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| Fall 2008 |
|
| AHF1300 |
A&H FOUNDATION |
3.00 credits |
| |
AHF1300
(Fall)
Dwellings: Body, Home, and City
(A&H Foundation)
Dwellings are physical structures that house us and provide the external conditions for our development: We dwell in a body, a home, and a village, town, or city. Paradoxically, however, dwelling is also a mental and emotional activity. When we dwell on an idea, an event, a person, or a place, we find it difficult to let it go: it quite literally occupies us. Our dwellings-both in space and in time-shape the ways we identify with ourselves and others. In this course we will analyze works of art and philosophy that help us explore questions about dwelling: How do our bodies as lived in and as represented influence how we view ourselves and are viewed by others? What is the nature of home? What do our dwellings have to do with our own and others' sense of belonging in the world? How do the forms and voices that artists and philosophers invent encourage new ways of understanding dwelling in relation to such structures as family, education, class, gender, and race?
Prerequisite: NONE
AHF1300
(Spring)
Nature, Culture, Progress
(A&H Foundation)
Humans are part of nature yet distinct from it in complex ways. Our natural instincts do not completely define us; we are also cultural beings with traditions, identities and technologies that distinguish us from nature. This distinction has led to the claim that humans are superior to nature and so are entitled to manipulate it. Humans' divergence from nature also suggests that we are capable of progress: of bettering ourselves intellectually, morally, technologically. In this course, we will examine these claims by asking questions such as: to what extent are humans a product of nature and to what extent are we formed by culture? How does our answer to this question affect our perception of ourselves, others, and the world around us? When is progress good, and when does it instead decrease the quality of human life and harm nature? We will explore these questions through readings of literature and philosophy, and through film and the visual arts.
Prerequisite: NONE
|
| AHF1311 |
HNRS A&H FOUNDATION |
3.00 credits |
| |
AHF1311
(Fall)
Dwellings: Body, Home, and City
(A&H Foundation)
Dwellings are physical structures that house us and provide the external conditions for our development: We dwell in a body, a home, and a village, town, or city. Paradoxically, however, dwelling is also a mental and emotional activity. When we dwell on an idea, an event, a person, or a place, we find it difficult to let it go: it quite literally occupies us. Our dwellings-both in space and in time-shape the ways we identify with ourselves and others. In this course we will analyze works of art and philosophy that help us explore questions about dwelling: How do our bodies as lived in and as represented influence how we view ourselves and are viewed by others? What is the nature of home? What do our dwellings have to do with our own and others' sense of belonging in the world? How do the forms and voices that artists and philosophers invent encourage new ways of understanding dwelling in relation to such structures as family, education, class, gender, and race?
Prerequisite: NONE
AHF1311
(Spring)
Nature, Culture, Progress
(A&H Foundation)
Humans are part of nature yet distinct from it in complex ways. Our natural instincts do not completely define us; we are also cultural beings with traditions, identities and technologies that distinguish us from nature. This distinction has led to the claim that humans are superior to nature and so are entitled to manipulate it. Humans' divergence from nature also suggests that we are capable of progress: of bettering ourselves intellectually, morally, technologically. In this course, we will examine these claims by asking questions such as: to what extent are humans a product of nature and to what extent are we formed by culture? How does our answer to this question affect our perception of ourselves, others, and the world around us? When is progress good, and when does it instead decrease the quality of human life and harm nature? We will explore these questions through readings of literature and philosophy, and through film and the visual arts.
Prerequisite: NONE
|
| ART1171 |
MIXED MEDIA DRAWING |
4.00 credits |
| |
ART1171
Mixed Media Drawing
(General Credit)
Course Description: This is an introductory level course designed to bring students through basic aspects of drawing in a wide range of media. No previous experience is required. Issues such as line, tone, mark making, gesture form, light sources, figure/ground relationships, and perspective to overall compositions will be addressed separately and in the many ways that they relate to one another in a drawing. Students will draw observationally from life and from their own drawings, learning how to use each of these concepts as tools in order to draw and see more analytically. We will work with a wide range of materials from basic graphite pencils and charcoal, to ink washes, conte crayon on gesso treated paper, silverpoint, collage, and printmaking. Slides of various artists' work will be discussed in relation to concepts and processes explored in class. Student work will be discussed in group critiques with full class participation. Students should be committed to expanding their skills and can expect project deadlines. There will be some expense for materials.
Prerequisites: NONE
|
| CVA2401 |
ETHICS (PHL) |
3.00 credits |
| |
CVA2401
Introduction to Ethics
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
Discussions relate morality to the life and circumstances of contemporary society by offering a solid grounding in the major concepts of ethical theory and in the basic skills for analyzing ethical issues and making sound moral judgments.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall and Spring
|
| CVA2402 |
REBEL ICONOGRAPHY: DEPICT ADOLSNT DISCNT |
3.00 credits |
| |
CVA2402 Rebel Iconography: Depicting Adolescent Discontent
(Intermediate Liberal Arts).
Youth rebellion has been a popular theme in fiction, advertising, music, and films since the 1950s. This course will examine the concept of the "teenager," delving into debates about its meaning and analyzing "young rebel" texts from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. We will question the notion of a universally shared adolescent experience and investigate how cultural and historical contexts shape rebel imagery. Texts may include the sociological study Generation on Hold: Coming of Age in the Late Twentieth Century, the novels Tea in the Harem, Wild Kids, and A Clockwork Orange, the graphic novel The Complete Persepolis, and the films Rebel Without a Cause, La Haine, and Boys Don't Cry. Globalization provides a backdrop for looking at variations in rebel iconography, which ranges from an overused marketing device to a powerful tool for opposing repressive regimes, hostile institutions, racism, and inflexible gender roles. At the same time, the rebel icon frequently represents a surrender to nihilism and despair. This is not surprising, since adolescents are consistently blamed for social ills rather than recognized as their victims. Drawing on novels, graphic novels, films, music, theories of adolescence, and cultural critique, we will gain knowledge about rebel imagery and the dilemmas faced by actual adolescents.
"There will be required evening film screenings of Rebel Without a Cause, Boys Don't Cry, and La Haine. They will be held in the Foc'sle room (Park Manor North) on [dates TBA]."
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation AHF & HSF
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| CVA2407 |
INTRO TO PHILOSOPHY (PHL) |
3.00 credits |
| |
CVA2407
Introduction toPhilosophy
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
Introduction to Philosophy treats the most basic and pervasive human questions: Does God exist? What is the nature of the self? What is the relationship between our mind and our body? Do human beings have an immortal soul? Do we have free will? What is the difference between a human being and a computer? How can value judgments be justified? What is the proper relationship between the individual and the community? What is the best kind of human life?
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall
|
| CVA2458 |
AFTER THE DICTATOR |
3.00 credits |
| |
CVA2458 After the Dictator: Cultural Transformations in Spain, Argentina, and Chile
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
In this course, we will look at artistic responses (film, narrative, art, popular culture) that reflect and inform the post-dictatorship societies of Spain and two Latin American countries. Through texts and films that explore questions of history and the representation of national and individual identities, we will consider cultural responses to both the consequences of dictatorship and the new political, economic, and social realities of these nations. The scope of democratic changes in Latin America in recent years has been of great interest to individuals in a wide range of disciplines and fields. Scholars, policymakers, and business leaders are among those interested in addressing the causes, character, and possibilities of these transformations, as well as the new political, economic, and social realities that have emerged. The democratic transition in Spain, which began with the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, provides a valuable point of comparison to the political transitions in Argentina and Chile. What are the differing strategies used to come to terms with the past and the legacy of dictatorship? What elements remain unresolved, and how do they continue to play out or find expression in the culture and society?
