Provisional University Bulletin (2025-2026)

The non-Western and comparative studies requirement is designed to encourage students to explore societies, cultures and experiences beyond those of the Western tradition. The common goal of the courses in the program is to acquaint students with world views, indigenous intellectual traditions, historical narratives and social institutions that have developed largely outside European and North American society.

For students entering Brandeis prior to fall 2019, students must satisfactorily complete one non-Western and comparative studies course. Courses that satisfy the requirement in a particular semester are designated "nw" in the Schedule of Classes for that semester.

There is no non-Western and comparative studies requirement for students entering Brandeis beginning fall 2019.

AAAS/FA 74b Introduction to African Art
[ ca nw ss ]

Surveys the visual artistic traditions of Africa. Investigates the different forms of visual art in relation to their historical and socio-cultural context. Symbolism and complexity of Africa's visual art traditions are explored through analysis of myth, ritual, cosmology, and history. Usually offered every fourth year.

ANTH 1a Introduction to the Comparative Study of Human Societies
[ djw nw ss ]

Examines the ways human beings construct their lives in a variety of societies. Includes the study of the concept of culture, kinship, and social organization, political economy, gender and sexuality, religion and ritual, symbols and language, social inequalities and social change, and globalization. Consideration of anthropological research methods and approaches to cross-cultural analysis. Usually offered every semester.

ANTH 7a Archaeology and the Human Experience: An Introduction
[ nw ss ]

Introduces archaeology as the anthropological study of humans in the past. Considers foundational theories and methods in archaeology, while exploring the archaeology of economy, warfare, art, systems of power, science, and more. Delves into the ways relationships to environments changed as people domesticated plants and animals, the reasons many moved from a nomadic to settled life, and the origins of great civilizations in the ancient world--Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Africa, the Americas, and more. Usually offered every year.

ANTH 55a Anthropology of Development
[ nw ss ]

Examines efforts to address global poverty that are typically labeled as "development." Privileging the perspectives of ordinary people, and looking carefully at the institutions involved in development, the course relies on ethnographic case studies that will draw students into the complexity of global inequality. Broad development themes such as public health, agriculture, the environment, democracy, poverty, and entrepreneurship will be explored. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 80a Anthropology of Religion
[ nw ss ]

Introduces the anthropological study of religious experience and practices across diverse contexts. Studies rituals, from initiation to conversion to pilgrimage, and examines the relationship between religion, society, and politics in a variety of societies. Usually offered every second year.

ECON 30a The Economy of China
[ nw ss ]

Prerequisite: ECON 2a or ECON 10a.

Analysis of China's economic transformation with particular emphasis on China's economic reforms since 1978, including the restructuring of its enterprise, fiscal, financial, and political systems and the roles of trade, foreign investment, and technology in driving China's economic advance. Usually offered every year.

ENG 20a Bollywood: Popular Film, Genre, and Society
[ djw hum nw ]

An introduction to popular Hindi cinema through a survey of the most important Bollywood films from the 1950s until today. Topics include melodrama, song and dance, love and sex, stardom, nationalism, religion, diasporic migration, and globalization. Usually offered every third year.

ENG 32a 21st-Century Global Fiction: A Basic Course
[ djw hum nw oc ]

Offers an introduction to 21st-century global fiction in English. What is fiction and how does it illuminate contemporary issues such as migration, terrorism, and climate change? Authors include Zadie Smith, Amitav Ghosh, Chimamanda Adichie, Mohsin Hamid, J.M. Coetzee and others. Usually offered every third year.

ENG 52a Refugee Stories, Refugee Lives
[ deis-us djw dl hum nw oc ]

Examines the functions of storytelling in the refugee crisis. Its main objective is to further students' understanding of the political dimensions of storytelling. The course explores how reworking of reality enable people to question State and social structures. Usually offered every third year.

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.

ENVS 49a Conservation Politics
[ djw nw ss ]

Examines theories and practices of nature conservation from interdisciplinary social science and humanistic perspectives. Surveys a range of moral, political, cultural and economic dilemmas facing conservationists. Explores ways to balance competing ethical imperatives to protect biodiversity and respect human rights. Usually offered every year.

FA 33b Islamic Art and Architecture
[ ca djw nw ]

Through case studies of cities, sites, and monuments, the course presents an overview of the art and the architecture of the Islamic world beginning from the seventh century up to the present. Some of the themes include, but are not limited to, Islamic material culture, orientalist imaginations, systems of governance and the colonial present, search for the local identity, urban modernity and nationalism, and globalization. Usually offered every second year.

FA 34a History of Asian Art
[ ca nw ]

A selective survey of the art of the three major Asian areas: India, China, and Japan. Usually offered every second year.

FA 71b The Art of Japan
[ ca nw ]

A survey of Japanese art from antiquity to the modern period. Usually offered every second year.

FA 72b Introduction to Korean Art
[ ca nw ]

Surveys Korean and Korean American art, focusing on later historical periods from the Joseon dynasty to the present. We will examine art and social systems, material culture, and shifting artistic identities in the country’s transition to modernity. The latter part of the course will focus on modern and contemporary art of Korea as well as the works of Korean American artists. Usually offered every fourth year.

