Interdisciplinary Studies Program (ISP)
Class Schedule  Fall 2008
Theme A                   Theme B

THEME A - Individuals and Society
A1  
Mon 9:40 AM - 12:10 PM

Dra/Eng/Eth/His/Lit/Mus/Spe

Aman, Balis, Reitz, Thomas
Individuals and Society
Individuals in society are also members of a variety of “social” groups identified by factors such as ethnicity, religion, race, age, education, political affiliation, legal status and geography. Through readings, field trips, film, guest speakers and group discussion, we will consider the ways in which individuals in our society are understood and misunderstood by others and by ourselves. We will explore the idea of the “social contract,” and analyze the extent to which we are products and producers of society

A2
Tues 9:40 AM - 12:10 PM

His/Soc

Crowder, Will

Revolutionaries: Challengers to the Status Quo
How much change is society willing to accept? This course examines select individuals who were not content with taking small evolutionary steps, but rather produced ruptures with the status quo. They rejected existing socio-political, cultural, religious, economic, and/or scientific structures in order to create new visions and knowledge that transformed society and its institutions. The course places their contributions in historical context and explores the factors that make leadership and revolutionary change viable.
A3
Tues 12:30 - 3:00 PM

Ant/Art/Eth

Lee, Havilland
Graffiti, Street Art, and Other Acts of Visual Protest
Is graffiti an original American art form, an illicit act of urban vandalism, or a voice of social protest?  What do the familiar “tags” of hip hop culture and high-priced paintings of the 1980s share with street art around the world and political art actions under repressive regimes?  This course will investigate graffiti and its many related forms in a course that combines field trips, movies, ethnographic research, and hands-on creative art projects.
A4
Tues 12:30 - 3:00 PM

Phi

Brugnola
Solitude and Loneliness: Individuals by Themselves
What is the difference between simply being alone in a crowd and feeling lonely while surrounded by others? Can one be alone but not lonely? Are we ever really alone? What is the meaning of solitude, and is it something to value? Using texts from philosophy and literature, film and art, this course explores the distinctions between aloneness and loneliness, solitude and solitariness.
A5
Wed 9:40 AM - 12:10 PM

Gov/His

Cauthen/Balis
Presidential Elections and the Electoral Process
2008 promises to be a fascinating year of elections for United States citizens. At stake are issues related to immigrants, privacy, terrorism, the economy and the environment, among others. This course will explore the political, historical and personal processes by which a nation learns about candidates and then elects its leader.
A6
Thurs 9:40 AM - 12:10 PM

Eng/Eth/His/Lit

Paulino, Merandy
Song of the Open Road: Literature of Travel
Looking at 19th and 20th Century fiction, memoir, film and music, this course will examine how experiences of travel—and the creative ways those travels are memorialized—help the individual to understand, question, reshape, critique and challenge notions of self, personal space, and a sense of the wider world.
A7
Thurs 9:40 AM - 12:10 PM

Dra/Phi/Spe

Struhl, Landowne
Whose Self Is It Anyway
Who am I? What makes me a unique individual with my own distinct “inner” self? Do I have an authentic self and a social one? Do I create my own identity or is it created for me by social, cultural, and historic forces? Is my life story truly my own? In this course we will explore such questions through the lenses of philosophy, theater and cinema, with a particular focus on ways in which our identities are shaped by various forms of storytelling.
A8
Thurs 12:30 - 3:00 PM

Eng/Eth/Lit/Mus

Thomas, Rothschild
Immigrant NYC: Music and More
Many immigrant communities have arrived to the shores of New York City over the past century and a half, bringing unique cultural experiences and expressions. In this course, we will explore how musical texts and lyrics are used to develop community, perpetuate ethnic identity and inspire new identities in America. Think Nyoricans and Dominicanyorks, blues, hip-hop and jazz, Yiddish theater, Irish jigs and Albanian folk clubs. This is but a glimpse of the immigrant NYC tapestry!
A9
By Arrangement

