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Course Criteria
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3.00 Credits
Because of both its special ability to convince and its ubiquity, photography has had a major impact on the way we view the world, and particularly in our view of "the other." Just like other major forms of discourse, photography should be approached with a thoughtful and critical attitude. Some of the techniques of critical looking are different from the techniques of critical reading, but the fundamental tasks are very similar. The aim of this seminar is to help students develop an awareness of why and how photographs are such effective media of communication, and to help them develop an ability to read photographs critically. This is, of course, set within a general context of developing critical reading and writing skills. Prereq: Passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSSY, FSCC, FSNA, FSSO or FSCS. Prereq or Coreq: FSTS 100
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3.00 Credits
The purpose of this course is to explore creative problem-solving as it relates to different disciplines and types of problems and to encourage a passion for finding best solutions, not merely obvious ones. We will use and evaluate case studies of real-world projects and complex decisions, readings about creativity, firsthand accounts from creative professionals, and in-class exercises to hone strategic thinking skills. The seminar is specifically concerned with how constraints--ranging from budgets and schedules to the laws of physics--can encourage, rather than inhibit, creative solutions. But we will also consider general questions about the process and psychology of problem-solving. Areas of investigation will include steps in establishing problem scope and defining and recognizing successful solutions; the dynamics of group versus individual problem-solving; and strategies for communicating complex ideas to teammates and leading the creative process. Students will be expected to participate actively in shaping class discussions and activities. Prereq: Passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSSY, FSCC, FSNA, FSSO or FSCS. Prereq or Coreq: FSTS 100
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3.00 Credits
Following the interregnum in England, William Shakespeare began a long, sustained trajectory as a cultural icon, first in England, but eventually among all English-speaking cultures. In the process, Shakespeare's works have been reinterpreted, adapted, re-contexted, commoditized, and re-purposed for the sake of art, educational relevance, and entertainment. In the process, Shakespeare has often become the tool of unabashed commercialism, a practice which has come to be known as "Shakesploitation." But why is Shakespeare's work so frequently purloined? Why are out of context references to him so ubiquitous? Why do people tend to equate the name of Shakespeare with qualities of genius? Why have his works been continually adapted (often shamelessly) not only for the stage, but into other genres, including operas, paintings, novels and films? How do we account for the proliferation of Shakespeare-based self-help books such as Shakespeare on Leadership? Why is the infant stimulation video Baby Shakespeare a best-seller? This course will explore these questions not only by reading a selection of Shakespeare's most enduring works, but also by examining criticism, adaptations, and marketing strategies that have been applied to Shakespeare's image and works over the last four centuries. Prereq: Passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSSY, FSCC, FSNA, FSSO or FSCS. Prereq or Coreq: FSTS 100
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3.00 Credits
"Puzzled" will look at the practice of puzzle making and puzzle-solving and explore the meaning of puzzles for different cultures throughout history. We will read works from the disciplines of math, history, anthropology, philosophy, and literature. We will explore why certain types of puzzles became popular and how puzzles have transferred from one culture to another. We will examine the role of code writing and code-breaking in the military and in the world of business. We will read examples of fiction and watch films that adopt the form of the puzzle as a narrative device. We will think about the function of puzzles as instruments to exercise the faculties of reason and logic and as a means of leisure or pleasant distraction. Students will be asked to both solve and create puzzles over the course of the semester. They will write analytical essays on topics related to the practice and history of puzzle making and puzzle solving, and they will pursue a research topic that revolves around an issue or problem that has "puzzled" them. Prereq: Passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSSY, FSCC, FSNA, FSSO or FSCS. Prereq or Coreq: FSTS 100
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3.00 Credits
The great number of food-related TV-shows indicate an unprecedented interest in questions about and fascination with food; in fact, these TV shows allure viewers with the appeal of a myth: eating involves discovery (Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, On the Road Again with Mario Batali, Planet Food), thrill (Bizarre Foods), or "supernatural" competition (Man vs. Food, Top Chef). These television shows and food-related writings that accompany them in earnest "worship" food and often promote ideas of multiculturalism by which exciting and novel locales, foods, and meal preparatory techniques are discovered. The objective of this course is to "indulge" in these shows and food writings and scrutinize them: What explains such fascination with the viewing of and reading about food? In what ways can food-exploration trips expand on ideas and critiques of multiculturalism and globalization? What explains the centrality and "mythical" nature of food in the twenty-first century? To begin these conversations, we will touch on a plethora of food writing works including works motivated by environmental and health concerns such as Michael Pollan's essays. Then we look at the world of cookbooks (including the cookbooks of Julia Child and Rachel Ray), food blogs and TV-shows, and essays by Bill Buford and Calvin Trillin among many others. Prereq: Passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSSY, FSCC, FSNA, FSSO or FSCS. Prereq or Coreq: FSTS 100
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3.00 Credits
