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Addendum to the
Courses of Instruction 2008-2009

Last updated: 7/23/08 9:33 AM

Offered FALL 2008 (not Spring as previously listed):
AFR 220(F) Introduction to African American Writing

New crosslisting under Africana Studies and Latina/o Studies:
AMST 403(S) New Asian American, African American, Native American, and Latina/o Writing (Same as Africana Studies 403, Comparative Literature 375, English 375, and Latina/o Studies 403) (D)

Cancelled Fall course:
ANTH 320 Health and Illness in Cross-Cultural Perspective

To be offered Fall 2008:
ARTH 103(F) Asian Art Survey: From the Land of the Buddha to the World of the Geisha

Cancelled Fall 2008:
ARTS 100 section taught by Takenaga.

New Fall Course:

ARTS 105(F) Participatory Media Production (Same as American Studies 105)
This course is an introduction to the history and theory of participatory media production and community media practice.  Community media production, be it local, identity-based, or virtual, can challenge the mainstream and encourage communities to add their voices to the media landscape. The convergence of art, media and social justice is at the core of community media practice. We will engage in this rich history through studying and writing about examples of community radio stations, guerrilla television, public access television, satellite television, tactical media, intervention, Indymedia and more. Readings will include Paolo Freire, Dee Dee Halleck, Clemencia Rodriguez, Robert McChesney, Suzana Milevska, and Ellie Rennie. Additionally, students in the course will form teams to work on participatory digital media projects (examples could include a short documentary, video blog or photo exhibit) reflecting concerns of specific communities with which they identify. These projects will be participatory in nature, meaning that we will take an approach to making art in which the "audience" is engaged directly in the production process, allowing them to become co-creators.  No production experience is required; this course serves as a pre-requisite for more advanced video production courses. Lab fee.
Enrollment limit: 12 (expected: 12).
Hour: LANE

The following course does not satisfy any requirements for the Art Major:
ARTS 200(F) Costume Design (Same as Theatre 305)

The following course does not satisfy any requirements for the Art Major:
ARTS 202(S) Movement and Art Making

New Fall Course:
ARTS 210(F) VIDEO ART
This course is an introduction to the theory, history and practice of digital video production. Students will engage in a series of exercises in video that build to culminate in an independent final project.  Foundational skills in camera, lighting, sound recording, editing and DVD authoring will be covered.  Class time is divided between hands-on workshops, discussion, screenings, and ongoing critique of student work. Students will be expected to demonstrate that they are learning not only how to produce video technically, but how to engage with the form critically and creatively.  A course reader and weekly video screenings will engage students in the history of the medium as artform, as activist tool, as related to filmmaking trajectories, and as mediator of cultural space. Lab fee.
Prerequisites: a 100-level course in cultural/media studies, art history, or media production.
Enrollment limit: 10 (expected: 10).
Hour: LANE

Cancelled Spring 2009:
ARTS 276(S) Sculpture: Metal and Plaster Plus

New Spring Tutorial:
ARTS 304T(S) Video Post-Production
This upper-level video course is an opportunity for students to build their skills in post-production techniques.  More advanced skills in Final Cut Pro and Soundtrack will be explored in a series of workshops and exercises.  An ongoing engagement with viewings and critical texts will allow us to both master and challenge traditional practices in post-production.  Pacing, continuity, compositing, color correction, sound mixing and special effects will be covered.  Rather than focusing on a final project, students will generate a series of four to six short videos that experiment with form, style and substance. 
Format: tutorial. Each week, one student in each tutorial pair will produce a short work that responds to a particular assignment related to that week's viewing and reading. Rather than focusing on a final project, students will generate a series of four to six short videos that experiment with form, style and substance.  The class will also meet as a group for two critique sessions. Lab fee.
Enrollment limit: 10 (expected: 10).
Hour: LANE

