? What makes Russian cultural tradition unique? Usually offered every second year.
David Powelstock

RUS 29b Russian Language for Russian Speakers
[ dl ]
One additional hour of recitation required.
Designed to meet the needs of heritage speakers of Russian who have had little or no formal training in their home language and who want to develop their reading and writing skills. An introduction of the rules of Russian orthography, morphology and syntax with emphasis on developing bilingual competencies and a systematic understanding of the structure of the Russian language. Russian linguistic system is presented in context: readings range from short works of prose fiction to articles from the contemporary Russian press. Usually offered every fall.
Staff

RUS 30a Intermediate Russian I
[ dl fl ]
Prerequisite: RUS 20b with a grade of C- or higher or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Four class hours and one recitation hour per week.
For students with some previous study of Russian (RUS 10a and RUS 20b or outside study). Focus on solidifying linguistic performance by creating with the language to produce unrehearsed, meaningful exchanges of information. Refining of structural knowledge and dramatic expansion of vocabulary within the context of Russian culture. Authentic texts and films are used to create context for reviewing and expanding grammar, syntax and vocabulary knowledge. Usually offered every fall.
Curt Woolhiser

RUS 105a Russia Today: Advanced Language Skills through Contemporary Culture
[ dl fl hum ]
Prerequisite: RUS 40b with a grade of C- or higher, or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Taught in Russian.
For advanced students of Russian language (non-heritage learners) who strive for advanced-level proficiency in all four modalities (listening, reading, speaking and writing). Explores aspects of contemporary Russian society and culture, including such topics as education, social media, religion, gender relations, environment and others. Usually offered every fourth year.
Irina Dubinina

RUS 106b Advanced Russian Language through Film
[ dl fl hum oc ]
Prerequisite: RUS 29b or RUS 40b with a grade of C- or higher, or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Taught in Russian.
For advanced and heritage students of Russian who wish to enhance their proficiency and accuracy in speaking, listening and writing, and learn about Russian/Soviet culture. Course activities focus on discussions of Russian and Soviet societies as portrayed in Russian/Soviet films; oral presentation assignments help students develop their public speaking skills. Usually offered every fourth year.
Irina Dubinina

RUS 115b Topics in Russian Culture and Society
[ dl fl hum ]
Prerequisite: Advanced Russian language skills.
For heritage and advanced students of Russian who wish to enhance their proficiency and accuracy in speaking, reading and writing. Introduces students to issues central to Russian folklore. Through an analysis of chronicles, icons, epic tales, and folktales, discussions will explore the roots of Russian cultural values and beliefs. Students will examine structures and archetypes in folktales and magic tales. Usually offered every fourth year.
Irina Dubinina

RUS 150b Advanced Russian Language through 20th Century Literature
[ dl fl hum oc ]
Prerequisite (heritage speakers): RUS 29b with a grade of C- or higher, or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Prerequisite (non-heritage speakers): RUS 40b or the equivalent. Taught in Russian. Course may be repeated for credit with instructor's permission.
A seminar for continuing students of Russian who wish to enhance their proficiency and accuracy in speaking, reading and writing. Focusing on the close study of Russian literature in the original Russian and the development of Russian oral and written language skills needed for the close reading and discussion of literature. Usually offered every second year.
Irina Dubinina

RUS 153a Advanced Russian Language through 19th Century Literature
[ dl fl hum ]
Prerequisite: RUS 29b or RUS 40b with a grade of C- or higher, or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Taught in Russian.
An undergraduate seminar for heritage and advanced students of Russian. Focus on the study of 19th-century Russian literature in the original and development of Russian oral and written skills needed for the close reading and discussion of literature. Usually offered every fourth year.
Irina Dubinina

RUS 160b Russian/Soviet Jews: Dual Identities in Text, Image and Music
[ dl fl hum oc ]
Prerequisite: Advanced Russian language skills.
An undergraduate seminar introduces heritage and advanced students of Russian to a number of Russian Jewish artists and writers who created in the Russian language and who made significant contributions to 20th-century Soviet and Russian literature, cinema, theater, and music. Through analyses and discussions of texts, images and music created by Russian-speaking Jews, students will explore the role Russian Jews played in shaping the Soviet and modern Russian culture. Usually offered every fourth year.
Irina Dubinina

