Christ College sophomores, juniors, and seniors are required to register for the course and expected to attend each gathering except in the case of a course conflict.  Presentations and discussions of topics of special interest to members of the Christ College community. Only Christ College students may register, but all students are welcome to attend.

215: The Christian Tradition  Cr. 3

Section A:         MWF         9:05-9:55          Ms. Bunge
Section C:         MWF         11:50-12:40      Mr. Stewart

(Fulfills THEO 200 requirement.)

This course will introduce students to central developments in the history of the Christian tradition and to the nature and purpose of Christian theology. It will also encourage students to practice developing a "working theology" by examining primary texts in the Christian intellectual and spiritual tradition. This work will be reflected in three short papers and one longer research paper. Readings include selections from the Bible, Chrysostom, St. Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as well as selected writings by other classical and contemporary theologians.

The course aims at improving the student's 1) knowledge of Christian theological and practical traditions; 2) ability to read theological texts closely and to think critically about them; and 3) integration and expression, oral and written, of critical reflection on the readings. 

255:  Interpretation: Self, Culture, and Society  Cr. 4

Section A:            TR                        11:50-1:05                   Mr. MacFarlane
Section B:            TR                          1:20-2:35                   Mr. Creech
Plenary:                  R                          7:45-8:45 p.m. for all sections.

 (Partially fulfills the Social Sciences requirement.)

This course introduces students to fundamental issues in the theory and practice of interpreting our lives as individuals and as a community.  The course will draw its theoretical emphases from major figures in the human sciences that might include Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Clifford Geertz, Emile Durkheim, and Michel Foucault.  The course will not, however, simply consider and examine social and cultural theory in the abstract but rather show how it can be applied to historical and contemporary phenomena.  This will be approached primarily by reading historical and other texts that incorporate these theorists into tangible settings, and by practicing the craft of cultural and social interpretation ourselves.  The primary assignments, along with weekly discussion, might vary, but typically include sets of papers, usually  two to three individual papers of approximately 2-4 pages, 1 longer paper of approximately 10 pages, and one collaborative research project.  An additional plenary hour will be spent each week viewing films, listening to lectures, or participating in research projects and presentations.

300AX:  The Scientific Endeavor  Cr. 3

Mr. Zygmunt       MWF       11:50-12:40

One of this course's primary objectives is to help you better understand the character, scope, and limitations of the scientific endeavor, particularly in your own discipline.  Readings, class discussions, and writing assignments will help you move beyond simplistic notions of the so-called "scientific method" which often bear little resemblance to the way science actually works in the real world.

The course will contain presentations of various philosophical schools of thought along with specific historical examples.  By examining a series of case histories of scientific work, we will better be able to understand how scientific choices are made, and what factors influence such choices.  We will try to better understand how competing ideas, models, and theories are formulated and rise to acceptance in the scientific community.  We will also examine the factors that lead to their demise.  These studies will illustrate that science is a very human endeavor and is strongly influenced both by human abilities and limitations.

A fundamental assumption is that science is basically an honest endeavor seeking to discover the truth about the natural world.  Yet in view of our role as human observers and participants and the competition for research funding and results, how do we maintain our objectivity and integrity?  And how does the scientific community deal with cases of carelessness, mistakes, and outright misconduct?  These and other ethical issues will be considered in our discussions. 

It is natural to explore the connections between the scientific endeavor and our own personal lives.  What are our motives and desires for learning more about the natural world?  How does science influence and interact with our various faith commitments?  What moral issues arise due to our involvement in and benefit from scientific developments?  We will discuss these issues in an attempt to develop as whole persons whose lives have increasing coherence and unity.

Texts for this course will include The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn, Science and Its Limits by Del Ratzsch, The Double Helix by James Watson, and One World by John Polkinghorne.  Students will take two in-class exams and a final exam.  They will also be expected to submit frequent one-page written responses to assigned readings.  Students will write a 10-15 page paper analyzing an episode in the history of science of their own choosing, and will also write a 5-8 page personal essay reflecting on their motivations for pursuing a scientific career and possible tensions and conflicts between their professional and personal lives. 

