|
|
Catalogue 2021-2022 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Course Descriptions
|
|
|
|
| |
Religion: III. Advanced |
| |
-
RELI 375 - The I-Ching: China’s Great Text of Divinatory Wisdom Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 375 ) One of the great texts of Classical China, The I-Ching (Fu Xi 伏羲, c. 2800 BCE), has emerged as a global phenomenon; connecting to fields of science, architecture, psychology, and to a “situational spirituality” based on the Daoist notion that all things incorporate the wisdom of the Way.
This course offers an intensive study of the text (in translation) along with its corollary subjects of Daoist cosmology, divination, ethics, and “finding the right path” through any situation. The eight archetypal trigrams, sixty-four divinatory modalities, understanding of the nature of change through the permutations of yin and yang are examined, as are the I-Ching’s prominent values of modesty and wu-wei or “effortless effort.” Every student learns how to work with the text, so that its study becomes more than a theoretical exercise. In this spirit of the I-Ching we “Approach with small steps/quantities (小過)”, and “be flexible to constant change in order to be sustainable (易窮則變,變則通,通則久). Rick Jarow.
Prerequisite(s): Any 100-level Asian Studies, Chinese/Japanese, or Religion course, or permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
|
| |
-
RELI 379 - Muslim Feminist and Womanist thought and Praxis
1 1 unit(s)
(Same as WMST 379 ) This seminar explores the work of Muslim thinkers and activists who critically take up issues of gender and sexuality in Islamic contexts. These thinkers, who often identify as feminist or womanist, challenge Western feminist orthodoxies as well as certain religious frameworks, drawing on Islamic traditions in order to imagine and work towards a capacious gender justice. We read feminist and womanist interpretation of Qur’an and hadith, Islamic history, theology, ethics, spirituality and law, and explore how Muslim gender activists in a range of global contexts relate to intellectual traditions of Islamic feminism. We consider the interventions of Muslim feminists and womanists for gender theory and activism more broadly. Key themes include marriage, parenthood, and divorce, religious authority, colonialism and race, tradition, political activism, spiritual practice, and history of sexuality. Kirsten Wesselhoeft.
Prerequisite(s): One 200-level course in Religion or Women’s Studies or permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RELI 380 - Religion, Anti-Science, Public Health & Pandemic Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 380 ) How have religious people both embraced and resisted public health directives during the Covid-19 pandemic? How do religious people understand the meaning of health, sickness, and suffering in the midst of a global health crisis? How do religious people think about the ethical issues involved in confronting illness on such a large scale – how do they (for example) ponder complicated decisions about healthcare rationing, disease mitigation, economic lockdowns, and social inequality? This course examines these questions and tries to understand better conservative religious attitudes in particular. It surveys how conservative groups (Christian and Jewish) have resisted public health guidelines during the last century, insisted on their freedom to worship without restrictions, juxtaposed divine healing and medical treatment, sometimes eschewed vaccination, and organized channels of dissent and protest online and via social media platforms. Christopher White.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RELI 381 - People of the Image: Jews and Visual Art Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ART 381 and JWST 381 ) This course investigates the ways in which Jews have used visual culture to express religious ideas and address political circumstances, primarily in the premodern era. It interrogates the ideas of creation and creativity, the permissibility or impermissibility of the image in Judaism, the authorship of “Jewish” visual culture and whether/why this matters, the construction of individual and communal Jewish identity through art, architecture, and texts, and relations— collusions as well as collisions— between Jews and non-Jews as they play out in the realm of visual and material culture. Marc Epstein.
Prerequisite(s): One course in Jewish Studies, Religion or Art or permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RELI 382 - Islam, Race, and Gender in French Intellectual Culture Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as FFS 382 ) Muslim French intellectuals and social activists are deeply engaged in debate and community organizing related to religion, racialization, and gender politics. This intensive is a mentored research experience that takes students into an ongoing book project on Muslim intellectual culture in France. This research draws on humanistic and social scientific methods to learn from the thinkers and social actors who are shaping Muslim collective life against the grain of the politicized construction of a “Muslim problem” in France. Key themes include social ethics, class and class mobility, racialization and religious belonging, French urban space, spirituality, and gender and sexuality. Our sources include manifestos, sociological texts, works of theology, memoirs, amateur short films, poetry, works of critical social theory, podcasts, and ethnographic interview transcripts, as well as state documents such as parliamentary reports and legislation. Virtual visits to French Muslim community spaces may be possible as part of the class. Readings are in French, and discussions and written work are in English. Students and faculty work together on original research based on these materials. Students interested in taking this intensive who do not have advanced reading knowledge of French should contact the instructor for further information. Kirsten Wesselhoeft.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: INT
|
| |
-
RELI 385 - Asian Healing Traditions
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 385 ) This seminar offers a comprehensive view of the traditional medical systems and healing modalities of India and China and examines the cultural values they participate in and propound. It also includes a “laboratory” in which hands-on disciplines (such as yoga and qi-gong) are practiced and understood within their traditional contexts. From a study of classical Ayur Vedic texts, Daoist alchemical manuals, shamanic processes and their diverse structural systems, the seminar explores the relationship between healing systems, religious teachings, and social realities. It looks at ways in which the value and practices of traditional medical and healing systems continue in Asia and the West. Rick Jarow.
Not offered in 2021/22.
|
| |
-
RELI 399 - Senior Independent Work
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Course Format: OTH
|
Russian Studies: I. Introductory |
| |
-
RUSS 105 - Elementary Russian Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
The essentials of grammar with emphasis on the development of oral-aural proficiency. Charles Arndt III.
Open to all classes.
Yearlong course 105-RUSS 106 .
Four 50-minute periods plus drill and conversation periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 106 - Elementary Russian Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
The essentials of grammar with emphasis on the development of oral-aural proficiency.
Open to all classes.
Yearlong course RUSS 105 -106.
Four 50-minute periods plus drill and conversation periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 107 - Intensive Introductory Russian Semester Offered: Spring
2 unit(s)
Single-semester equivalent of RUSS 105 -RUSS 106 . Intensive training in fundamental language skills. Designed for beginning students who wish to accelerate their learning of Russian.
Open to all classes.
Five 75-minute periods, plus drill and conversation periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 135 - The Russian Classics: The Great Realists of the Nineteenth Century (in English) Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
The great tradition of Russian literature with its emphasis on ultimate existential and moral questions. Selected works by such nineteenth-century masters as Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky. Charles Arndt III.
Open to all classes. Readings and lectures in English. Russian majors see RUSS 235 .
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
|
| |
-
RUSS 142 - Dostoevsky and Psychology (in English) Semester Offered: Not offered in 2021/22.
1 unit(s)
Fyodor Dostoevsky was an avid student of the human mind, with particular interest in aberrant and self-destructive behavior. He drew on his observations of people from all strata of society and his four-year-long prison experience to endow his characters with fascinating psychological depth. After Dostoevsky’s death, his works have been cited by Freud, existentialist philosophers and others to support theories of their own. This course focuses on a number of works in which Dostoevsky’s depiction of psychological issues is particularly crucial to the central message he attempts to convey. Readings include three of the major novels (Crime and Punishment, The Devils, and The Brothers Karamazov) as well as a number of Dostoevsky’s shorter works. This course entails detailed examinations of the texts and discussion of how Dostoevsky’s works relate to current psychological issues and problems. Charles Arndt III.
All readings and discussion are in English.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 143 - The Genius of Chekhov: Theatre and Tales (in English) Semester Offered: Not offered in 2021/22.
1 unit(s)
(Same as DRAM 143 ) Close reading of major plays and selected short stories by Anton Chekhov. Focus on the forms and themes of Chekhov’s works, as well as their historical contexts in terms of dramaturgy, reception and artistic legacy. Special attention is given to the spectrum of interpretations of Chekhov’s works in a transnational context. Accompanied by film screenings.
Open to all classes. Readings and discussions are in English. Russian majors see RUSS 243 .
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 152 - The Russian Modernists: Decadence, Revolution, & The Avant-Garde (in English) Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Outstanding works of major twentieth-century Russian writers, with emphasis on those who broke with the realist tradition of the nineteenth century. Farida Tcherkassova.
Open to all classes. Readings and lectures in English. Russian majors see RUSS 252 .