FA 77b Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Latin American Art
[ ca djw nw ]

This course is a selective survey of the outstanding figures and movements that have made significant contributions to the history of Latin American art. Special focus will be on Mexican, Argentinean, Brazilian, Venezuelan and Cuban artists. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 56b Rethinking World History (to 1960)
[ djw nw ss ]

An introductory survey of world history, from the dawn of "civilization" to c.1960. Topics include the establishment and rivalry of political communities, the development of material life, and the historical formation of cultural identities. Usually offered every year.

HIST 66a History of South Asia (2500 BCE - 1971)
[ djw nw oc ss ]

Introduces South Asian history from the earliest civilizations to the independence of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Surveys the formation of religious traditions, the establishment of kingdoms and empires, colonialism and its consequences, and post-independence political and economic development. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 71a Latin American and Caribbean History I: Colonialism, Slavery, Freedom
[ djw hum nw ss ]

Studies colonialism in Latin America and Caribbean, focusing on coerced labor and struggles for freedom as defining features of the period: conquest; Indigenous, African, and Asian labor; colonial institutions and economics; Independence and revolutionary movements. Usually offered every year.

HIST 71b Latin American and Caribbean History II: Modernity, Medicine, Sexuality
[ djw hum nw ss ]

Studies the idea of "modernity" in Latin America and Caribbean, centered on roles of health and human reproduction in definitions of the "modern" citizen: post-slavery labor, race and national identity; modern politics and economics; transnational relations. Usually offered every year.

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.

HIST 80b East Asia in the Modern World
[ hum nw ss ]

Surveys East Asian history from the 1600 to the present. Compares Chinese, Korean, and Japanese encounters with forces of industrial capitalism, including colonialism, urbanization, and globalization, resulting in East Asia's distinctive cultural and social modernity. Usually offered every year.

LACLS 1a Introduction to Latin American/LatinX: Cultures, Histories, and Societies
[ nw oc ss ]

Provides a broad overview of the histories, cultures, and politics that continue to shape the Americas; specifically of the vast regions and populations of what came to be labeled as "Latin America," "the Caribbean" and what we now call "Latinx " populations in the USA. The class provides an introduction to Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies. It draws from different disciplines and fields of study that compose this field, such as history, anthropology, literature, visual arts, film, political science, among other perspectives and methodologies. Usually offered every year.

MUS 3b Global Soundscapes: Performing Musical Tradition Across Time and Place
[ ca nw ]

Open to all students. Required of all Cultural Studies track majors.

What are we listening to? Applies engaged listening skills and critical analysis for a deeper appreciation of (non-Western) music as a cultural expression. Focuses on particular traditions as well as social context, impact of globalization, cultural production, cultural rights, etc. Usually offered every year.

NEJS 6a Jewish History: From Ancient to Modern Worlds
[ hum nw ]

Surveys ideas, institutions, practices and events central to critical approaches to the Jewish past and present. Dynamic processes of cross-fertilization, and contestation between Jews and their surroundings societies will be looked, as well as tradition and change, continuity and rupture. No background in the subject matter is required. Usually offered every second year.

AAAS 115a Introduction to African History
[ djw nw ss ]

Explores the history of African societies from their earliest beginnings to the present era. Topics include African participation in antiquity as well as early Christianity and preindustrial political, economic, and cultural developments. Usually offered every year.

AAAS 120a African History in Real Time
[ djw nw oc ss ]

This information literacy-driven course equips students with the skills to place current events in Africa in their historical context. Collectively the class builds 5-6 distinct course modules which entail sourcing and evaluating current news stories from a range of media outlets, selecting those that merit in-depth historical analysis, and developing a syllabus for each one. Usually offered every second year.

AAAS 134b Novel and Film of the African Diaspora
[ djw hum nw ]

Writers and filmmakers, who are usually examined separately under national or regional canonical categories such as "(North) American," "Latin American," "African," "British," or "Caribbean," are brought together here to examine transnational identities and investments in "authentic," "African," or "black" identities. Usually offered every third year.

AAAS 158a Theories of Development and Underdevelopment
[ nw ss wi ]

Humankind has for some time now possessed the scientific and technological means to combat the scourge of poverty. The purpose of this seminar is to acquaint students with contending theories of development and underdevelopment, emphasizing the open and contested nature of the process involved and of the field of study itself. Among the topics to be studied are modernization theory, the challenge to modernization posed by dependency and world systems theories, and more recent approaches centered on the concepts of basic needs and of sustainable development. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 105a Myth and Ritual
[ nw ss ]

Studies myth and ritual as two interlocking modes of cultural symbolism. Evaluates theoretical approaches to myth by looking at creation and political myths. Examines performative, processual, and spatial models of ritual analysis through study of initiation, sacrifice, and funerals. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 107a Value, Wealth, and Power in a World without Money
[ djw nw ss ]

Examines the relationships of value, wealth, power, and authority in the Aztec Empire, Inka Empire and Classic period Maya kingdoms of the Prehispanic Americas. In so doing it raises questions about the origins of these relationships in modern states. Usually offered every third year.

