This course will introduce students to the landscape of human rights in the Middle East by examining a wide range of relevant topics, such as refugees and migration, women’s rights, and citizenship status. Conducted in English.

This course will examine current political, economic, and social issues in a number of Arabic speaking countries, while also developing advanced reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in Arabic. (Same as MEST 332*.)
(RE) Prerequisite(s):ARAB 331* with a grade of C or better.

This course will explore the foundations of Chinese civilization and different aspects of Chinese culture. The aim is to familiarize students with China’s cultural heritage and the developments of contemporary China so that they gain a better understanding of China and the Chinese people. Students will develop reflective skills and cultural awareness to be prepared for future cultural encounters in a globalized workplace. Taught in English.

Introduction to close reading and analysis of literary texts written in French. Works from a variety of periods and genres.

(RE) Prerequisite(s): FREN 333*.

In this class, we will learn about how and why writers around the world have come to use the French language and made it their own. For some, French imposed itself via imperial control, cultural prestige, or commercial domination. For others, French offered an aesthetic outlet, an artistic community, or even a political refuge. By studying works that reflect the breadth of these historical circumstances, we will develop an understanding of the diverse global cultures of the French language. (RE) Prerequisite(s): FREN 353*.

Examines key concepts of 20th and 21st century German culture and history via narratives of coming of age in film, literature, and electronic media. Taught in German. (RE) Prerequisite(s):GERM 212 or GERM 223 or placement by departmental exam.

This course explores how Italy’s lively history from the Risorgimento to the present day has been depicted in cinema. We’ll view these films in relation to history and use analysis and theory to understand what truths they adapt and what fictional inventions they invite. (Same as CNST 422*.)
Comment(s): Open to non-majors. Majors will read texts and write papers in Italian.

In English with readings in Japanese for minors.

Russia and Eastern Europe have a particularly rich tradition of science fiction writing, with well-known authors like Stanislav Lem, Evgeny Zamyatin, and the Strugatsky brothers. This course explores the way science fiction re-figures the nature of the present through the lens of a fantastical scientific imagination, with special attention to how literature and society interrelate in societies that have crossed boundaries from communism, to capitalism, and sometimes, to “illiberal democracy.” Texts from the 20th and 21st centuries. All reading and writing in English, except for Russian majors.

This course examines critical cultural artifacts that demonstrate the thousand-year interface of Ukrainian and Russian cultures, and their diversification into two distinct entities in recent centuries. While sharing much heritage in common, the two cultures also have a long history of antagonism, reflected especially in literary works dating to the nineteenth century. As a nation that spans both cultural heritages, Ukraine is a fascinating example of a borderland national identity coming fully into its own; this emergent identity has been perceived as a threat by more traditional and hegemonic Russian authorities. The course follows these themes across many cultural manifestations in literature, film, and visual arts. Conducted in English.

An intensive course covering several novels and stories, the memoir, and some scientific writings of the prolific Russian-American author. Particular attention given to the author’s philosophical views and the contact between his science and his art. In English with readings in Russian for majors.
(RE) Prerequisite(s):ENGL 102*, ENGL 132*, or ENGL 298*.

Focuses on the major cultural and historical trends that led first to the Bolshevik Revolution, and seventy years later to the counterrevolution. Literary, artistic, philosophical, and popular materials cover the period from the proclamation of Moscow Princedom as the Third Rome (early 16th c.) to modern times.
(RE) Prerequisite(s):ENGL 102*, ENGL 112*, ENGL 132*, or ENGL 298*
Recommended Background:RUSS 221* or RUSS 222* or HIEU 341.

This course teaches students intercultural competence and basic communication skills in the target language for use in a professional setting, such as business, engineering, health care, agriculture, education, or media. It also teaches basic local customs and history of a given culture or region.

Offered fin Arabic and German this spring. No previous language skills required. No pre-requisites.

In this course, students will read Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote in English translation. It is a primary objective of the course that students enjoy reading the novel and come to appreciate the complexities of Cervantes’s literary genius. In the work, Cervantes looks backward to parody the major literary genres of the previous century (especially books of chivalry), but in so doing establishes something drastically innovative and new, namely, what we now call the novel. And that is another principal objective of this course, to explore the ways that Don Quixote is a book that still has a lot to teach us about reading (in the broadest sense of the term). And further, as the first “modern” novel, we will consider the extent to which it signals the beginning of a worldview that we, as moderns, share. In this regard, Cervantes may be surprising. At moments, it will of course be clear that it is a text that was produced in a context rather different from our own. At others, Cervantes displays a singular intuition about a world becoming modern that can inform our own perspectives on today’s social, political, and economic realities.