Soc

Goodman
Internships

One day per week (96 hours per semester) on site, plus regularly scheduled seminar meetings with academic advisor (15 hours per semester), written assignments. Internship seminars take a three-prong approach to considering the on-site work students do: (1) Descriptive—students should have a comprehensive understanding of what their agency does; (2) Practical—students should be able to draw connections between the work that they do at their agency and the overall functioning of that agency in the community; (3) Analytical—students will work to make inferences about the role that their agency plays with regard to public policy, community action, and social problems and solutions



Theme B - Continuity & Change: Global Perspectives
B1  Monday
9:40 AM - 12:10 PM  &
5:30 - 8:00 PM
Phi/Psy
McClure, Leftoff
The Meaning of Madness
Is spirit possession a form of madness? Are those who speak in tongues mad? Who decides? Who is silenced by these decisions? What do these questions reveal about our cultural assumptions with regard to the meaning of “madness”? This course examines the idea of madness from the psychological and philosophical perspectives of  the West and other cultures
B2  Monday
12:30 - 3:00 PM
Eng/His/Lit
Haw, Sherman
Into the Fire Again: The "Good" War
In this country, World War II is sometimes called "The Good War."  Whether true or not, that second World War marked the dawn of a new era, one which requires us to examine our understandings from a global perspective.  In this course we will use sources ranging from journals and novels to historical studies to analyze the changes and continuities that led to this conflagration and the consequences we live with today.
B3  Monday
8:00 - 10:30  PM
Law
Johnson
From Case to Showcase: Portraying Contemporary Legal Issues on Popular Television
Television programs like Law & Order (and its spin-offs), Boston Legal, and the new Canterbury’s Law pull their plots from real legal issues, conflicts, and cases. Does this mean that TV viewers get a clearer understanding of these cases or a distorted view of how the law really works? What role, if any, do law-based television shows play in educating and/or misleading us with regard to the ways in which legal issues are played out and resolved in the real world? In this course we will examine a variety of law-based TV shows as well as consider the legal cases and commentary from which the programs draw their material.