ANTH 111a Aging in Cross-Cultural Perspective
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Examines the meanings and social arrangements given to aging in a diversity of societies, including the U.S., India, Japan and China. Key themes include: the diverse ways people envision and organize the life course, scholarly and popular models of successful aging, the medicalization of aging in the U.S., cultural perspectives on dementia, and the ways national aging policies and laws are profoundly influenced by particular cultural models. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 112b Bison, Berries and Banquets: The Social Archaeology of Food and Drink
[ nw ss wi ]

Some of our strongest values and beliefs -- about the cosmos, the world, other people, our culture, and ourselves -- are expressed in the ways we use, consume, think about, and talk about food. In this class, we will consider the theoretical and methodological approaches that archaeologists use to study food and eating in society from a global anthropological perspective; we will identify and analyze the material processes of food production, preparation, and consumption, the cognitive models that define our food choices, and the ways power and inequality drive global feast and famine. Usually offered every third year.

ANTH 119a Conquests, Resistance, and Cultural Transformation in Mexico and Central America
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Examines the continuing negotiation of identity and power that were at the heart of tragedy and triumph for indigenous peoples in colonial Mexico and Central America, and which continue in the modern states of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 121b Archaeology and Environment
[ dl nw ss ]

Provides an introduction to archaeological approaches to the environment. Explores how human history and prehistory have been defined by moments when political, cultural, economics, and ecological systems collide. Topics include climate change, food systems, plant and animal relations, and natural resources. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 127a Medicine, Body, and Culture
[ djw nw ss ]

Examines main areas of inquiry in medical anthropology, including medicine as a sociocultural construct, political and economic dimensions of suffering and health, patients and healers in comparative medical systems. Usually offered every year.

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.

ANTH 136a Archaeology of Power: Authority, Prestige, and Inequality in the Past
[ nw ss ]

Anthropological and archaeological research and theory provide a unique, long-term perspective on the development of inequality and rise of hierarchical societies, including the earliest ancient states such as the Moche, Maya, China, Sumerians, Egyptians, and others through 5000 years of human history. A comparative, multidisciplinary seminar examining the dynamics of authority, prestige, and power in the past, and the implications for understanding the present. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 140b Critical Perspectives in Global Health
[ deis-us djw nw ss ]

What value systems and other sociocultural factors underlie global public health policy? How can anthropology shed light on debates about the best ways to improve health outcomes? This course examines issues from malaria to HIV/AIDS, from tobacco cessation to immunization. Usually offered every third year.

ANTH 142b Global Pandemics: History, Society, and Policy
[ djw nw oc ss ]

Takes a biosocial approach to pandemics like HIV/AIDS, SARS, Ebola, and COVID-19 as shaped by culture, economics, politics, and history. Discussion focuses on how gender, sexuality, religion, and folk practices shape pandemic situations. Usually offered every fourth year.

ANTH 144a The Anthropology of Gender
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Anthropology majors have priority for enrollment.

Explores gender, sexuality, and cultural systems from a comparative perspective. Topics may include rituals of masculinity and femininity, the vexing question of the universality of women's subordination, culturally-specific classifications of sexual orientation and gender identity, transnational feminisms, sex work, migrant labor, reproductive rights, and much more. Usually offered every year.

ANTH 147b Archaeology of Indigenous Mesoamerica
[ djw nw ss ]

Traces the development of social complexity in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, from initial colonization in the Late Pleistocene to the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century. Reviews major societal transformations like food production, the role of competitive generosity and warfare in promoting social inequalities, and the rise of urban societies. It also examines indigenous social movements against Spanish colonialism, and considers the legacies and role of indigenous peoples in the contemporary nations of Middle America. Usually offered every third year.

ANTH 153a Writing Systems and Scribal Traditions
[ nw ss ]

Explores the ways in which writing has been conceptualized in social anthropology, linguistics and archaeology. A comparative study of various forms of visual communication, both non-glottic and glottic systems, is undertaken to better understand the nature of pristine and contemporary phonetic scripts around the world and to consider alternative models to explain their origin, prestige, and obsolescence. The course pays particular attention to the social functions of early writing systems, the linkage of literacy and political power, and the production of historical memory. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 156a Power and Violence: The Anthropology of Political Systems
[ deis-us dl nw ss ]

Political orders are established and maintained by varying combinations of overt violence and the more subtle workings of ideas. The course examines the relationship of coercion and consensus, and forms of resistance, in historical and contemporary settings. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 163a Work and Labor in Global Context
[ djw nw ss ]

Takes an ethnographic approach to the study of work and labor in the context of the global economy. By looking at various industries and work cultures, we will explore the changing nature of labor and unpack how global processes affect workers in different economic sectors and regions of the world. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 163b Economies and Culture
[ djw nw ss ]

Prerequisite: ANTH 1a, ECON 2a, ECON 10a, or permission of the instructor.

