Fall16_HCOL185P_Schrafstetter.pdf

This seminar is situated at the nexus of history, German and European Studies, and international relations. It will explore a range of social, political, and cultural developments in the two German states that emerged from the rubble of the Second World War. Major themes will include how the German states coped with the legacies of the past and the political realities of the present. The division of Germany embodied the division of the world into two hostile blocs during the Cold War. Having unleashed a brutal war of conquest, and having perpetrated murder on a massive scale, Germany stood morally bankrupt in 1945. We will analyze how the legacy of the Holocaust affected German politics East and West, influenced the relations of the two German states with the other countries, shaped both German societies internally, and impacted on German reunification in 1990. Ever since German unity, the Germans also have to come to terms with the history of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), leading to a situation termed doppelte Vergangenheitsbew ltigung - coping with the legacies and memories of two German dictatorships.

This class fills the following distribution/college requirements: (If you don't see your college, please contact your advisor.)

    CAS: Humanities
    GBS: History Core or Global & Regional Studies Core
    CALS: Social Sciences
    CEMS: GenEd Elective
    CESS: Consult your advisor / program coordinator
    CNHS:Consult your advisor
    RSENR:Consult your Advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185A_Wilcke.pdf

There is evidence that the relationship between the environment and human health was observed as early as 400 BCE by Hippocrates. Over time, however, the fields of human health, animal health and environmental health have become ever more separate and distinct areas of study and scientific inquiry operating within their own respective spheres. In 2007 the human health and animal health communities came together to promote and formalize the concept of viewing health from a “one health” approach. This course will delve into issues that clearly demonstrate how closely the health of humans, animals and the environment are connected. It will explore the potential benefits that might accrue from studying health in a more interdisciplinary way. Through presentations by experts in all three disciplines, various readings representing all three fields, and the study of both historical and contemporary “one health” case studies, students will be provided the opportunity to see how closely intertwined and interdependent these areas are. Further, students will be given the opportunity to
propose innovative approaches which they feel could be effective in addressing “one health” challenges going forward.

CAS:  No distribution credit
GSB: Elective credit only
CALS:  Social Science
CEMS:  GenEd Elective
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CNHS: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS: Consult with your academic advisor

Syllabus: FAll16_HCOL185C_Barnaby.pdf

This course addresses a paradox: how truly creative work might begin in what we steal from others. In literary contexts, we call such “theft” adaptation. The course will investigate the art of adaptation in a theoretical way—what is creativity? what is adaptation?—in an analytical way—by reconstructing how specific literary artists have adapted the work of their predecessors—and through our own creative efforts—by doing our own creative adaptations. Units for the course will include: 1) an introduction to the “Theory of Adaptation”; 2) “Hamlets,” in which we will consider everything from Shakespeare’s original borrowing from his sources to modern adaptations of the play; and 3) “Film Adaptation,” in which we will consider specific examples of how filmic art emerges from source-texts. Along the way, we might also consider examples of adaption ranging from Biblical adaptation to the modern novel, and our own creative efforts will include short mash-ups and longer group efforts.

CAS:  Literature
GSB:  Language & Literature Core
CALS: Humanities, Social Science
CEMS: GenEd Elective
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CNHS: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS: Consult with your academic advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185D_Gilmartin.pdf

The pathogen responsible for the next global human pandemic – The Coming Plague – almost certainly does not exist – yet.  Evolution, however, will undoubtedly produce an agent that, provided just the right set of circumstances, might emerge to cause human disease on a global scale.  Such a global pandemic isn’t inevitable, it will only occur with the unwitting cooperation of Homo sapiens.  We will focus on our complicity in past and future outbreaks of infectious diseases.  We will also examine how researchers work to understand emerging pathogens and how their success depends on their ability to draw together insights from a wide array of disciplines.  In the second part of the course, students will be challenged to consider infectious agents from a completely different perspective, by exploring the role of infectious agents, specifically viruses, as essential elements of the evolution of life on Earth.

