Tumultuous and robust, American cities have certainly enjoyed a rich history. As this course is primarily a writing seminar, we're particularly interested in how Americans have given voice to their urban experience, beginning with the literary realism of the late 19th century and culminating in the various expressions of the hip-hop culture of today. Are there universals in the urban story? How and why do shifting populations tell different stories? We'll read history, biography, autobiography, journalism, fiction, and poetry in order to understand the tensions that have informed urban life.

This course is designed as a broad exploration of social and political change in South Asia, with special focus on India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Instead of in-depth study, this course aims to provide a broad sweep of vital aspects of South Asian culture, economy and polity. Key concepts taken up for discussion will include caste difference, religious plurality, rival nationalisms and anti-colonial struggle. Special attention will be paid to how the region's experience of colonialism continued to shape its politics and economy in the post-independence period.

The question of how to resist, survive and challenge retaliatory violence directed against African American communities has always been central to the history of African descendents in the U.S. The extent to which the active role of women has been central to this history has been rarely acknowledged.

Sarah Dunant's recent novel Sacred Hearts will be the point of departure for this course, as it depicts sixteenth-century convent life with insight, imagination, and a sophisticated command of the historical literature. It introduces themes such as mysticism and self-starvation, arranged marriages or forced claustration for daughters of the elite, and the harsh convent reform measures of the Council of Trent (1545-63) -- but also, on the positive side, the cultural production of nuns such as theatrical and musical performances.

The relationship of girls' empowerment to education has been and continues to be a key feminist issue. Second wave liberal feminism, for instance, strove to make schools more equitable places for girls, demanding equal access and resources for girls and boys in schools and the elimination of discrimination specifically impacting girls. Yet the relationship of gender inequality and schooling is a complicated and contentious site of research and policy.

This course introduces Division II students to ethnographic methods through the specific study of the powerful institutions of law, science, and medicine. Through the critical reading and analysis of ethnographic texts, students will learn about the substantive areas of political and legal anthropology, science studies, and critical medical anthropology. Students will also build a methodological toolkit for investigating complex social problems in the areas of law, science, and medicine.

Is capitalism the best economic system for meeting human needs? Can microeconomic theory help us figure out what to do about climate change? Will macroeconomic theory get us out of the recession? In this course, we will use these questions to frame the study of our economic system and the theories most often used to explain its workings. In the first part of the class, we will assess the merits and problems of capitalism as a system for producing and distributing goods and services.

In the last century the world experienced a rapid increase in population growth, giving rise to fears of 'overpopulation.' Today, these fears persist even as birth rates decline around the globe. Population remains a controversial issue, the subject of theoretical and political debates which cut across traditional categories of Right and Left. How one understands the population problem has profound consequences for social policy. This course will examine population from many different angles.

This course will explore the organizing efforts of African-Americans during the twentieth century. We will examine activism in both rural and urban sites and in cross-class, middle-class and working-class organizations. The readings will provide critical perspectives on how class, educational status, and gender shape the formation, goals, leadership styles and strategies of various movements. Some of the movements include the lobbying and writing of Ida B.

This course addresses the development of the United States economy and society from the colonial period to the present. Focusing on the development of capitalism, it provides students with an introduction to economic and historical analysis. Students study the interrelationship among society, economy and the state, the transformation of agriculture, and the response of workers to capitalism. Issues of gender, race, class, and ethnicity figure prominently in this course. This is designed to be a core course for students concentrating in economics, politics, and history.