We read in newspapers and books and hear in everyday discussion about "the economy," an identifiably separate sphere of human life with its own rules and principles and its own scholarly discipline (economics). The class starts with the premise that this "common sense" idea of the economy is only one among a number of possible perspectives on the ways people use resources to meet their basic and not-so-basic human needs. In the course, we draw on cross-cultural examples, and take a look at the cultural aspects of finance, corporations, and markets. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 164a Medicine and Religion
[ djw nw ss ]

Considers the convergence of two cultural spheres that are normally treated as separate: medicine and religion. The course will examine their overlap, such as in healing and dying, as well as points of contention through historical and contemporary global ethnographies. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 165b Anthropology of Death and Dying
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Explores how different societies, including our own, conceptualize death and dying. Topics include the cultural construction of death, the effects of death on the social fabric, mourning and bereavement, and medical issues relating to the end of life. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 178b Culture, Gender and Power in East Asia
[ nw ss wi ]

Examines the role of culture in changing gender power relations in East Asia by exploring how the historical legacy of Confucianism in the region influences the impact of changes such as the constitutional proclamation of gender equality and rapid industrialization. Usually offered every third year.

ANTH 184b Art in the Ancient World
[ djw nw ss ]

A cross-cultural and diachronic exploration of art, focusing on the communicative aspects of visual aesthetics. The survey takes a broad view of how human societies deploy images and objects to foster identities, lure into consumption, generate political propaganda, engage in ritual, render sacred propositions tangible, and chart the character of the cosmos. Usually offered every second year.

CAST 110b Dance and Migration
[ ca deis-us djw nw ]

Highlights the aesthetic, political, social, and spiritual potency of dance forms and practices as they travel, transform, and are accorded meaning both domestically and transnationally, especially in situations (or in the aftermath) of extreme violence and cultural dislocation. Usually offered every third year.

CHIN 100a Introduction to Chinese Literature: Desire and Form
[ hum nw oc ]

Taught in English. No Chinese language capabilities required.

Introduces Chinese literature, focusing primarily on Chinese "classical" literary traditions and their metamorphosis in modern times. Usually offered every second year.

CHIN 106b Business Chinese and Culture
[ fl nw wi ]

Prerequisite: CHIN 40b or equivalent. Does not meet the requirement in the school of humanities.

An advanced Chinese course where students develop their language proficiency and cultural knowledge in professional settings such as the workplace. The course is conducted entirely in Chinese and is designed for students who want to sharpen their language skills and reach a higher level of proficiency in which they are able to read newspapers, magazines, or professional documents, as well as to improve their communicative ability and enhance their self-confidence in Chinese workplaces. Usually offered every second spring.

CHIN 130b China on Film: The Changes of Chinese Culture
[ hum nw ]

Taught in English. All films viewed have English subtitles.

Focuses on the enormous changes under way in Chinese society, politics, and culture. Helps students to identify and understand these fundamental transformations through a representative, exciting selection of readings and films. Usually offered every second spring.

CHIN 136b Chinese Modernism in International Context
[ hum nw ]

Taught in English.

Examines the origins, recurrences, and metamorphosis of modernistic styles and movements in twentieth-century Chinese literature, film, fine art, and intellectual discourses. Usually offered every second year.

CHIN 140a Yin Yu Tang Documents, Decoding the Late Qing and Early Republic Writings (I)
[ fl hum nw ]

Prerequisites: CHIN 120a and 120b, or proficiency of a native Chinese speaker with advanced reading and writing skills.

Teaches fundamental skills to decode the late Qing and early Republic writings in print or in hand-writing by recognizing and translating the Yin Yu Tang documents. Students of this course will also gain knowledge of Chinese society and culture of this period. Usually offered every year.

COML 146b Classical East Asian Poetics
[ hum nw ]

An introduction to the classical poetic forms of China, Japan, and Korea. Special consideration is paid to issues of canonization, classical theories of literature, and the development of multilingual literary traditions. All readings are in English. Usually offered every third year.

ECON 122b The Economics of the Middle East
[ nw ss wi ]

Prerequisite: ECON 2a or ECON 10a or the equivalent. Does not count toward the upper-level elective requirement for the major in economics.

Examines the Middle East economies ' past experiences, present situation, and future challenges ' drawing on theories, policy formulations and empirical studies of economic growth, trade, poverty, income distribution, labor markets, finance and banking, government reforms, globalization, and Arab-Israeli political economy. Usually offered every year.

ECON 176a Health, Hunger, and the Household in Developing Countries
[ djw nw ss ]

Prerequisites: ECON 80a and ECON 184b or permission of the instructor.

Examines aspects of poverty and nutrition that are confronted by households in low-income countries. Examines these issues primarily from a microeconomic perspective, although some macroeconomic angles are explored as well. Usually offered every second year.

ENG 127a The Novel in India
[ djw hum nw ]

Survey of the novel and short story of the Indian subcontinent, their formal experiments in context of nationalism and postcolonial history. Authors may include Tagore, Anand, Manto, Desani, Narayan, Desai, Devi, Rushdie, Roy, Mistry, and Chaudhuri. Usually offered every second year.

ENG 127b Migrating Bodies, Migrating Texts
[ djw hum nw ]

Beginning with the region's representation as a tabula rasa, examines the textual and visual constructions of the Caribbean as colony, homeland, backyard, paradise, and Babylon, and how the region's migrations have prompted ideas about evolution, hedonism, imperialism, nationalism, and diaspora. Usually offered every second year.