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 153 - Russian Sci-Fi Cinema (in English)
0.5 unit(s)
A survey of the rich tradition of Russian cinematic science fiction, from mainstream entertainment to the philosophical masterpieces of Andrei Tarkovsky. Subjects include futuristic fantasies of the 1920s and 1930s, scientific experiments gone astray, post-apocalyptic visions, space travel and journeys of the mind, intergalactic romance and humorous takes on the genre. Dan Ungurianu.
Taught in English.
Second six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods, plus weekly screenings.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 154 - The Cinema of Andrei Tarkovsky (in English) Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
The haunting impression produced by Tarkosvky’s films is aptly summarized by Ingmar Bergman: “My discovery of Tarkovsky’s first film was like a miracle. Suddenly, I found myself standing at the door of a room the keys of which had, until then, never been given to me. Tarkovsky is for me the greatest, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream.” The course examines the work of the Russian director against the background of various “new waves” in European filmmaking, concentrating on Tarkovsky’s unique blend of poetic and philosophical cinema that, following the great Russian literary tradition, can be described as metaphysical realism. Dan Ungurianu.
Taught in English.
Second six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods, plus weekly screenings.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 155 - WW II in Russian Cinema (in English)
0.5 unit(s)
The most massive armed conflict in history, World War II also inspired an unprecedented number of films. Many of them are inevitably imbued with patriotic propaganda, yet others strive to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of war, an event that, in Leo Tolstoy’s words, is opposed to human reason and to all human nature. The course samples seminal Russian works of the genre produced from the late 1940s to our days against changing historical and ideological backgrounds. Special attention is given to cinematic masterpieces exploring war as an existential experience that probes the limits of humanity, such as The Cranes Are Flying (1957), Ivan’s Childhood(1962), The Ascent (1976), and Come and See (1985). Dan Ungurianu.
Taught in English.
Second six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods, plus weekly screenings.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 156 - The Cinema of Sergei Eisenstein (in English)
0.5 unit(s)
Sergei Eisenstein, a brilliant pioneer and a seminal theorist of cinema as a form of art, remains one of the most famous directors in the history of film. The course examines Eisenstein’s artistic trajectory from his early avant-garde creations of the 1920s (The Strike and Battleship Potemkin) to the late masterpieces produced during the period of high Stalinism (Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible). Special attention is paid to the cultural and historical contexts of Eisenstein’s films. Dan Ungurianu.
Taught in English.
First six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods, plus weekly screenings.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 157 - A Revolutionary Apocalypse: Russian Civil War in Film (in English)
0.5 unit(s)
The Russian Revolution of 1917, rather bloodless at its initial stages, resulted in an all out war waged from 1918 into the early 1920s. Numerous factions (Reds, Whites, “Greens,” Anarchists, nationalists and the rest, all the way down to mere adventurers and bandits) and also invading foreign armies (German, British, American, French, Polish, and many others) fought at the vast expanses of the former Russian Empire. Our course examines the legacy of the Civil War in Russian film. We cover Eisenstein’s propaganda masterpieces (The Battleship Potemkin, October), early works of Socialist Realism and also the complex body of cinematic texts of the later Soviet years in a variety of genres from high tragedy to the ironic “Eastern.” We conclude with recent revisionist takes on the topic produced during the post-Soviet period. Dan Ungurianu.
Second six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods accompanied by film screenings.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 158 - Masterpieces of Russian Animation (in English)
0.5 unit(s)
We examine the rich tradition of Russian Aanimation from its inception around 1910 to our days. We begin with experiments of Wladislaw Starewicz and end with the current blockbusters, including Masha and the Bear series, (one of its episodes has over four billion views on YouTube!). A special attention is given to the masterpieces of the 1960s and 80s that mix the appeal of popular culture with avant-garde visual experimentation. Dan Ungurianu.
First six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods accompanied by film screenings.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 160 - A Slap in the Face of Public Taste: Revolutionary Art in Russia 1910-1917 (in English)
0.5 unit(s)
This course surveys the most turbulent and brilliant period in the development of Russian avant-garde’s literary and visual arts, preceding the political revolutions of 1917, which celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary this year. In English. Nikolai Firtich.
First six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods accompanied by film screenings.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 161 - Nabokov Before “Lolita”: The Making of a Genius in the Age of Jazz and Surrealism (in English)
1 unit(s)
This course considers the novels and novellas of Vladimir Nabokov written during the 1920s and 1930s in a broad cultural context of the period. Nabokov became an international celebrity with the publication of Lolita (1955). The scandal and sensationalism aside, the book earned him the reputation as one of the most accomplished stylists in the English language. But in the decades before producing Lolita, Nabokov had had a brilliant literary career as a Russian émigré writer in Europe. This course approaches Nabokov’s pre-Lolita works through a comparison with the writings of Franz Kafka, Evelyn Waugh, Nathaniel West, and the art of Surrealism. The goal of the course is to explore the cultural atmosphere that helped shape Nabokov as we know him. Nikolai Firtich.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 165 - Arts and Music in Imperial Russia (in English)
1 unit(s)
Our main focus is on the dazzling artistic explosion that took place in the Russian Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This includes the visual arts, architecture, music, and performing arts in historical contexts. Prominent examples include Borodin’s opera Prince Igor, Musorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov, Diaghilev’s legendary Ballets Russes, and also the radical revolutionary aesthetics of the Russian Avant-Garde that upends accepted notions of art. Dan Ungurianu.
Open to all classes. All readings and discussion are in English.
Two 75-minute periods, plus occasional film screenings.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 168 - Vampires, Monks, and Holy Fools: The Mystical in Russia and Eastern Europe (in English) Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Focusing on these three phenomena of the Eastern European and Russian cultural-spiritual landscape will allow us to explore a number of subthemes. While examining Eastern European vampire legends, we will encounter regional folk beliefs and the paradoxical coexistence of pagan and Christian views concerning such things as liminal spaces, the unpredictability of evil, and the role of the undead. Comparisons will be made between early vampire stories and vampire incarnations in British and American literature and pop-culture. Our foray into Russian Orthodox monasticism will provide insight into the significance of mysticism, anchoritism, piety, and apocalypticism in Russia. Lastly, our study of the often scandalous and provocative behavior of the Holy Fool will help us understand how a seemingly carnivalesque inversion of values can serve as a spiritual beacon. The course will be a combination of short readings and films. Course materials and discussion will be in English. No prior knowledge of Russia or Eastern Europe is required. Charles Arndt III.
Open to all classes.
Two 75-minute periods, plus occasional film screenings.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 169 - The Great Utopia: Ideals and Realities of the Russian Revolution (in English)
1 unit(s)
The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing “Soviet Experiment” had major implications for the global political and ideological landscape of the twentieth century. The revolutionary era also saw an explosive proliferation of bold futuristic visions and utopian projects. The course explores reflections of the Revolution in literature, theatre, film, painting and other arts against a broad historical background. Topics include apocalyptic premonitions of the fin-de-siècle, Russian Cosmism and dreams of earthly immortality, competition among revolutionary ideologies, the art of avant-garde, Agitprop and Proletkult, Constructivism, Socialist Realism, the creation of the New Man, Stalin’s “Empire Style” and return of traditionalism, and a new – and final – wave of revolutionary aspirations during Khrushchev’s “Thaw.” Dan Ungurianu.
Open to all classes. All readings and discussions are in English.
Two 75-minute periods, plus occasional film screenings.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 171 - Russia and the Short Story (in English) Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
In this course we read and discuss a number of classic short stories by such Russian masters of the genre as Gogol, Turgenev, Chekhov, Babel, and Olesha. Charles Arndt III.
Satisfies college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
|
| |
|
Russian Studies: II. Intermediate |
| |
-
RUSS 210 - Intermediate Russian Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Review of the basics of grammar and analysis of more complex grammatical phenomena through the study of literary, historical, and newspaper texts, composition, and discussion. Farida Tcherkassova.
Prerequisite(s): RUSS 105 -RUSS 106 or permission of the instructor.
Year long course 210-RUSS 211 .
