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College Catalog 2011-2012 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Courses
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Religious Studies |
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RELI 494 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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RELI 601 - Tutorial
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (1 Credits)
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RELI 602 - Tutorial
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (2 Credits)
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RELI 603 - Tutorial
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (3 Credits)
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RELI 604 - Tutorial
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
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RELI 611 - Independent Project
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (1 Credits)
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RELI 612 - Independent Project
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (2 Credits)
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RELI 613 - Independent Project
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (3 Credits)
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RELI 614 - Independent Project
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
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RELI 621 - Internship
A maximum of one internship may be applied toward the religious studies major. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (1 Credits)
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RELI 622 - Internship
A maximum of one internship may be applied toward the religious studies major. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (2 Credits)
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RELI 623 - Internship
A maximum of one internship may be applied toward the religious studies major. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (3 Credits)
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RELI 624 - Internship
A maximum of one internship may be applied toward the religious studies major. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (4 Credits)
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RELI 631 - Preceptorship
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. (1 Credits)
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RELI 632 - Preceptorship
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. (2 Credits)
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RELI 633 - Preceptorship
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. (3 Credits)
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RELI 634 - Preceptorship
Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. (4 Credits)
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RELI 641 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Offered every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (1 Credits)
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RELI 642 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Offered every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (2 Credits)
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RELI 643 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Offered every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (3 Credits)
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RELI 644 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Offered every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
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Russian |
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RUSS 101 - Elementary Russian I
A structured introduction to the basics of the Russian sound system and grammar, as well as speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension. Some exposure to Russian culture. For beginning students. No prerequisites. Russian language classes (unless otherwise stated) are proficiency oriented, and aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Intermediate and advanced courses are taught in Russian as much as possible. Most classes meet three times per week with an additional weekly class period devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation classes are taught by Russian native speakers.Every fall. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 102 - Elementary Russian II
Continuation of RUSS 101 ; further development of the same skills. Russian language classes (unless otherwise stated) are proficiency oriented, and aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Intermediate and advanced courses are taught in Russian as much as possible. Most classes meet three times per week with an additional weekly class period devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation classes are taught by Russian native speakers. Every spring. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 101 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of instructor. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 151 - “Things Don’t Like Me”: The Material World and Why It Matters
We all have a contentious relationship with our material reality. The blankets are tangled, the roads are icy, the colors of the walls are wrong, the sun is too hot, the universe is too big. Once our basic needs are met, why do we continue to adapt, transform, and refine our physical environment? Why and how do human beings invest objects with meaning - and at what cost to others? What is the difference between persons and things, and is the distinction as clear-cut as it seems? How do the objects that surround us shape the world of ideas, emotions, and other essential aspects of human existence? Drawing upon the insights of scholars from such fields as history, literature, anthropology, visual art, architecture, and material culture studies, we will seek answers to these questions. We will read literary texts and analyze how the authors reflect as well as imagine material reality, and how they deploy concrete objects to create meaning in their work. The course will consist of mini-lectures, class discussion, oral presentations. We will meet outside of class for film screenings and a visit to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Alternate fall semesters. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 194 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 203 - Intermediate Russian I