SOC 18a Observing the Social World: Doing Qualitative Sociology
[ dl ss ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 118a in prior years.
Observation is the basis of social inquiry. What we see--and by extension, what we overlook or choose to ignore--guides our understanding of social life. This class focuses on how to conduct a qualitative research study, including literature review, participant observation, in-depth interviews, and coding and analysis. Usually offered every year.
Wendy Cadge or Sara Shostak

SOC 36b Historical and Comparative Sociology
[ dl ss ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 136b in prior years.
Explores the relationship between sociology and history through examples of scholarship from both disciplines. Using historical studies, the course pays close attention to each author's research strategy. Examines basic research questions, theoretical underpinnings and assumptions, and uses of evidence. Usually offered every third year.
Chandler Rosenberger or Karen Hansen

SOC 81a Methods of Social Inquiry
[ dl ss ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 181a in prior years.
Introduces students to qualitative and quantitative approaches to social research. Throughout the course emphasis is on conceptual understanding, with hands-on applications and exercises. No statistical or mathematical background is necessary. Usually offered every second year.
Sara Shostak

SOC 82a Applied Research Methods
[ dl qr ss ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 182a in prior years.
Provides an introduction to research methods and quantitative analysis commonly used in sociology. Using quantitative data, the class explores how higher education reflects the social stratification found in U.S. society. Participants will read peer-reviewed journal articles; design their own survey and analyze the results; and conduct analysis on a national data set focused on education. The course assumes no prior knowledge of research methods, but it does assume a curiosity about why we conduct research, how research studies are designed, and a willingness to analyze the results of different research studies. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

THA 70a Directing: Imagination in Action
[ ca dl ]
Prerequisite: THA 10a or permission of the instructor.
Examines the art of theater from the director's perspective. Focuses on how theory and practice meet in the crucible of actual rehearsal, production, and performance from the director's point of view. Usually offered every year.
Dmitry Troyanovsky

THA 125b The Art of Scenography: Scenic Design and Invention for Performance
[ ca dl ]
Prerequisite: THA 10a or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit if taught by different instructors. Open to non-majors.
Introduces students to the process of creating evocative and imaginative designs for the stage. This course is designed for students of all majors and years who want to learn about scenic design. Working with a variety of source material, students will explore how to develop ideas and striking theatrical images that tell the story of the text. How can we create a psychological visual environment that transports the viewer to another time and space? How do textures, colors, and composition work on the mind? We will use installation art, sculptural thinking, and creative writing to inspire our environments. We will examine the body and the space it inhabits to create new interdisciplinary possibilities. How can new technologies such as video and projection inform our process? Working in a studio setting, students will be introduced to methods and craft of set design - including research, sketching, model making and drafting. Above all, students will be asked to take risks, and begin to develop their artistic vision. Of interest to designers, directors, film-makers, fine artists, and anyone interested in the process of creating a visual story line. Students are required to purchase materials. Usually offered every year.
Cameron Anderson

WGS 5a Women, Genders, and Sexualities
[ deis-us dl oc ss ]
This interdisciplinary course introduces central concepts and topics in the field of women's, gender, and sexuality studies. Explores the position of women and other genders in diverse settings and the impact of gender as a social, cultural, and intellectual category in the United States and around the globe. Asks how gendered institutions, behaviors, and representations have been configured in the past and function in the present, and also examines the ways in which gender and sexuality intersect with many other vectors of identity and circumstance in forming human affairs. Usually offered every fall.
ChaeRan Freeze, Sarah Lamb, or Harleen Singh

WGS 6b Sexuality and Queer Studies
[ djw dl hum ss ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took SQS 6b in prior years.
Examines cross-cultural and historical perspectives on sexual meanings, experiences, representations, and activist movements within a framework forged by contemporary critical theories of gender and sexuality. Usually offered every year.
V Varun Chaudhry