New University Seminars for Fall 2007 |
Since early June, seven additional University Seminars have been added to the roster of University Seminars for Fall 2007. Please consider registering for one of these new seminars (listed below).
USNA 236 Upheavals in Astronomy
TR 1:15-2:30 Kaelin, Roy
Why the uproar over the invention of the telescope? How does the scientific method really work to advance knowledge? What do astronomers fear is the fate of the universe? This seminar begins with an introduction to the scientific instruments that brought about revolutionary changes in our understanding of the cosmos. Students will acquire historical and practical knowledge of such instruments, in part through hands-on acquaintance with telescopes and other devices in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Students will also examine the historical context which advances in astronomy were made, the divergent ways in which thinkers su ch as Galileo and Kepler responded to official disapproval of their ideas, and the consequences of humanity's displacement when the model of a geocentric universe gave way to the current model of an expanding universe. The seminar will include assignments in expository and persuasive writing, with an emphasis on improving and revising one's work and developing a well-researched final paper.
USSO 285H Music and Text
TR 2:45-4 Olbricht, Erika
In this seminar, we will focus on the recent history of music and the role it plays in our culture today. Music is a form of cultural expression that creates meaning with narrative elements in a way similar to novels, poetry, drama, and other typically literary forms; we will consider various genres of music as well as various genres of literature that depend on music to complete their expression. But music is also one of the most obvious ways we participate in our culture, and musical taste can help define our sense of ourselves and where we belong in culture. We will read some identity theory to determine how and why music helps us create identity from and within the culture around us.
USSO 285G Reinventing the American City
TR 4:30-5:45 Schoop, Michael
Cleveland today has become emblematic to the economic decline of postindustrial American cities. In a global economy, can such cities prosper again? In this seminar, teams of students will generate policy proposals that address key issues in Cleveland's economic and community development. Each team will examine aspects of the city's past, drawing on primary sources from local archives and historical societies. They will evaluate current ideas for Cleveland's revitalization and, as part of their final presentations, create 30-second "spots" selling their proposals. Led by an urban historian and by the President of Cuyahoga Community College's Metro Campus, the seminar will bring students from Case to Tri-C into informed dialogue with city planners, private developers, public officials, and leaders from the nonprofit sector. For the first seven weeks, the seminar will meet at Tri-C and other downtown locations, such as City Hall and Playhouse Square (transportation provided). For the second seven weeks, it will meet at Case.
USSO 285I Spectacle in American Culture
MWF 9:30-10:20 Jim, Bernard
This seminar will examine the topic of spectacle both chronologically and typologically to better understand the power of remarkable visual experiences to awe, entertain, persuade, and create meaning from the colonial period to the present day. In the 17th century, the religious beliefs to the New England community and its need to maintain social cohesiveness gave rise to the spectacle of witch trials and public punishments. As Americans moved westward, the natural world became the focus of the spectacular. In the nineteenth century, the campaigns and debates of presidential candidates became political theater. The latter half of the century gave rise to Consumption as Spectacle as exemplified in the many expositions and World's Fairs. Today, spectacle has reached all facets of our lives. Americans are willing to expose the most intimate details of their personal relationships on television shows like Jerry Springer and The Real World. Although frequently used to maintain power, spectacle also has been employed as a tactic of resistance and as an instrument for creating alternative meaning by subcultures. More recently, spectacle has served as an instrument of terror. Through lectures, discussion, multimedia presentations, and writing assignments, we will have an opportunity to reflect on the many forms and uses of spectacle in American history.
USSY 280 The Poetics of Borderlands
MWF 10:30-11:20 Fejes, Narcizs
Narrative forms, such as myths, folktales, novels, and films, play an important role in the creation and development of nations and geopolitical regions, and they make significant contributions to the varied ways that people understand the spatial structures of the world. In particular, this seminar explores texts and films that have shaped our imagination of the borderlands of Europe. Central to our discussions will be those influential works--such as Bram Stoker's Draula--that have contributed to the invention of East Central Europe and the Balkans as barbarian hinter-lands and transitional zones situated between the East and West, indicating both the possibilities of cultural exchange and a negative self-designation where subjects are relegated to occupy a sphere that does not belong anywhere. The films and novels that we study will give us the opportunity to reflect on our own geopolitical imagination and to unpack various stereotypes and images disseminated by the media and mainstream movies such as the The Terminal and Borat, which feature Eastern European characters and scenes.
USSY 281 Defining the Animal
TR 10-11:15 Watkins, Ray
Since the Darwinian revolution of the mid-nineteenth century, the relationship between humans and animals has become an increasingly significant area of inquiry in fields as diverse as literature, the fine arts, anthropology, evolutionary theory, the biological sciences and philosophy. In this course, we will explore the way humans have sought to understand and explain the animal, beginning with several contemporary ethical debates surrounding animal treatment. Such works will lead us to a range of related social and institutional places and practices, such as the zoo, the insane asylum, biometrics, the treatment of women, and the concentration camp. At the same time, we will examine the way artists, writers and filmmakers explore the human/animal divide through painting (Franz Marc, Marc Chagall and Max Ernst), literature (Franz Kafka, D.H.Lawrence and Rainer Marie Rilke), and cinema, through representations of a donkey (Bresson, Au hasard Balthazar), a fly (Cronenberg, The Fly), a Great White shark (Spielberg, Jaws) and a grizzly bear (Herzog, The Grizzly Man). We will end with J.M.Coetzee's The Lives of Animals, which moves seamlessly between moral philosophy and literature, tying together a wide variety of concerns and themes raised throughout the semester.
USSY 282 Alberto Rey: Cuban-American Artist
MF 10:30-11:45 Bosch, Lynette
In his paintings, small-scale sculptures, videos and installations, Cuban American Alberto Rey has created a symbolic world that records his experience and memory. As an artist, Rey is heir to American Modernism and participates in the Postmodernism to the turn of the 20th century. As an artist with a global sensibility, Rey feels equally comfortable being inspired by European, African, Caribbean and Latin American art. A consummate craftsman in diverse media, Rey easily moves across centuries to encompass creative sources that include Mexican ex-voto images and the traditions of landscape and wildlife representations that characterize American nineteenth and twentieth century painting. This seminar will introduce students to the manner of inquiry, discussion, critical concepts, critical theory and analytical discussion of art and artists by using the theoretical and technical language of art history with the work of contemporary artist as the basis for analysis. Students will discuss Rey as a microcosm of the experience of exile, displacement, multiple identity and redefinition of self. The research paper produced, which will be a product of the discussion and analysis of Rey's work as well as the product of interviewing Rey, will require students to actualize the theoretical readings they will be assigned as they learn to employ different strategies for evaluating and interpreting Rey's work.
USSY 240 Can one study consciousness?
TR 2:45-4:00 Donald, Merlin
This course is designed to develop a perspective on the phenomenon of consciousness in a focused interdisciplinary framework. Consciousness is a central phenomenon in the study of the mind, and a good entry-point for the study of cognitive science. It has always been a controversial field, and the course will try to introduce students to the major controversies, including mental modularity, disordered awareness, the efficacy of consciousness, and special states of awareness. The seminar will aim to cultivate productive skills, especially analytical thought, oral expressiveness, and writing skill, all of which will be useful in future pursuits. Prereq: FSCC 100 or equivalent.