Four 50-minute periods plus one hour of oral practice.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 211 - Intermediate Russian Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Review of the basics of grammar and analysis of more complex grammatical phenomena through the study of literary, historical, and newspaper texts, composition, and discussion. Farida Tcherkassova.
Prerequisite(s): RUSS 105 -RUSS 106 or permission of the instructor.
Year long course RUSS 210 -211.
Three 75-minute periods plus one hour of oral practice.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 222 - Six Masterpieces: Exploring the Treasures of the Hermitage Museum (in English)
0.5 unit(s)
The Hermitage, founded in the 18th century as the depository of art treasures acquired by Russian tsars, is one of the world’s greatest museums. For the past fifteen years our students have been able to study at the Hermitage through a unique JYA program conducted by Vassar. Under the current special circumstances, this course brings the Hermitage to Vassar by showcasing six of its masterpieces selected by our Russian colleagues. Six Zoom sessions are conducted live by the Hermitage curators and members of the museum’s Education Department. The choice of subjects highlights the immense diversity of the museum’s collection and includes masterpieces of both West European and Oriental art, and also some of its magnificent architecture (the museum complex occupies a number of historical buildings in the heart of St. Petersburg, including the Winter Palace, the main imperial residence ). These sessions serve as a point of departure for your further exploration of the museum. Nikolai Firtich.
Prerequisite(s): Introductory coursework in Art History or Russian Studies, or permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period and individual conferences with the instructor.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: INT
|
| |
-
RUSS 235 - The Russian Classics: The Great Realists of the Nineteenth Century Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Individually designed for Russian majors and other students with some knowledge of Russian. Students in this course attend the same lectures and discussions as those in RUSS 135 , but are required to do part of the work in Russian. Charles Arndt III.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 243 - The Genius of Chekov: Theatre and Tales
1 unit(s)
Same as RUSS 143 with one additional track:
Individually designed for Russian majors and other students with sufficient knowledge of Russian. Students in this course attend the same lectures and discussions as those in RUSS 143 , but are required to do part of the work in Russian. Nikoali Firtich.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 252 - The Russian Modernists: Decadence, Revolution, and the Avant-Garde Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Individually designed for Russian majors and other students with some knowledge of Russian. Students in this course attend the same lectures and discussions as those in RUSS 152 , but are required to do part of the work in Russian. Farida Tcherkassova.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 253 - Transitions In Europe (in English)
1 unit(s)
(Same as INTL 253 and POLI 253 ) This course addresses themes such as collapse of authoritarianism, democratic consolidation, institution of ‘rule of law’, deepening of markets, break-up of nation-states, and education and collective identity formation. These themes are explored in the European and Eurasian areas, where in recent decades there have been break ups (sometimes violent other times peaceful) of former countries; as well as an unprecedented deepening of the sharing of previously national power in the peculiar entity of the European Union.
The course focuses on the political history of, and alternative explanations for changes that have taken place in the spaces of the former Soviet Union, particularly Russia, and the European Union. The course focus includes the demise of communism in the former Soviet Union; the challenges of democratic consolidation, and institution of a capitalist market economy in post-Soviet Russia; the deepening of the Single European Market and capitalism in the European Union; the state of the nation-state and democracy in the European Union; migration and citizenship; and nationalist backlashes. Leah Haus.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 272 - Beyond the Looking Glass: Nonsense and Absurd in Russian and European Literature and Visual Arts Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Individually designed for Russian majors and other students with some knowledge of Russian. Students in this course attend the same lectures and discussions as those in RUSS 172 , but are required to do part of the work in Russian. Nikolai Firtich.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods plus extra periods.
|
| |
-
RUSS 290 - Community-Engaged Learning
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Course Format: INT
|
| |
-
RUSS 298 - Independent Work
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Program to be worked out in consultation with an instructor. The department.
Course Format: OTH
|
Russian Studies: III. Advanced |
| |
-
RUSS 300 - Senior Thesis
1 unit(s)
Course Format: INT
|
| |
-
RUSS 303 - Senior Project Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
1 unit(s)
A 1-unit project done in one semester. The department.
Open only to majors and correlates.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
|
| |
-
RUSS 331 - Advanced Russian Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
A course designed to increase all aspects of Russian proficiency. Includes readings on a wide range of topics, discussion, oral reports, stylistic analysis, written assignments, and review of persistent grammatical difficulties.
Yearlong course 331/RUSS 332 .
Two 75-minute periods, plus one hour of conversational practice.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 332 - Advanced Russian Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
A course designed to increase all aspects of Russian proficiency. Includes readings on a wide range of topics, discussion, oral reports, stylistic analysis, written assignments, and review of persistent grammatical difficulties.
Yearlong course RUSS 331 /332.
Two 75-minute periods, plus one hour of conversational practice.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 370 - Russian Animation and Popular Culture
1 unit(s)
The course examines some of the most famous works of Russian animation: from the early full-length features by Ivanov-Vano to such recent blockbusters as the Bogatyri series and Ivan Tsarevich and the Grey Wolf. A special emphasis is given to the Soviet productions of the 1960s and 1980s which acquired a cult status and remain an important part of the popular culture in the Russian-speaking world. We study artistic, cultural, and linguistic contexts of the films in question. Dan Ungurianu.
Prerequisite(s): RUSS 210 /211 or the equivalent; or permission of instructor.
Two 75-minute periods
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 371 - Seminar on Russian Culture Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Advanced seminar on Russian culture. Designed for majors and students with sufficient knowledge of Russian. Charles Arndt III.
Topic for 2020/21a: Russian Rock n’ Roll Culture. This course explores the popular music culture in the USSR and Russia starting from the 1920s through current trends. Particular emphasis is given to the development of the Soviet rock scene in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s and to the ideological role of rock music during the Cold War. Nikolai Firtich.
Prerequisite(s): RUSS 210 /211 or the equivalent; or permission of the instructor.
Advanced seminar conducted in Russian.
One 3-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 373 - Seminar on Russian Literature Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Focused analysis of an author, work, theme, genre, or literary school in the nineteenth or twentieth century.
Topic for 2021/22a: Russian Literature of the Absurd. A survey of the absurdist current in Russian nineteenth and twentieth century literature, taking into account the relationship of this tradition to the religious and philosophical concepts of the time. The course involves a close reading of texts by Nikolai Gogol, the first Russian absurdist par excellence, Kozma Prutkov, a fictitious author of mind-bending aphorisms, and Vladimir Soloviev, Russia’s premier philosopher who contributed a number of notable items to the corpus of absurdist works. In the early twentieth century the absurdist mode became a prominent aspect of the Russian avant-garde, particularly in the works of such writers as Aleksei Kruchenykh and Velemir Khlebnikov, followed in the 1920s by Daniil Kharms and Aleksandr Vvedensky. Nikolai Firtich.
Prerequisite(s): RUSS 211 or permission of the instructor.
Advanced seminar conducted in Russian.
One 3-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 374 - Russian Poetry of the Silver Age Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
We read and discuss selected masterpieces from the rich poetic tradition of the turn of the twentieth century with its decadence, mysticism, apocalyptic premonitions, and tantalizing artistic finesse. Farida Tcherkassova.
Prerequisite(s): RUSS 331 or permission of the instructor.
Conducted in Russian.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
RUSS 399 - Senior Independent Work
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Program to be worked out in consultation with an instructor. The department.
Course Format: OTH
|
Sociology: I. Introductory |
| |
-
SOCI 110 - Gender, Social Problems and Social Change
1 unit(s)
(Same as AMST 110 and WMST 110 ) This course introduces students to a variety of social problems using insights from political science, sociology, and gender studies. We begin with an exploration of the sociological perspective, and how social problems are defined as such. We then examine the general issues of inequalities based on economic and employment status, racial and ethnic identity, and gender and sexual orientation. We apply these categories of analysis to problems facing the educational system and the criminal justice system. As we examine specific issues, we discuss political processes, social movements, and individual actions that people have used to address these problems.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
This class is taught at the Taconic Correctional Facility for Women to a combined class of Vassar and Taconic students.
