We will study the tradition of imagined worlds in Western culture, with its mystique of utopia, social engineering, escapism, and selectiveness. Readings will include Thomas More, George Orwell, J.R.R. Tolkien, and J.K. Rowling; Jorge Luis Borges' works will be our methodological guide to the worlds of the Internet that, for the purposes of this course, may include Second Life and Postsecret.

This class will introduce students to the basic elements of various styles of hip-hop dance including breaking, popping, locking, and contemporary music video style. In addition, students will learn the history of hip-hop-Rs four elements: breaking, MCing, DJing, and graffiti. Each class will start with a warm-up focusing on hip-hop fundamentals, and conclude with a short combination fusing these diverse styles together.

A social and political history of rhythm and blues in the 1960s.

The course offers an overarching historical survey of multiple idioms in dance. This course will focus on the development of Western theatrical dancing, starting with the court of Louis XIV and continuing to the present day. We will investigate dance as a microcosm of the politics of its time and investigate its cultural impact through the forms of ballet, modern dance, jazz, and other styles.

Journey through time and experience the evolution of hip-hop from its old-school social dance roots to the contemporary phenomenon of commercial choreography that hip-hop has become. Using film and text in addition to studio work, this class will create a framework from which to understand and participate in the global culture of hip-hop dance.

This course focuses on the integration of dance technique, performance, and improvisational research to expand students' embodied awareness, range of motion, and performance skills as contemporary dancers.

This course first explores institutional changes reshaping the Chinese economy and larger society over the past three and a half decades and then focuses on the interplay of current structures of the economy with non-economic (political, cultural, and environmental) processes in generating rapid economic growth and relative macroeconomic stability.

This survey course will introduce students to literature of modern Ireland beginning with Swift and ending with writers of the Irish literary revival and Irish modernists. The syllabus will also focus on Irish women writers and their literary interventions concerning colonial history, nationalism, and Unionism. We will pay particular attention to representations of ideas of Irishness through the categories of religion, race, gender, and culture.

An introduction to American poetry in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. What fuels the contemporary American poetic imagination? What is its shape and form? Along with supplementary essays, criticism and reviews, we'll focus on a wide range of poets, including John Ashbery, Louise Gluck, Jorie Graham, Claudia Rankine, James Tate, Terrance Hayes and Tracy K. Smith. We'll attune our ears to the pulse, music, and tone of the 'new' lyric, while foraging for fresh images and metaphors.

How does one assess a book for a popular audience? How does a book get published? How are literary prizes determined? What are the particular tastes and habits of the literary publishing world? While more books may compete for critical attention today than a generation ago, the web presents new opportunities for a life in books. Regular writing assignments and a ringside seat as spring's literary prizes are announced.