Literary journalism is a genre of nonfiction writing that employs all of the reportorial and truth-telling covenants of traditional journalism, while employing rhetorical and storytelling techniques more commonly associated with fiction. In short, it is journalism as literature. This course will introduce you to major themes in American literary journalism, the genre's representative writers, and the enduring questions of the field. For example, we will ask how these stories work as narratives, as scientific explanations, as political tools, and as entertainment. How do these categories overlap? How do they motivate us to act? Where are these stories published and who is the readership? How do historical and cultural contexts influence and appear in the works? What is the relationship between (literary) journalism and democracy? What is the relationship between form and content? Is there a difference between physical truth and emotional truth? In the process of answering these questions, this course will emphasize close reading, interdisciplinary thinking, and the writing process. Through reading assignments, class discussions and presentations, and paper writing we will have the opportunity to examine, analyze, and develop our own interpretations about these multifaceted writings and the diverse cultural experiences and meanings they chronicle. Prereq: Passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSSY, FSCC, FSNA, FSSO or FSCS. Prereq or Coreq: FSTS 100
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3.00 Credits
Shadows flicker across the screen, drawing us back to the precursors of the cinema and forward to digital effects. To borrow Gorki's phrase, the cinema is truly a "train of shadows." This course focuses on interactions between shadow theatre, dance, visual arts, the cinema, and traditional forms of play. While the main focus is on traditional artistic forms, we also explore modern variants, including the use of shadows in contemporary photography. We will look at shadows in different (yet overlapping) contexts, and compare the effects of still and moving shadows. All of these contexts involve moments of narrative and silence. Through a series of short papers which will be integrated into a longer paper, each student will explore his/her approach to a central question: What does it mean to play with shadows? Prereq: Passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSSY, FSCC, FSNA, FSSO or FSCS. Prereq or Coreq: FSTS 100
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3.00 Credits
This seminar will explore the dynamic meanings of modern and contemporary urban environments through visual representation. What does a city look like? As great complex entities of constant change, we will see that cities have been portrayed in a myriad of ways. What social ideals have engaged the vision of architects, urban planners, and landscape designers in the making of the metropolis since the late 19th century? How have artists interpreted major cities as sites of modernity, technological advancement, civilization and cultural vanguard; or, in contrast as sites of failed experiment? How can forms of representation help us envision the entirety of urban spaces of diverse geographies, including typically un-aesthetic forms of fringe areas, the abandoned zones of prior use, and infrastructures? What recent developments in convergent media might be employed as catalyst for achieving an enhanced understanding of the interrelationship of urban structures, spaces, and human need? Our chief objective is to begin to comprehend the enormity of these questions. Thus, we will view and discuss selected examples of architecture, design, art, photography, film and video, in essence sampling the roles they have played in the process of conceiving and imagining the design and significance of cities. Our examination of visual material will be organized over the course of the semester according to three major overlapping themes: the utopian and visionary city, the visual culture of cities, and the emerging city. The methods by which we will seek to interpret the visual component of our studies in the three categories will be adapted from the perspectives of visual culture, urban studies, urban design and landscape urbanism, and architectural history. Prereq: Passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSSY, FSCC, FSNA, FSSO or FSCS. Prereq or Coreq: FSTS 100
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3.00 Credits
Fantasy novels and films can be philosophical catalysts. One can read philosophical arguments and debate ethical and epistemological issues. Or, one can become immersed in a work of art and imagination that presents a fiction expressing the same profound human issues. Such a work dramatizes philosophical debates and conflicts, and hurls readers and viewers into poignant, gripping, suspenseful, horrific, or beautiful stories that convey those very same struggles with truth and morality. Indeed, while many philosophical works are inaccessible to everyone but those with a specialized vocabulary (or prescient ability to discern tortured language), literary and cinematic works actually stimulate a different part of the brain. The ideas are conveyed and processed differently, and this is why works of fiction can have such poignant and lasting effects on the emotions, provoke us to meditate on the grave and constant in human sufferings, and revisit those works as we relive our own struggles with truth, morality, love, identity, conflict, violence, and death. In this course students will read short works of fiction and philosophy, and watch films that delve into philosophical issues. These include selections from The Seventh Seal, Dr. Strangelove, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek, Futurama, House, M.D., True Blood, Dexter, Woman in the Dunes, The Denial of Death, The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons, Death's Dream Kingdom, Thus Spake Zarathustra, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, Serial Killers and Philosophy, and The Bhagavad Gita. Students who have taken USSO 286W for credit may not take this course. Prereq: Passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSSY, FSCC, FSNA, FSSO or FSCS. Prereq or Coreq: FSTS 100
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3.00 Credits
This course introduces women and men students to the methods and concepts of gender studies, women's studies, and feminist theory. An interdisciplinary course, it covers approaches used in literary criticism, history, philosophy, political science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, film studies, cultural studies, art history, and religion. It is the required introductory course for students taking the women's and gender studies major. Offered as ENGL 270, HSTY 270, PHIL 270, RLGN 270, SOCI 201, and WGST 201. Prereq: ENGL 150 or passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSCC, FSNA, FSSO, FSSY, FSTS, FSCS.
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