One 3-hour period.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 111 - Social Change in South Korea Through Film Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 111 ) This course explores cultural consequences of the dramatic transformation of South Korea, in four decades, from a war-torn agrarian society to a major industrial and post-industrial society with dynamic urban centers. Despite its small territory (equivalent to the size of the state of Indiana) and relatively small population (50 million people), South Korea became one of the major economic powerhouses in the world. Such rapid economic change has been followed by its rise to a major center of the global popular cultural production. Using the medium of film, this course examines multifaceted meanings of social change, generated by the Korean War, industrialization, urbanization, and the recent process of democratization, for lives of ordinary men and women. Seungsook Moon.
Two 75-minute periods.
|
| |
-
SOCI 112 - The House is on Fire!: Climate Change, Society and Environment
1 unit(s)
This course focuses on the challenges of global climate change in the 21st century. Our central aim is to examine the foundations of the discourse on society, and environment in order to explore two questions: how do social thinkers approach the construction of the future, and how has this construction informed the present debates on societal challenges and the environment in the age of climate change? Thus, we examine how social thought informs different articulations of policy, the limits of praxis, and its contemporary construction of alternative futures. Our focus is on the policy making process as influenced by the commodities, production and consumption, and risks related to the climate change. Pinar Batur.
Open only to first-year students; satisfies the college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 151 - Introductory Sociology Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
1 unit(s)
An introduction to major concepts and various approaches necessary for cultivating sociological imagination.
Although the content of each section varies; this course may not be repeated for credit.
Topic One: Classical traditions for contemporary social issues. This section explores the significance and relevance of foundational thinkers of sociology to the understanding and analysis of contemporary social issues and problems. Examples include consumerism, teenage suicide, Occupy Wall Street, and race/ethnicity in colleges; housing, education, immigration, and childhood. Lastly, this course also examines the works of marginalized social thinkers within the classical tradition and considers why they have been silenced, erased and how they can help us to better understand many contemporary social issues. Carlos Alamo, Seungsook Moon, Eréndira Rueda.
Topic Two: Cooked! Food and Society. The flavor of this class will come from the impact of the classical debates on the current discourse of sociology, specifically debates on social problems and interpretations of our everyday life. To examine diverse and contentious voices, we will explore theoretical works with a focus on past, present and future of theory and how it reflects the transformation of society, and ask how can we propose a critical debate for our future to realize theory’s promise? Our special focus will be the challenges of food production and consumption in the 21st century. Pinar Batur.
Topic Three: Just Add Water!: Water and Society. The flow of this class will be from the impact of the classical debates on the current discourse of sociology, specifically the debate on social problems and the interpretations of our everyday life. To examine diverse and contentious voices, we will explore theoretical works with a focus on past, present and future of theory and how it reflects the transformation of society, and ask how can we propose a critical debate for our future to realize theory’s promise? Our special focus will be the challenges of water consumption and distribution in the 21st century. Pinar Batur.
Topic Four: Other Voices: Sociology from the Margins. Ideas about society that we value usually come from the European, the heterosexual, the male or the fully-abled. In this course we will examine sociological ideas from those who may be overlooked, excluded, othered, minimized or dismissed. This may include Ibn Khaldun, David Walker, Maria Stewart, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Mother Jones, Marcus Garvey, Jane Addams, Ida B. Wells, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Horace Cayton and Malcolm X. Diane Harriford.
Open only to first-year students; satisfies the college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.
Topic Five: Race/Class/Gender. An introduction to key questions, ideas, and methods used by sociologists to make sense of human interaction and the social world. We use classical and contemporary texts to uncover and examine the forces and structures outside of the individual that shape and are shaped by us. Sociology has a long history of concern with inequality; this course pays special attention to how inequalities are structured, experienced, maintained and challenged along the lines of race, class, gender and their intersections. Light Carruyo.
Topic Six: Sociology of Everyday Life. This section introduces sociology as a perspective that highlights the connections between individuals and the broader social contexts in which they live. We focus a sociological eye on the activities and routines of daily life, seeking to illuminate the social foundations of everyday behavior that we often take for granted. Reading both classical and contemporary texts, we build a sociological imagination and apply sociological theory as we focus our inquiry on issues such as the persistence of inequality, changing patterns of family life, new workplace dynamics, and the power of social networks. William Hoynes, Leonard Nevarez.
Topic Seven: Cells, Cyborgs, and Science Wars. How has the evolution of technology changed the organization of society and our understanding of identity? Do new forms of science and technology break down existing inequalities, reinforce them, or produce new forms of inequity? Is science “objective” or “socially constructed” and “politically interested”? This class awakens students’ sociological imagination by examining major sociological thinkers, perspectives, and concepts through the lens of science and technology. By using the theories of Durkheim, Marx, Weber, de Beauvoir, Bourdieu, Foucault, and other scholars to analyze contemporary scientific controversies around the globe, this course presses students to view social theory as tool for critical thinking. Contemporary topics may include debates surrounding genetic testing and manipulation, artificial intelligence and surveillance technologies, GM crops, climate science, the globalization of drug development, reproductive cell markets, the rise of robotics in manufacturing, and issues tied to pollution and environmental degradation. Abigail Coplin.
Topic Eight: Killing the Black Body. In 2016, a study revealed, In the United States, 3 out of 5 black families know of someone that has been treated unfairly by the police. In this class, we explore the historical violence committed against black bodies from the killing of Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin. We examine the killing of black bodies utilizing major theorist in the field of sociology including Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Mills, and others. Topics explored include: gender and violence, race and violence, violence as a form of social control, and blackness as a mark of criminality. We examine the long-term psychological consequences of violence against black bodies for families, communities of color, and the larger society. Ruth Thompson-Miller.
Topic Nine: Mind, Body, Soul. We tend to think of the mind, body, and soul as personal and individual, best understood through the lenses of psychology, biology, and religion. And yet, our minds, bodies, and souls are fundamentally social and cultural in so far as they are molded by institutions such as the family, church, media, economy, and state – and indeed re-shaped increasingly by technologies of medicine, communication, security, and surveillance. In this introductory course, we engage sociological perspectives to analyze: how we become self-aware, conscious subjects; how our bodies produce and consume, and how they come to bear inscriptions of class, race, gender, and sexuality; and finally how our identities and most deeply held beliefs develop and change over time. As we read classic sociological texts alongside more contemporary thinkers and popular culture, we consider topics such as the performance of online selves; genres of dystopia; food culture and politics; gender and sports; race and genetic testing; and social movements including #metoo and Black Lives Matter. In addition to classic texts by Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Simmel, DuBois, and Freud we also read works by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Octavia Butler, Barbara Ehrenreich, Judith Lorber, and Alondra Nelson among others. John Andrews.
Topic Ten: Privilege, Power, and Social Mobility. The objective of this course is to help students cultivate their sociological imagination, shifting their analytical perspective from individuals to societies, from “biographies” to “histories.” This course pairs classical and contemporary theory to explore issues of privilege, power, and social mobility. How is privilege reproduced? How is poverty an inter-generational trap? How does belief in meritocracy obfuscate structural inequalities? What would an equitable system look like? Throughout this course, students engage with classical/contemporary theorists, such as: Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Max Weber, W.E.B. Dubois, C. Wright Mills, Pierre Bourdieu, and Herbert Marcuse. Students also apply sociological theory to analyze current debates and issues. For example, during the week on privilege and education, students bring into conversation Pierre Bourdieu’s “The Forms of Capital,” Shamus’s Privilege, and Anthony Jack’s The Privileged Poor. Catherine Tan.