In the second year of Russian, students learn to operate in basic social and cultural environments. Conversational skills needed on the telephone, public transport and other daily situations, listening and reading skills such as television, newspapers and movies, and various modes of writing are studied. Russian language classes (unless otherwise stated) are proficiency oriented, and aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Intermediate and advanced courses are taught in Russian as much as possible. Most classes meet three times per week with an additional weekly class period devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation classes are taught by Russian native speakers. Every fall. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 102 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of the instructor. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 204 - Intermediate Russian II
Continuation of RUSS 203 ; further development of the same skills; added emphasis on reading and discussing simple texts. Students are usually prepared for study in Russia after they have completed Intermediate Russian II. Russian language classes (unless otherwise stated) are proficiency oriented, and aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Intermediate and advanced courses are taught in Russian as much as possible. Most classes meet three times per week with an additional weekly class period devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation classes are taught by Russian native speakers. Every spring. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 203 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of instructor. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 251 - Hussars, Hookers, Holy Fools: 19th C Russian Literature in Translation
19th-century Russian authors reflect on imperial expansion in Romantic poetry and fictions about dashing horsemen, jaded dandies, and Caucasian beauties (Pushkin, Lermontov). Realistic prose (Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Turgenev) celebrates and satirizes provincial life and glorifies the center-s power, while also showing its crushing bureaucracy, its self-destructive underground men, its poor clerks, and dens of prostitution. Writers interrogate autocracy, serfdom, incipient industrialization and women-s equality. Nihilists, Westernizers, and Slavophiles philosophize about free will, national identity, life, and death. The course concludes with Chekhov-s short stories and innovative plays. Readings include all major genres and some theory. Lectures, readings and discussions are in English. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 252 - Experiments in Living: 20th Century Russian Literature and Culture
In the twentieth century, political and artistic revolutions in Russia had repercussions far beyond its borders; we can still feel the effects to this day. How do artists respond to and shape historical events? How did writers in twentieth-century Russia transmute fear, violence, and chaos into art? In this course we will consider novels, stories, and poems, as well as paintings, music, and film reflecting upon the Bolshevik revolution, the Stalinist terror, World War II, the Thaw, {i}glasnost{ei} and {i}perestroika{ei}, and the turmoil of the post-Soviet era. We will become acquainted with major artistic trends including Symbolism, Futurism, and Socialist Realism; and observe how in each case, matters of style went hand in hand with the desire to change the world. Our readings will convey the fantastic schemes of the utopian thinkers at the turn of the century; artists’ responses to and participation in the political, scientific, and sexual experimentation of their time; and the survival of creative expression in the midst of unimaginable hardships. We will discover how and why some cultural figures chose to serve, and others to resist, the state, and what fate had in store for them. We will learn how provocateurs and innovators such as Mayakovsky, Akhmatova, Babel, Zoshchenko, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, Brodsky, Pelevin, and Tolstaya explored the relationship between art and ideology, exile and creativity, laughter and subversion, memory and survival, individual psychology and historical cataclysm. All reading will be in English. Offered in alternate years. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 255 - Fierce and Beautiful World: Russian Culture Before the Revolution
Like the legendary knight Ilya Muromets who lay still for decades, then arose and stunned the world with mighty feats, Russia is a force to be reckoned with again. In 2007, Vladimir Putin was Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. What do we know about his country, and about the people who chose him as their leader? When you think of Russia, what comes to mind? Slender birch trees or brutish bears? Do you imagine soulful wonder-working icons, finely-wrought samovars, onion-domed cathedrals, opulent palaces, folkloric lacquer boxes, whimsical nesting dolls, delicious pastries, delicate ballet dancers? Or do you picture revolutionary nihilists, vodka-soused ruffians, tyrannical tsars, masters flogging serfs, or a troika racing at breakneck speed toward an unknown destination? Only a country so vast could accommodate such contradictions. Studying Russian culture offers a way to confront the paradoxes of the human condition, in particular, the opposing yet complementary drives to create and to destroy. The great poet Tyutchev declared that “you cannot understand Russia with your mind.” In this course we’ll take his