To be offered Fall 2008:
ARTS 364T(F) Artists' Books
This course will investigate the processes and ideas associated with the making of artists' books, works that are fine art objects primarily using visual images and/or text. For example, individual projects could include literary text/visual image combinations, visual diaries, three-dimensional pop-up books, solely visual narratives, autobiographies, animated "flip" books, or sculptural books. Limited-editioned as well as one-of-a-kind work will be encouraged. Media options include etching, lithography, relief printing, hand painting, drawing, some photo processes and bookbinding techniques (from boxes to hard binding). As a tutorial, this course is designed to meet individual needs, stress student participation and responsibility for learning, and to examine differing points of view. Students will meet in groups of two for discussion and critique of individual projects in the tutorial format: i.e., students are expected to give a half-hour presentation weekly regarding their projects and selected readings, and to respond to criticism and questions by the peer student and the instructor. Students will also meet once a week as a group for demonstrations, slide presentations, meetings with visiting artists, and discussion of readings.
Evaluation will be based on student participation and conceptual and technical quality of the work. There will be one required field trip during the semester. Lab fee.
Prerequisites: any one of the following: ArtS 230, 241, 242, 257, 263, or 264.
Hour: TAKENAGA

Fall Section Cancelled:

ENGL 111(S) Poetry and Politics (W)

New crosslisting under ArtS and Music:
EXPR 309(F) Exploring Creativity (Same as Mathematics 309, Music 309, and Philosophy 307)

To be offered Fall 2008:
CLAS 105(F) The Ancient Novel (Same as Comparative Literature 113)

New Spring Course:
CLAS 208(S)  Ancient Greek Religion (Same as Religion 208)
This course explores the history, evolution, and ritual practices of ancient Greek religion from the earliest evidence of its practice in the late second millennium BCE to the turn of the following millennium when Greek religion had become part of the syncretic cultural landscape of the ancient Near East.
Format: Lecture/discussion. Evaluation will be based on class contributions, several short papers, a midterm, and a final paper and exam. No prerequisite. If the course is over-enrolled, preference will be given
to majors in Classics and Religion. Enrollment limit: 25 (expected: 15)
Hour: LOVELL

New Spring Course:
COMP 308(S)  Everyday Life in Literature and Film

To bring the all too familiar everyday to our attention, artists and writers have made it strange.  What happens when we view everyday life from elsewhere?  While everyday culture has often been experienced as repressive and alienating in modern Western societies, a new importance assigned to everyday life made it liberating in Japan during the twenties and in contemporary China.  The contours of the everyday are delightfully vague, and it always exceeds theorizing.  For instance, is its privileged place the street or the home?  Is it lived largely in institutions that regulate our daily lives, or is it lived between and outside them?  Everyday objects and commodities like the potato, the postcard, the car, clothes, housing, etc., will be analyzed.  Fiction by Leo Tolstoy, Franz Kafka, Georges Perec, Manil Suri, Ha Jin, and Banana Yoshimoto.  Films by Chantal Akerman, Pedro Almodovar, Benoit Jaquot, and Pierre Jeunet.  Art projects that transform the everyday will also be discussed, including those of Sophie Calle, Mary Kelley, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, and Christine Hill.  Short theoretical excerpts from Freud, Kracauer, Goffman, Lefebvre, de Beauvoir, Friedan, Debord, Foucault, and Bourdieu.  All works not originally in English will be read in English translation.
Format:  seminar.  Evaluation will be based on two short oral reports on everyday objects and their history, two 3- to 5-page papers, and a 10- to 12-page final paper or creative project.
Prerequisites:  one 200-level literature course.  Enrollment limit:  20 (expected: 10).  Preference will be given to students majoring in Comparative Literature and Literary Studies.
Hour: DRUXES

New crosslisting under American Studies:
COMP 311(F) US-China Foreign Cultural Relations, 1900-1950 (Same as American Studies 311, Asian Studies 311 and English 334)