CAS:  No distribution credit
GSB:  Social Science Core
CALS: 
CEMS: 
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CNHS: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS: Consult with your academic advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185E_Beckage.pdf

The earth is a complex coupled human-natural system that is increasingly dominated by human activities. We will examine the nature of global climate change including its causes, mechanisms, and ecological and societal impacts.  The course will emphasize climate change as part of an integrated earth system that also includes social, economic and ecological systems. Students will gain a broad perspective on the challenges that climate change presents to human systems by considering responses of current and past societies to climate change and environmental degradation.  The class will emphasize readings, discussions, and simulation modeling to understand the scientific and social basis of contemporary climate and environmental change.

CAS:  No distribution credit
GSB: Social Science Core
CALS: Consult with Academic Advisor
CEMS: GenEd Elective
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CNHS: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS: Consult with your academic advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185F_Ashooh.pdf

Evolutionary theory suggests that individuals are motivated by self-interest, a “survival instinct”, which promotes self-preservation sometimes at the cost of the interests of others.   On the other hand, it is hard to deny that many people behave altruistically, with moral regard for others, and in fact make extreme sacrifices for moral reasons to benefit others.  How then can morality be squared with the principles of evolution?  In this class, we will explore this issue in detail.  Several responses will be considered.

In doing so, we will explore a variety of cultural norms and beliefs that evolutionary anthropologist have used as evidence of a group selection model and draw on resources in the growing field of moral anthropology that survey the variety of social and cultural norms in an effort to identify common features and principles that are trans-cultural.  In considering the conflicts between various cultures moral norms, we will ask whether an objective or universal notion of morality can be sustained, and if not, what becomes of ethics in light of evolutionary theory.  We will be asking whether our ethical beliefs are attempts to describe objective features of the world we live in or whether they are merely the cultural artifacts of highly evolved and very diverse humans.

CAS:  No CAS Credit
GSB:  Elective Credit Only
CALS: 
CEMS: 
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CNHS: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS: Consult with your academic advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185G_Fogel.pdf

In the course of this seminar, we will read a number of graphic novels in order to explore a few key questions: Why is story-telling central to human life? Why do we value story-telling so highly, and how does each of the graphic novels we read fulfill the criteria of value we have identified? What is the use of theorizing about narratives, and what is the value and power of applying systematic and rigorous analytic terms to the study of narrative? And what must we do to supplement the formal, structural study of narratives in order to honor the specificity of historical, economic, social, political, cultural, anthropological, and philosophical contexts essential for understanding the works.

Works covered will include Art Spiegelman's Maus, Jason Lutes's Berlin, and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home. We will also read H. Porter Abbott's Cambridge Introduction to Narrative and Scott McCloud's Making Comics.

We will aim 1) to improve our ability to read closely and think rigorously about the formal properties of the works and at the same time about their historical contexts; 2) to understand and apply the basics of narrative theory to analysis of our primary texts; 3) to explore the interplay between images and language in graphic novels; 4) to write with increasing pleasure and authority as a mode of inquiry.

CAS:  Literature
GSB:  Language & Literature Core
CALS: 
CEMS: 
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CNHS: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS: Consult with your academic advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185H_Ogbunu.pdf

Why do modern Homo sapiens suffer from so many lifestyle diseases?  What makes HIV/AIDS such a troubling public health problem? Can an understanding of evolutionary biology help us design better therapies to treat cancer?  Where do diseases like Ebola come from, and why are they so lethal? Exactly, what kind of running shoes should I be wearing? And how am I supposed to run?

This course introduces a new field, Evolutionary Medicine, the study of disease, pathology, and treatment through lens of Darwinian evolution.  It will explore the very basics of disease and illness, asking questions such as the ones above, and many others. To present an integrated picture of various diseases and their evolutionary origin, this course will explore historical perspectives, narratives of disease experience and purer scientific approaches.  Materials used will range from primary scientific literature to exploratory essays, and personal narratives of disease. The course has no formal prerequisites, though an advanced level high school biology course and mathematics through pre-calculus are preferred.