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation A&H and H&S
|
| ENG3605 |
WRITING FICTION |
4.00 credits |
| |
ENG3605 Writing Fiction
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
Flannery O'Connor said there is "a certain grain of stupidity that the writer of fiction can hardly do without, and this is the quality of having to stare, of not getting the point at once." This class (while not demanding that you cultivate stupidity!) develops and nurtures close attention to how short fiction is made. You will study the art and craft of making short stories. This course emphasizes reading, whereby we will study practitioners of the short story form in order to understand the elements of fiction: character, dialogue, place/setting, plot, and so on. In class, we will take stories apart to see just 'how they tick'. In addition, we will (as pleasure-seekers) look for enjoyment in what we read. By and large, this course runs on writing. You will write short stories of varying lengths, aiming for authority over language, characterization and plot, and authenticity. Your fiction will be closely analyzed by your peers and professor. So you must be a willing, open and active participant, prepared to discuss the work of others, and to reflect on responses to your own work.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
| FRN2600 |
INTERMEDIATE FRENCH I |
4.00 credits |
| |
FRN2600
Intermediate French Language and Culture I
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
Active use of contemporary spoken and written French through dialog practice, oral presentations, class discussions, and written exercises. By becoming more aware of the French speaking world and the relationship between culture and language, students increase their ability to communicate in international environments. The program features web-based audio and video interaction with native speakers.
Prerequisite: FRN1200 (Equivalent of one year of college French as demonstrated
through a required placement test)
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall
|
| HFE1311 |
HONORS FOUNDATION EXPERIENCE |
4.00 credits |
| |
HFE1311-01
Honors Foundation Experience: Equality, Persuasion, and Ethics: The Practice of Democracy
This two-semester, 9-credit course satisfies the first-year requirements for AHF, HSF, and Rhetoric B.
This uniquely designed course explores the ways democracy is enacted in the face of natural, social, economic, and cultural inequalities. How can individuals and citizens agree on what is just and good? How can democracy retain the support both of the masses and of powerful elites, such as aristocrats, the wealthy, or those with special knowledge. What role does dissent play in the practice of democracy and how can political equality coexist with the right of individuals to make choices for themselves? How are personal and intimate relations affected by the practice of democracy?
We will explore these themes in two ways. First we will examine the works of relevant artists, philosophers, and other writers. Then we will try to practice democracy in the classroom itself by re-enacting two charged moments in history when democracy was being shaped and tested: fall semester will focus on Athens in 403 B.C. and spring semester will focus on Paris in 1791. Students will be assigned roles to play and will give speeches and write position papers based on the issues critical to the assemblies of that time. During these sections of the course, which last from 4 to 6 weeks, the class will be run entirely by you, the students, as you attempt to advance the objectives of your particular roles and as the instructors offer advice and guidance. This unique approach improves speaking, writing, and leadership skills, promotes engagement with classic texts, and builds a strong learning community.
|
| JPN1200 |
ELEMENTARY JAPANESE LANG & CULT I |
4.00 credits |
| |
JPN1200
Elementary Japanese Language and Culture I
(General Credit)
An introduction to a practical, and functional knowledge of Japanese as it is used in contemporary society. Students will learn the fundamental use of the Japanese language by exercising all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Two basic writing systems, hiragana and katakana, are taught to promote literacy in Japanese environments. An introduction to Japanese culture, which is inseparable from learning the language, is provided through demonstrations, videos and films.
Prerequisite: None
This course is typically offered in the following semester: Fall
|
| JPN2600 |
INTERMEDIATE JAPANESE I |
4.00 credits |
| |
JPN2600
Intermediate Japanese Language and Culture I
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
The course teaches effective communication with the Japanese as well as cultural awareness. Using an interactive approach, students learn to converse on non-technical topics, write and read 100 Kanji symbols, recognize additional symbols, and become fluent in using approximately 200 hiragana and katakana symbols.
Prerequisite: JPN1201 (Elementary Japanese II at Babson, or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated through a required placement test.)
This course is typically offered in the following semester: Fall
|
| LIT3671 |
WARRIORS&LOVERS:GNDR&IDENT LIT MDL AGES |
4.00 credits |
| |
LIT3671
Warriors and Lovers: Gender & Identity in Literature of Middle Ages
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
It was an age of chivalry and courtly love. It was an age of violence and torture, of abduction, adultery, and rape. It was an age of piety and promise. It was an age of despondency and despair. It was an age of God. It was an age of war.
In this course, we will explore these and other topics that feature so prominently in much of the rich literature of the Middle Ages. We will read about warrior-heroes like Beowulf, chivalric knights like Yvain and Gawain, and tragic lovers like Abelard and Heloise, and Lancelot and Guinevere. As well as reading this exciting medieval literature, we will look at some of the art of the Middle Ages and at some contemporary films that so vividly represent that time.