300BX:  Mozart: The Man, the Operas, the Enlightenment  Cr. 3 

Ms. Ferguson       MWF         12:55-1:45

If Mozart’s main themes are the critique of power, the protest against injustice, and the safeguarding of innocence, his main question is “How do we make things right?” . . . These operas try to make things right by bringing to bear every conceivable strategy of evasion and confrontation, opposing power with beauty, innocence, cunning, protest, evasion, irony, and carnivalesque inversion, and finally. . .by adapting the central formula of reconciliation. — Maynard Solomon

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) remains a figure of fascination in western culture.  His youth, famously spent as a performing prodigy—cultivated in a hyper-functional and other times, entirely dysfunctional, family—combined with his death at thirty-five tends to mark him as “eternally young.”  Yet his extraordinary musical and mental powers conjoined with his wisdom and humanity produced works of great maturity and insight into his time and beyond it.  The seminar will explore Mozart’s time and his music, considering among other things, the phenomenon of the “child prodigy;” familial, romantic, and power relationships as played out in his life and in his operas; cultural life and artistic patronage in Hapsburg, Vienna, and Prague; travel and letter-writing in the late 18^th century; and the coexistence of the worldly and the divine as embodied in the work and words of this most classic of classical composers.

Musical works studied will be primarily, but not exclusively, operatic.  Students are required to attend one of five performances of the campus production of Mozart’s 1791 opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute).  It is understood that some class members may be members of the cast, orchestra, or crew; if so, those students will bring their artistic perspectives as participants into the class study of this work.  Paper and report topics will vary (analytical, historical, cultural, or critical/literary) according to students’ interests and technical music knowledge.   Students who are not music majors will not be expected to engage in analytical work of musical scores. Teams of students will present reports and “previews” of opera excerpts to be viewed in class.  Individual students will prepare individual research papers to be presented in class towards the end of the course. 

Common readings will include:

Branscombe, Peter.  Die Zauberflöte (Cambridge Opera Handbooks).  Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Glover, Jane.  Mozart’s Women: The  Man, the Music, and the Loves of His Life.  Harper Collins, 2006.
Schroeder, David.  Mozart in Revolt: Strategies of Resistance, Mischief and Deception.  Yale University Press, 1999.
Till, Nicholas.  Mozart and the Enlightenment: Truth, Virtue, and Beauty in Mozart’s Operas.  Norton, 1993.

And selections from writings by David Cairns, Wye Allanbrook, and Maynard Solomon, as well as selections from the collected correspondence of the Mozart family.

300CX:  Woolf and Mansfield  Cr. 3 

Ms. Johnson   MWF    11:50-12:40

In an August 1917 letter to Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield wrote, “We have got the same job, Virginia, & it is really very curious & thrilling that we should both, quite apart from each other, be after so very nearly the same thing.  We are, you know; there’s no denying it.”  In this seminar, we will examine the works of these two fiction writers at the heart of British modernism, guided by Mansfield’s observation here of their similar commitments as well as by her intimation of their underlying ambivalence toward one another. 

As key literary figures of the first few decades of the twentieth century, Woolf and Mansfield helped establish a new form for fiction—one that sought a psychological realism quite different from nineteenth-century social realism and that merged various experimental techniques.  In this seminar, we will not only consider their aesthetic innovations but will also explore political questions, such as how gender and class affect artistry, and how imperialism and war affect the human spirit; historical questions, such as what roles tradition and the past play in the present, both for relationships and for art; and philosophical questions, such as where meaning can be found in an age of skepticism.  As we wrestle with such questions, we will pay attention also to how earlier readers have responded to these textual concerns and how Woolf’s and Mansfield’s positions within the larger modernist project have shifted over time. 