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.

ENG 152a Indian Love Stories
[ djw dl hum nw ]

Introduces students to writings on love, desire and sexuality from ancient India to the present. Topics include ancient eroticism, love in Urdu poetry, Gandhi's sexual asceticism, colonial regulation of sexuality, Bollywood, queer fiction and more. Usually offered every third year.

ENG 170a Nigerian Movies in the World
[ hum nw ]

Introduces students to Nigeria's film industry, one of the world's largest. It focuses on both the form and the content of Nollywood films. Examines how Nollywood films project local, national, and regional issues onto global screens. Usually offered every third year.

ENG 171b African Feminism(s)
[ djw hum nw ]

Examines African Feminism(s) as a literary and activist movement that underlines the need for centering African women's experiences in the study of African cultures, societies, and histories. Usually offered every third year.

ENG 172b African Literature and Human Rights
[ hum nw ]

Human rights have been central to thinking about Africa. What do we mean when we speak of human rights? Are we asserting a natural and universal equality among all people, regardless of race, class, gender, or geography? Usually offered every third year.

FA 166b Representing Globalism
[ ca djw nw ]

For several decades, artists have been investigating the character and consequences of life under global capitalism. Through examination of writings by artists, theorists, and historians in the context of art since the turn of the millennium, this course seeks to uncover stories of the global present and possible futures. Usually offered every third year.

FA 171b Buddhist Art
[ ca nw ]

Surveys Buddhist art and architecture in different parts of the world. Primarily, religious buildings, artworks, and monuments from South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia will be examined within their historical, cultural, and social contexts. Usually offered every fourth year.

FA 178b Seminar on Chinese Calligraphy and Practice
[ ca nw oc ]

Prerequisite: Some knowledge of reading Chinese. May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 191a in prior years.

Introduces the major scripts and canonical works of Chinese calligraphy. Besides studying historical developments, students gain hands-on experience with producing their own works. The class combines theory and practice to advance understanding of the aesthetic, critical language, and the functions of this enduring art. Usually offered every second year.

FA 197a Studies in Asian Art
[ ca nw oc ]

Topics may vary from year to year; the course may be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 111b Introduction to Latin American Literature and Culture
[ djw fl hum nw ]

Prerequisite: HISP 106b, or HISP 108a, or permission of the instructor.

Examines key Latin American texts of different genres (poems, short stories and excerpts from novels, chronicles, comics, screenplays, cyberfiction) and from different time periods from the conquest to modernity. This class places emphasis on problems of cultural definition and identity construction as they are elaborated in literary discourse. Identifying major themes (coloniality and emancipation, modernismo and modernity, indigenismo, hybridity and mestizaje, nationalisms, Pan-Americanism, etc.) we will trace continuities and ruptures throughout Latin American intellectual history. Usually offered every semester.

HISP 142b Literature, Film, and Human Rights in Latin America
[ djw hum nw wi ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

Examines literature, film (fiction and non-fiction) and other artistic expressions from Latin America, in conversation with the idea of human rights'from the colonial arguments about slavery and the 'natural rights' of the indigenous, to the advent of human rights in the context of post-conflict truth and reconciliation processes, to the emergence of gender and ethnicity as into the human rights framework, to the current debates about rights of nature in the midst of a global ecological crisis. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 152b Monsters, Creatures, and Cyborgs in Latin/x American Cinema, Fiction, and BioArt
[ hum nw ]

Taught in English.

Explores posthuman and creaturely life in monster films, science fiction, and bioart created by Latin American and Latinx artists. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which the non- and post-human emerges as a space in which artists wrestle with otherness, identity, racial capitalism, and the rise of new technologies. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 160a Culture/Media and Social Change in Latin America
[ djw fl hum nw wi ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor.

The central topic of this class is the role of the creative arts (creative writing, visual arts, music, film, performance) in their role as fostering political change in Latin America. We will examine key eras of 20th and 21st century cultural production in relation with shifting mass-media landscapes, from the revolutionary impetus of the early 20th century avant-gardes in literature and visual arts, popular music in the 1940s, documentary film during and the 1960s guerrillas, artistic resistance to the dictatorship, to the street art accompanying human rights and grass roots identity movements of the 2000s. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 164b Studies in Latin American Literature
[ fl hum nw ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. Course may be repeated for credit. Does not fulfill writing intensive beginning fall 2020.

A comparative and critical study of main trends, ideas, and cultural formations in Latin America. Topics vary year to year and have included fiction and history in Latin American literature, nation and narration, Latin American autobiography, art and revolution in Latin America, and humor in Latin America. Usually offered every year.

HISP 165b The Storyteller: Short Fiction in Latin America
[ djw fl hum nw ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor.

By reading (and listening to) modern short stories (20th and 21st century) from different Spanish-speaking countries, we will reflect on the power of storytelling and narrative for shaping subjectivity and community. Going from known literary classics (Borges, García Márquez) to contemporary, emerging younger authors (Bolaños, Enriquez, Schweblin), we will examine relevant topics that traverse Latin American cultural history (colonization, multi-ethnicity, oral and lettered cultures), as well as more contemporary struggles (gender identity, youth culture, ecological concerns). The literary concerns of this class dovetail with political and historical aspects, as issues of colonization, national identities, minoritarian or subaltern voices, and gender struggles, are at the core of Latin American literature. This class includes creative components (writing fiction in Spanish, podcast storytelling, translation) as forms of assessment, which students can choose instead of more traditional forms of interpretation. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 182a Storytelling in the Drug Wars: Colombia, Mexico, U.S.A.
[ fl hum nw ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. 

