China's prominence is growing on the international stage from joining the World Trade Organization to hosting the Olympic Games in 2008. Yet a myriad of representations of China as an impoverished developing country, a socialist state with an authoritarian government, and the next superpower circulates in the global imaginary. Set against this backdrop of discordant imaginaries, this course will examine the political, economic, social and cultural transformations from the start of China's economic reform (late 1970s) to today.

The study of theatrical performancetext, acting, performance space, elements of spectacle, audiencein relation to changing social, economic, political, and aesthetic movements. Explores the widest possible range of theatrical conventions available to the theater artist. Focus on research techniques.

An introduction to selected scientific aspects of dance, including anatomical identification and terminology, physiological principles, and conditioning/strengthening methodology. Also taught at Mount Holyoke.

Not available at this time.

This class for students majoring or minoring in psychology will cover a wide range of topics within forensic psychology. After a quick history of forensic psychology along with a review of specialty practice guidelines, we will examine the criminal legal system and hallmarks of major mental illnesses. The topics that will be covered in the class include competence to stand trial, criminal responsibility, malingering, violence risk assessment, juvenile and family forensic issues, and becoming a forensic psychologist.

Taking a comparative and grounded approach, this class explores the diverse and transformative consequences of social media as they become ubiquitous and taken for granted in our everyday lives. It takes as a starting point people?s everyday engagement with social media and analyzing the cultural patterns and social outcomes of practices such as memes, selfies, Facebook friending, social media fundraising, and digital mourning.

This is a mixed undergrad/grad class that examines the ways our lives, places and environments are organized by policies and law, and the underlying economic, cultural and political reasons we have shaped policies and laws in the ways we have. We examine the structures and background history of law and policy often taken for granted, from the role of private property in American development to national forest "sustained yield" policies to the politics of waste and recycling, and we trace forward their tangible impacts on human communities and the environmental landscape.

Much recent work in computer science in a variety of areas, from game theory to machine learning and sensor networks, exploits sophisticated methods of optimization. This course is intended to give students an in-depth background in both the foundations as well as some recent trends in the theory and practice of optimization for computer science. There is currently no course in the department that covers these topics, and yet it is critical to a large number of research projects done within the department.

This graduate seminar in dramaturgy each semester goes in depth into a special topic. Topics to include: Multicultural Theater Practice, Performance Theory, Avant-Garde Theater, Production Dramaturgy, Translation, Adaptation, and Dramaturgical Writing. Please check at enrollment time to see what Special Topic is being offered for the coming semester.