Our reading will include a generous selection of Mansfield’s short stories and of Woolf’s novels, short stories, and nonfiction essays. 

Assignments will include regular short critical analyses, discussion leadership, a midterm essay, and a final research paper with corresponding presentation.

Texts may include:
Katherine Mansfield, Selected Stories.
Virginia Woolf, A Haunted House and Other Short Stories, Jacob’s Room, Mrs. Dalloway, A Room of One’s Own, To the Lighthouse, The Waves and Between the Acts.

300DX:  The Psychology of Religious Experience   Cr. 3 

Mr. Nelson    TR    2:50-4:05

At the heart of every great religious tradition stands the personal experience of members and founders who have sought to build relationships with God.  This seminar will explore how the resources offered by psychology may help us understand this experience and the meaning it has for us.

The course will be divided into three segments.  During Part I we will examine various psychological approaches to religious experience, such as the pragmatic view of William James and the phenomenological tradition of scholars like Rudolf Otto.  Empirical research on religious experience by scholars such as Ralph Hood will be considered in the context of these theories.  Part II will involve examining the religious experience of some great Christian writers and thinkers including Martin Luther, Teresa of Avila and Thomas Merton.  In Part III, each participant in the seminar will select a favorite religious figure and lead part of a class session analyzing their religious experience.

Attention to reading assignments and active participation in discussion is expected.  Along with short written responses to texts, two major projects will be required.  During the first part of the class, each participant will be asked to construct their own theory of religious experience and articulate this in a paper.  A final paper and oral presentation will follow later in the semester that involves discussion of your selected figure.

Required Texts may include:          
Jim Nelson, Psychology, Religion and Spirituality.
William James, Varieties of Religious Experience.
Teresa of Avila, The Life of Teresa of Jesus:  The Autobiography of Teresa of Avila.
Thomas Merton, The Inner Experience.
Fraser Watts & Mark Williams, The Psychology of Religious Knowing.

300EX: Gospel of John in Early Christianity  Cr. 3 

Mr. Stewart     TR    2:50-4:05

The Gospel of John is one of the most well-known and beloved books of the Christian Bible; yet, even the most casual reader will note that its stories, imagery, ordering of events, and style are radically different from the other canonical gospels. Early Christians recognized this difference as well, yet they not only accepted the gospel into the canon, they also gave it more attention than any other biblical book. So prized was the fourth gospel that the early church deemed it the “spiritual gospel” and likened it to an “eagle” which could soar to great theological heights, even looking into the blinding sun itself. As a result, a wealth of interpretive tradition on the Gospel of John developed over the first millennium of Christian history—from commentaries and homilies to early Christian art reflecting the stories and themes of this beloved text.

 This seminar will introduce students to the reception and interpretation of the Gospel of John in the first thousand years of Christian history. We will address three central questions surrounding the fourth gospel in the early church: 1) why and how was a gospel of such a different style and content received into the Christian canon? 2) how did Christians in the first millennium approach the John’s gospel and what meaning did they draw from its pages? 3) Finally, in what ways did the stories and themes of the Gospel of John inspire expressions of Christian art in the first thousand years?

 Class sessions will consist of instructor presentations and group discussions. In addition to periodic explorations of early Christian art related to the fourth gospel, the majority of readings will come from ancient Christian commentaries and homilies from such figures as Augustine of Hippo, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria and Gregory the Great. Students will be responsible for active participation in class discussions, an in-class presentation, group work, and a final paper on a topic of their own choosing.

300FX:  Idea of the American West  Cr. 3

Mr. Kilpinen   MWF    2:00-2:50

North America exhibits a vibrant range of regional variations, giving us such recognizable areas as New England, the South, and the Midwest.  While each of these regions has a storied history and distinct identity, perhaps none approaches the West in importance in the American mind over the last two hundred years.  Everyone’s mental map has a place for the West, with a host of associated images.  In this course, we will explore the idea of the West, assessing the way the region’s history and geography have affected the boundary between the real and mythic in western art and photography, including the works of artists like George Catlin, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, and William H. Jackson.  In the process, you will be challenged to assess critically your own views of the region and its history.

