395H Seminars - Spring 2020

This seminar examines the history of the relationship of the United States to the rest of the world, with particular emphasis on the twentieth century. Using films, novels, and writing assignments to supplement the core weekly discussions of historical readings, the course aims to identify and examine crucial problems and issues in U.S. international history. Students will link together a variety of perspectives and methodologies in order to articulate a coherent and persuasive understanding of U.S. foreign relations by the end of the semester.

This course, Elect to Serve: Preparing Students for (The Challenges of) 21st Century Public Service, is co-sponsored by the University Honors Program and the Center for Civic Engagement. This class is designed to encourage students to become involved in public service by working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make that difference, with as focus on communication and evaluation of ethical practices in a civic context. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes. This cross-partisan curriculum covers various facets of democratic life, including effective outreach with voters and residents, building a civic action plan, framing a message, social media and media relations. This hands-on experience includes opportunities to interact with local, state and national elected leaders, academics, practitioners, campaign staff and other public servants in both formal and informal settings. This class will help students think about ways they can and should lead and serve in their communities.

The most familiar entertainment icons and storylines from the 1950s and 60s remain potent signs that continue to resonate within contemporary American society and culture. In recent decades, the entertainment industry has capitalized on this trend with films and television shows that take a look back on the 1950s and 1960s with a mixture of nostalgia and criticism. In this class, we will explore how the central concerns of the Fifties and Sixties—and resulting treatment in the motion picture media—can be examined and understood through the music of the time period. Through a focus on the films' soundtrack and scoring (both then and now) as well as engagement with appropriate primary and secondary texts, we will discover that specific television shows and films offer a more nuanced vision of community and conformity than is usually recognized, revealing much about our own current social anxieties.

Scientists tell us the Earth has entered a new geologic era: the Anthropocene. This new era is characterized by the planet-wide influence of humans seen in such calamities as climate change, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and a massive rate of species extinction, to name only the most obvious. The reality of climate change is indisputable. Yet denialism is rampant; few major steps have been taken to address the developing catastrophe. The problems of climate change and the Anthropocene can not be solved by scientific and technical solutions alone. The most intractable problems are social and cultural, and in addressing those problems literature may play a key role. In this class we will consider how literature might enable us to understand, confront, and adapt to climate change.

Some of the concepts and ideas underlying modern areas of physics through readings from non-technical works by noted physicists and science writers. Includes quantum mechanics, relativity, cosmology, vacuum fluctuations, dark matter, dark energy, the cosmic microwave background, and examples of modern technology. The emphasis is on the implications of quantum mechanics and relativity.

At the end of the Cold War in 1989, Francis Fukuyama concluded that the age-old question of the way in which human societies should be organized had been resolved. Liberal democracy and free-market capitalism had carried the day marking “the end of history.” But history did not end: in 2014, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán trumpeted the glories of “illiberal” democracy and economic nationalism and in 2018, former US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright warned of the potential return of fascism. The tension between democracy with its egalitarian emphasis (one person, one vote) and capitalism which is based on differential rewards that lead to inequality has been the subject of much discussion over the past 200 years. The seminar is intended to be interdisciplinary with an emphasis on political philosophy and the social sciences.

In this course, Resistance Theatre of WWII: How European Theatre Operated in the European Theatre of Operations, We’ll explore how some of the artists lived before the War, how artists came by their point of view, what forms of expression were common, how the Axis powers limited or censored performances, and what audiences needed to get them through another day in hell on earth. From 1938-1945 the world underwent a cataclysmic shift that affected every arena of the humanities. With a growing economy in the post-Depression US, a falling of fortunes in every country the Nazis stormed, and a sense of entitlement raging from the center of Europe, every artist regardless of medium feverishly recorded their point of view in case tomorrow there’d be no way left to share it. Questions of politics, economy, religion, status, and other defining social classifications help illuminate why artists took major risks to present pieces that fed their souls while their bodies were in mortal danger.

Adolescence is a time of dramatic changes in physical, psychological, and social development. In the U.S., this period offers important opportunities for growth as well as challenges and risks to healthy development. Development continues into early adulthood when young people begin to assume the roles and responsibilities of adults. To broaden our understanding of development during adolescence and early adulthood, this course will explore the experience of youth in this country as well as in other geographic and cultural settings. We will start by considering the “discovery” of adolescence as a stage of life and the boundaries of that period, especially the boundaries between adolescence and adulthood. Next, we will examine major developments in the physical, cognitive, and social domains that begin in adolescence and continue into early adulthood. Then, we will turn to some of the health risks of adolescence and early adulthood as well as opportunities for positive development. Finally, we will critically evaluate the need for a separate stage (“emerging adulthood”) to adequately characterize development in early adulthood. Throughout the course we also consider variations in development and experience by considering adolescents and young adults growing up in diverse circumstances including U.S. minority youth and youth from non-western cultures. This seminar will consist of short lectures and class discussions based on designated book chapters and scientific articles.