cue and approach Russia through the senses. Russian culture offers a feast for the eyes, in visual art from icons to popular prints, the work of realist painters and the pioneers of abstract art; decorative art from wood carving to Faberge eggs; churches built without nails and palaces made of ice; boisterous folk dances and the Ballets Russes. Sound, too, plays a major role in Russian culture, from church bells to balalaikas, bawdy chastushkas to Tchaikovsky. We’ll discover the cultural significance of tea-drinking, traditional foods, and most of all, alcohol. We will consider the ways in which Russian art and ideas made an indelible impression on world culture. As we examine case studies from medieval times through the end of the tsarist period, we will ask such “burning questions” as: why does art have such a privileged status in Russian society? What exactly is the Russian soul? What is Russia’s relationship to the West: does it belong to Europe, to Asia, or does it possess a unique essence and destiny? Russia embraces its duality, and this may account, in part, for the distinctiveness and the vitality of Russian culture. All readings will be in English. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 256 - Mass Culture Under Communism
Revolution to the fall of communism. For each period in Soviet history, changes in the production and consumption of culture will be considered with specific examples to be discussed. Topics dealt with in the course include the role of mass media in society, popular participation in “totalitarian” societies, culture as a political tool. Popular films, newspapers and magazines, songs, radio and TV programs, etc., will serve to analyze the policies that inspired them and the popular reactions (both loyal and dissenting) they evoked. Taught in English. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 257 - Tolstoy’s War and Peace
In 1851, a dropout from the university, Lev Tolstoy volunteered to serve in the Caucasus, where he also launched his writing career. Later he examined Napoleon’s war with Russia in War and Peace, while gradually gaining fame for his stance against imperialist wars and violence. His doctrine of non-resistance against evil was to inspire his last piece of war writing, Hadji Murad as well as other thinkers from Gandhi to Martin Luther King. Though most of the semester will be devoted to the “non-novel,” “loose baggy monster,” War and Peace we interrogate it in the context of Tolstoy’s evolving ideas and 19th century Russia and Europe. We conclude with a close reading ofHadji Murad, Harold Bloom’s “personal touchstone for the sublime prose fiction.” While pondering Tolstoy and Russia, students are introduced to various critical approaches to literature and various reactions to Tolstoy both on page and on stage. In English. Lectures, discussion, writing, and oral presentations. Alternate years, fall semester. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 261 - Making History: Russian Cinema as Testimony, Propaganda, and Art Cross-Listed as HIST 261
Through the study of Russian films starting from the silent era up to the present day, the course will explore how storytelling in cinema differs from professional history and fiction, as well as how power relations, technology, and aesthetics shaped cinematic depictions of major historical events in Russia and the Soviet Union, from medieval times to post-Soviet era. Students will view and analyze films that are among the essential Russian contributions to world cinema, by directors including Eisenstein, Tarkovsky, Mikhalkov, and Sokurov. Course readings will draw upon film theory, history, fiction, and memoirs. We will use our readings to create a conceptual framework for examining the films as documents of real events, as vehicles of proaganda, and as imaginative works of art. In addition to attending weekly film screenings and discussing the films and readings in class, stduents will give presentations on topics of their choice arranged in consultation with the instructors. Two professors will teach the course jointly, one a historian of Russia and the other a specialist in Russian literature and visual culture. Alternate spring semesters. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 265 - Translation as Cross-Cultural Communication
When communication takes place across language barriers, it raises fundamental questions about meaning, style, power relationships, and traditions. This course treats literary translation as a particularly complex form of cross-cultural interaction. Students will work on their own translations of prose or poetry while considering broader questions of translation, through critiques of existing translations, close comparisons of variant translations, and readings on cultural and theoretical aspects of literary translation. Prerequisite(s): Advanced proficiency in a second language required. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 270 - Wrongdoing in Russian Literature
The Russian word for crime literally means “overstepping,” in the sense of crossing a boundary. What happens, however, when that boundary shifts, as it did in the twentieth century with the Bolshevik Revolution? Or what if the society that defines the criminal is itself “wrong”? Throughout its history, Russian literature has returned almost obsessively to the theme of transgression. We will take a cross-cultural approach as we juxtapose Russian texts with those from other literary traditions, bringing out a similar and contrasting views of wrongdoing in Russian culture and that of “the West” against which Russia has traditionally defined itself. Readings will introduce course participants to an intellectual axe murderer, a malicious barber, a female serial killer, demonic hooligans, men pushed over the edge by classical music, and others on the wrong side of the law. Central to the course will be the question of how fiction writers present crime and how their artistic choices influence the way readers think of such seemingly self-evident oppositions as good and evil, right and wrong. We will address such themes as: the motives for and the moment of crossing over into crime; the detective as close reader/the criminal act as a work of art; gender and violence; crimes of writing; the (in)justice of punishment adn the spectacle of state power. We will explore St. Paul’s “underworld” history and how it has been reinvented as a tourist attraction. Students will be encouraged to apply ideas arising from our readings to current events, studying the means by which contemporary instances of wrongdoing (and the trials intended to make things right) are represented in the mass media, and analyzing how true-life stories are turned into allegory and myth. Offered every other year. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 272 - The Post-Soviet Sphere Cross-Listed as