New Spring Course:
ENGL 109(S) Monsters (W)
"The monster is difference made flesh, come to dwell among us," says Jeffrey Jerome Cohen in his essay "Monster Theory."  These liminal beings-vampires, werewolves, dragons, the Minotaur--seem to literally embody the darkest parts of our psyches. Their physical forms are aberrations: horned, fanged, scaled, halved, in all ways grotesque. But what happens to us as readers when we are transported inside these monsters' bodies? What does this monstrous displacement reveal about our own humanity, as well as our historical and cultural anxieties?  In this class we will read novels by contemporary American authors that are told from the monster's point of view, including Katherine Dunne's "Geek Love," John Gardner's "Grendel," Anne Carson's "The Autobiography of Red," and Steve Sherrill's "The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break," as well as stories by Borges, Calvino, Jim Shepard, and Kelly Link. Monsters, the ultimate fiends and outsiders, are here recast as their stories' heroes. Grendel tells his side of "Beowulf," the Minotaur's modern labyrinth is a North Carolina trailer park, red-winged Geryon fights to survive first love, and Olympia the albino dwarf tries to be a better mother. Why? To what end have American writers exploited the subversive potential of the monster in these mythic revisions and inversions? And what aspects of craft do these writers use to make the monster's fictional universe, psychology and physicality believable to us?
Format: discussion/seminar. Evaluation will be based on class participation, two critical papers of 5-7 pages in length, and three or four short writing assignments.
No prerequisites.  Enrollment limit: 19 (expected 19). Preference given to first-year students.
Hour: RUSSELL

Revised Course Description:
ENGL 133(F) New Poetry (W)
In this class we will read or otherwise experience a range of poetry being produced right now in the U.S. Some of this poetry doesn't immediately seem to "fit" in the classroom: it's too new, too weird, too raw, too cerebral, too multi-media, too performance-oriented, somehow "unteachable." The premise of the course is that by engaging with these diverse voices we will come up with ways of talking about them, and that in the process we will have to take up some big and interesting questions: What is poetry? Can it be defined? How does poetry aim to affect us? Does one need "expertise" to appreciate it? And: is poetry important? Does it matter-socially, politically, culturally? The course is aimed at lovers of poetry, those who dislike poetry, those who are intimidated by the idea of it, and those who can't see why we should bother. Readings will be structured around the work of the poets coming to Williams to read, and may also include some "old poetry" (for purposes of comparison), critical articles, and manifestos; we will also watch documentaries or listen to CDs of more performance-oriented work (e.g., slam, spoken word).
Format: discussion/seminar. Requirements: regular participation; 4 short (from 2-3 to 5-6 pp.) papers, of which you will be asked to revise two; one essay will be a research paper on a poet or poetic movement of your choice. Occasional group projects and short postings for class discussion. This course is part of the Critical Reasoning and Analytical Skills initiative.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 19). Preference to first-year students.
Hour: SWANN

Revised Prerequisite:
ENGL 355T(F) Fanaticism

Prerequisite: a 100-level English course, except 150.

Cancelled Fall Section:
ENGL 384(S) Advanced Workshop in Fiction

New Fall course:
ENVI 230(F) Nature and Politics in the Himalayan Region

The Himalayan Mountain region stretches over an arc of 2,400 km, including territories of at least seven nation-states. Today, the region holds the largest remnant expanse of forests and other wildernesses in the Indian sub-continent, and it is a major global biodiversity hot-spot. About one-sixth of the world's population lives in the drainage basins of the Himalayan glaciers and rivers. The mountains and rivers often serve as national borders, creating lines of contestation. The region’s biological and water “resources” are also subjects of dispute and contestation, with the interested parties including hundreds of millions of people downstream. All these forces combine to make the Himalayan region one of growing interest to international markets and politics, as well as regional and global conservation agendas. The course will introduce students to the political ecology of these influences, with an emphasis on how they present and manifest themselves on the ground. The course will follow a discussion format. Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: multiple 5- to 8-page papers, plus occasional assignments based on readings. One long paper may be substituted for several short papers, with the permission of the instructor.
Prerequisites: Environmental Studies 101 or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 15).
This course satisfies the "Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences" requirement for the Environmental Studies concentration.
Satisfies one semester of the Division II requirement.
Hour: THEOPHILUS

New Spring Course:
ENVI 231(S) Political Ecology of International Biodiversity Conservation