Prerequisite: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
| LIT3681 |
LITERATURE OF WW I |
4.00 credits |
| |
LIT3681
Literature and World War One
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
Although there has been a recent resurgence in interest in World War Two (Spielberg´s "Saving Private Ryan" and Tom Brokaw´s "Greatest Generation"), it may be argued that the First World War has had more far-reaching historical significance. This conflict, the first general European land war in a century, was of an unprecedented scale. In this course, we will examine the literary response to what was called at the time "The Great War" and investigate its impact the rest of the twentieth century. List of key readings might include: Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory Poetry of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon Robert Graves, Goodbye to All That Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms Virginia Woolf. Mrs. Dalloway Rebecca West, The Return of the Soldier Pat Barker, Regeneration
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
| LVA2405 |
ART AS A VISUAL LANGUAGE(VSA) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2405
Art as a Visual Language
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
Develop experience in learning to read the visual language of art painting, sculpture and architecture and develop personal aesthetic standards through study and discussion of slides, field trips, readings and museum visits.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
|
| LVA2409 |
AMERICAN FILM HISTORY(FLM) |
3.00 credits |
| |
SCREENING: Tuesdays 3:25 - 5: 25 in the Fo'c'sle
LVA2409
American Film History
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
This course offers an overview of American film history and explores the basic techniques used by film directors to express their ideas and tell their stories. The goal of the course is to introduce students to film history, theory, and terminology while simultaneously discussing the relation between cultural values and popular culture forms. As an introduction to cinema studies, the course will teach students to "read" filmed texts and to consider popular culture as a gauge of collective values. Through readings, discussions, and weekly screenings, students will consider film's influence on American cultural myth and on individual and social identities. This is a writing intensive course that addresses the following competencies: Creativity, Ethics, and Rhetoric.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
|
| LVA2432 |
FOUNDATIONS OF WESTERN ART (VSA) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2432
Foundations of Western Art
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
This course is designed to introduce students to painting, architecture, and sculpture from the Renaissance to the early 20th century and to give students an understanding of the general principles governing the visual arts. Topics such as the role of the artist, the functions of art in society, and the nature of visual language, among others, will be discussed as major artists and their works are presented in this survey of Western art. Class lectures and discussions are based on the presentation of slides.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
|
| LVA2445 |
MODERNISM & THE MAKING OF THE NEW(LIT) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2445
Modernism and the Making of the New
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
The British novelist Virginia Woolf declared that human nature underwent a fundamental change "on or about December 1910." The first few decades of the twentieth century are characterized by a fervent desire to break with the past and to reject traditions that seemed outmoded and too genteel to suit an era of psychological and technological breakthroughs and violence on a grand scale. This class will look at works that reflect ideas of experimentation, in both form and content, and that engaged new understandings of time, space, and human subjectivity. We will read writers such as Virginia Woolf, Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, E.M. Forster, Djuna Barnes, and Katherine Mansfield, as well as the theories of Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein (this is a tentative list). Be prepared; there is a lot of reading. These are difficult and challenging texts that do not rely on straightforward plot and narrative; they require careful analysis and critical engagement.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
|
| LVA2453 |
BUSINESS IN AMERICAN DRAMA (LIT) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA 2453 Top Performers: Business in American Drama
Intermediate Liberal Arts (3 credits)
Ever since Willy Loman walked on stage with his sample cases in Arthur Miller's 1949 masterpiece Death of a Salesman, it has been thought axiomatic that American playwrights have painted a bleak portrait of sales professionals in particular and businesspeople generally. But a close look at American dramatic treatments of business shows something more complicated. Over the past century American playwrights have located in the world of business and the world of drama a shared preoccupation with the sometimes tricky distinctions between word and act, authenticity and performance, the "real" and the symbolic. This course will look at a selection of American plays from the early twentieth century to the present, focusing on those plays' treatment of business and economic life. In addition to close scrutiny of dramatic texts and theatrical performances, we will also explore the role of performance in business. In other words, we'll look at both business in American drama and drama in American business. Your performance will be assessed through two papers, a mid-term and a final exam.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation A&H H&S
|
| LVA2455 |
FRENCH NOVEL INTO FILM (LIT) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2455
French Novel into Film: Lust in Translation?
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
This course examines the film adaptations of four short, classic French novels by Balzac, Zola, Duras and Queneau. It is conducted in English, using translated texts and subtitled French films. The theme of lust appears in all four novels: lust for power, lust for the city of Paris, lust for non-traditional relationships. What happens when these novels move to film? Is the uniqueness of the original text preserved or transformed? Does the film measure up to the literary work? And how does the role of the reader differ from that of the viewer in assigning meaning to the text or film? We will address these questions as both readers and viewers in this course.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation A&H and H&S
|
| LVA2458 |
MAGICAL AMERICAN STORIES(LIT) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2458 Comparative Ethnicity: Magical American Story (LIT)
Intermediate Liberal Arts
In this course, we will think and write analytically about stories, films, and critical essays that explore the magical realist mode and the ethnic American experience. We will consider what ethnicity "means" in the United States, and examine how it translates into the creative process. We will also address the features often linked to magical realist fiction and film, and investigate their relationships to the various notions of ethnicity. Over the course of the semester, we will look for points of contact and departure within a range of ethnic American magical realist texts, and analyze the affective, creative, and stylistic potency of these unique works.
Concentrating on ethnicity and the magical American story gives us the opportunity to identify and discuss the presence and fundamental influence of ethnicity in the United States, while exploring the boundaries of the filmic and fictive forms. Many of the fictional narratives and films for this class flirt with magical realms and/or establish magical conditions in an effort to convey the complicated, often contradictory realities of Americans who are caught between cultures, religions, moral and familial expectations, sexual orientations, and many other conditions and circumstances. Through our examination, we will confront questions about the make-up and development of contemporary American society, as well as the inexhaustible effort to characterize cultural groups and literary styles. Works by such fiction writers and filmmakers as Sherman Alexie, Gish Jen, Charles Johnson, Ana Castillo, Shalom Auslander, Joel and Ethan Coen, and Jim Sheridan will comprise the primary reading/viewing material.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation A&H & H&S
|
| LVA2466 |
AMER ROMANTICISM, REALISM & NATUR (LIT) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2446
American Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
This course is a survey of three major movements in American literature: Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism. Romanticism is thematically concerned with nature and the common man, the frontier, and immigration. Our study may include Thoreau and Whitman, as well as the genres of the gothic story and the slave narrative. Realism and Naturalism arose as reactions to Romanticism and are thematically concerned with man-made reality, objectivity, and Darwinian ideas. Our study may include James, Twain, Wharton, and Dreiser. We will work to develop a clear understanding of these movements in literature. Additionally, students will develop and practice the skill of literary analysis.
Prerequisites; Foundation Program
|
| PHL3610 |
ASTHETICS: BEAUTY AND EYE OF BEHOLDER |
4.00 credits |
| |
PHL3610 Aesthetics: Beauty and the Eye of the Beholder
Advanced Liberal Arts
This course uses philosophical theory to evaluate our experience of art forms such as film, painting, literature, and music. Through these theories, we will consider questions such as: Is art simply a matter of taste, or can it be held to objective standards? What is beauty? Are artworks that are not beautiful still art? Is art valuable because it gives us pleasure, or because it educates us? How do various forms of art-painting, music, literature-differ from each other? Does art have social or political value, or is its value purely in the delight it gives the individual? Our study of philosophical theory will be supplemented by consideration of specific works of art.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Art Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
| PHO1100 |
PHOTOGRAPHY |
4.00 credits |
| |
PHO1100
Photography
(General Credit)
Introduction to the Art of Photography: While learning basic photography practice, students in this studio arts course will be introduced to the history and range of photographic practice, the ethics of representation, and the aesthetics of visual art forms.
***Special equipment required - check with division.***
You may not take this course if you have taken PHO1190
Prerequisites: NONE
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall and Spring
|
| PRF1100 |
INTRODUCTION TO ACTING |
4.00 credits |
| |
PRF1100
Introduction to Acting
(General Elective)
Through the exploration of theatre as an art and a craft, this course develops the fundamental technical skills and emotional resources required for acting. Students will study stage technique and discipline, vocal and physical movement, acting theory, and elements of performance. Students will also practice rehearsal methods, including the "magic if," "emotion memory," and the "unbroken line." The focus of the course moves from an emphasis on spontaneous acting exploration, to developing more analytical methods for working on text. Assignments will include acting exercises, scene work, reading and discussion of required texts, journal entries, written critiques, and reviews of theatrical productions. There will also be regular work on breathing techniques, relaxation, energy, eye focus, articulation, and projection. No experience is necessary, but experienced students of acting are welcome.
Prerequisites: NONE
|
| RHT1301 |
RHETORIC A |
3.00 credits |
| |
RHT1301
Rhetoric A
(Foundation Lib Arts)
Rhetoric A develops students' abilities in reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking, and promotes understanding of the dynamic relations among these processes. Students will learn approaches to understanding, analyzing, and responding to texts, both in speech and writing, and will learn to assess the nature and conventions of academic discourse.