Topic Eleven: Classical Theories in International Contexts. If Karl Marx walked into a Foxconn factory building iPhones in central China, what would he think? Does Foucault’s theory of biopolitics help us understand post-Chernobyl Ukraine? How would Durkheim explain the nationalist and populist movements spreading around the world? What is dramaturgical analysis and does it help us understand the dynamics of sex work in Vietnam? This class awakens students’ sociological imagination by examining major sociological thinkers, perspectives, and concepts through an international lens. By using the theories of Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Goffman, Bourdieu, Foucault, and other scholars to analyze contemporary sociological problems and phenomena around the globe, this course cultivates students’ understanding of social theory as a tool for critical thinking. It presses students to take a comparative perspective in their analyses, ponder how ideas flow and practices throughout the globe, and probe whether theories developed in one context can be translated to others. Abigail Coplin.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
Sociology: II. Intermediate |
| |
-
SOCI 207 - Commercialized Childhoods
1 unit(s)
(Same as AMST 207 ) This course examines features of childhoods in the U.S. at different times and across different social contexts. The primary aims of the course are 1) to examine how we’ve come to the contemporary understanding of American childhood as a distinctive life phase and cultural construct, by reference to historical and cross-cultural examples, and 2) to recognize the diversity of childhoods that exist and the economic, geographical, political, and cultural factors that shape those experiences. Specific themes in the course examine the challenges of studying children; the social construction of childhood (how childhoods are constructed by a number of social forces, economic interests, technological determinants, cultural phenomena, discourses, etc.); processes of contemporary globalization and commodification of childhoods (children’s roles as consumers, as producers, and debates about children’s rights); as well as the intersecting dynamics of age, social class, race/ethnicity, gender, and sexuality in particular experiences of childhood.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 210 - Domestic Violence Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as WMST 210 ) This course provides a general overview of the prevalence and dynamics of domestic violence in the United States and its effects on battered women. We examine the role of the Battered Women’s Movement in both the development of societal awareness about domestic violence and in the initiation of legal sanctions against it. We also explore and discuss, both from a historical and present day perspective, ways in which our culture covertly and overtly condones the abuse of women by their intimate partners. Darlene DePorto.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 214 - Transnational Perspectives on Women and Work
1 unit(s)
(Same as LALS 214 and WMST 214 ) This class is a theoretical and empirical exploration of women’s paid and unpaid labor. We examine how women’s experiences as workers — across space, place, and time — interact with larger economic structures, historical moments, and narratives about womanhood. We pay particular attention to the ways in which race, class, gender, sexuality and citizenship intersect and shape not only women’s relationships to work and family, but to other women workers (at times very differently geopolitically situated). We are attentive to the construction of women workers, the work itself, and the meanings women give to production, reproduction, and the global economy. Light Carruyo.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2021/22
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 216 - Food, Culture, and Globalization
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 216 ) This course focuses on the political economy and the cultural politics of transnational production, distribution, and consumption of food in the world to understand the complex nature of cultural globalization and its effects on the national, ethnic, and class identities of women and men. Approaching food as material cultural commodities moving across national boundaries, this course examines the following questions. How has food in routine diet been invested with a broad range of meanings and thereby served to define and maintain collective identities of people and social relationships linked to the consumption of food? In what ways and to what extent does eating food satisfy not only basic appetite and epicurean desire, but also social needs for status and belonging? How have powerful corporate interests shaped the health and well being of a large number of people across national boundaries? What roles do symbols and social values play in the public and corporate discourse of health, nutrition, and cultural identities.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 229 - Black Intellectual History Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 229 ) This course provides an overview of black intellectual thought and an introduction to critical race theory. It offers approaches to the ways in which black thinkers from a variety of nations and periods from the nineteenth century up to black modernity engage their intellectual traditions. How have their perceptions been shaped by a variety of places? How have their traditions, histories and cultures theorized race? Critics may include Aimé Césaire, Anna Julia Cooper, W.E.B. DuBois, Frantz Fanon, Paul Gilroy, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Ida B. Wells, and Patricia Williams. Diane Harriford
|
| |
-
SOCI 232 - Accessing the Ivory Tower Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as EDUC 232 ) Since 2000, there has been a 30% increase in the number of students enrolled in colleges and universities. Over 17 million undergraduates are enrolled in an array of degree-granting institutions across the U.S., with enrollments projected to increase another 14% by 2026. But who goes to college? Focusing on the experiences of historically underrepresented students, this course examines the history of higher education’s expansion and the lived experiences of students navigating higher education. Course content that examines the expansion of access to higher education focuses on important developments at the federal, state, and institutional levels. The course covers topics such as the GI Bill®, the 1965 HEA, the formation of the community college system, key court cases that have increased access, state-level legislation (e.g., states that allow undocumented students to apply as residents of the state or make them eligible for state financial aid), and institutional policies concerning admission and financial aid. Course content that focuses on student experiences in higher education explores patterns of racial and socioeconomic stratification within higher education by accounting for students’ varying degrees of college preparedness, choice of college and course of study, campus experiences, persistence to a degree, and post-graduate trajectories. This course aims to uncover how various forms of stratification shape personal relationships with peers, faculty, and administration while in college (e.g., student-faculty relationships, peer interactions, dating, networking, satisfaction with their overall college experience, and the accessibility of higher ed administration). Eréndira Rueda.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 237 - Urban Sociology
1 unit(s)
(Same as URBS 237 ) Since the late 19th century, sociology has contributed to the historic formation and evolving agenda of urban studies. This course introduces classical sociological studies of the urban, from German sociologists like Georg Simmel to the so-called Chicago school of sociology, and their elaboration and challenge by later generations of sociologists. In many ways, traditional sociological concepts of neighborhood, stratification, deviance, and urbanism inform contemporary research on unanticipated urban phenomena, like gentrification and megacities. Elsewhere, sociologists have shaped multidisciplinary inquiries into public space, political economy, and place. We survey these disciplinary developments with added focus on the global forces and urban change visible in Poughkeepsie and the larger New York metropolitan area. Leonard Nevarez
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2021/2022.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 239 - Feeling the Present: Affect and Emotion in Contemporary Social Life Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Contrary to the Enlightenment vision of a society comprised of rational, self-contained individuals, feelings, moods, and affects in fact play a primary role in contemporary social life, affecting most everything from consumer behavior to political beliefs to the health of the economy. This course examines not only how feelings and moods are profoundly collective but also why and how these collective emotions have come to matter in contemporary culture, politics, and economy. In analysis of current and classic scholarship in the sociology of emotions, affect studies, and psychoanalysis - as well as film and popular culture - we attend to the ways in which anxiety, depression, hope, fear, rage, and other moods figure into everyday life, work, social movements, and other key sites. We consider topics including: mental health and the pharmaceutical industry; neoliberalism and financialization; the #metoo and Black Lives Matter movements; Trumpism and resurgent nationalisms globally; and emotion and social media among other topics addressed. Readings include work by Sara Ahmed, Zygmunt Bauman, Lauren Berlant, Ann Cvetkovitch, Jennifer Doyle, Sigmund Freud, Arlie Hochschild, Jack Katz, Pankaj Mishra, Fred Moten, José Munoz, Amber Musser, Sianne Ngai, and Kathleen Stewart. John Andrews.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 240 - The International Social Life of Science and Technology
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 240 ) Technological development is not “simply a matter of advances in science and technology, but a product of complex entanglements among knowledge, technical capability, politics, and culture” (Jasanoff 2005, 290). This class examines the co-production of science, politics, and society by analyzing controversies tied to science, technology, and medicine in different international contexts. Using these international cases, we examine how science and technology shape—and are shaped by—structures of inequality, social identities, state’s governance strategies, and society’s counter-movements against the state. We also use this diverse array of global examples to introduce the major theoretical frameworks used by science and technology studies scholars. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the socio-politics of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, genetic manipulation and testing, nuclear energy and meltdown, environmental disaster, reproductive technologies, the population policy construction, genetically modified crops, the globalized pharmaceutical industry, and information and communication technologies. Abby Coplin.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 245 - Making Waves: Topics in Feminist Activism
1 1 unit(s)
Prerequisite(s): WMST 130 or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 247 - Modern Social Theory: Classical Traditions Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ANTH 247 ) This course examines underlying assumptions and central concepts and arguments of European and American thinkers who contributed to the making of distinctly sociological perspectives. Readings include selections from Karl Marx, Emile Durheim, Max Weber, Georg Simmel, W.E.B. Du Bois and Erving Goffman. Thematic topics will vary from year to year. Seungsook Moon.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 252 - Health Inequalities and Activism Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 252 ) When comparing the 36 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United States spends twice the average on healthcare. However, the US ranks 28 in life expectancy, 33 in infant mortality, and last in obesity. In other words, Americans spend more on healthcare but live shorter and unhealthier lives. When examining US healthcare up close, there are significant disparities between sub-populations. For example, socioeconomic status (SES) is inversely associated with risk of disease, which means that having higher SES correlates with lower risk of disease. In the first half of this course, students investigate how race, gender, socio-economic status, and their intersections impact health disparities and inequalities. In the second half of this course, students examine collective responses to health inequalities and representation. Catherine Tan.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 253 - Children of Immigration