The USSR’s 1991 dissolution ended one of history’s great experiments. Socialism sought to dissolve ethnicity and overcome ethnic conflict with a focus on equality. Instead it exacerbated nationalism and created-separated identities. But how? Topics include ethno-creation, control, and resistance; ethnic animosities and the USSR’s destruction; new states after 1991; “diaspora” populations beyond ethnic homelands; local rebellions; new “native” dictatorships; and recent international organizations. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 294 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 363 - Orientalism and Empire: Russia’s Literary South
Since the 18th century to the recent wars with Chechnya, contradictory views of Russian empire building have been reflected in Russian literature. Students first explore recurring Russian ideas of empire, such as “Moscow the Third Rome,” and “Eurasianism,” as well as the constructs of East/West as factors in Russian identity thinking. The course focuses on the Caucasus region, Russia’s “Oriental” south, starting with a brief history of imperial expansion into the area and concentrating on its literary expression in travelogues, Classicist and Romantic poetry, Oriental tales, short stories, and novels. We will ponder general “orientalist” imagery and stereotyping (the noble savage, the brave tribesman, the free-spirited Cossack, the sensual woman, the imperial nobleman/peasant, the government functionary, and “virgin” territory) together with ideas of nation and identity based on this specific region. We will read classics of Russian literature (Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Tsvetaeva), but also lesser known authors, some justly and others unjustly forgotten by the canon (Osnobishin, Elena Gan, Iakubovich, Rostopchina). We will supplement our literary readings with a variety of critical and historical texts, as well as films. In English. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 364 - Culture and Revolution Cross-Listed as
This course examines the relationship between cultural and political change during four very different revolutions: in France of 1789, in Russia of 1917, and the more recent events in Iran and South Africa. How do people change when governments are overturned? How do revolutions shape the consciousness of their citizens? Do people understand events as revolutionaries intend them to? To answer these questions, we will examine symbols and political ideologies, mass media outreach, education and enlistment, changing social identities, the culture of violence, popular participation and resistance, as well as other issues. Readings will include such diverse sources as Voltaire and Rousseau, Marx and Lenin, Khomeini and the Koran. We will read contemporary accounts, both sympathetic and antagonistic, and look at popular culture to see how events were understood. Fashion and etiquette, comics and caricatures, movies and plays are among the materials used. Taught in English. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 366 - Nabokov Cross-Listed as ENGL 366
The scandal surrounding Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel about the nymphet Lolita finally made him a hugely successful celebrity, allowing him to retire from teaching at Cornell University and move to Switzerland to devote himself to fiction, translation, criticism and lepidoptery. This was only one of the many metamorphoses Nabokov underwent while in exile, moving from Russia to the Crimea, Cambridge UK, Berlin, Paris, Cambridge MA, Ithaca, Hollywood, and finally Montreux. Members of the Russian nobility, the Nabokovs lost everything with the 1917 Revolution except for their immense cultural capital, which Nabokov transformed into a tremendously productive career as a writer, critic, translator and scholar in Russian, French, and English. This course examines both the Russian (in translation) and English novels. A merciful defier of national, linguistic, cultural and theoretical categories, Nabokov remains paradoxically elusive and monumental, a thrilling and exasperating genius. Alternate years, spring semester. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 367 - Dostoevsky and Gogol
Dostoevsky has had a major impact on writers and thinkers from Nietzsche to Coetzee. He himself paid tribute to Gogol’s fantastic imagination. Course readings will range from the absurdist ravings of Gogol’s madmen to the existential dilemmas of Dostoevsky’s murderers. Discussions will cover the haunted and haunting city of Petersburg, saints, prostitutes, and infernal women, holy fools and Russian Orthodoxy, as well as critical views ranging from Russian Formalists to Freud to Bakhtin’s ideas of dialogical speech. Students will explore major 19th century philosophical and cultural currents and a variety of literary movements and genres, and we will also see how our authors have been represented in other media, such as film and painting. From Gogol’s Ukrainian and Petersburg tales and Dead Souls, the readings move to Dostoevsky’s early humorous works, his major novels, and the course concludes with The Brothers Karamazov. In English. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 394 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 488 - Senior Seminar