Prerequisite: NONE
This course is typically offered in the following semester: Fall
|
| RHT1302 |
RHETORIC A w/HSF |
3.00 credits |
| |
RHT1302
Rhetoric A w/HSF
(Foundation Liberal Arts)
Rhetoric A develops students' abilities in reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking, and promotes understanding of the dynamic relations among these processes. Students will learn approaches to understanding, analyzing, and responding to texts, both in speech and writing, and will learn to assess the nature and conventions of academic discourse.
Prerequisite: Must be taken with HSF1300
This course is typically offered in the following semester: Fall
|
| RHT1303 |
RHETORIC A w/AHF |
3.00 credits |
| |
RHT1303
Rhetoric A w/AHF
(Foundation Liberal Arts)
Rhetoric A develops students' abilities in reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking, and promotes understanding of the dynamic relations among these processes. Students will learn approaches to understanding, analyzing, and responding to texts, both in speech and writing, and will learn to assess the nature and conventions of academic discourse.
Prerequisite: Must be taken with AHF1300
This course is typically offered in the following semester: Fall
|
| RHT1311 |
RHETORIC B |
3.00 credits |
| |
RHT1311
RhetoricB
(Foundation Liberal Arts)
Rhetoric B will continue to develop the same rhetorical abilities, as Rhetoric A but assignments will require more complex and sophisticated analysis, research, and argument.
Prerequisite: RHT1300
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall and Spring
|
| SPN2600 |
INTERMEDIATE SPANISH I |
4.00 credits |
| |
SPN2600
Intermediate Spanish Language and Culture I
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
Grammar review and an in-depth cultural exploration of the Hispanic world supports active use of spoken and written Spanish. Selected readings and films provide a point of departure for conversation, discussion, group work, skits, and class presentations based upon research.
Prerequisite: SPN1200 (Accelerated Elementary Spanish II at Babson, or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated through a required placement test. Not open to fluent speakers of Spanish.)
This course is typically offered in the following semester: Fall
|
|
| Summer II 2008 |
|
| EXP3665 |
S. AFRICA:CULTURE,SOCIETY&EPS IN DEV ECN |
4.00 credits |
| |
EXP3665 S. AFRICA: EPS, CULTURE, & SOC IN DEVELOPING ECONOMY
4 Credits (Advanced Liberal Arts)
This experiential, global service learning course will introduce students to the culture, history, politics, and economy of South Africa. Students will engage in in-depth study of South Africa's culture, history, politics, and economy before leaving for a 3 week in-country experience. The pre-trip phase will consider the effects of colonialism and apartheid rule on South Africa, as well as its development in the post-apartheid period (1994 - present). We will pay particular attention to the role of small-scale entrepreneurship in restoring balance to the segregated, oppressed communities of people classified as "black" and "colored" under the apartheid regime. Students will consider approaches to economic development in the post-apartheid period, including the effects of community and government programs and policies.
While in South Africa, students will teach two week-long developmental entrepreneurship classes to students at eight local high schools in impoverished communities. We will travel to Capetown to visit major cultural, geographic, and historical sites on the weekend between teaching sessions, and students have the option of doing a safari experience at the end of the trip.
Course credits will be divided into pre- and post-trip work: half of the credits will be earned through reading, writing, and other coursework in preparation for the in-country experience, and half of the credits will be earned through a reflective research essay to be produced upon returning from the trip.
Prerequisites: Completion of 3 intermediate Liberal Arts courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
|
| Summer I 2008 |
|
| LVA2402 |
LIVELY LITERARY MASSACHUSETTS |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2402 LIVELY LITERARY MASSACHUSETTS
3 Credit Intermediate Liberal Arts
(Students who have taken LIT3691 Lively Literary Massachusetts may not take this course)
Up until the early 19th Century, most American writers mimicked the style and substance of European writers. There was nothing uniquely American about their work. That was all to change after a Massachusetts resident, the poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered his famous essay The American Scholar. In it, Emerson argued that in order for there to be such a thing as American culture and real American Literature, there must be a uniquely American subject as well as a new way of writing. Emerson proposed that that subject was Nature. The great Naturalist Henry David Thoreau heeded Emersons call and headed out to Walden Pond to live in relative solitude for two years. In a quiet house in Amherst, Emily Dickinson ignored the popular sonnet form and iambic pentameter and revolutionized poetry. In Salem, Nathaniel Hawthorne confronted the history of the Puritans and the Salem Witch Trials in short stories and novels. In western Massachusetts, Herman Melville looked up at Mount Greylock and conceived hi s most famous novel, Moby Dick. Together, in less than 50 years, these five writers composed some of the most famous works of American Literature. In this course, we will not only read essays, poems and novels by these writers, we will also get out of the classroom and go to several of the historic sites that inspired them. We will take a few separate exciting field trips: on one day, we will go to Concord where well walk out to Walden Pond, visit the Writers Section of the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, tour Emersons house and visit the Concord Museum; on the other, we will journey to Salem where we will see The House of the Seven Gables, the oldest surviving 17th century wooden mansion in New England, in which Hawthorne based his novel of the same name and the Customs House, where Hawthorne worked. Well also try to schedule a day to go west to Amherst to see Emily Dickinsons house. On the days we spend in the classroom, we will discuss a plethora of these authors great works. Students will be responsible for admission and parking fees, which will run about $50.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
|
| VSA3602 |
19TH CENTURY EUROPEAN ART |
4.00 credits |
| |
Janice Yellin 2008 Summer course
VSA 3602 Late 19th Century Art
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
This course introduces the major styles of painting, sculpture and architecture in 19th century Europe including Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Symbolism in the context of the cultural, economic, political and social forces that shaped them. Students will develop visual literacy through the examination of these styles in active class discussions.
Significant works of art by 19th century European and American artists, sculptors (Ingres, David, Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Sargent, Hassam, Saint Gaudens, La Farge, Rodin, Cezanne) and architects (H.H. Richardson, William Law Olmstead, McKim Mead & White) can be seen in museums and buildings in and around Boston. This course will benefit from this amazing richness with numerous field trips to local museums and buildings. Typically we will spend Monday's class studying the history and significance of the art and artists we will visit on our Wednesday field trip. Among the field trips planned are the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The Davis Museum(Wellesley College), The Fogg Museum(Harvard University), and walking tour of Back Bay Boston Victorian Mansions with a visit to one of them, Other trips might be to The Worcester Museum of Art, The Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, The Peabody Essex Museum, Salem among many others.
Course grading will be based on encounter papers researched during our museum trips as well as frequent in-class essay quizzes. Some of the museums are free, but for others there will be admission fees ranging from $5.00-$18.00. The total cost for these admissions should be about $50.00 - $75.00 depending on where we chose to go. Carpools will be arranged for travel to these off-campus locations.
|
|
| Spring 2008 |
|
| AHF1300 |
A&H FOUNDATION |
3.00 credits |
| |
AHF1300
(Fall)
Dwellings: Body, Home, and City
(A&H Foundation)
Dwellings are physical structures that house us and provide the external conditions for our development: We dwell in a body, a home, and a village, town, or city. Paradoxically, however, dwelling is also a mental and emotional activity. When we dwell on an idea, an event, a person, or a place, we find it difficult to let it go: it quite literally occupies us. Our dwellings-both in space and in time-shape the ways we identify with ourselves and others. In this course we will analyze works of art and philosophy that help us explore questions about dwelling: How do our bodies as lived in and as represented influence how we view ourselves and are viewed by others? What is the nature of home? What do our dwellings have to do with our own and others' sense of belonging in the world? How do the forms and voices that artists and philosophers invent encourage new ways of understanding dwelling in relation to such structures as family, education, class, gender, and race?