1 unit(s)
(Same as LALS 253 ) Immigration to the U.S. since the 1970s has been characterized by a marked and unprecedented increase in the diversity of new immigrants. Unlike the great migrations from Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s, most of the immigrants who have arrived in the U.S. in the last four decades have come from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. New immigration patterns have had a significant impact on the racial and ethnic composition and stratification of the American population, as well as the meaning of American identity itself. Immigrants and their families are also being transformed in the process, as they come into contact with various institutional contexts that can facilitate, block, and challenge the process of incorporation into the U.S. This course examines the impact of these new immigration patterns by focusing on the 16.4 million children in the U.S. who have at least one immigrant parent. Since 1990, children of immigrants - those born in the U.S. as well as those who are immigrants themselves - have doubled and have come to represent 23% of the population of minors in the U.S. In this course we study how children of immigrants are reshaping America, and how America is reshaping them, by examining key topics such as the impact of immigration on family structures, gender roles, language maintenance, academic achievement, and identity, as well as the impact that immigration reforms have had on access to higher education, employment, and political participation. This course provides an overview of the experiences of a population that is now a significant proportion of the U.S. population, yet one that is filled with contradictions, tensions and fissures and defies simple generalizations.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 254 - Research Methods Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Examines dilemmas of social inquiry. On what basis are sociological generalizations drawn? What are the ethics of social research? Course includes a critical analysis of research studies as well as an introduction to and practical experience with participant observation, interviewing, questionnaire construction, sampling, experimentation, and available data. Leonard Nevarez.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 255 - Medical Sociology Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 255 ) The objective of this course is to introduce students to the central themes and topics of medical sociology, such as: the social model of illness, the profession of medicine, medicalization, clinical gaze, experiences of illness, contested illness, diagnosis, politics of prevention, cultural health capital, and social production of health disparities. How does something become “medical”? What does it mean to be ill? How does illness impact a person’s relationships and sense of self? How might a diagnosis work to stigmatize or validate? The significance of being ill (or of possessing a diagnosis) extends beyond the medical model of health—beyond clinical understandings of causation, treatment, and prevention. Disorders and diseases are socially and culturally dynamic. During this course, students investigate the broader social context in which issues of health and illness are embedded. They also address the social structures that shape the field of medicine and how different groups of people engage with and within this field. Finally, the course examines communities that have formed around illness (such as support groups) and considers how these groups shape identity, empower, and generate knowledge. Catherine Tan.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 256 - Mass Media and Society
1 unit(s)
This course explores media as a social force, an institution, and an industry. We examine what it means to be “mediated,” including how media affects our culture, our choices, and our responses to our media filtered lives. We consider the economics of the media industry, media organization and professional socialization, and media’s influence on the political world and the global media industry. Third, we examine how media represent the social world, i.e., the role of ideology, and how meanings are produced, stereotypes maintained, and inequalities preserved. We reflect on the roles, responsibilities, and interpretive potential of artists, media producers, and media consumers. Fourth, we investigate the nature and consequences of media technology. We end the course with a series of panel presentations in which students present their semester projects.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 259 - Social Stratification
1 unit(s)
In this course we examine how social prestige and power are unequally distributed in societies of the past and present. We discuss how control of property and the means of production contribute to a system of inequality. We also analyze the role of commodities in a consumerist society and the relationship of consumption to stratification. We also discuss the concepts of class formation, class consciousness, and class struggle. Additionally, we examine how race and gender serve to contribute to stratification. Diane Harriford.
Not offered 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 261 - “The Nuclear Cage”: Environmental Theory and Nuclear Power Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ENST 261 and INTL 261 ) The central aim of this course is to explore debates about the interaction between beings, including humans, animals, plants, and the earth within the context of advanced capitalism by concentrating on the production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of nuclear power. The first question concerning the class is how does Environmental Theory approach nuclear power and its impact on the environment. The second question deals with how this construction interacts with other forms of debate regarding nuclear power, especially concentrating on the relation between science, market and the state in dealing with nature, and how citizens formulate and articulate their understanding of nuclear power through social movements. Pinar Batur.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 263 - Criminology
1 unit(s)
The course consists of a consideration of the nature and scope of criminology as well as an historical treatment of the theories of crime causation and the relation of theory to research and the treatment of the criminal.
Not offered 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 266 - Racism, Waste and Resistance
1 unit(s)
(Same as ENST 266 ) The 21st century will be defined in the dramatic consequences of the current events and movements regarding our waste: global climate change, pollution, resource depletion, contamination and extinction. One of the most striking and consistent observations is that racism plays a major role in placing waste in close proximity to those racially distinct, economically exploited and politically oppressed. This class examines the destructive global dynamics of environmental racism and resistance, as struggles against it. Pinar Batur.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 271 - Critical Approaches to Media and Popular Culture Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
From television and cinema to hip hop stars and YouTube stars to billboard ads and pop up ads, popular media is a ubiquitous facet of social and cultural life. It is also one that often seems so natural or trivial as not to warrant serious sociological analysis. The goal of this course is to introduce students to classic perspectives on popular culture and media, and to evaluate their relevance in both historical and contemporary contexts. We attend not only to the content of pop culture but also to the political economy of mass media and its relationship to other social institutions of the family, education, health care, and government. In doing so, we consider a broad range of genres including sitcoms, reality television, disaster films, professional sports, video games, podcasts, karaoke, mash-ups, and selfies as well as and the role of various axes of social difference such as race, class, gender, and sexuality. Through writing, discussion, podcasts, and presentations, students practice developing and supporting arguments regarding the role of popular culture in our lives. John Andrews.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 273 - The New Economy Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 273 ) The new economy is, in one sense, a very old concern of sociology. Since the discipline’s 19th-c. origins, sociologists have asked how changes in material production and economic relations alter the ways that people live, work, understand their lives, and relate to one another. However, current interests in the new economy center upon something new: a flexible, “just in time” mode of industry and consumerism made possible by information technologies and related organizational innovations. The logic of this new economy, as well as its consequences for society, are the subject of this course. Topics include the evolving role of technology in economic globalization; the precarity of today’s workplaces and labor markets; the question of the “creative class”; digital divides in technology access, education, and lifestyles; and the cutting edges of consumerism. Leonard Nevarez
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 285 - Reality and Impact: Systemic Racism
1 unit(s)
In the United States, as well as throughout much of the world today, people designated as “white” are the socially dominant racialized group. The highly organized system of racial oppression which maintains their privileged position is systemic racism. This course explores systemic racism as a central and enduring social structure around which the United States and other modern societies are organized and evolve. It analyzes the origin, nature, and consequences of systemic racism. Topics explored include: the sociological perspective as a way of understanding how systemic racism is organized and maintained, the meaning of “race” and “whiteness” as social facts and ideological constructions, the foundation of systemic racism in key social institutions of society, police and vigilante violence as a mechanism of racial control, welfare racism, everyday white racism, white supremacist social thought and organizations, and anti-racist movements opposed to white racial hegemony.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
|
| |
-
SOCI 291 - Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project Intensive
0.5 unit(s)
As a student in the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project Intensive, you engage with the work of The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ) at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. CRRJ conducts research and supports policy initiatives on anti-civil rights violence in the United States and other miscarriages of justice during the period 1930-1970. The CRRJ Burnham-Nobles Archive is a repository that contains cases on racially motivated homicides in the former Confederate states.
This course asks you to participate in an academic seminar for the Fall semester and conduct case research contributing to the CRRJ Burnham-Nobles Archive in the Spring semester.
SOCI 291 – Fall Semester
1) The academic seminar contextualizes the state of Alabama in terms of legal, historical, and theoretical material to help support and contextualize the work of the CRRJ case research. You visit Northeastern University School of Law to familiarize the students with the archive, receive their cases, audit law classes and talk with law students.
SOCI 292 - Spring Semester
2) You investigate CRRJ racially motivated murders of African Americans in the state of Alabama from 1930-1970. CRRJ Northeastern Law students have completed the preliminary findings and you are asked to continue case research. You have access to some law school classes, with the permission of the instructor during the break times that you are on campus and you present your findings to members of the faculty at Vassar or at Northeastern Law School.
