'Black Metropolis' refers to the more than half a million black people jammed into a South Side ghetto in Chicago at mid-twentieth century that featured an entrenched black political machine, a prosperous black middle class, and a thriving black cultural scene in the midst of massive poverty and systemic inequality. This course will follow the political, economic, and cultural developments of what scholars considered to be the typical urban community in postwar United States.

In this seminar we will examine a select set of proposals, some more concrete than others, for reimagining or reforming the content and meaning of the United States Constitution through amendment or judicial construction. Students will then be divided into three groups that will meet weekly with instructor supervision to draft at least ten proposed amendments to the Constitution, In the final weeks of the course, we will convene as a constitutional convention to discuss, evaluate, and vote on each group's proposed amendments, resulting in an amended Constitution.

The development of the petroleum industry as the dominant energy source in the 20th century. The relationship between private corporations associated with exploration, production, refining, and marketing or oil and the various governments with whom they operate. The transition from a political economy dominated by American production to a truly global enterprise. The environmental consequences of petroleum consumption and the possibilities for a non-petroleum energy system.

The horror film stands at the core of the body genres; however, in 2013 it may be hard for us to experience visceral impact from films made at a time that, in some ways, looked so different from our own. This course will survey the genre from 1896 to 1968, the year that the rating system was introduced in the United States. Yet our scope will be international, tackling not only Hollywood's Universal Horror, but the UK's Hammer Horror, Mexican Horror, Les yeux sans visage (1960), Italy's Mario Bava, and precursors to J-Horror.

Nationalism is one of the greatest challenges to multiethnic states. They have had to create new strategies to deal with the demands of ethnic minorities. Taking the four states of Spain, Canada, Russia, and the former Yugoslavia as examples, we will focus on nationalist movements within these states and the central governments' responses. What has been the effect of the Communist legacy? Are there alternatives to federalism as a way of managing national claims? What socioeconomic policies have governments used to control ethnic tensions?

Film director Federico Fellini said that a 'different language is a different vision of life.' How has the Italian 'vision of life' changed from Mussolini's dictatorship to Berlusconi's government? From the birth of the Republic in 1946 to the debate ignited by Roberto Saviano's bestseller Gomorrah, this course traces transformations in modern Italian society. Through historical and literary readings, films, and the media, this course explores the difficult path towards modernity Italy has traveled in the last five decades.

(Taught in Italian) During unification, Italy was devastated by war. As soon as the peninsula was unified, colonial occupations dominated the political and intellectual arenas. World War I followed, leaving a wounded nation that, under vestiges of the Fascist regime, entered World War II. This interdisciplinary course addresses issues of war in 20th century Italy from historical, literary, musical, and visual perspectives.