Prerequisite: NONE
AHF1300
(Spring)
Nature, Culture, Progress
(A&H Foundation)
Humans are part of nature yet distinct from it in complex ways. Our natural instincts do not completely define us; we are also cultural beings with traditions, identities and technologies that distinguish us from nature. This distinction has led to the claim that humans are superior to nature and so are entitled to manipulate it. Humans' divergence from nature also suggests that we are capable of progress: of bettering ourselves intellectually, morally, technologically. In this course, we will examine these claims by asking questions such as: to what extent are humans a product of nature and to what extent are we formed by culture? How does our answer to this question affect our perception of ourselves, others, and the world around us? When is progress good, and when does it instead decrease the quality of human life and harm nature? We will explore these questions through readings of literature and philosophy, and through film and the visual arts.
Prerequisite: NONE
|
| AHF1311 |
HNRS A&H FOUNDATION |
3.00 credits |
| |
AHF1311
(Fall)
Dwellings: Body, Home, and City
(A&H Foundation)
Dwellings are physical structures that house us and provide the external conditions for our development: We dwell in a body, a home, and a village, town, or city. Paradoxically, however, dwelling is also a mental and emotional activity. When we dwell on an idea, an event, a person, or a place, we find it difficult to let it go: it quite literally occupies us. Our dwellings-both in space and in time-shape the ways we identify with ourselves and others. In this course we will analyze works of art and philosophy that help us explore questions about dwelling: How do our bodies as lived in and as represented influence how we view ourselves and are viewed by others? What is the nature of home? What do our dwellings have to do with our own and others' sense of belonging in the world? How do the forms and voices that artists and philosophers invent encourage new ways of understanding dwelling in relation to such structures as family, education, class, gender, and race?
Prerequisite: NONE
AHF1311
(Spring)
Nature, Culture, Progress
(A&H Foundation)
Humans are part of nature yet distinct from it in complex ways. Our natural instincts do not completely define us; we are also cultural beings with traditions, identities and technologies that distinguish us from nature. This distinction has led to the claim that humans are superior to nature and so are entitled to manipulate it. Humans' divergence from nature also suggests that we are capable of progress: of bettering ourselves intellectually, morally, technologically. In this course, we will examine these claims by asking questions such as: to what extent are humans a product of nature and to what extent are we formed by culture? How does our answer to this question affect our perception of ourselves, others, and the world around us? When is progress good, and when does it instead decrease the quality of human life and harm nature? We will explore these questions through readings of literature and philosophy, and through film and the visual arts.
Prerequisite: NONE
|
| ART1172 |
INTRO TO SCULPTURE |
4.00 credits |
| |
ART1172
INTRODUCTION TO SCULPTURE
General Credit
This is an introductory level studio art course designed to engage you with basic sculptural concepts and processes through the creation of your own sculpture. Working with basic materials such as plasticene, plaster, wood, and wire, we will learn carving, modeling, and other methods of construction as we explore assignments that parallel historical approaches and processes.
As a means of developing a full range of approaches towards making sculpture, we will examine paleo-lithic sculpture; Egyptian, Greek, and Renaissance bas-relief sculpture; abstract, kinetic, and minimal sculpture; and installation and conceptual art. Students will be asked to keep a sketchbook for the development and critique of visual ideas. Through visualization, drawing, design, construction, and critique of sculpture, students will expand their skills of observation, critical analysis, and creative problem solving.
|
| CVA2401 |
ETHICS (PHL) |
3.00 credits |
| |
CVA2401
Introduction to Ethics
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
Discussions relate morality to the life and circumstances of contemporary society by offering a solid grounding in the major concepts of ethical theory and in the basic skills for analyzing ethical issues and making sound moral judgments.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall and Spring
|
| CVA2407 |
INTRO TO PHILOSOPHY (PHL) |
3.00 credits |
| |
CVA2407
Introduction toPhilosophy
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
Introduction to Philosophy treats the most basic and pervasive human questions: Does God exist? What is the nature of the self? What is the relationship between our mind and our body? Do human beings have an immortal soul? Do we have free will? What is the difference between a human being and a computer? How can value judgments be justified? What is the proper relationship between the individual and the community? What is the best kind of human life?
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall
|
| ENG3600 |
EXPOSITORY WRITING |
4.00 credits |
| |
ENG3600 Expository Writing: Choices and Voices
(Advanced Liberal Art)
This advanced writing course has two main goals. One: reviewing the fundamentals of grammar, style, and voice will help you face future writing situations in the professional world with greater confidence. Two: expanding your repertoire of expressive choices will help you articulate ideas more clearly and will connect you more effectively with intended audiences.
This is an "expository," not a "creative" writing course, with a focus on the tasks of explanation and persuasion, and on the genre of the essay. But it will also push generic boundaries and examine the role of creativity and imagination in non-fiction prose. While this course is not for the faint-hearted, it can be richly rewarding for those who want to learn.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
| ENG3602 |
PRACTICUM IN PEER CONSULTING/WRITING |
4.00 credits |
| |
ENG3602
Practicum in Peer Consulting and Writing
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
Students learn to act as peer consultants in writing and work on improving their own writing, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills. They accomplish these objectives by addressing their writing problems; writing extensively; developing criteria to evaluate the writings of others; studying various writing processes and theories of composition; examining pedagogical approaches to teaching writing; reading extensively about, and becoming acquainted with, the dynamics of peer tutoring; and working in the Writing Center as peer consultant trainees.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
| FRN1200 |
ACCELERATED ELEMENTARY FRENCH |
4.00 credits |
| |
FRN1200
Accelerated Elementary French
(General Credit)
Accelerated Elementary French. This course is based on the belief that effective use of a language requires cultural understanding as well as a command of linguistic structures and vocabulary. It is designed to develop basic skills in understanding, communicating, reading and writing authentic French. Utilizing the innovative, web-based multimedia course, Parallèles: communication et culture, assignments will include extensive video experiences, listening exercises, and exercises requiring a creative use of spoken French. Web-based activities such as audio programs, self-tests, on-line flashcards, and games accompany the text. This course is ideal for students with some previous exposure to French and/or the motivated Beginner.
Prerequisite: NONE.
|
| FRN2601 |
INTERMEDIATE FRENCH II |
4.00 credits |
| |
FRN2601
Intermediate French II
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
A continuation of the fall semester, this course emphasizes understanding French values, attitudes, and ways of thinking. Audio recordings, videos, and the analysis of short literary texts encourage the articulation of ideas, and serve to engage students in substantive discussions in French
Prerequisite: FRN2600 (Intermediate French I at Babson, or equivalent program demonstrated through a required placement test, or permission of the instructor. Not open to native speakers of French.)