3) You identify living relatives of the victim and coordinate interviews with them to supplement your understanding of the underlying events. Moreover, you initiate a relationship with the family and other parties of interest to explore the prospects of designing and implementing a restorative justice initiative for those who were impacted by the homicide.
4) You travel to both Northeastern University School of Law for three site visits during your Fall, Winter and Spring breaks and once to Alabama for research purposes, meeting with families and/or coordinating restorative justice efforts.
Your work helps CRRJ finalize its research on pending cases and helps situate CRRJ as an exemplar of the burgeoning potential of archival research which helps move restorative justice forward.
Prerequisite(s): Prior participation in an Introduction to Sociology, Africana Studies or American Studies course or permission of the instructor; Interest in social justice, law or journalism; An ability to work independently as well as in a group.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: INT
|
| |
-
SOCI 292 - Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project Intensive Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
As a student in the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project Intensive, you engage with the work of The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ) at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. CRRJ conducts research and supports policy initiatives on racial violence and other miscarriages of justice during the period 1930-1970 in the United States. You investigate cases of racially motivated violence against African Americans between 1930-1970 in the 12 states of the Confederacy. CRRJ Northeastern Law students complete the preliminary research of identifying the cases and you are asked to uncover the specifics of each case. To do this case research you are expected to gather some historical data on the case location, be instructed in basic archival research and work closely with law students on any other projects that may have some relationship to your project. You orally present your findings to members of the faculty at Northeastern Law School. You also identify living relatives of the victim of the violence and coordinate interviews with them to supplement your understanding of the events. Moreover, you initiate a relationship with the family and other parties of interest to explore the prospects of designing and implementing a restorative justice initiative for those who were impacted by the homicide Finally, you have access to some law school classes, with the permission of the instructor, during times you are on Northeastern’s campus. We are on Northeastern’s campus for four days in the beginning of the semester, one week during spring break. You will not miss any classes at Vassar. Your work during the Spring 2022 school year will help CRRJ finalize its research on pending cases and help situate CRRJ as an exemplar of the burgeoning potential of archival research to move restorative justice forward.
Requirements:
1. An interest in social justice, law or journalism
2. An ability to work independently
3. A high level of emotional maturity and stability Diane Harriford.
Two 60-minute periods.
Course Format: INT
|
| |
-
SOCI 294 - Liquid Urbanscape in Climate Crisis Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ENST 294 ) The cities define our possibilities of co-existence in the age of climate change. The risks that we imagine and the policies that we debate and adapt affect our tomorrow. This intensive argues that climate change is now and the need to imagine the future is more important than ever. Pinar Batur.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: INT
|
| |
|
Sociology: III. Advanced |
| |
-
SOCI 300 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)
Students electing the Senior Thesis will complete a sociological study involving research, original analysis, and a final written product of 40 - 50 pages that develops a clear and sustained argument. The Senior Thesis is a year-long process that is worth half a unit in the fall (SOCI 300) and half a unit in the spring (SOCI 301). Senior Thesis students are expected to submit an initial one page statement of intent in the spring of the junior year, highlighting their academic preparation (such as prior coursework or research experience) for their specific thesis topic. The Department.
Yearlong course 300-SOCI 301 .
Course Format: INT
|
| |
-
SOCI 301 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
Students electing the Senior Thesis will complete a sociological study involving research, original analysis, and a final written product of 40 - 50 pages that develops a clear and sustained argument. The Senior Thesis is a year-long process that is worth half a unit in the fall (SOCI 300) and half a unit in the spring (SOCI 301). Senior Thesis students are expected to submit an initial one page statement of intent in the spring of the junior year, highlighting their academic preparation (such as prior coursework or research experience) for their specific thesis topic. The Department.
Yearlong course SOCI 300 -301.
Course Format: INT
|
| |
-
SOCI 312 - Corporate Power
1 unit(s)
This seminar investigates how corporations exert power over society outside of their place in the market. We review the evolution of the corporation, from the late nineteenth century concern over “big business” to the present day of global finance, and examine competing theories and methodologies with which social researchers have explained the power of business. Topics and literatures include corporate citizenship and philanthropy, capitalist networks and organizations, the cult of the “charismatic CEO,” and the faultlines of financial capitalism revealed by the Occupy movement.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 317 - Women, Crime, and Punishment
1 unit(s)
(Same as WMST 317 ) This course begins with a comparative analysis of the involvement of men and women in crime in the United States and explanations offered for the striking variability. It proceeds by examining the exceptionally high rate of imprisonment for women in the U.S., the demographics of those who are imprisoned, the crimes they are convicted of, and the conditions under which they are confined. It deals with such issues as substance abuse problems, violence against women, medical care in prison, prison programming and efforts at rehabilitation, legal rights of inmates, and family issues, particularly the care of the children of incarcerated women. It also examines prison friendships, families, and sexualities, and post-release. The course ends with a consideration of the possibilities of a fundamental change in the current US system of crime and punishment specifically regarding women.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 321 - Feminism, Knowledge, Practice Semester Offered: Fall.
1 unit(s)
(Same as LALS 321 and WMST 321 ) How do feminist politics inform how research, pedagogy, and social action are approached? Can feminist anti-racist praxis and insights into issues of race, power and knowledge, intersecting inequalities, and human agency change the way we understand and represent the social world? We discuss several qualitative approaches used by feminists to document the social world (e.g. ethnography, discourse analysis, oral history). Additionally, we explore and engage with contemplative practices such as mediation, engaged listening, and creative-visualization. Our goal is to develop an understanding of the relationship between power, knowledge and action and to collectively envision healing forms of critical social inquiry. Light Carruyo.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 345 - Asian Sociotechnical Imaginaries
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 345 ) This seminar examines sociotechnical imaginaries in Asia, broadly construed. It investigates how science and technology have shaped—and been shaped by—particular configurations of state-society-market relations, governance strategies (and social push-back against those strategies), and sociopolitical identities at the national, group, and individual level. It examines how science and technology are co-produced with narratives not only of national and personal empowerment, but also entwined with narratives of failure and disillusionment. It also scrutinizes the role of technology—both existent and imagined—in connecting, or detaching, different Asian nations from global markets and international institutions. National contexts include China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Russia, Vietnam and Malaysia. Abigail Coplin.
One 3-hour period.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 346 - Musical Urbanism
1 unit(s)
(Same as URBS 346 ) How do cities sustain artistic milieus and cultural production? How is the urban experience represented aesthetically? What is genuinely ‘local’ about urban culture? This seminar takes these questions up through the case of 20th- and 21st-century popular music and related cultural expressions and media. We inquire into the complex and dynamic relationships between (cultural) urbanism and (spatial, economic, demographic) urbanization by examining the urban dimensions of popular music; its inspiration, production, transmission, consumption, and appreciation, as documented by social research, literary fiction, film, and sound recordings. Additionally, we investigate the complementarities and tensions of empirical, literary, and critical methods to knowing and representing the city.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 350 - Senior Project Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)
Students electing the Senior Project will complete a sociologically-informed creative project. Working with a project advisor from the Sociology faculty, students will design a project that may take the form of a film, photo essay, collection of poems, children’s book, podcast, art installation, among other possibilities. A Senior Project should include a written project statement that locates the project within its sociological context, and frames its objectives and components. The statement may take various forms, such as an author’s statement, critical introduction, an analytical preface/postscript or discussion of a theoretical framework.
The Senior Project is a year-long process that is worth half a unit in the fall (SOCI 350) and half a unit in the spring (SOCI 351). Senior Project students are expected to submit an initial one page statement of intent in the spring of junior year, highlighting their academic preparation (such as prior coursework, creative work, or technical skills) for their specific senior project. The format for delivering, archiving, or presenting the project, along with the specific components of the written project statement, will be determined in consultation with the project advisor. The Department.
350-SOCI 351 .
Course Format: INT
|
| |
-
SOCI 351 - Senior Project Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
Students electing the Senior Project will complete a sociologically-informed creative project. Working with a project advisor from the Sociology faculty, students will design a project that may take the form of a film, photo essay, collection of poems, children’s book, podcast, art installation, among other possibilities. A Senior Project should include a written project statement that locates the project within its sociological context, and frames its objectives and components. The statement may take various forms, such as an author’s statement, critical introduction, an analytical preface/postscript or discussion of a theoretical framework.