B4  Monday
8:00 - 10:30 PM
CRJ
Kimora
The Changing Portrayal of Ethical Conflict in Film
What does it mean to be ethical, or to be unethical? Why do Criminal Justice students and practitioners need to know about ethics? This course will explore the ways in which ethical—and unethical—behaviors are portrayed in Hollywood films. These representations will then serve as cases for us to consider in connection to real-life examples of corruption.
B5  Tuesday
9:40 AM - 12:10 PM  &
5:30 - 8:00 PM
Dra/Soc/Spe
Green, Goodman
The Drama of Social Problems
What is a social problem, as distinct from an individual one? Have social problems changed? Become more complex? More dangerous? How do people create, complicate, and solve social problems? Using drama and dramatic techniques, this course will explore the evolution of social problems, examine definitions of those problems, and provide an opportunity for students to analyze and propose responses—even solutions—to at least some of the problems that afflict society today. Students will also develop critical positions on the ways in which these problems—and solutions—have been represented in dramatic form and how these representations affect our understanding of the problems themselves.
B6  Tuesday
12:30 - 3:00 PM  &
8:00 - 10:30 PM
Eth/His/Law
Paulino, Scott
The Language and the Laws of the Streets
The place we call “the street” is a hotbed of intersecting forms of cultural expression. This course will examine the relationship between the languages of cultural expression in impoverished and/or marginalized communities in the United States and abroad, and how these forms of expression are defined and portrayed by the legal community as well as in public discourse. Students will explore literature, film, music and styles as ways of understanding the unique and nuanced languages and expressions of “the street.” Among the themes explored will be: the contentious relationship between the phenomenon of “no snitching” vs. the use of informants; first amendment free speech vs. censorship; government sanctioned drugs and gambling vs. illegal gambling and narcotics; and artistic creativity by incarcerated individuals vs. the state prohibition on convict profiteering.
B7  Wednesday
9:40 AM - 12:10 PM  &
5:30 - 8:00 PM
Eng/His/Law/Lit/Phi
McClure, Haw, Markowitz, Sarna
Continuity and Change: The 1960's
Did America reinvent itself during the tumultuous decade of the 1960s? Chock-full of mass protest, assassinations, race riots, imminent nuclear holocaust, and threats of war around the world, the decade is also regarded as a time of hope, hippies, liberation, peace, and love. Were the 1960s the beginning of a new chapter in American history or a brief disruption in the onward flow of that history? The 1960s was the most turbulent decade in recent memory. What changed? And what didn’t?
B8  Wednesday
12:30 - 3:00 PM
CRJ/Soc
Stein
Investigations of Male Aggression
Men are more likely than women to run Fortune 500 companies, hold world records in sports, commit suicide, defend their countries in battle, drink and drive, rape and rob, and die an early death. Do their hormones make them do it?  Is male dominance an evolutionary necessity? Are their inner worlds simply more violent?  Or is the game just rigged this way by the white male patriarchy? This course meets at the crossroads of biology, psychology, sociology, and the law for an inquiry into male aggression.
B9  Wednesday
8:00 - 10:30 PM
Eng/Lit
Rothschild
Poems, Lyrics, Rants in Contemporary Culture
From before Walt Whitman uttered his 'Barbaric Yawp" to Amiri Baraka's controversial poem on the World Trade Towers and beyond, American Poets have "Observed Locally & Spoken Globally". In this class we will consider the place of poetry in the public world--from the poet's perspective--as it manifests itself during different historical periods and in different cultural contexts. As we gain an understanding of the poet's role in society, we will be making our own political/cultural/creative work.
B10  Thursday
9:40 AM - 12:10 PM  &
5:30 - 8:00 PM
Dra/His/Spe
Aman, Sherman
Lies and Truth
In this course, we will analyze how our histories and our lives are changed and shaped in apparent continuities by big lies that undermine our understanding of who we have been and who we are. We will examine sources ranging from texts about American history to theater and film that explore how lies and truth shape all human interactions.
B11  Thursday
12:30 - 3:00 PM
Dra/Psy/Spe
Green, T.Lee
The Changing Face of Gender
To what degree is gender innate, assigned, or acquired? What happens when anatomy and psychology conflict? The degree to which individuals adhere or fail to adhere to gender role norms has profound implications for identity and experience. This course will examime gender as performance and social reality, both in life as well as on stage and screen.
B12  Thursday
12:30 - 3:00 PM
Eng/Eth/Lit/Soc
Pease, Rajah
Your America: Representations of Race and Ethnicity
The significance of race and ethnic differences is one of the most contentious and controversial issues of our time.  Some have represented America as a global melting pot.  Others have challenged this view.  Together we will examine how race and ethnicity are socially and politically constructed phenomena that vary significantly across time and place.  Through our readings and discussions we hope to understand how and why cultures are represented and reshaped in the United States.
B13  Thursday
 8:00 - 10:30 PM
CRJ/Dra/Spe
Kimora, Landowne
The Psychopath in the Theater
This course will explore the link between psychopathy—one of the most controversial mental illnesses—and crime. In particular, we will examine the representations of psychopathy and psychopathic criminals in drama. We will examine definitions of psychopathy—from the clinical descriptions to popular conceptions and misconceptions. Why do psychopaths make such ‘popular’ characters in drama? How and why have definitions of psychopathy changed—even to the point where many in the field of psychology and psychiatry no longer even accept psychopathy as a discrete illness at all.
B14
By Arrangement

Soc
Goodman
Internships
One day per week (96 hours per semester) on site, plus regularly scheduled seminar meetings with academic advisor (15 hours per semester), written assignments. Internship seminars take a three-prong approach to considering the on-site work students do: (1) Descriptive—students should have a comprehensive understanding of what their agency does; (2) Practical—students should be able to draw connections between the work that they do at their agency and the overall functioning of that agency in the community; (3) Analytical—students will work to make inferences about the role that their agency plays with regard to public policy, community action, and social problems and solutions

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