Hundreds of ancient Christian texts did not make it into the New Testament. What Didn't Make It in the New Testament examines some of these excluded writings. We will explore Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse ancient Christian romance novels, tour heaven and hell, read the garden of Eden story told from the perspective of the snake, and learn how the world will end.

From the erotic asceticism of the god Siva to the spiritual power of an auspicious married woman, to the spiritual power of an auspicious married woman, the nexus of gender and sexuality has broadly shaped the practices and philosophies of South Asia's many religious traditions. The central questions guiding this course are: How do Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam incorporate sexual practice and/or restraint into a vision of ethical life? When does one's sexuality or gender become dangerous or unethical?

From the erotic asceticism of the god Siva to the spiritual power of an auspicious married woman, to the spiritual power of an auspicious married woman, the nexus of gender and sexuality has broadly shaped the practices and philosophies of South Asia's many religious traditions. The central questions guiding this course are: How do Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam incorporate sexual practice and/or restraint into a vision of ethical life? When does one's sexuality or gender become dangerous or unethical?

A study of Ovid's ambitious epic celebrating change and transformative forces, with attention to the challenges it poses to traditional Roman values and to conventional Roman notions of the work appropriate to a poet. In particular, consideration will be given to the way Ovid's poem subversively responds to Vergil's work.

A study of Ovid's ambitious epic celebrating change and transformative forces, with attention to the challenges it poses to traditional Roman values and to conventional Roman notions of the work appropriate to a poet. In particular, consideration will be given to the way Ovid's poem subversively responds to Vergil's work.

This seminar will examine foundational and recent US-based feminist and queer disability studies scholarship and activism. In particular, the course will focus on how scholars and activists have answered the question: What is disability justice? In order to answer this question, we will look at how disability has been constructed and treated historically and currently, particularly at the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality.

This research seminar offers an in-depth opportunity to explore the 1960s. To what extent was it a unique historical era? Does it make sense to think of a long 1960s, beyond that decade? We will focus on several political and cultural movements, including civil rights, the anti-Vietnam war struggle, the counter culture, the emergence of feminism and gay rights, and the conservative backlash. How do the political, cultural, and intellectual conflicts of that day continue to shape American life today?

The United States emerged from the Second World War as the most powerful nation on earth. This course explores American political, cultural, and social life in the postwar era, with an eye toward helping students gain a firmer understanding of contemporary issues and conflicts in our nation and around the world.

Designed for music and non-music majors, this advanced seminar examines core theoretical and methodological issues in ethnomusicology and the debates that have shaped its practice since its origins in the early twentieth century as comparative musicology. Drawing on musical traditions from different parts of the world and supplemented by workshops conducted by visiting professional musicians, the course explores the interdisciplinary approaches that inform how ethnomusicologists study the significance of music in and as culture.

Are children wired to be able to learn without direct instruction? Does the process of schooling diminish or enhance our capacity to be self-directed learners? What factors determine one's readiness for self-directed learning, and can self-directed learning be taught? What role, if any, do teachers play in self-directed learning? This seminar explores these questions in the context of an ongoing ethnographic study of an alternative education program within a public high school.