This course will begin by exploring concepts of biological diversity and current threats and problems facing biodiversity, such as changing land use patterns, consumerism, genetic engineering, industrial agriculture, and invasive species. We will then examine competing notions of biodiversity conservation: why, where, what, who decides, and how best to conserve? What is the relationship between neo-liberal globalization and current conservation strategies? Are calls for increased conservation measures a result of economic-induced ecological degradation, or another form of development in line with neo-liberal paradigms of international donors (intergovernmental, NGOs, corporations)? Are rapidly expanding protected areas in developing countries the new colonialism driven by a globalization of western environmentalisms? What is the relationship between western science and traditional ecological knowledge regarding causes and solutions for biodiversity conservation? We will then examine the role of alternatives challenging conventional notions of conservation, such as bioregionalism, community-based strategies, participatory management, radical ecology and others.
Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: multiple 5- to 8-page papers, plus occasional assignments based on readings. One long paper may be substituted for several short papers, with the permission of the instructor.
Prerequisites: Environmental Studies 101 or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 15). This course satisfies the "Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences" requirement for the Environmental Studies concentration. Satisfies one semester of the Division II requirement.
Hour: J. JONES

New Fall Course:
ENVI 306(F) Interpreting Nature: Meaning and Method in Environmental Studies

This course exposes students to the theory and practice of qualitative research. It is a ‘way of knowing’ that is strikingly different yet complementary to the quantitative approaches familiar to the natural and social sciences. We will examine a range of qualitative theories and methods, explore case studies that emphasize environmental and global issues, and learn how to identify, collect and analyze qualitative data. Through methods that interpret human thought and action, as well as natural and humanized landscapes, qualitative research helps us apprehend the meaning of humanity’s relationship with animals and nature. 
Format: lecture/discussion. Evaluation is based on tests, a research paper (in lieu of a final exam), and active participation in class. Enrollment is limited to 20, or through the permission of the instructor.
Satisfies one semester of the Division II requirement for the college.
Satisfies one semester of the humanities, arts and social science requirement for the Environmental Studies concentration.

Hour: 8:30-9:45 TR
LYNN

New Spring Course:
ENVI 309(S) Understanding Policy: Science, Politics and Ethics

This course looks at environmental (and other) policies in light of the critical, interpretive and ethical turns in the social sciences. These turns emphasize the role of agency, meaning, power, discourse, and justice in the policy process, and are indispensable to understanding what policy is and how it works. We shall look at the theory, method and practice of this broadly ‘critical’ approach to policy, and apply its insights and tools to a set of empirical cases where the well-being of people, animals and nature is at stake.
Format: lecture/discussion. Evaluation is based on tests, a research paper (in lieu of a final exam), and active participation in class. Enrollment is limited to 20, or through the permission of the instructor.
Satisfies one semester of the Division II requirement for the college.
Satisfies one semester of the environmental policy requirement for the Environmental Studies concentration.

Hour: 8:30-9:45 MW
LYNN

Course Cancelled Fall 2008
ENVI 307 Environmental Law (Same as Political Science 317)

Revised Course Description:
GERM 201(F) Advanced German
What does it mean to be “foreign”? How do you experience yourself differently in another country? How do you feel about home when you are away from it? When does another country feel like home? This course expands on the reading, writing, and speaking skills acquired at the intermediate level. We will use a variety of texts, such as newspaper articles, essay, short stories, travel reports, podcasts, and websites to explore the theme of travel. Conducted in German; Readings in German.
Format: seminar/discussion. Requirements: active class participation, frequent short writing assignments, oral presentation, and a final project.
Prerequisite: German 104 or equivalent. No enrollment limit (expected enrollment: 12).
Hour:
MERLEY HILL

New Course Spring 2009:
GERM 202(S) Voices from the Edge: Minority Culture in Contemporary Germany

Recent literature, films, television shows, music, and websites attest to the increasing multiculturalism of the German-speaking countries. In this course we work with cultural products that have been created to give voice to various minority cultures in Germany, such as Turkish-German, Afro-German, Jewish, and gay cultures. Among the questions we will ask are: How are minority cultures represented? Who created this representation (i.e., is this a self-representation)? Is it empowering for the subject? Although we will focus primarily on cultural productions since 2000, we will also learn the history of each group’s presence in German-speaking countries, an important context for current debates. Conducted in German; Readings in German.
Format: seminar/discussion. Requirements: active class participation, frequent short writing assignments, and a final paper.
Prerequisite: German 201 or equivalent. No enrollment limit (expected enrollment: 12).
Hour: MERLEY HILL