This course is typically offered in the following semester: Spring
|
| JPN1201 |
ELEMENTARY JAPANESE LANG & CULTURE II |
4.00 credits |
| |
JPN1201
Elementary Japanese Language and Culture II
General Credit
A continuation of the fall semester, this course develops students language skills in practical, functional Japanese as it is used in contemporary Japanese society. Exposure to Japanese culture is provided through various media, activities, and participation in off-campus cultural events. Students learn approximately 150 Kanji writing symbols and use hiragana and katakana extensively in the classroom and with computer word processing. 4 Liberal Arts elective credits
Prerequisite: JPN1200 (Elementary Japanese I at Babson, or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated through a required placement test.)
This course is typically offered in the following semester: Spring
|
| JPN2601 |
INTERMEDIATE JAPANESE II |
4.00 credits |
| |
JPN2601
Intermediate Japanese Language and Culture II
Advanced Liberal Arts
A continuation of the fall semester, this course develops students language skills in practical, functional Japanese as it is used in contemporary Japanese society. Exposure to Japanese culture is provided through various media, activities, and participation in off-campus cultural events. Students learn approximately 150 Kanji writing symbols and use hiragana and katakana extensively in the classroom and with computer word processing. 4 Liberal Arts elective credits
Prerequisite: JPN2600 (Intermediate Japanese I at Babson, or equivalent proficiency
as demonstrated through a required placement test.)
This course is typically offered in the following semester: Spring
|
| LIT3602 |
VICTORIAN LIT: INDUSTRIAL FORTUNES |
4.00 credits |
| |
LIT3602 Industrial Fortunes: Work, Money, and Class in Victorian Literature
Advanced Liberal Arts
This course explores the profound impact of industrial capitalism on English writers of the nineteenth century. Many novels, poems, and essays of the period consider the acquisition and management of money: how are fortunes made and what are the ethical implications of making them? We will read texts that represent both the middle and working classes caught in the machinery of industrial capitalism, by such authors as Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, Robert Browning, Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, and George Eliot. Themes to be explored include: money and art, class and power, the ethics of labor, and the Victorian Captain of Industry.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
| LIT3682 |
INTERDISC APPROACH TO HUMAN RIGHTS |
4.00 credits |
| |
LIT3682
In the Extreme: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Human Rights
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
The history of basic human rights originates with the earliest records of humans, and humans have struggled to define and defend these most basic rights ever since. In the wake of the events of September 11, 2001, the international community faces urgent and increasingly complex problems of defining and defending human rights. This course will focus upon "grave" human rights abuses: torture, disappearance, genocide. We will begin with philosophical definitions of human rights, then move quickly to specific cases, paying special attention to the role of art, literature, and film in addressing human rights. Authors and artists studied may likely include Marjorie Agosin, Claudia Bernardi, Assia Djebar, Ariel Dorfman, Nadine Gordimer, Toni Morrison, Michael Ondaatje, Alicia Partnoy, Nawal El Saadawi, Desmond Tutu, and Thich Nhat Hahn. We will study human rights cases from places such as Sri Lanka, Morocco and Egypt, Chile and Argentina, Iraq, South Africa, and the U.S.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
| LIT3686 |
LOVE, SEX & FAMILY 20TH CENT AM LIT |
4.00 credits |
| |
LIT3686
Love, Sex and the Family in Mid-Twentieth-Century American Literature
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
"First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage." This childhood ditty seems to inculcate the "right" order of things in the act of family-making in America. But lives played out in times of cultural transition aren't always as neat as nursery rhymes. Mid-twentieth-century America was characterized by changing gender roles and definitions, geographic and demographic shifts, war, and burgeoning technology, among other things. This course looks at fiction and drama to see how great American authors such as Tennessee Williams, Flannery O'Connor and Richard Yates portrayed and, perhaps, shaped the mid-century American understanding of love, sex, and family. We will supplement literary readings with relevant non-fiction from the time period. Students will propose, research, and develop a major essay about an author and/or a concept related to the course materials. Students will also formally present their ideas to the class.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
| LIT3689 |
POETIC ELEGY |
4.00 credits |
| |
LIT3689
Poetic Elegy: Shaping Cultural and Personal Loss
Advanced Liberal Arts
An elegy is a poem of mourning, a lament that can express both private and public grief. Reading elegies offers insight into cultural attitudes towards life and death while featuring the resilience of poetic form. From antiquity to the present, poets have used this shaping form to memorialize, describe, reflect, critique, and witness. In this course we will examine the origins of the form and study pivotal poems and poets in its development. We will also explore the contemporary elegy-certainly in the shadows of 9/11 and the war in Iraq-both as a private expression of feeling and as a public need for decorum and custom. Texts may include poetry by John Milton, Anne Bradstreet, Thomas Gray, Thomas Hardy, W.H. Auden, Langston Hughes, Adrienne Rich, Yusef Komonyakaa, Carolyn Forché, Mark Doty, Marie Howe, and Brian Turner, as well as lyrical prose elegies by Joan Didion and Philip Roth.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (HSS, LVA, CVA)
|
| LVA2405 |
ART AS A VISUAL LANGUAGE(VSA) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2405
Art as a Visual Language
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
Develop experience in learning to read the visual language of art painting, sculpture and architecture and develop personal aesthetic standards through study and discussion of slides, field trips, readings and museum visits.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
|
| LVA2408 |
FOUNDATIONS OF WESTERN ART (VSA) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2408
Foundations of Western Art
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
This course is designed to introduce students to painting, architecture, and sculpture from the Renaissance to the early 20th century and to give students an understanding of the general principles governing the visual arts. Topics such as the role of the artist, the functions of art in society, and the nature of visual language, among others, will be discussed as major artists and their works are presented in this survey of Western art. Class lectures and discussions are based on the presentation of slides.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
|
| LVA2419 |
LIT OF FEAR(LIT) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2419
THE LITERATURE OF FEAR
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
In this course, we will be reading literature that stems from the emotion of fear-not just "horror stories" or "Gothic literature" but poems, short stories, novels and journalism that deal in various ways with the way fear is explored, exploited, or overcome. Readings will include works such as the true crime stories of William Roughead, the poetry of World War I, the Gothic comedy of Flannery O'Conner, and contemporary fiction such as Publish and Perish by James Hynes. Our
goal will be an understanding of the uses of fear in all sorts of writing. We may also read a book on fear, such as Ernest Hartmann's Dreams and Nightmares. We won't be reading Stephen King. There will be, of course, papers, a midterm and final.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
|
| LVA2430 |
PLACE & LANDSCAPE IN AM LIT (LIT) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2430
Reading Place and Landscape in American Literature
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
This course investigates the ways American writers use place and landscape in their art. Reading fiction, essays, and poetry beginning in the 19th century and moving to contemporary works, we will explore the nature of place and landscape as physical, social, and intellectual and consider what it suggests about American culture and ideas. We will also look at several theoretical texts by cultural geographers, ecologists, and scholars of landscape architecture and regional planning. Ultimately, we will consider how place and landscape, both real and imagined, influence selected American writers' use of theme, imagery, character, and style, and reflect as well on how these concerns influence our own lives as readers, writers, thinkers, and dreamers.
