Marxist writer Marshall Berman has argued, "To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world-and, at the same time, that threatens to destroy everything we have, everything we know, everything we are." In this introductory course, we will explore multiple aesthetic and cultural responses to the processes of modernization-colonialism, industrialization, urbanization, mechanized war, mass communication, mass migration, and mass social movements-by poets, fiction-writers, and intellectuals circu

As a 19th century phenomenon, slave narratives cataloged the pain and trauma enslaved people endured on the journey to freedom. As both autobiography and a tool in the fight for abolition, these narratives became a window into the inner lives of the enslaved. Twentieth century novelists sought to repair the trauma of enslavement in neo-slave narratives, often placing agency at the center of plotlines for enslaved actors.

An introduction to the archaeology, myth, history, art, literature, and religion of ancient Ireland: 4000 BCE to 1200 CE, from the earliest megalithic monuments to the Norman conquest. Consideration will be given, then, to these distinct periods: Pre-Celtic (Neolithic and Bronze Ages--4000 BCE-700 BCE); Pre-Christian Celtic (Late Bronze & Iron Ages--700 BCE-400 CE); and Early Christian Celtic (Irish Golden Ages and Medieval--700-1200 CE). The emphasis throughout will be on the study of primary material, whether artifacts or documents.

This seminar delves into the dynamics, debates, and desires that drive pop fandom. In this class, we ask: What is fan culture? Does it build community? Are fans different from other consumers? What are the ethics and politics of fandom? What are the aesthetic, social, and legal ramifications of fan-produced forms such as mash-ups, remixes, youtube videos, and fanfic/slash that borrow, customize, and reinterpret pop commodities? How do such textual appropriations call into question the boundaries between high and low, production and consumption, intellectual property and fair use?

This course will explore irony as a literary trope and as a broader rhetorical, discursive, and psycho-social phenomenon. Often defined as "saying the opposite of what one means" or "saying one thing and meaning another," irony crosses literary genres, periods, and cultures to become entangled with philosophical inquiry, dialectical negativity, and social critique.

As dance concentrators or enthusiasts, how many full-length ballets/dance works have you seen, become familiar with, been influenced by? Five? Ten? This course, which focuses on "dance visual literacy," challenges us to view 100 full-length dance works, for the express purpose of deepening awareness to the legacy of major twentieth-century choreographies.

This course will introduce students to the theory and practice of media studies, an interdisciplinary field of inquiry that analyzes the complex interactions between media, culture, art, politics and ideology. We will use various forms of US media as lenses through which to focus our study, as well as to develop an understanding of the relationship between media institutions, texts and audiences.

Is there such a thing as "objective" or "absolute" truth? Or is everything "relative" - to a particular individual, culture, language, or conceptual scheme? What is truth, anyway? In this course, we will examine the nature of truth, knowledge, and value and consider a range of challenges to the idea of "objective" or "absolute" truth.

The Bible is the foundational book of Western civilization and a classic of world literature. Biblical stories form the bedrock of the scriptural traditions of Christians and Jews, and in a different form, of Muslims as well. Biblical literature has also been foundational to Western art and literature from the medieval period to the present day. For many in the English-speaking world, including poets and artists, the most influential translation of the Bible has been the Authorized Version of 1611, otherwise known as the King James Version, together with its more recent descendants.

Translation is a common practice in poetry and literature, and adaptation is common in narrative film, but both of these practices are rare in photography. This class asks, "What does it look like to use photography to translate or adapt a text?" Together, we will review artists who use texts as starting points for making images, films or videos. Each student will embark on a semester-long project that adapts a book, poem, manuscript or manifesto into a series of still photographs.