Seminars on selected topics in Russian language, literature, or culture, designed to serve as an integrative capstone experience for majors. Recent topics are “Investigating Russian Web and Press and “The Contemporary Short Story.” Conducted in Russian. Since the topic changes from year to year, we recommend that sufficiently advanced students repeat this course. Every spring. Prerequisite(s): three years of Russian ( , followed by a semester abroad) or approval of instructor. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 494 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 601 - Tutorial
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (1 Credits)
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RUSS 602 - Tutorial
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (2 Credits)
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RUSS 603 - Tutorial
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (3 Credits)
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RUSS 604 - Tutorial
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 611 - Independent Project
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (1 Credits)
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RUSS 612 - Independent Project
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (2 Credits)
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RUSS 613 - Independent Project
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (3 Credits)
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RUSS 614 - Independent Project
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 621 - Internship
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (1 Credits)
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RUSS 622 - Internship
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (2 Credits)
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RUSS 623 - Internship
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (3 Credits)
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RUSS 624 - Internship
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 631 - Preceptorship
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. (1 Credits)
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RUSS 632 - Preceptorship
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. (2 Credits)
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RUSS 633 - Preceptorship
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. (3 Credits)
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RUSS 634 - Preceptorship
Limit to be applied toward the major will be determined in consultation with the department. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. (4 Credits)
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RUSS 641 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (1 Credits)
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RUSS 642 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (2 Credits)
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RUSS 643 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (3 Credits)
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RUSS 644 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
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Sociology |
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SOCI 110 - Introduction to Sociology
The course provides an overview of the principal concepts that have informed sociological thought and theory. Class readings, discussions, and assignments also explore substantive issues that have served as longstanding concerns of sociological inquiry. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 170 - Sociology of Work
This course will examine recent transformations in the U.S. economy - including deskilling, downsizing, and the rise of the service sector - and it will consider how each of these “transformations” relate to issues of identity, community, family formation, structural inequality and national culture. Work has changed so quickly in the last three decades that we have yet to fully comprehend the micro level consequences in our daily lives and the macro level consequences for American culture and global processes. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 175 - Sociolinguistics Cross-Listed as LING 175
Sociolinguistics is the study of the linguistic diversity. Language and culture are so closely tied that it is nearly impossible to discuss language variation without also understanding its relation to culture, and diversity in language often stands as a symbol of ethnic and social diversity. This course introduces students to the overwhelming amount of linguistic diversity in the United States and elsewhere, while at the same time making them aware of the cultural prejudices inherent in our attitude towards people who speak differently from us. The class involves analysis and discussion of the readings, setting the stage for exploration assignments, allowing students to do their own research on linguistic diversity. Two years in every three. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 180 - Sociology of Culture
When sociologists look at culture they look at things like people’s leisure activities, consumption patterns, style, membership in subcultural groups, and the arts. A common thread throughout most of these studies of culture is how social class and culture intersect. For example, how do people’s class backgrounds influence their forms of cultural expression in terms of their leisure activities, their beliefs, their personal style, or whom they want to hang out with? This course will explore these issues, focusing on class as a common theme. Specific topics include: the role of artists and people’s development of aesthetic taste in the arts; social forces that push us towards conformity or towards individualism; subcultural groups; and how people make distinctions between themselves and those who they describe as “other.” Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 190 - Criminal Behavior/Social Control