New Course Fall 2008:
GERM 225(F) Wise Lady or Witchy Woman?  The History of Witches (Same as Comparative Literature 225 and Women’s and Gender Studies 223)
Although the first image that comes to mind may be a woman in a black hat, riding a broomstick, the word “witch” has had many meanings over its several hundred years of history.  In this course we trace the development of the witch, from Scandinavian mythology to the Spanish Inquisition, from the Salem Witch Trials to The Wizard of Oz.  Because the vast majority of witches have been women, this course is informed by a feminist perspective.  We will examine representations of the female witch in a variety of cultural productions, and we will consider what happens when women take back the word.  Materials will include historical texts, myths, fairy tales, literature, and film. Taught in English.
Format:  lecture/discussion.  Requirements:  active class participation, frequent short writing assignments, and a final project. 
Prerequisites: none. Enrollment limit:  30 (expected enrollment:  20).  Preference given to those majoring in German, Comparative Literature, Literary Studies, or Women’s and Gender Studies.
Hour: MERLEY HILL

New Spring Course 2009:
HIST 358(S)  The Age of Roosevelt: Depression, New Deal, and War
(Same as Leadership Studies 258)
Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to the presidency an unprecedented four times. During his years in office, both the United States and the world were dramatically transformed. This course will explore how and why, with an emphasis on Roosevelt’s specific role in these transformations. It will focus first on the Great Depression and the ensuing New Deal, which created the modern American economy, government and presidency. It will then turn to the origins and course of World War II, during which the United States emerged as a global superpower. Readings will include both primary and conflicting secondary accounts.
Format: lecture/discussion. Evaluation will be based on class participation and two, brief (5-8 page) papers on major issues in the course, as well as on a midterm and a final exam.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 25 (expected: 15-25). Preference will be given to History majors and Leadership Studies concentrators.
Group F
Hour: STOLER

Course Cancelled Fall 2008:
INTR 103(F) (formerly AFR 400) Race, Culture, and Incarceration (Same as Political Science 103)

Course Cancelled Fall 2008 and Spring 2009:
INTR 226(F,S) Black Women in National Politics, 1964-2004 (Same as Political Science 226 and Women's and Gender Studies 226)

Course Cancelled Fall 2008
INTR 309T(F) (formerly AAS 400) Racial-Sexual Politics and Cultural Memory (Same as Women's and Gender Studies 309) (W)

Course Cancelled Spring 2009:
INTR 313T(S) (formerly AFR 323T) The Origins of Totalitarianism (Same as Philosophy 313T and Political Science 313T) (W)

New Course Fall 2008:
INTR 252(F) The Human Image: Photographing People and Their Stories (Same as ArtS 252)

The single most photographed subject is the human form. The motivations and strategies for imaging faces and bodies, both individual and aggregate, are as varied as the subjects themselves. In this course, we will examine some of the many approaches used to photograph people. We’ll start by exploring self-portraiture, and progress to photographing others--both familiars and strangers, in the studio and in less controlled environments. We’ll end with a consideration of “documentary” photography and other visual narratives. In each case, we’ll examine our reasons for making an image, and the methods available for achieving these goals. Thus, the class will have a significant technical component, dealing with the creative use of camera controls, the properties and uses of light, and digital capture and processing. We will also examine the conceptual and scientific bases for how we perceive and evaluate images. Students will initially use school-supplied digital cameras, and later have the option of using film. Lab fee: $100-150.
Format: Studio/lecture. Requirements: Students will be expected a) to photograph extensively outside of scheduled class hours b) to participate in class discussion and in both oral and written critique, c) to present one paper, and d) to exhibit their work at the end of the semester. Preprequisites: Students from all disciplines are welcome. Previous photography experience is desirable, but not essential. Students are strongly encouraged to contact the instructor if they have questions about course requirements. Enrollment limit: 12 (expected: 12). Preference to upper class students. This course satisfies an art major requirement.
Hour:B. GOLDSTEIN