Narratives about the drug trade and the war on drugs have become nearly ubiquitous. This course examines the making and unmaking of stereotypes associated to the contemporary drug trade, and the role of storytelling at a time of crisis, by looking at portrayals of narco culture in cinema, literary fiction, theater and television. We will focus on two regions, Colombia in the 1970s and 80s and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands in the contemporary present. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 192b Latin American Global Film
[ djw hum nw oc ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

We will study the dynamic between local and global imagination and forces in the production, circulation, and reception of films from and/or about "Latin America." Local productions, traditional topics and genres are now refashioned for international audiences. Some film directors and actors have gained mainstream global visibility; U.S.-based ‘platforms’ finance local productions for international markets. How are all these new and old images and narratives mobilized? What are all these forces and projections doing? Analysis of visual representation and film techniques will be combined with an attention to socio-cultural backgrounds. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 109b A Global History of Sport: Politics, Economy, Race and Culture
[ deis-us djw nw oc ss ]

Examines soccer, boxing, baseball, cricket and other sports to reflect on culture, politics, race, and globalization. With a focus on empire, gender, ethnicity, this course considers sport as the battleground for ideological and group contests. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 111b The Iranian Revolution in Global Context
[ djw dl nw ss ]

The 1979 revolution in Iran was the last great revolution of the 20th century that reverberates until today. We examine the roots of that revolution, and the nature of the state and society that resulted from it within a broader global context. The first two units focus on pre-revolutionary and revolutionary Iran, particularly the 1960s and 1970s, examining national and global forces that laid the groundwork for the 1979 revolution.  We also analyze the multiple narratives of the revolution itself—as an Islamic movement, an anti-monarchical movement, and an anti-imperialist movement. In the final unit, we look at some of the characteristics of the Islamic Republic and the global tensions that have resulted from its specific historical development. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 135b Get Up, Stand Up: A Century of Revolutions in the Middle East
[ djw nw oc ss ]

An examination of the various revolutions that have shaped the modern Middle East since the late 19th century. The course focuses on four different revolutionary moments: The constitutional revolutions of the turn of the century, the anti-colonial revolutions of mid-century, the radical revolutions of the 1970's, and most recently, the Arab Spring revolutions that have affected the region since 2011. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 166a History of Crises: Europe's Twentieth Century
[ djw nw ss ]

Systematically tackles the main turning points of Western and Eastern Europe’s modern history and their global impact. The focus is on the first half of the twentieth century, and the histories of the First and Second World Wars that still shape contemporary world politics today. We will also touch on the histories of colonialism, totalitarianism, the Ukrainian famine under Stalin, the Holocaust, and "moral panics" around changing gender roles. Analyzes both primary sources and the most recent scholarly debates. Requirements include a book review and a short research paper. Usually offered every year.

HIST 175b Resistance and Revolution in Latin America and the Caribbean
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Focuses on questions of race, gender and modernity in resistance movements and revolutions in Latin American and Caribbean history. The Haitian Revolution, Tupac Amaru Rebellion, and Vaccination Riots in Brazil are some topics that will be covered. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 179b India and the Superpowers (USA, USSR, and China): 1947 and Beyond
[ nw ss ]

Examines the history of modern India through its relationships with the "superpowers," USA, USSR, and China. Covering the period between 1947-2018, the course analyses ideological, economic, foreign policy shifts and subcontinental conflict in a constantly changing geo-political scene. Usually offered every second year.

Avinash Singh

HIST 182b Modern China
[ djw nw ss ]

Surveys Chinese history from the Ming to Mao, with an emphasis on political, social, cultural, and literary trends; and attention toward ethnic minorities and overseas communities and diaspora. Usually offered every year.

HIST 183a Empire at the Margins: Borderlands in Late Imperial China
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Explores Ming and Qing China's frontiers with Japan, Korea, Inner Asia, Vietnam, and the ocean from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries, examining the role of borderlands in forging the present-day multiethnic Chinese state and East Asian national identities. Usually offered every third year.

HIST 184a Silk, Silver, and Slaves: China and the Industrial Revolution
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Examines why industrial capitalism, which underpins the current world order, first developed in Western Europe rather than China. Comparative treatment of commercialization, material culture, cities, political economies, and contingencies on both ends of Eurasia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 184b Swashbuckling Adventurers or Sea Bandits? The Chinese Pirate in Global Perspective
[ nw ss wi ]

Explores the commercial role, political economy, social structure, and national imaginations of the Chinese pirate situated in both world history and in comparison to "piracies" elsewhere. Usually offered every third year.