The use of imprisonment as a form of criminal punishment is only about as old at the United States. By 2003, nearly 7 million people in the United States were under correctional supervision. How should we understand the growth of this form of criminal punishment? In what ways is it similar to other methods to react to and to attempt to control unwanted behavior? What are the social impacts of these formal institutions of social control? What insights can a sociological approach offer on these questions? In this course, we examine these developments in the processes and organization of social control, with particular attention to how formal institutions of social control compare to informal social control. We study and evaluate sociological theories of criminal behavior to understand how social forces influence levels of crimes. We examine recent policies and their connections to inequality along with the processes that lead to criminalization, to determine if there is a political nature to crime control. Finally, we compare the development of formal, bureaucratic systems of social control and informal methods of social control, paying attention to the social and political implications of these developments. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 194 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 210 - Sociology of Sexuality
What is social about sexuality? Sexuality and its components (desire, pleasure, love, the body) is something more than a personal or individual characteristic. It is socially constructed. Sexuality has been configured during different historical time periods as sin, as a means of fostering alliances between powerful families, as perversion, as a means to pleasure, as a symbol of love, and as personal identity. These different sexual configurations are connected with larger social-historical trends such as the development of capitalism, the use of rationalized technologies, and the expansion of scientific-medical discourse. In this course, we explore how sexuality has been constructed through history. We examine how categories shape our understanding of sexuality such as male/female, heterosexual/homosexual/queer. We also will address issues such as child sexuality, prostitution, images of sexual minorities in the media and heteronormativity. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 220 - Sociology of Race/Ethnicity
This course explores historical and contemporary perspectives on racial and ethnic groups in American society, including African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, European Americans, and Americans of Middle Eastern descent. The goal is to develop an understanding of socio-historical forces that have shaped the lives of racial and ethnic groups in America. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 230 - Affirmative Action Policy
The course provides an introduction to US affirmative action policies in education and employment. The first section surveys the historical development of affirmative action in public schools and universities, evaluates alternative approaches to fostering diversity in higher education, and examines the most recent Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action in college admissions. The second major focus of the course is the origins and evolution of affirmative action in employment. This latter section provides an overview of the dynamics of racial and gender discrimination in employment and how affirmative action policies have endeavored to institutionalize equality of opportunity in labor markets. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 240 - Images of Women in the Middle East
This class explores women’s lives in the Middle East. Issues such as the role of women in Islam and the Middle East, their portrayal in the West, nationalism, feminism, and power and patriarchy will be emphasized. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 250 - Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit organizations are important elements of the public sphere. They are one of the principal means by which we generate, concentrate, and channel our humanitarian and civic impulses. Sociological perspectives on nonprofit organizations presented in this course combined historical and contemporary accounts of the political, economic, and culture dimensions of the third sector - the panoply of private associations devoted to public purposes. Some of the learning goals are to develop an understanding and appreciation of: - the legal frameworks that specify the permissible activities of nonprofit organizations; - the ethical dilemmas that nonprofit organizations and professionals encounter as they envisage and strive to fulfill their service mission; - theoretical scholarship aimed at explaining and justifying the diverse roles of nonprofits organizations in US society; - the historical evolution of the relationship between the nonprofit, governmental, and commercial sectors; - the challenges of governing and managing nonprofit associations; - the transformation of civic engagement in the US; - and, the day-to-day workings of nonprofit organizations through a case study based on students’ involvements with and studies of associations of their choice. Every other year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 269 - Science and Social Inquiry
This course examines and applies some of the methods of social science research by covering three main sets of topics: the broad methodological questions posed by philosophy of social science, the manners in which social scientists develop research design to generate relevant evidence, and methods with which social scientists analyze data. For both the research design and analysis sections, we will concentrate on quantitative research, learning how to use statistical software. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 270 - Interpretive Social Research
This class introduces students to the methodologies and analytic techniques of fieldwork and ethnography: participant observation, interviewing, and the use of documents. Students will read exemplary, book-length studies and will conduct an extensive field research for their final project. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 272 - Social Theories
