When did you start dreaming in a second language? Which translation of the Bible counts as the Word of God? Was Mary a virgin or a maiden? What happens to the immigrant children who need to the be interpreters in the life of their family? How much more tangled or how much more nimble is the wiring of the bilingual brain? What are we doing to our languages when we immerse in a new academic discipline? We will tackle these and other questions like these as we engage in the following units of study: (1) Babel and language differentiation and diffusion.

In this course we read selections from some classic works of existentialism, including texts by Søren Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Albert Camus. Existentialism is a tradition of philosophy and literature that flourished in mid-twentieth-century Europe. Its central theme is the ambivalence of human freedom. Freedom, for the existentialists, is our most prized possession, and what gives meaning to our existence.

This first-year seminar exposes students to political autobiography as a genre by reading political autobiographies written by Black authors across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We will pay careful attention to the manner in which their personal narratives connect to some key themes in American and global political thought such as race, capitalism, incarceration, gender, sexuality, and resistance.

Limited to 16 students. Open to first-year students only. First-year seminar. Fall semester. Assistant Professor Loggins.

Most humans live in territories that are controlled by a state. Why do different nations have different types of states? Why are some states more repressive than others, more war-prone than others, better promoters of development than others, more inclusive than others? How can we make sense of the varied reactions to state domination, ranging from active support to negotiated limits to apathy to vigorous contestation? Does globalization make states more or less democratic, more or less efficient, more or less able to promote development?

This course is designed for Education Studies majors (and prospective Education Studies majors) working on theses and other intensive research projects that examine the history, purpose, politics, and consequences of education. The course is intended to provide guidance and scholarly community for majors as they complete the requirement to produce a significant research project. Research may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to writing and research associated with a community-based project in an educational setting.

(Offered as ARHA 112 and ARCH 112) This introductory course teaches students how to read, write, and research the buildings, landscapes, and social spaces that comprise our world. Over the course of the semester, the Amherst College campus will be our guide. We will begin with visits to familiar locales like the town common and the buildings where students live, eat, and socialize. Students will embark upon exploratory writing exercises, sharing their thoughts on such spaces, while also refining their analytical skills.

Aretha Franklin insists that rhythm and blues music is “the truth.” With Franklin’s profound theory as its anchor, this seminar explores how 1990s rhythm and blues music offers truth, metaphor, narrative, and history about African American life and culture. We will explore how canonical artists from the 1990s such as Mary J. Blige, Aaliyah, and Brandy as well as “girl groups” such as Total, Xscape, and SWV dramatically transformed American culture.