HIST 185a The China Outside China: Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Diaspora in the Making of Modern China
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Studies the history of Chinese outside Mainland China, from Hong Kong and Taiwan to Siberia and Africa, from fifteenth century to present day. Ambivalence to ancestral and adopted homelands made these communities valuable agents of transnational exchange and embodiments of Chinese modernity. Usually offered every third year.

HIST 187b Unequal Histories: Caste, Religion, and Dissent in India
[ djw dl nw oc ss ]

Examines the religious, political, and social dimensions of discrimination in India. In order to study caste, power, and representation, we will look at religious texts, historical debates, film, and literature from the Vedic Age to contemporary India. Usually offered every second year.

HIST/IGS 180b Modern India: From Partition to the Present
[ djw dl nw oc ss ]

Examines the history, culture, and economy of modern India (1947-2019) with a focus on key concerns, such as the environment, urbanization, gender/sexual relations, and the transformations of democratic politics. Usually offered every second year.

HIST/SOC 170b Gender and Sexuality in South Asia
[ djw nw ss ]

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of the instructor.

Explores historical and contemporary debates about gender and sexuality in South Asia; revisits concepts of "woman," "sex," "femininity," "home," "family," "community," "nation," "reform," "protection," and "civilization" across the colonial and postcolonial periods. Usually offered every second year.

IGS 136b Contemporary Chinese Society and Culture
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Introduces students to contemporary Chinese society, with a focus on the rapid transformations that have taken place during the post-Mao era with a focus on family, gender, sexuality, migration, ethnicity, and family planning. Usually offered every third year.

IGS 165a Revolution, Religion, and Terror: Postcolonial Histories
[ djw nw oc ss ]

Examines religious conflict, revolutionary violence, and civil war in modern South Asia. It looks at Jihad, Maoist militancy, rising fundamentalism, and political violence. Usually offered every second year.

IGS 175a Digital Asia: Democracy in the Internet Age
[ djw dl nw oc ss ]

Analyzes the transformative potential of the internet as an agent of development and as a mechanism for disrupting social and political orders in Asia, home to the world's largest democracy and also the world's largest authoritarian regime. Usually offered every second year.

JAPN 120a Topics in Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society
[ fl hum nw oc wi ]

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in JAPN 105b or the equivalent. May be repeated for credit.

Further enhances advanced students’ proficiency in four skills through discussion, reading, writing, presentation, and group work. Usually offered every fall.

JAPN 120b Readings in Modern Japanese Literature
[ fl hum nw oc wi ]

Prerequisite: JAPN 120a or the equivalent.

Students read, analyze, discuss, and write about Japanese short fiction by a wide range of modern and contemporary authors. Screening of film adaptations and television programs complement class discussion, which is conducted in Japanese. Usually offered every year.

JAPN 125b Putting Away Childish Things: Coming of Age in Modern Japanese Literature and Film
[ hum nw ]

Explores the ways in which modern Japanese writers and filmmakers have represented childhood, youth, and coming of age. A variety of short stories, novels, and memoirs from the 1890s to the present day are read, and several recent films are also screened. Usually offered every third year.

JAPN 130a The Literature of Multicultural Japan
[ djw hum nw ]

"Multicultural" may not be an adjective that many associate with Japan, but as we will find in this class, Japan's modern literary and cinematic tradition is rich with works by and about resident Koreans, Ainu, Okinawans, outcasts, and sexual and other marginalized minorities. Why then does the image of a monocultural Japan remain so resilient? Usually offered every third year.

JAPN 135a Screening National Images: Japanese Film and Anime in Global Context
[ hum nw ]

All films and readings are in English.

An introduction to some major directors and works of postwar Japanese film and anime with special attention to such issues as genre, medium, adaptation, narrative, and the circulation of national images in the global setting. Usually offered every third year.

JAPN 140a The World of Early Modern Japanese Literature
[ hum nw ]

A survey of the most celebrated works of literature from Japan's early modern period (1600-1868). Explores a wide range of genres, including fiction, travelogues, memoirs, dramatic forms such as the puppet theater and kabuki, as well as poetry in Japanese and Chinese. All readings are available in English translation; Japanese knowledge is not required. Usually offered every third year.

JAPN 145a The World of Classical Japanese Literature
[ djw hum nw ]

A survey of some of the most important works of Japanese literature from its origins to the late sixteenth century, including a wide range of genres: fiction, essays, travelogues, poetry, and drama. All readings are in English. Usually offered every third year.

JAPN 165a The Tale of Genji
[ hum nw oc ]

Often called "the world's first novel," The Tale of Genji has captivated readers with its narrative of love, rivalry, friendship, and loss for centuries. This class explores what has given the text its prominent place in Japanese and world literature. Usually offered every third year.

LGLS 124b Comparative Law and Development
[ djw nw ss ]

Surveys legal systems across the world with special application to countries in the process of political, social, or economic transition. Examines constitutional and rule-of-law principles in the context of developing global networks. Usually offered every second year.

NEJS 104b Islam: Civilization and Institutions
[ hum nw ]

Provides a disciplined study of Islamic civilization from its origins to the modern period. Approaches the study from a humanities perspective. Topics covered will include the Qur'an, tradition, law, theology, politics, Islam and other religions, modern developments, and women in Islam. Usually offered every year.