The Senior Project is a year-long process that is worth half a unit in the fall (SOCI 350) and half a unit in the spring (SOCI 351). Senior Project students are expected to submit an initial one page statement of intent in the spring of junior year, highlighting their academic preparation (such as prior coursework, creative work, or technical skills) for their specific senior project. The format for delivering, archiving, or presenting the project, along with the specific components of the written project statement, will be determined in consultation with the project advisor. The Department.
SOCI 350 -351.
Course Format: INT
|
| |
-
SOCI 356 - Culture, Commerce, and the Public Sphere
1 unit(s)
(Same as MEDS 356 ) This course examines the culture and politics of the public sphere, with an emphasis on the changing status of public spaces in contemporary societies. Drawing upon historical and current analyses, we explore such issues as the relationship between public and commercial space and the role of public discourse in democratic theory. Case studies investigate such sites as mass media, schools, shopping malls, cyberspace, libraries, and public parks in relation to questions of economic inequality, political participation, privatization, and consumer culture.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 368 - Toxic Futures: From Social Theory to Environmental Theory Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ENST 368 and INTL 368 ) The central aim of this class is to examine the foundations of the discourse on society and nature in social theory and environmental theory to explore two questions. The first question is how does social theory approach the construction of the future, and the second question is how has this construction informed the present debates on the impact of industrialization, urbanization, state-building and collective movements on the environment? In this context, the class focuses on how social theory informs different articulations of Environmental Thought and its political and epistemological fragmentation and the limits of praxis, as well as its contemporary construction of alternative futures. Pinar Batur.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 369 - Masculinities: Global Perspectives Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 369 and WMST 369 ) From a sociological perspective, gender is not only an individual identity, but also a social structure of inequality (or stratification) that shapes the workings of major institutions in society as well as personal experiences. This seminar examines meanings, rituals, and quotidian experiences of masculinities in various societies in order to illuminate their normative making and remaking as a binary and hierarchical category of gender and explore alternatives to this construction of gender. Drawing upon cross-cultural and comparative case studies, this course focuses on the following institutional sites critical to the politics of masculinities: marriage and the family, the military, business corporations, popular culture and sexuality, medicine and the body, and religion. Seungsook Moon.
Prerequisite(s): Previous coursework in Sociology or permission of the instructor.
One 3-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 371 - Fake News: Truth and Media in the Post-Fact Society Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as MEDS 371 ) The post-fact society, according to journalist Farhad Manjoo, is one in which people increasingly live in “divergent, parallel realities.” It is in the context of the post-fact society that President Donald Trump and his followers are able to decry any news that challenges his actions or worldview as “fake” and to offer up ideologically bolstering “alternative facts” in its place. While sensationalized, exaggerated, or false news is not new (think yellow journalism or tabloids like The National Inquirer), the advent of cable news, the 24-hour news cycle, and the Internet have led to the proliferation of multiple realities of fact, troubling public trust in news media and polarizing Americans politically. Drawing on media studies, the sociology of knowledge, and post-structuralist theory, this course examines the cultures of the new post-fact society including: fake news and alternative facts; news taste-makers such as Rachel Maddow and Tucker Carlson; algorithmic control of online media; conspiracy theories; and political satire. We consider questions such as: How does news media create and reinforce various political ideologies? Why do people look to news media to confirm or deny preexisting beliefs? Is journalism ever fully objective? If in fact there are multiple Truths, how do we as a society develop public trust and social solidarity? John Andrews.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 374 - Epidemic: Global Responses to Disease Outbreak and Public Health Crises Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 374 ) What is an “epidemic”? How are epidemics given social and cultural meaning? How do epidemics mobilize action? This course takes a global perspective to understand how different countries address disease outbreaks. This course approaches epidemics (and the idea of “epidemic”) as vehicles to understand the social structures and mechanisms that shape the way societies conceptualize and respond to public health crises. Students also consider factors that facilitate the construction of epidemics. For instance, Autism Spectrum Disorder prevalence has increased precipitously over the last twenty years. Autism is estimated to affect 1 in 59 children in the United States and 1 in 38 in South Korea. But is there an autism “epidemic”? What are the factors contributing to this rise? How is the term “epidemic” mobilized? And what does this achieve? How does increasing prevalence change the way societies think about autism? Students engage with sociological and public health scholarship on HIV/AIDS, Ebola, SARS, Zika, measles, autism, and opioid addiction. Catherine Tan.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 381 - Race and Popular Culture
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 381 and LALS 381 ) This seminar explores the way in which the categories of race, ethnicity, and nation are mutually constitutive with an emphasis on understanding how different social institutions and practices produce meanings about race and racial identities. Through an examination of knowledge production as well as symbolic and expressive practices, we focus on the ways in which contemporary scholars connect cultural texts to social and historical institutions. Appreciating the relationship between cultural texts and institutional frameworks, we unravel the complex ways in which the cultural practices of different social groups reinforce or challenge social relationships and structures. Finally, this seminar considers how contemporary manifestations of globalization impact and transform the linkages between race and culture as institutional and intellectual constructs.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 382 - Social Movements at the Borderlands Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as INTL 382 and LALS 382 ) This course explores border politics through the lens of social movements. We begin with an overview of the major paradigms in the study of collective behavior and social movements. This theoretical foundation helps us understand how border communities and migrants mobilize claims for social change across regional contexts. A focus on borderlands allows us to analyze the ways in which spaces shape claims, social mobilization, and identities. We also answer important practical questions about the pursuit of social justice and human rights, and through these practical questions, we address theoretical questions about citizenship and belonging in an era of globalization and increasing inequality. Alejandro Marquez.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 385 - Women, Culture, and Development
1 unit(s)
(Same as INTL 385 , LALS 385 , and WMST 385 ) This course examines the ongoing debates within development studies about how integration into the global economy is experienced by women around the world. Drawing on gender studies, cultural studies, and global political economy, we explore the multiple ways in which women struggle to secure well-being, challenge injustice, and live meaningful lives. Light Carruyo.
Not offered in 2021/22.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 386 - Ghetto Schooling Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as EDUC 386 and LALS 386 ) In twenty-first century America, the majority of students attend segregated schools. Most white students attend schools where 75% of their peers are white, while 80% of Latino students and 74% of black students attend majority non-white schools. In this course we will examine the events that led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and the 60-year struggle to make good on the promises of that ruling. The course will be divided into three parts. In part one, we will study the Brown decision as an integral element in the fight against Jim Crow laws and trace the legal history of desegregation efforts. In part two, we will focus on desegregation policies and programs that enabled the slow move toward desegregation between 1954 and the 1980s. At this point in time, integration efforts reached their peak and 44% of black students in the south attended majority-white schools. Part three of the course will focus on the dismantling of desegregation efforts that were facilitated by U.S. Supreme Court decisions beginning in the 1990s. Throughout the course we will consider the consequences of the racial isolation and concentrated poverty that characterizes segregated schooling and consider the implications of this for today’s K-12 student population, which is demographically very different than it was in the 1960s, in part due to new migration streams from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. Over the last 40 years, public schools have experienced a 28% decline in white enrollments, with increases in the number of black and Asian students, and a noteworthy 495% increase in Latino enrollments. Eréndira Rueda.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
-
SOCI 399 - Senior Independent Work
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Individual project of reading or research. May be elected during the college year or during the summer. The Department.
Special permission.
Unscheduled.
Course Format: OTH
|
Science, Technology and Society: I. Introductory |
| |
-
STS 106 - Philosophy & Contemporary Issues Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
Topic for 2021/22 a and b: Philosophy & Technology. (Same as PHIL 106 ) This course studies the origins and development of the concept of technology. Beginning with its origins in ancient Greece, we trace the concept’s development during the industrial revolution, and conclude with contemporary reflections on the philosophy of technology. We read a range of different authors, but particular attention is placed on the accounts of technology proposed by Karl Marx and Martin Heidegger. Emphasis throughout is placed upon argumentative rigor, clarity, and precision. Jamie Kelly.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
|
| |
Page: 1 <- Back 10 … 12
| 13
| 14
| 15
| 16
| 17
| 18
| 19
| 20
| 21
| 22
|
|
|
Print this Page