Readings for the course will include:
Hausladen, Gary, ed. Western places, American myths:  how we think about the West. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2003.
Murdoch, David H. The American West:  the invention of a myth. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2001.
Cronon, William, George A. Miles, and Jay Gitlin, eds. Under an open sky: rethinking America's Western past. New York:  W.W. Norton, 1992. (selected chapters)
Goetzmann, William H., Joseph C. Porter, and David C. Hunt. The West as romantic horizon. Omaha, Neb: Center for Western Studies, Joslyn Art Museum, 1981. (selected chapter)
Prown, Jules David. Discovered lands, invented pasts: transforming visions of the American West. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992. (selected chapters)

Other selected articles and chapters.

Assignments will include three 3-5 page essays and an 8-10 page term paper on a topic of the student’s choice within our broad western theme.

300GX:  Forgiveness  Cr. 3 

Ms. Karin Fransen   MWF   2:00-2:50

We are familiar with forgiveness as something we ask from and grant to each other.  But what are we doing in granting and receiving forgiveness?  How best can we understand what forgiveness is and does?  This course will be a philosophical exploration of the concept of forgiveness.  We will consider questions like the following:  What is forgiveness and how is it related to other concepts like excuse, justification, or condonation?  What is the connection between forgiveness and repentance?  Between forgiveness and reconciliation?  Is forgiveness best understood as a remedy to the forgiver’s negative attitudes toward the offender or to the offender’s guilt?  Do we have an obligation to forgive those who offend against us?  The course will focus primarily on forgiveness as it occurs between individual human persons, but we will also consider in what sense groups can forgive and how we might think about the relationship between human and divine forgiveness.   

Students will be expected to be active participants in each class meeting, to lead seminar discussion at least once, and to write two short (5 page) papers and one longer (12-15 page) paper. 

300HX:  Studies in the Classical Drama  Cr. 3

Ms. Taraskiewicz    MWF      12:55-1:45

There are many valid reasons to study ancient Athenian theater.  Some historical: How did the poets of democratic Athens use their mythological tradition to explore the conflicts of their new form of government?  Some psychological: How did these same poets present the central conflicts of the human experience?  But perhaps the most intriguing question from our 21^st  century perspective is:  how did the Athenians make the Theater of Dionysus on the south slope of their Acropolis a testing ground for all the salient issues of contemporary life? 

Paul Cartledge, in his essay, “Deep Plays: Theater as Process in Greek Civic Life,” draws attention to the remarkably integrated nature of the Athenian dramatic festivals:

Athenian tragic drama did not have merely a political background, a passive setting within the polis, or the city of the Athenians.  Tragedy rather was itself an active ingredient, and a major one, of the political foreground, featuring in the everyday consciousness and even the nocturnal dreams of the Athenian citizen. (1997: 3).

 In Athens between roughly 500-392 BC we see an artistic form arise and fade that has not since been repeated: a civic ritual which fused political, social, and religious exploration without reducing that exploration to political dogmas or religious bromides.  

We who get our government, church, entertainment, and psychoanalysis from rigorously segregated sources might well wonder how such civic process was possible.  By exploring the social conditions that gave rise to Athenian “Theatrocracy,” along with how its three great tragic poets, (and one equally great comedian) explored the tensions that arose in this fascinating 100 year period, we will consider the nature of this vigorous social form, what sustained it, what eroded it, and finally, whether it has anything to teach us now. 

Course work will include weekly short writing assignments, and a final 15-20 page paper on a topic of the student’s interest. 

Texts may include:
Aeschylus.  Persians. Oresteia.
Sophocles.  Oedipus Tyrannus.  Antigone.  Oedipus at Colonus.  Electra.  Philoctetes.
Euripides.  Iphigenia in Aulis.  Trojan Women.  Electra.  Medea.  Bacchae.
Aristophanes. Lysistrata. Clouds.  Frogs.            