This course provides an overview of the key concepts and theories that have informed sociological perspectives on the complex and varied dimensions of human sociability. Class readings, discussions, and assignments explore the contributions of classical and contemporary sociologists to ongoing debates over the origins and nature of the great transformation: the transition from feudal, agrarian societies to modern, industrialized ones governed by emergent nation-states. The course also examines contemporary revisions and extensions of classical theories accompanying the reconstruction of the political, economic, and cultural landscapes of modern societies in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Further, the course surveys recent trends in theoretical scholarship devoted to understanding important social issues of contemporary relevance. Every year. Prerequisite(s): one 100-level course in sociology, MCST 110 - Texts and Power: Foundations of Media and Cultural Studies , or permission of the instructor. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 275 - Comparative-Historical Sociology
The course introduces students to principles of cross-national and cross-cultural analysis. The class begins with a survey of the basic methodological orientations that distinguish various modes of analysis in the social sciences. The lectures and discussions in this section provide a general introduction to the logic of causal analysis, explore the relative strengths and weaknesses of differing methodological approaches to understanding social phenomena, and specifically, consider in greater detail the distinctive blend of theoretical, methodological, and empirical concerns that inform comparative-historical social science. The substantive topics of the course include: the Social Origins of the Modern State; the Sociology of Democracy and Authoritarianism; the Sociology of Revolution; and The Rise of the Welfare State. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 280 - Indigenous Peoples’ Movements in Global Context Cross-Listed as
During the last three decades, a global indigenous rights movement has taken shape within the United nations and other international bodies, challenging and reformulating international law and global cultural understandings of indigenous rights. The recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights in international law invokes the tensions between sovereignty and human rights, but also challenges the dominant international understandings of both principles. In this course, we examine indigenous peoples’ movements by placing them in a global context and sociologically informed theoretical framework. By beginning with a set of influential theoretical statements from social science, we will then use indigenous peoples’ movements as case studies to examine the extent to which these theoretical perspectives explain and are challenged by case studies. We will then analyze various aspects of indigenous peoples’ movements and the extent to which these aspects of the movement are shaped by global processes. Every other year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 285 - Asian American Community and Identity
This course introduces the basic issues and problems that shape the Asian American experience. The main learning objectives are: to identify and dismantle stereotypes about Asian Americans; to create a common vocabulary for describing the Asian American experience; to explore the historical and sociological foundations of Asian American community and identity; and to cultivate an appreciation of various theoretical approaches to race and ethnicity. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 290 - Islam and the West
How can we best understand the complexities of the present U.S. “War on Terrorism”? Should it be understood as a clash between two different cultural systems, one modern and democratic and the other feudal and fanatic? Or, is the violence systemic, taking a variety of forms in different parts of the globe? What role does power and inequality on a global scale have to do with it? These and many other questions will be dealt with in this course. We will trace the conflict historically to assess moments of violence and tensions and other periods of calm and symbioses. Finally, we will analyze how modernity transformed the relationship between Islam and the West, Jew and Arab, male and female, and nation/race and identity. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 294 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 301 - Language and Alienation
We are living in the midst of an “irony epidemic,” where two of the most frequently used expressions in current American English are “like” and “whatever.” Both of these are literally advertisements that words are not the real thing (at best, they are “like” it), and that they don’t matter (since “whatever” you say is equally a matter of indifference). This course takes as its point of departure the sarcasm and irony in spoken American English, and proceeds to an investigation of how the peculiar message of sarcasm (“I don’t mean this”) is conveyed in other languages, and in the media. Not surprisingly, the study of cheap talk connects intimately with aspects of pop culture. More surprising, however, is the idea that the cheapness of talk is not only a currently recognized property of our language, but that it might serve to define the very essence of human language in general and offer insights into the origins and nature of our ability to speak at all. Two years in every three. Prerequisite(s): one course in Linguistics. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 310 - Law and Society
