This course introduces the study of human relationships with other animals. We will explore how these relationships shape, and are shaped by, social, political, and economic forces. Key questions include: How do specific, historic, and cultural perspectives inform our understandings of animals? What ethical and political concerns emerge from human-animal entanglements in various contexts such as agriculture, conservation, and companionship? What are the key debates on animal welfare and conservation?

This course will explore the historical, political, economic, social, and cultural contexts in which human-environment interactions occur. We will cover critical topics and trends in the field of political ecology, from its early manifestations to more recent expansions. Using case studies from the global south and north, we will discuss factors that shape social and environmental change across scales from the personal to the global, and we will examine the role of gender, race, class, and power in struggles over resources.

The location of a possible "golden spike" at Crawford Lake, marking the Anthropocene's onset, further underscores the claim that we have entered a new geological epoch in which human activity is the dominant force of planetary change. Thinking beyond physical markers, this course delves into the representational strategies, challenges, and speculative dimensions of Anthropocene thinking. How does the Anthropocene (re)shape our understandings of the human, the other-than-human, and the humanities?

From struggles for racial justice and Indigenous self-determination, to action for biodiversity conservation, many of the world's most urgent issues are also environmental justice challenges. This course will survey the theoretical questions, concepts, and perspectives on environmental justice at local and global scales. In the first part of the course, we will do a brief historical overview of the environmental justice movement and environmentalism(s), and we will discuss global contemporary issues like e-waste and food justice.

This course examines key themes in Jewish intellectual, religious, and political life from the late 17th century to the present.

This course examines gender as a key category in Jewish religious thought and practice. Students examine different theories of gender and intersectional feminisms, concepts of gender in a range of Jewish sources, and feminist Jewish responses to those sources. Students work with the Judaica collection at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum and consider material culture as a source for women's and gender studies.

This course is designed to introduce students to social, cultural, historical, and political perspectives on gender and its construction. Through discussion and writing, we will explore the intersections among gender, race, class, and sexuality in multiple settings and contexts. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to a variety of questions, we will consider the distinctions between sex and gender, women's economic status, the making of masculinity, sexual violence, queer movements, racism, and the challenges of feminist activism across nations, and possibilities for change.

This course is designed to introduce students to social, cultural, historical, and political perspectives on gender and its construction. Through discussion and writing, we will explore the intersections among gender, race, class, and sexuality in multiple settings and contexts. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to a variety of questions, we will consider the distinctions between sex and gender, women's economic status, the making of masculinity, sexual violence, queer movements, racism, and the challenges of feminist activism across nations, and possibilities for change.