300IX:  Classical Chinese Poetry  Cr. 3 

Mr. Ridgway   TR   2:00-3:15

This course offers an introduction to classical Chinese poetry from its beginnings (ca. 1000-500 BCE) to the Song dynasty (960-1279) in a discussion-based seminar.  Our goals will be to read, understand, and write about some of the landmark works of classical Chinese literature and to familiarize ourselves with key genres of poetry (the fu prose poem, shi poetry and ci or song lyrics) and the major writers who have had an enduring impact on the Chinese cultural tradition.  Students will learn how to read closely and intensively and how to analyze each work in terms of its formal conventions, its general historical context, and its relation to other forms or to other individual pieces.  We will also explore a number of topics related to Chinese poetry, such as the gradual synthesis of folk and elite poetic forms, the relationship between self and nature in philosophically-inspired poetry, and the place and problem of women’s poetry in a male-dominated society.

Our class will be conducted seminar style and as such will be devoted to an active exchange of ideas about assigned readings.  On class days when a new genre or author is being introduced, I will spend some time at the beginning of class introducing relevant historical and cultural background information. I will also frequently ask students to summarize points from the background reading for the day.  On the whole, the course will be characterized by in-class, student-centered discussions and close readings. 

Students will work on three kinds of writing assignments in this class to help them develop their analytical and persuasive writing abilities: 1) Weekly submission of “question and issue” response papers;  2) Three “short” papers of four-to-six pages; and 3) One “long” research paper of twelve-to-fifteen pages. All students, undergraduate and graduate, are welcome to come and enjoy the beauty and diversity of classical Chinese literary voices and poetic sensibilities while building a foundation for potential future work on Chinese culture.  All primary texts are in English translation and no Chinese language background is required.  A one-credit directed reading group class will be available for those students interested in reading selections of Chinese poetry in the original classical Chinese.

325A: Character and Destiny  Cr. 3-4

Mr. Schwehn   TR    2:50-4:05

We will study two classics in this course, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and Tolstoy's War and Peace.  In addition, we will read one contemporary interpretation of Aristotle and another of Tolstoy.  We will use these texts to think through and discuss together questions such as these:  What makes for a significant human life?  Is there such a thing as genuine nobility, or does our sense of nobility change depending upon culture and context? How should we relate to our parents, our friends, our communities?  Are human beings free to create the lives that they wish for themselves?  Or are human beings shaped and moved completely by historical and social forces that are utterly beyond their control?    

Each and every student will "adopt" one of the principal four characters in War and Peace and then use their skills in thinking about virtue and vice to study this particular character in considerable depth.  All students will write at least two papers.  In addition, there will be a re-write option, two panel presentations, and a final examination.

325B&C:  Inventing the Body Cr. 3-4 

Mr Olmsted        MF   11:50-1:05
                           MF 3:05-4:20

This course will introduce students to important modern and postmodern attitudes and practices focused on the human body. The course begins with an examination of young adult women’s “body practices,” then looks at male sexuality and concludes with a scrutiny of the process of dying. Our concerns will range over current discourses about eating disorders, virginity, clothing styles, body images, intergenerational mentoring, pornography, bisexuality, circumcision, domestic violence, AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease and other topics. The connecting theme among these different topics is the “invented” aspect of not only discourse about the body but our actual experience of it.

As even the briefest survey of body practices indicates, they vary enormously over different time periods, from one culture to another, between generations, among different races and ethnicities, from one religious group to another, etc. Thus, to cite one example, “French kissing” is unfavorably regarded by most French people while one Brazilian tribe regards kissing of any kind as “a disgusting practice that contaminates the mouth” (Kimmel 68). Despite these differences, however, the “invented” quality of bodily practices does not mean that they cannot operate with coercive power. Thus, “inventions” may seem arbitrary in terms of their origins but can function in compulsory ways. Our task will be to understand how the body came to be invented and in what ways the invented body serves us usefully or, contrarily, is in need of re-invention.

