This course will examine the work and the centralized black world of the last American Nobel laureate in literature, Toni Morrison. Morrison is the author of eleven novels and multiple other works, including nonfiction and criticism. In a career that has spanned over forty years and has informed countless artists and writers, Morrison's expansive cultural reach can hardly be measured accurately. In this course we will endeavor to critically analyze the arc and the import of many of Morrison's writings.

This course will chart the development of Modernism in poetry and prose by examining the careers of two of the most important writers in the first half of the twentieth-century: the poet, T. S. Eliot and the novelist, Virginia Woolf. We will focus on the way both writers initially seek to wrestle into representation new content within the frame of pre-existing forms and, by so doing, discover that these forms are inadequate or buckle under the strain and need to be revised, renewed, and transformed.

This course provides an overview of important themes in the economic history of the United States and other countries. The goals of this course are to examine reasons for economic growth over time, to use economic analysis to understand history, and to study how history shapes economic institutions today. Topics covered include resource endowments, the industrial revolution, and slavery.

An introduction to political economy using a wide range of popular films as the object of analysis. Films are analyzed as representations of real world social relationships, including market behavior. The goal of the course is for students to learn the basic concepts and logic deployed in economic theories, orthodox and heterodox, and the language of contemporary social scientific debates over income distribution, agency, class, market efficiency, externalities, economic incentives, and equity. See http://www.mtholyoke.edu/^ courses/sgabriel/filmcourse_2016.html

Margaret Mead once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Anthropology has a long history of engagement in social activism and change. This course examines approaches to activist anthropology in light of the discipline's controversial past. How have anthropologists tried to overcome the legacy of involvement in racist, colonial, and imperialist projects? Is it appropriate for anthropologists to become involved in activist endeavors?

Since the 1960s, many social movements for justice, equality, and inclusion in our world have taken the form of struggles for recognition (e.g., antiracism, feminism, multiculturalism, LGBT activism, etc.). What is recognition in this sense and conversely misrecognition, i.e., the sort of harm or injustice done to someone or certain populations of people by failing or choosing not to recognize them? How can (mis)recognition show up and be theorized both as a matter of how people are socially constituted and how they should treat one another?

Housing is closely tied to quality of life and the health of neighborhoods and communities. This interdisciplinary seminar explores Latinas/os' relationship to housing and home ownership by examining: the history of housing policy in the United States; national identity, assimilation and housing; and discriminatory housing policies/programs and housing inequality. We will explore topics including immigration, housing policy, public housing, segregation, gentrification, the suburbs, and community building.

Does human life have meaning (purpose)? Can religion or spirituality provide it? If not, is human life 'absurd'? How can we attain or create meaning in the face of the 'absurdity' of human life? What is genuine human freedom? Are other people in the world obstacles to, or also sources for, our attempt to attain or create meaning in our lives? What is existential commitment and 'authenticity'? Is existentialist ethics possible at all?

This course provides an overview of the immigrant rights movement, emphasizing diverse undocumented Latina/o students throughout the K-20 pipeline.

The voluntary and involuntary movement of people around the globe is the focus of this course on migrations, refugees, and diasporas. Questions of borders, nativism, transnationalism, the global economy, and legality thread through this course as we consider the many social, cultural, environmental, economic, and political factors shaping decisions to leave a home or homeland. Historical and contemporary case studies, compelling theoretical texts, and geographic perspectives on these topics collectively animate our discussions.