Reading Place and Landscape in American Literature is an intermediate level course and part of the Literary and Visual Arts category of the Liberal Arts Curriculum. Courses in this category focus on frameworks for understanding and appreciating the practice of representation, the creative process, and diverse modes of aesthetic expression. They also consider individual, historical, cultural, and formal factors in artistic creation and make manifest the multiple vantage points from which art can be interpreted.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
|
| LVA2438 |
EXILE AND WRITING (LIT) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2438
Exile and Writing
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
This course examines how 'exile' informs the writing lives and thematic preoccupations of a wide variety of authors. Ovid was exiled from Rome to the small town of Tomis in 9A.D., amid mysterious circumstances; we will investigate his poems from that period for clues to cause and condition. Other writers under scrutiny include Russian poet Marina Tsetaeva, exiled in the 1920s and 1930s for her political views, and Poland's Czeslaw Milosz, who defected to the West in 1951 and had his writings banned by the communist regime. We will study exile in its various forms - forced and voluntary exile as conditions for writing, as well as themes of alienation, imprisonment, banishment and sexual/emotional exile. We will look to Irish writers James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, who sought exile in Europe as a necessity for their literary careers; Joyce created characters who defy and sever themselves from social conventions, while Beckett presents us with figures who are exiled to the prison of their own consciousness. Writers such as Ariel Dorfman and Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill will help us to analyze the adoption of a new language as a function of exile, as well as the exiling of one's native language into minority status, and the consequences for literature in both cases.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
|
| LVA2439 |
CURIOSITY IN LITERATURE (LIT) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2439
Curiosity in Literature
(Intermediate Liberal Art)
Curiosity contains within it a contradiction; it is our drive to know battling against our fear of the unknown, and it has played a major role in literature for a very long time. In this course, we will read texts that span several continents and centuries as we study curiosity and ask ourselves myriad questions. Why did the definition of curiosity change from negative to positive in the 14th century? Is curiosity hubristic tinkering or social responsibility? How is curiosity valued? Is the valuation of curiosity dependent on what is being sought? Is curiosity linked to gender? Who is rewarded for possessing it? Who is punished? If curiosity killed the cat, why? We will study Greek Myths and Fairy Tales as well as the following authors: John Milton, Christopher Marlowe, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Sigmund Freud, Agatha Christie, Anne Sexton, and Patricia Highsmith. We will also view Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation H&S and A&H
|
| LVA2457 |
AMERICAN SUPERNATURALISM (LIT) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2457 American Supernaturalism (LIT)
(Intermediate Liberal Arts)
America has long displayed a degree of contempt for its supernatural literature, often regarding such writing as being at odds with America's championing of rationality, skepticism, and pragmatism, as well as with its Judeo-Christian roots. Yet American supernatural literature has often been quite well-written, and many examples of such literature have worked their way into the American literary canon. Perhaps more importantly, such ghostly texts have been consistently popular among readers; consider, for example, the new and recent crop of (occasionally) high-quality, supernatural-themed television shows and films.
In this course, we will try to come to terms with America's ambivalent relationship with its supernatural literature by surveying the origins and evolution of such writing over the last 200-odd years. Readings may be from among such authors as Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Henry James, Edith Wharton, H. P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Rice, and Stephen King; we will also likely consider a few filmed or televised "texts." To more fully explore the breadth of American supernatural literature, we will discuss our texts from a variety of critical perspectives.
Prerequisite:
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation A&H and H&S
|
| LVA2458 |
ETHNICITY & MAGICAL AMER STORY (LIT) |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2458 Ethnicity and the Magical American Story (LIT)
Intermediate Liberal Arts
In this course, we will think and write analytically about stories, films, and critical essays that explore the magical realist mode and the ethnic American experience. We will consider what ethnicity "means" in the United States, and examine how it translates into the creative process. We will also address the features often linked to magical realist fiction and film, and investigate their relationships to the various notions of ethnicity. Over the course of the semester, we will look for points of contact and departure within a range of ethnic American magical realist texts, and analyze the affective, creative, and stylistic potency of these unique works.
Concentrating on ethnicity and the magical American story gives us the opportunity to identify and discuss the presence and fundamental influence of ethnicity in the United States, while exploring the boundaries of the filmic and fictive forms. Many of the fictional narratives and films for this class flirt with magical realms and/or establish magical conditions in an effort to convey the complicated, often contradictory realities of Americans who are caught between cultures, religions, moral and familial expectations, sexual orientations, and many other conditions and circumstances. Through our examination, we will confront questions about the make-up and development of contemporary American society, as well as the inexhaustible effort to characterize cultural groups and literary styles. Works by such fiction writers and filmmakers as Sherman Alexie, Gish Jen, Charles Johnson, Ana Castillo, Shalom Auslander, Joel and Ethan Coen, and Jim Sheridan will comprise the primary reading/viewing material.
Prerequisites: RHT and Foundation A&H & H&S
|
| LVA2459 |
DIALOGUE,SELF-DEF & NARRATIVE ( |
3.00 credits |
| |
LVA2459 "I know that you know that I know": Dialogue, Self-Definition, and Narrative (LIT)
Intermediate Liberal Arts
Whether their awareness induces fear and shame or yearning and intimacy, we define ourselves in relation to what significant others recognize in us. This course will assume that our identities are formed in dialogue with others and that literature contributes to developing the possibilities for that dialogue. Through techniques that represent not just external but also internal dialogue, literature models the intersubjective creation of the self. Literature can convey the complex interplay of characters through a series of nested awarenesses one critic has characterized by the phrase "I know that you know that I know." We will consider such narrative techniques as reliable, unreliable, and suppressed narrators in fiction, the discrepancy between audience and character knowledge in drama, and point-of-view shots and edited linkages in film. Likely texts include Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, Kafka's Letter to My Father, and Kathryn Harrison's The Kiss, as well as film and short story texts.
Prerequiites: RHT and Foundation A&H and H&S
|
| PHL3602 |
PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION |
4.00 credits |
| |
PHL3602
Philosophy of Religion
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
What is God like? How can an all-powerful, wholly good God permit evil? Why do some religions and denominations tolerate the beliefs of other faiths, while others do not? If my religion is "true", does that mean other religions are "false"? How can I have free will if God knows what I am going to do?
The goal of this course is to encourage clear thinking about some of the major philosophical issues in religion and religious belief. This is NOT a comparative religions course, nor is it a history of religions class. It is, rather, a course that considers some of the problems that arise from a variety of religious doctrines and teachings. Some of those problems include claims about the attributes of God, the existence and nature of evil, the nature of scriptures and revelations, free will and responsibility, religious pluralism and exclusivism, and some others. We will focus on the Judeo-Christian tradition, but we will consider problems from other traditions, as well. The course will involve serious analytic philosophical tools and reading from some classic texts and articles. We will have regular, in-class evaluative exercises and write two papers.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
| PHL3607 |
EXISTENTIALISM |
4.00 credits |
| |
PHL3607
Existentialism
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
Existentialism is a philosophical movement loosely held together by sensitivity to the paradoxes and meaningful ambiguities of human experience. With a common emphasis on the tension between freedom and the fateful power of circumstance, existentialist tend to view the practice of life from the standpoint of the challenges facing the construction of individual and intersubjective identity. Some existentialists are deeply religious, while others are fervently atheistic. All, however emphasize the significance of the situated nature of freedom, which translates into a philosophy of responsibility and engagement with the world. Be prepared to question yourself. That is not a joke.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
|
| PHO1100 |
PHOTOGRAPHY |
4.00 credits |
| |
PHO1100
Photography
(General Credit)
Introduction to the Art of Photography: While learning basic photography practice, students in this studio arts course will be introduced to the history and range of photographic practice, the ethics of representation, and the aesthetics of visual art forms.