Requirements:  In addition to regular attendance, the course requires three papers of four to six pages in length. The first two papers may, with the instructor’s permission, be rewritten in the event of a grade of B or lower; rewrites must be completed within two weeks and will be returned without comment. Written work should observe the Honor Code and sources, including Internet sources, must be indicated. Good participation in class discussions will have a positive effect on the final grade. I encourage the taking of class notes and keeping a journal that records your impressions of the readings—this habit makes it easier to prepare for discussion and to begin the paper-writing process.

Students who opt to write a Senior Honors Thesis will not be required to write the third paper. A rough draft of approximately ten pages will be due at the beginning of the twelfth week of class.

Texts may include:           
Brumberg, The Body Project.
Hornbacher, Wasted.
Nuland, How We Die.
Pascoe, Dude, You’re a Fag.

325DX:  Japanese Visual Culture  Cr. 3-4 

Ms. Prough   MWF    12:55-1:45

Geisha and samurai, woodblock prints and animated films—we are all familiar with certain aspects of Japanese visual culture. This seminar aims at developing a visual literacy and historical understanding of several key elements of Japanese visual culture.  We will examine the articulation and re-articulation of these themes across contemporary Japanese history and then turn to the ways that they have been (re)presented here in the US. Examining both Japanese and American depictions of geisha and samurai (in art, print, and film); Japanese theater and martial arts; Hello Kitty, Pokemon and the commercialization of cute; the global popularity of anime; and the work of contemporary artists Murakami Takeshi and Nara Yoshitomo we will ask questions about the relationship between representation and culture on both sides of the Pacific.

Readings will include (but are not limited to):
Brehm, M., Ed. The Japanese Experience: Inevitable. Germany: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2002.
Chikamatsu. Donald Keene, Trans. Chushingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers): A Puppet Play (Paperback). New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1997.
Dalby, L. Geisha. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
Napier, Susan. From Impressionism to Anime. New York: Palgrave, 2007.

325EX:  St. Augustine  Cr. 3-4 

Mr. Huelin    MWF     12:55-1:45

At once guardian and shaper of Christian orthodoxy in the West, Augustine remains one of the most prolific, interdisciplinary, and influential writers in the Western intellectual tradition. His 109 works span such topics as aesthetics, education, ethics, metaphysics, music, and political philosophy, as well as theology. Given Augustine’s various roles in the church throughout his life (catechumen, layman, deacon, priest, and bishop), his theological works are also suitably diverse: they include autobiography, sermons, letters, apologetical tracts, doctrinal polemics, scriptural commentary, and works of practical and speculative theology. Augustine’s works have exercised an enormous influence on subsequent generations; for example, one historian of the Reformation has justly called it “a quarrel between competing Augustinianisms.” In our own day, Augustine continues to receive attention not only from theologians and historians but political philosophers, educators, ethicists, and many others.

In this seminar, we will read broadly in Augustine’s corpus so that we might begin to become acquainted with the contours and substance of his thought across a variety of disciplines. Class meetings generally will consist of a 15-minute presentation (by the instructor or a student) and 35 minutes of discussion. Evaluation will be based upon presentations (10%), class participation (10%), and writing (80%). To fulfill this last requirement, students may choose to write two shorter (8-10 pp.) papers or one major paper (15-20 pp.). Knowledge of Latin, though welcome, is not necessary.

Required reading:
St. Augustine. City of God.
_____. On the Spirit and the Letter.
_____. On Baptism, against the Donatists.
_____. On the Grace of Christ and Original Sin.
_____. On Christian Teaching.
_____. Enchiridion of Faith, Hope, and Love.