NEJS 116a Mesopotamian Mythology
[ hum nw ]

Open to all students.

An introduction to the religion, mythology, and thought of the ancient Near East. Usually offered every third year.

NEJS 122a Magic and Witchcraft in the Ancient Near East
[ hum nw ]

Examines magical literature, rituals, and beliefs in the ancient Near East. Topics such as demonology, illness, prayer, and exorcism are covered; special attention is paid to witchcraft. This course is organized around the close reading of ancient texts. Usually offered every third year.

NEJS 144a Jews in the World of Islam
[ hum nw ]

Examines social and cultural history of Jewish communities in the Islamic world. Special emphasis is placed on the pre-modern Jewish communities. Usually offered every second year.

NEJS 160b Legal Controversies in Israeli History
[ djw hum nw ]

Investigates Israeli history, politics, and culture through the lens of major legal controversies including the tension between "Jewish" and "democratic," the Shoah in Israeli history, the Occupied Territories, legislation of family life and religious practice and more. Usually offered every second year.

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.

NEJS 194b Sufism: Mystical Traditions in Classical and Modern Islam
[ hum nw ]

An examination of the teaching and practices of the Sufi tradition. Explores the foundations of Sufism, its relation to other aspects of Islam, the development of Sufi teachings in both poetry and prose, and the manner in which Sufism is practiced in lands as diverse as Egypt, Turkey, Iran, India, Malaysia, and Europe. Usually offered every second year.

NEJS 195b Early Islamic History from Muhammad to the Mongols
[ hum nw ]

Introduces Islamic history from the birth of Islam in the 7th century to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. Students will examine trends in political, social, and intellectual history, focusing on three main periods; Islamic Origins, The High Caliphate, and Fragmentation/Efflorescence. Readings will include primary sources in translation, as well as academic analyses from traditional, critical, and revisionist perspectives. Usually offered every second year.

POL 128a The Politics of Revolution: State Violence and Popular Insurgency in the Third World
[ nw ss ]

Introduction to twentieth-century revolutionary movements in the Third World, focusing on the emergence of peasant-based resistance and revolution in the world beyond the West, and on the role of state violence in provoking popular involvement in protest, rebellion, and insurgency. Usually offered every year.

POL 133a Contemporary Politics in the Middle East
[ nw ss ]

Introduces the politics of the region through the study of regimes in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, and Israel. Themes include the political legacy of colonialism, the challenge of ethnic pluralism, the rise of political Islam, the politics of gender, the role of the military in politics, the dynamics of regime survival, the persistence of authoritarianism and the prospects for democratization, and the implications of the Arab spring for the future of the region. Usually offered every third year.

POL 144a Latin American Politics
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Examines the development and deepening of democracy in Latin America, focusing on the role of political institutions, economic development, the military, and U.S.-Latin American relations. Usually offered every year.

REL 107a Introduction to World Religions
[ hum nw ]

An introduction to the study of religion; this core course surveys and broadly explores some of the major religions across the globe.

REL 151a Introduction to Buddhism: Mind and Meditation
[ hum nw ]

Explores Buddhist teachings starting from the life of the Buddha and into the present day. Examines practical Buddhist methods for achieving transformation, inner freedom, and joy, and considers how different Buddhist traditions respond to the challenges of today’s world. Usually offered every year.

REL/SAS 152a Introduction to Hinduism, Yoga, and the Divine in South Asia
[ hum nw ]

Introduces Hindu practice and thought. Explores broadly the variety of forms, practices, and philosophies that have been developing from the time of the Vedas (ca. 1500 BCE) up to present day popular Hinduism practiced in both urban and rural India. Examines the relations between Hindu religion and its wider cultural, social, and political contexts, relations between the Hindu majority of India and minority traditions, and questions of Hindu identity both in India and abroad. Usually offered every second year.

SAS 100a India and Pakistan: Understanding South Asia
[ djw hum nw ss ]

Examines the making and unmaking of modern South Asia as a region, with particular focus on India and Pakistan as well as their connections to Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Using perspectives from history, politics, anthropology, literature, and film, the course introduces students to key themes in the study of South Asia, such as colonialism and anti-colonial struggles, legacies of empire, caste critique and Dalit thought, gender and sexuality, religion, and popular culture. Usually offered every year. Usually offered every year.

SAS 150b Love, Sex, and Country: Films from India
[ djw hum nw ]

A study of Hindi films made in India since 1947 with a few notable exceptions from regional film, as well as some recent films made in English. Students will read Hindi films as texts/narratives of the nation to probe the occurrence of cultural, religious, historical, political, and social themes. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 127a Religion, Ethnicity, and Nationalism
[ nw oc ss ]

Examines three sources of identity that are influential in global affairs: religion, ethnicity and nationalism. Considers theories of the relationship among these identities, especially "secularization theory," then reviews historical examples such as Poland, Iran, India, and Pakistan. Usually offered every second year.

THA 150a Global Theater: Voices from Asia, Africa, and the Americas
[ ca djw nw wi ]

Explores dramatic literature and performance traditions from across the globe. Examines the ways various artists have engaged theater to express, represent, and interrogate diversity and complexity of the human condition. Usually offered every year.