To be offered Fall 2008:
MATH 302(F) Complex Analysis (Q)
The calculus of complex-valued functions turns out to have unexpected simplicity and power. As an example of simplicity, every complex-differentiable function is automatically infinitely differentiable. As examples of power, the so-called "residue calculus" permits the computation of "impossible" integrals, and "conformal mapping" reduces physical problems on very general domains to problems on the round disc. The easiest proof of the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, not to mention the first proof of the Prime Number Theorem, used complex analysis.
Format:  lecture.  Evaluation will be based primarily on homework, classwork, and exams. Prerequisites:  Mathematics 301 or 305. No enrollment limit (expected: 10). 
Hour: LOOK

Cancelled Spring 2009, to be offered Fall 2008:
PHIL 213T(F) Biomedical Ethics (W)

Cancelled Fall 2008, to be offered Spring 2009:

PHIL 304T(S) Authenticity: From Rousseau to Poststructuralism (W)

Course Cancelled:
PHIL 337(F) Justice in Health Care

Course Cancelled :

PSCI 216(S) Constitutional Law I: Structures of Power
Constitutional Law I focuses on the legal and political regime established by the U.S. Constitution. We concentrate on two themes at the core of American constitutionalism: (1) the respective powers of, and interaction among, the federal government's three branches ("separation of powers"); and (2) the intersections and boundaries of federal and state authority ("federalism"). Specific topics include the Supreme Court's power to overturn actions by political agents; Congress's authority to make laws governing matters not mentioned in the Constitution; Congress's power to strip the courts of authority to decide certain issues; states' power to resist the decrees of federal courts; the president's emergency powers; and war-making authority of both the president and Congress. Most of the reading consists of Supreme Court opinions, but some reading and much discussion will address historical context. Recurring issues include the extent to which the Court does and should heed the framers' intent; the extent to which the Court does and should take into account public opinion and other political considerations; and the significance of John Marshall's famous but somewhat cryptic admonition: "we must never forget that it is a constitution we are expounding."
Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: a midterm, final exam, 8- to 10-page paper, and class participation.
No prerequisites, but open only to those first-year students with Advanced Placement credit in American politics. Enrollment limit: 35 (expected: 35). Preference to Political Science Majors.
American Politics Subfield
8:30-9:45 MWF MOORE

To be offered Spring 2009:
PSCI 217(S) Constitutional Law II: Rights

Constitutional Law II explores constraints imposed on governmental power by a system of civil rights. Areas examined include equal protection, due process, freedom of speech and religion. Within these and other broad doctrines, countless specific controversies arise. Those we address include abortion, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, flag-burning, and the death penalty. Much of the reading consists of Supreme Court cases, but we will also pay close attention to the broader context surrounding these cases. A recurring question is the relevance of the Court's undemocratic nature. Should the Court see itself as a tribune of the powerless, which must restrain the political branches or, alternatively, should it generally defer to the people's elected representatives? A closely related question involves the extent to which the Court should confine the rights it protects to those specifically listed in the Constitution. Finally, to what extent do and should judges consult their moral or even political views, as opposed to undertaking a more objective, apolitical or distinctly "judicial" analysis, in reaching decisions?
Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: a midterm, final exam, 8- to 10-page paper, and class participation.
No prerequisites, but open only to those first-year students with Advanced Placement credit in American politics. Enrollment limit: 35 (expected: 35). Preference to Political Science Majors.
American Politics Subfield

8:30-9:45 MWF
MOORE

Course Cancelled :
PSCI 295(F) Intelligence and National Security (Same as Leadership Studies 395)