Recommended reading:
St. Augustine. Confessions.
Brown, Peter. Augustine of Hippo.
O’Donnell, James J. Augustine: A New Biography.

325F:  Perplexities of Personal Love  Cr. 3-4 

Mr. Hoffman     MF     3:05-4:20

Forming and nurturing close personal attachments to friends, lovers, and family is at once a natural impulse, one which provides some of the warmest and most salient meaning to our lives against the chilly backdrop of religious doubt, political rancor, pop cultural boredom, and the noble attempt to stand our ground amidst such winds.  But those very relationships can equally baffle us, giving rise to painful questions about what we can reasonably expect from both ourselves and each other.  Intense singular attachments are just as likely to unravel as enrich us.  Emotional intelligence about them is therefore urgent, though ordinarily gained through the trial and error of actual experience. 

Nevertheless, books can help; which is fortunate.  Books can help us interpret experiences we have had and inhabit experiences we have not.   They can help sort through difficulties and cultivate empathies, not so much in order to solve the problems of personal love as simply understand them.   This course will thus begin with Plato—who else?—with the Symposium and Phaedrus, two classic dialogues about the place and value of love, and Martha Nussbaum's heated commentary on them.  These will provide an initial theoretical ground and vocabulary.  Then we will move on to literature and memoir, essay and short story.   That list will likely include the famous letters of nun and monk Heloise and Abelard; The Story of Avis by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, about an artist struggling to fit her talent into a marriage; Graham Greene's The End of the Affair; John McMurray's chapter "The Virtue of Chastity"; the familial memoir Brother to a Dragonfly by civil rights activist Will Campbell; and Andrew Sullivan's notes on friendship, sex, and survival, prompted by the AIDS crisis.   Through these and other writings, we will reflect on the joys and dangers of personal love and how these might relate to an individual sense of worth and history, vocational aspiration, and religious longing. 

325GX:  Object, Ritual, Discourse  Cr. 3-4 

Ms. Buggeln and Ms. Prough   TR   1:20-2:35

Optional 4th credit lab: Trip to museums in New York City and Washington, DC, May 19-26.

Objects shape human experience, reveal values and beliefs, and are instrumental in the development of communities.  This course examines objects as they reveal culture—material culture—from a variety of academic perspectives.  First, we will examine objects as discrete pieces of historical evidence, using material culture theory and method to learn to extract from the objects themselves information about their creation and meaning.  Second, we will look at objects as they function in formal and informal ritual events ranging from the domestic (setting up in a dorm room, for instance) to the ceremonial (such as inaugurations).  Finally, we will look at the way we talk about objects, concentrating especially on the way things are presented by museums and other institutions that use artifacts to interpret human behavior for a popular audience. 

 In the course of examining objects, rituals, and discourse students will engage with a range of social theory as well as trying their hand at material culture analysis.  We will be studying the work of scholars representing a variety of disciplines: anthropology, sociology, museum studies, and history among them.  

Readings will include:
Arjun Appadurai, The Social Life of Things.
Fredrick Meyers, Traffic in Culture.
Theodora and Karl Kroeber, Ishi in Two Worlds.

As well as representative work of Pierre Bourdieu, Clifford Geertz, Franz Boaz, and others.

Class assignments will include three short papers, field observations, and attendance on several field trips.

Students who choose the optional fourth-credit field study will travel to New York City and Washington, DC, May 19-26 for an intensive field study.  Museums to be visited include: The American Museum of Natural History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of the American Indian (Smithsonian), and the National Holocaust Memorial Museum.

499A:  Christ College Senior Colloquium  Cr. 1

Christ College Senior Colloquium provides a capstone, integrative experience for Christ College Associates and Scholars. Through class conversations, readings, and written work, students will be led to give shape to the substance of their lives through autobiographical narrative, and they will be led to reflect upon the character and meaning of their future work. The practical dimensions of these reflections will include attention to the transition from college.

Registration is restricted to students who will graduate in May or August or December 2009.