CAS:  Science: Non-lab
GSB:  Elective Credit Only
CALS: 
CEMS: 
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CNHS: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS: Consult with your academic advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185I_Woolson.pdf

Contemporary Latin-American artistic representation is as diverse as its peoples, and encompasses a plurality of cultural expressions and complex relationships.  This course will explore the interdisciplinary landscape of “ecocriticism” as an emerging field in the environmental humanities and address how Latin American representation engages with the multidimensional aspects of environmental issues.  Case studies from Amazonia, Mexico and Easter Island will enable observations of how some of these issues manifest in specific time and scale.  We will discuss fictional and non-fictional texts, oral narratives, film and other expressive forms that reflect on diverse cosmologies from the region.

CAS:  No disbribution credit
GSB:  Global & Regional Core
CALS: 
CEMS: 
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CNHS: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS: Consult with your academic advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185J_Zakaras.pdf

The term “individualism” is often used to describe a pervasive tendency in the culture and politics of the modern West.  Since the 1820’s, critics have used it to describe the disintegration of community and tradition, the erosion of civic allegiance, the triumph of selfishness, and the pervasive experience of personal alienation.  Almost as soon as the term was introduced, however, others began hold it up as an ethical and political ideal.  To them, “individualism” (and the related term “individuality”) was a celebration of the power, beauty, and creativity of the self-reliant individual: the rugged frontiersman, the yeoman farmer, the artist, the rebel, or the self-made businessman.  Both points of view are still powerfully represented in contemporary literature, poetry, film, philosophy, and social theory.  The tension between them gives rise to a number of enduring questions.  Which forms of individualism, if any, are worth aspiring to? What are their dangers? And which forms should be resisted?  These questions pertain directly to the oldest of ethical questions: What is the good life? But they also have important implications for the related questions: What is the good society? And what are the proper aims (and limits) of government?

CAS: Humanities
GSB:  Social Science Core
CALS: Humanities
CEMS:  Gen Ed Elective, CS, STAT & Math Majors check with advisor
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CNHS: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS: Consult with your academic advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185K_McMahon.pdf

Developing lasting political structures that are representative of and responsive to human needs is a subtle and challenging endeavor.  In recent years, many countries have sought to do this and shed legacies of political authoritarianism.  Operationalizing the democracy concept at the level of the nation-state, however, often proves tricky.  There are many issues to be considered in creating and adapting democratic governance institutions.  For example, should the system be presidential or parliamentary, or a hybrid incorporating elements of both approaches?  What elections systems should be used?  How should the executive branch be structured?

This course provides an introduction to key concepts and is followed by focus on the executive branch, and then the legislature. It then considers election systems and administration, models of decentralization, and several country case studies.  The course ends with a concluding segment designed to pull together and summarize the proceedings over the semester.  The course is designed to be fast-paced, participatory and hands-on.  It is not designed to provide “yes or no” answers but will instead provide an understanding of key concepts in the field, how they are utilized, what successes and failures have been in the field of governance institution design, and what can be learned from them.

CAS: Social Science 
GSB: Social Science Core
CALS:  Humanities, Social Science
CEMS: Gen Ed Elective, CS, STAT & Math Majors check with advisor
RSENR: Consult with academic advisor
CNHS: Elective – Consult with Academic Advisor for further clarification
CESS: Consult CESS advisor for General Education Requirement Approval

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185L_Donnelly.pdf

Disease outbreaks linked to a variety of foodborne pathogens including Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7 and Listeria cause over 48 million people to become ill each year in the US. This course will address food safety issues by reviewing outbreaks caused by notable pathogens. We will explore the development of microbiological food safety policy through analysis of how science and risk assessment are used in establishing policy. Using selected case studies and readings, we will examine the factors which have created current food safety policies and explore how pending legislation can either protect or compromise public health. Students will become familiar with the roles and responsibilities of the FDA, USDA and CDC in shaping policy, as well as the use of tools such as HACCP, risk assessment, FoodNet and PulseNet in identification of emerging food safety issues. Through extensive class writings, students will become familiar and gain experience in submitting written public comments to Federal Register notices concerning changes in food safety policy.