Law is omnipresent in contemporary social life. How should we understand this development and its consequences? How does law operate to the advantage or disadvantage of various members of society? Can law be the source of significant social change? This course examines the development of a formal, legal system and the ways in which such a system connects to other parts of society. We begin by focusing on individual experiences and understandings of law and what these tell us about how law fits into the larger social order. We then evaluate explanations about the connections between social and legal development. We also consider how the “law in action” operates by examining empirical studies of legal institutions and the limits and potential of law as a source for social change. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 320 - Images of Asians and Asian Americans
The class studies the representations of Asian and Asian Americans in the U.S. The course concentrates on both classic and more contemporary feature films and written works. We will examine issues of ethnicity and national identity within larger political, economic and historical contexts. Issues of racism, gender, and interracial dynamics as social constructs will be explored. Readings, discussions and screenings emphasize the creation of new images, the representation of new groups, and the perpetuation of stereotypes as they relate to larger, international events. Alternate years. Prerequisite(s): an introductory Sociology course, or permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 335 - Family Bonds
This class focuses on the relationship between families and larger social institutions, including governments, economic institutions, and labor markets. This course also explores how various societal forces shape relationships within contemporary American families, as well as considering other historical forms and understandings of the family. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 370 - Political Sociology
What is the nature of power within society and how does it relate to the development of nation-states? This course explores the development and operation of nation-states in social context, examining how civil society and state practices are related to one another. We evaluate theories about the distribution and operation of power by examining the ways in which political decisions are made. We consider the changing nature of citizenship and how we should understand national citizenship given the development of international standards of human rights. We also pose questions about democracy: Under what conditions is democracy likely? What are the influences on democratic participation? What are democratic practices? Alternate years. Prerequisite(s): SOCI 110 or equivalent. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 394 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 480 - Senior Seminar
This senior seminar serves as the capstone experience for sociology majors. This class provides students with an opportunity to develop a synthetic understanding of their sociology course work and to conduct prospective research that may culminate in honors projects. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 494 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 611 - Independent Project
Students may explore sociological topics not covered in regular course offerings or pursue more advanced study of topics represented in the department curriculum through an independent project. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (1 Credits)
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SOCI 612 - Independent Project
Students may explore sociological topics not covered in regular course offerings or pursue more advanced study of topics represented in the department curriculum through an independent project. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (2 Credits)
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SOCI 613 - Independent Project
Students may explore sociological topics not covered in regular course offerings or pursue more advanced study of topics represented in the department curriculum through an independent project. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (3 Credits)
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SOCI 614 - Independent Project
Students may explore sociological topics not covered in regular course offerings or pursue more advanced study of topics represented in the department curriculum through an independent project. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 621 - Internship
Internships allow students to participate in an off-campus learning experience. Students may engage in internships in a variety of settings that match their academic goals, including nonprofit organizations, government, and business. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (1 Credits)
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SOCI 622 - Internship
Internships allow students to participate in an off-campus learning experience. Students may engage in internships in a variety of settings that match their academic goals, including nonprofit organizations, government, and business. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (2 Credits)
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SOCI 623 - Internship
Internships allow students to participate in an off-campus learning experience. Students may engage in internships in a variety of settings that match their academic goals, including nonprofit organizations, government, and business. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (3 Credits)
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SOCI 624 - Internship
Internships allow students to participate in an off-campus learning experience. Students may engage in internships in a variety of settings that match their academic goals, including nonprofit organizations, government, and business. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 631 - Preceptorship
Preceptors may assist faculty members organize and teach courses with an emphasis on leading discussion groups, preparing study sessions, and individual tutoring. Every semester. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. (1 Credits)
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