***Special equipment required - check with division.***
Prerequisites: NONE
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall and Spring
You may not take this course if you have taken PHO1190
|
| PRF1100 |
INTRODUCTION TO ACTING |
4.00 credits |
| |
PRF1100
Introduction to Acting
(General Elective)
Through the exploration of theatre as an art and a craft, this course develops the fundamental technical skills and emotional resources required for acting. Students will study stage technique and discipline, vocal and physical movement, acting theory, and elements of performance. Students will also practice rehearsal methods, including the "magic if," "emotion memory," and the "unbroken line." The focus of the course moves from an emphasis on spontaneous acting exploration, to developing more analytical methods for working on text. Assignments will include acting exercises, scene work, reading and discussion of required texts, journal entries, written critiques, and reviews of theatrical productions. There will also be regular work on breathing techniques, relaxation, energy, eye focus, articulation, and projection. No experience is necessary, but experienced students of acting are welcome.
Prerequisites: NONE
|
| RHT1301 |
RHETORIC A |
3.00 credits |
| |
RHT1301
Rhetoric A
(Foundation Lib Arts)
Rhetoric A develops students' abilities in reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking, and promotes understanding of the dynamic relations among these processes. Students will learn approaches to understanding, analyzing, and responding to texts, both in speech and writing, and will learn to assess the nature and conventions of academic discourse.
Prerequisite: NONE
This course is typically offered in the following semester: Fall
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| RHT1311 |
RHETORIC B |
3.00 credits |
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RHT1311
RhetoricB
(Foundation Liberal Arts)
Rhetoric B will continue to develop the same rhetorical abilities, as Rhetoric A but assignments will require more complex and sophisticated analysis, research, and argument.
Prerequisite: RHT1300
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall and Spring
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| RHT1312 |
RHETORIC B w/HSF |
3.00 credits |
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RHT13112
RhetoricB w/HSF
(Foundation Liberal Arts)
Rhetoric B will continue to develop the same rhetorical abilities, as Rhetoric A but assignments will require more complex and sophisticated analysis, research, and argument.
Prerequisite: RHT1300 and must be taken with HSF1300
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall and Spring
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| RHT1313 |
RHETORIC B w/AHF |
3.00 credits |
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RHT1313
RhetoricB w/AHF
(Foundation Liberal Arts)
Rhetoric B will continue to develop the same rhetorical abilities, as Rhetoric A but assignments will require more complex and sophisticated analysis, research, and argument.
Prerequisite: RHT1300 and must be taken with AHF1300
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall and Spring
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| SPN1200 |
ACCELERATED ELEMENTARY SPANISH |
4.00 credits |
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SPN1200
Accelerated Elementary Spanish
(General Credit)
Accelerated Elementary Spanish is an exciting new film-based introductory Spanish course that seamlessly integrates the feature-length film "Sol y viento" into the instructional and learning experience. Language is presented within the context of the movie, providing students with the opportunity to develop their linguistic skills--speaking, listening, reading and writing-through engaging, meaningful activities that encourage the development of real-world skills and abilities. Accelerated Elementary Spanish is the first course in the Proficiency Sequence, a program of study designed to bring students to fluency in 3 semesters. As the course adopts an intensive approach, it is recommended for students with previous exposure to language learning and/or the highly motivated rank beginner. For a preview of the movie, "Sol y viento" check out:
www.mhhe.com/solyviento
Prerequisite: None
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| SPN2601 |
INTERMEDIATE SPANISH II |
4.00 credits |
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SPN2601
Intermediate Spanish II
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
A continuation of the fall semester, this course includes advanced grammar and advanced readings dealing with the culture, literature, geography, and history of the nations that form the Hispanic world. Except on rare occasions when a complex explanation requires the use of English, this course is conducted in Spanish. Discussions focus on an exploration of socio-cultural issues and business language and contexts in the Spanish-speaking world.
Prerequisite: SPN2600 (Intermediate Spanish I at Babson, or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated through a required placement test. Not open to fluent speakers of Spanish.)
This course is typically offered in the following semester: Spring
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| VSA3670 |
ARTS OF THE RENAISSANCE |
4.00 credits |
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VSA3670 ARTS OF THE RENAISSANCE:
PATRONS, POLITICS AND PIETY
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
This is an advanced level course in the area of Literature and the Visual Arts. This course examines some of the major paintings and sculptures and architecture from Italy and Northern Europe that shaped modern culture. The Renaissance was a period of discoveries. New concepts of the self, new markets, new technologies, new devotions changed the shape of Europe. Works of art document many of the transformations that occurred between the Black Death and the Protestant Reformation. It will develop skills in interpreting visual images and build competence in creative thinking. Class lectures and discussions will be based primarily on slide presentations.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
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| VSA3672 |
ART IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY |
4.00 credits |
| |
VSA3672
The End of Certainty: Early 20th Century Art
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
Between 1900 -1938, artists grappled with; the discovery of the subconscious, Einstein's physics, a war of unprecedented scope and destructiveness that was followed by the collapse of social and economic order. Styles such as Symbolism, Cubism, Futurism, Expressivism, Dada and Surrealism were created by artists responding to enormous changes in established ways of thinking and being that marked the beginning of the 20th century.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
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|
| Winter 2008 |
|
| ITL1290 |
BEGINNING ITALIAN FOR CULT AND CONVERSAT |
2.00 credits |
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ITL1290
Beginning Italian for Culture and Conversation
(General Credit)
Beginning Italian for culture and conversation is an introductory course in survival Italian designed for students with little or no prior exposure to the language.
The primary aim of the course is to provide students with a sound basis for learning Italian as it is spoken and written today. Practice in all four skills--listening, speaking, reading and writing-- is given, and every effort is made to provide students with opportunities for self-expression in concrete situations. By the end of the course, students should be able to actively use the basic structures of the language in everyday conversation and writing.
Prerequisites: None
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| LIT3693 |
THE LONDON STAGE IN WINTER |
4.00 credits |
| |
LIT3693 Play, Performance, Perspective: The London Stage in Winter
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
Prerequisite: Instructor Permission
|
| LIT3695 |
THE PLAY'S THE THING |
2.00 credits |
| |
|
| PHO1190 |
INTRODUCTION TO BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRPHY |
2.00 credits |
| |
PHO1190
Introduction to Black and White Photography
(General Credit)
Students who have completed PHO1100 are ineligible to register for this course. Students who complete this course will be ineligible to register for PHO1100
An exploration of the fundamental technical issues in black and white photography beginning with proper exposure and development of film and continuing to an understanding of rendering the gray tone scale in printmaking. At first the emphasis will be on developing technical competence, but with the understanding that technique must be in service to creating evocative images. Each assignment leads to a better understanding of the aesthetic and technical issues. Lectures will address the history of photography as well as specific artists. The final project, of the student's choosing, demonstrates the advancement of technique and an appreciation of how the camera transforms the seen world into a photograph.
School has several 35 mm cameras appropriate for this class.
Supply cost: approx $75.00
Prerequisites: None
You may not take this course if you have taken PHO1100
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