CAS: No CAS credit
GSB:Elective Credit Only
CALS:Social Science
CEMS:Gen Ed Elective, CS, STAT & Math Majors check with advisor
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CNHS: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS: Consult with your academic advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185M_LeonardB.pdf

Following completion of the Human Genome Project, Genomics has proven a rich source of controversy. As the applications and implications of rapid, inexpensive, and reliable whole-genome sequencing become clearer, complex ethical, moral, and practical questions emerge.  Misuse and misunderstanding of the science behind Genomics has clouded conversations in the public forum and polarized topics that warrant many shades of gray.

This course will focus on thoughtful, engaging, and open-minded discussions of current controversies involving Genomics (the study of the structure, function, and evolution of an organism’s entire genome) and Genetics (the study of specific gene function and inheritance) with the goal of distilling out legitimate issues from misinformation. Students are expected to actively participate and prepare for each class through critical review of assigned scientific literature, documentaries, news articles, and other media. There is no pre-requisite knowledge of Genetics or Genomics. Discussion topics will include Genetically Modified Food, Genomic Rights as Part of Human Rights, The Politics and Public Policy of Science, Human Evolution and the Pursuit of Human-ness Genes, Genetic Influence of Behavior, Pharmacogenomics and the Healthcare Industry, Direct-to-consumer Genomics, and Designer Babies and Cloning. Evaluation will include preparing for and actively engaging in class discussions and projects, composing thoughtful reflection papers, and crafting a well-sourced final research paper and presenting it to the class for discussion.

CAS: No distribution credit
GSB:  Elective Credit only
CALS:  Social Science or Humanities
CEMS: Gen Ed Elective, CS, STAT & Math Majors check with advisor
RSENR: Consult with academic advisor
CNHS: Science/Elective
CESS: Consult with academic advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185N_Zencey.pdf

This course will examine the ways that contemporary economic and political theory, and institutions and practices grounded on them, encode the assumption that the planet is infinite.  It will ask students to explore and evaluate ways of adapting those ideas, institutions and practices to a world that has ecological limits.   Many people have come to the realization that our physical infrastructure needs to be adapted to finite-planet reality; we need solar and other renewable energy systems, we need a post-petroleum agriculture, we need mass transit, and we need compact village and urban centers in a working landscape.  Less obvious are the changes that need to be made to our intellectual infrastructure; this course examines those changes as well.

The primary objective of the course will be to empower students to become informed participants in our culture’s transition to a sustainable relationship to its host ecosystems.   This transition is inevitable:  by definition an unsustainable system doesn’t last.  The key question is not “will we have a sustainable society?” but “what will our society look like when it becomes sustainable?”  The choices we make now will determine the answer, and choosing wisely requires understanding where and how unsustainable premises are embedded in our systems.

CAS: No distribution credit
GSB: Social Science Core
CALS: Humanities, Social Science
CEMS: Gen Ed Elective, CS, STAT & Math Majors check with advisor
CNHS: Environ. Science/Studies
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS:  Consult with your academic advisor

Syllabus: Fall16_HCOL185O_Usher.pdf

This seminar is an interdisciplinary introduction to epic poetry and performance, from Gilgamesh and the Homeric poems to the Kalevala traditions of Finland to the griot poetry and music of West Africa. Epic poetry is a repository of the values of the society that produces it, and, in turn, shapes the culture in which it flourishes. This course investigates that premise and introduces you to facts, concepts, and methods that will help you interpret epic and other ancient literature within its historical context. We will look at several of the world's great epics from various angles and consider, for example, how the pressures of oral performance shape traditional narrative, how, in traditional societies, mythology is itself a kind of language, and how and why poetry (and song) is the primary vehicle used to confer honor and transmit knowledge. Because the stories of these epics are foundational to a range of great civilizations - European, Middle Eastern, South East Asian, and African - students can expect to come away from this course with a wider knowledge and deeper understanding of our cultural and psychological heritage as human beings.

CAS:   Literature
GSB:   Global and Regional Studies
CALS: 
CEMS: 
RSENR: Consult with your academic advisor
CNHS: Consult with your academic advisor
CESS: Consult with your academic advisor