This course looks at texts that explore a myriad of mental afflictions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, dementia, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and memory-related issues, among others. While carefully looking at these texts, students are asked to consider the afflictions themselves, their representation in literature, graphic novels and films, and question how these different mediums help define and cement the "meaning" of these afflictions for the general public.

Through critical and creative writing, critical analysis, and discussion, this course will explore themes of gender and sexuality in performance. How can we analyze text through a queer lens? What makes a performance "queer"? How can a text be queered? When have queer images been normalized and when have they been coded or erased? This course will examine these questions through classic and contemporary plays, performance art, and film.

Since Thomas Moore coined the term "utopia" in his eponymous 16th century text, the urge to create works that envision new social realities seems to have permeated art, literature, music and architecture. The founding of the United States was predicated on utopian ideals and the humanities have followed suit bringing us narratives of futures steeped in possibility. Why do these visions of the future compel their creators and how have they worked on our culture to create real social and political change?

Everybody collects something - ideas, objects, words or things. This course will explore the complex - often contradictory - and at times outright bizarre nature of collecting on the UMass campus. This exploratory course will open with readings and conversations about the topic more broadly before moving on to campus-wide excursions to discover the many, rich and varied UMass collections.

In the present moment when so much of our news circulates online, reading blogs can seriously enhance our knowledge of current events, and can help us to gain a more nuanced understanding of the different voices and perspectives involved in these conversations. Additionally, exposure to news and media blogs provides a window into an exciting genre of writing that does not necessarily adhere to the standard, and sometimes alienating, conventions of traditional academic writing.

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Every week we will watch a horror film/videogame that shows the psychic child, the monstrous child, and the archetypal innocent. We will also watch films where the child cannot be boxed as only evil or only innocent (Goodnight Mommy [2014], Babadook [2013]). We will then discuss the meanings of such depictions and how they change based on place and time. Assignments: students will exchange bi-weekly letters discussing the film/videogame of the week. Their final project is a collaborative presentation or a written paper comparing two monstrous children of their choice.

The most enduring images of the British Empire in India are derived from popular culture, especially films. Focusing on popular Bollywood (Hindi films) as well as Indian arthouse and world cinema, this course examines the rise and fall of the British Empire in India between the late eighteenth and early twentieth century. We will analyze key social, economic and political issues created by the British Empire and how these issues are depicted in filmic narratives. Material used in this course will include films, scholarly pieces, and primary source readings.