New Fall Course:
PSCI 304(F)  Race and the Criminal Justice System

This seminar will consider the role and treatment of racial/ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system. We will examine the historical and theoretical frameworks for understanding the relationship between race, crime, and criminal justice. In so doing, students will become familiar with trends and patterns in criminal offenders by racial/ethnic minorities as well as the systemic response to such behavior. The seminar focus substantively on the (racialization) of criminal social control and the consequences of mass imprisonment for families, communities, and our society. In addition to analyzing important texts in these areas, students will develop new insights on crime and punishment in the black experience through empirical research.  We will also discuss public policy in criminal justice with guest speakers from Members of Congress and distinguished academics.
Format: seminar. Requirements: readings, class presentation, book reviews and final research paper.
Prerequisites: one previous course in political science or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 17). Preference given to political science majors.
American Politics Subfield
Hour: 7:00-9:40 M
MOORE

New Spring Course:
PSCI 307(S)  Black Politics

This course focuses on the scope of participation by African Americans in the dominant American political system.  We will consider the special forms of participation characteristic of black politics, and we will explore the historical evolution of socioeconomic conditions.  We will also examine the range of political ideologies associated with black politics and American race relations. A primary goal of the course is to develop reliable concepts of black political culture and behavior along with useful guidelines for assessing the direction and continuity of black politics in the United States.
Format: seminar. Requirements: Readings, class presentation, book reviews and final research paper.
Prerequisites: a course in political science or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected 15).  Preference given to political science majors.
American politics subfield
MOORE

Course Cancelled:
PSCI 308(S) In Search of the American State (W)

New Spring Course:
PSCI 320(S) Judicial Politics

The scope of this course is an introduction to understanding how the judicial process works and the relationships between courts and American politics. It will cover the organization of courts, selection of judges, judicial decision-making and judicial policy-making. It will also draw distinctions between the state and federal court systems, as well as appellate and trial courts. Students will be expected to take part in extensive in-class discussion of the various readings and topics.
Format: seminar. Requirement: Readings, class presentation, book reviews and final research paper.
Prerequisites: a course in political science or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected 18).  Preference given to political science majors.
American politics subfield
MOORE

Course Cancelled:
PSCI 363(S) The International Politics of Nuclear Weapons (Same as Leadership Studies 363)

Cancelled Fall 2008; to be offered Spring 2009:
PSCI 410(S) Senior Seminar in American Politics: Interpretations of American Politics

New Fall Course:
RLSP 255(F) Women’s Autobiographies in Post-Franco Spain
(Same as Women's and Gender Studies 255)
This course is a study of the genre of autobiography and women narrators in twentieth-century Spain. We will read works by Carmen Martín Gaite, Ana María Matute, Rosa Chacel, Rosa Montero and Laura Freixas among others, where we will explore five essential elements that construct a life narrative: memory, experience, identity, body and agency. We will also analyze the self and identities of the narrators, and how their lives might reflect a collective memory of the Spanish community after dictatorship. Conducted in Spanish.
Format: discussion/seminar. Evaluation will be based on class participation, several short writing assignments, and a final paper. At least one of the short assignments will be edited and re-written; the final paper will be handed in as a draft first and then edited.
Prerequisite: Spanish 105 or higher, or permission of instructor, or results of the Williams College Placement Test. Enrollment limit: 22 (expected: 20). Preference given to Spanish majors and students with a background in literature.
Hour: 1:10-2:25 TF
PÉREZ-VILLANUEVA

The following course will be offered next Spring :
RLSP 301(S) Cervantes' Don Quijote
This course is an in-depth study of Cervantes' masterpiece Don Quijote. With this novel, Cervantes forever transformed the European literary landscape and the future of prose fiction. We will consider the singularity of Cervantes' achievement from the perspectives of language, literature, and culture. The literary and social background of the period will also shape our understanding of the work's historical context. Additional reading will include a selection of major critical studies. Conducted in Spanish.
Format: seminar. Evaluation will be based on meaningful class participation and 20-25 pages of writing divided into several discrete assignments, some of which will include rewriting, and a final paper.
Prerequisites: any 200-level Spanish course. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 15).
Hour: PEREZ-VILLANUEVA

Course title change:
THEA 342(F) Solo Theatre

Two sections to be offered Fall 2008:
WGST 101(F,S) Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies (W) (D)
MR 2:35-3:50 KENT
TR 11:20-12:35 CASE

 


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