SEMINARS

All courses are 3 s.h. unless otherwise noted.

ANTHROPOLOGY

ANTH 14S sec. 91 (CRN 22939): IMAGINING ARCHAEOLOGY: TAKING IT TO THE FIFTH GRADE
Christopher Matthews
T/TH 9:35-11 a.m.
103 Brower
Distribution Category: Behavioral Social Sciences (BH)

How do archaeologists reconstruct ancient cultures from artifacts and other silent remains? The answer lies in the ability of archaeologists to blend science with imagination. The main problem, however, is how to imagine the past without crossing the line between fact and fiction. This seminar looks at the ways archaeologists “make up” the archaeological record. We look at the use of science in archaeology, how archaeology confronts its image in the popular media, and how archaeological discoveries are put to use for political ends. Finally, we share these discoveries with students at a local elementary school. By teaching grade-school students how archaeologists creatively reconstruct the past, Hofstra students not only gain a mastery of the material, but they will empower young students to develop and value their own imagination and critical thinking skills.

ANTH 14S sec. 92 (CRN 24137): THINKING ABOUT WAL-MART
Sharryn Kasmir
T/TH 4:30-5:55 p.m.
102 Brower
Distribution Category: Behavioral Social Sciences (BH)

How is Wal-Mart changing the way we work and shop? What is Wal-Mart’s impact on communities in the United States and around the globe? Why is there a global protest movement against Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart is the biggest employer in the United States and the world’s largest retail corporation. It is also one of the most controversial firms on the planet because of its impact on communities, jobs, government services and global business. Citizens are fighting to keep Wal-Mart out of their communities and workers are suing over unfair labor practices. Scores of films, books and articles criticize Wal-Mart’s practices and policies. What is the controversy about? In this course, we look closely at all sides of Wal-Mart — how it shapes consumption patterns, workplaces and communities. We consider Wal-Mart’s impact in the United States and in other countries, where people produce the goods that Wal-Mart sells.

ANTH 14S sec. 93 (CRN 24676): HipHop, the Dream, and Education
Marlene Munn-Joseph
T/TH 11:10 a.m.-12:35 p.m.
180 Hagedorn
Distribution Category: Behavioral Social Sciences (BH)

How has Hip-Hop culture become so prevalent in popular society? How has Hip-Hop’s emergence reflected youth’s ability to challenge, innovate and redirect social and cultural practices in our society? We attempt to answer these and other questions by examining the identity formation of the beneficiaries of “the Dream” and how the emergence of Hip-Hop culture has influenced youth across various racial/ethnic backgrounds and social spaces. Rather than treat Hip-Hop as just a form of entertainment, this course traces the development of Hip-Hop as not only a historical phenomenon but as a social-political resource for youth. Students will be asked to critically engage in analyzing the impact of Hip-Hop culture on our current socio-political climate and the direction of Hip Hop culture in the 21st century. 

 

ASTRONOMY

ASTR 14S sec. 91 (CRN 23461): THE UNIVERSE
Brett Bochner
TH 2:20-4:10 p.m.
114 Chemistry/Physics Building
Distribution Category: Natural Science (NS)

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ASTR 14S sec. 91L (CRN 23462): THE UNIVERSE LAB (0 s.h.)
Brett Bochner
T 2:20-4:10 p.m.
207 Chemistry/Physics Building
Distribution Category: Natural Science (NS)

This course provides an overview of objects larger than our individual solar system, ranging from stars and stellar systems, to the universe as a whole. We study a variety of topics, including (1) the births, lives, and deaths of stars and planets; (2) the generation of stellar energy through nuclear fusion; (3) the explosions of stars as supernovae; (4) black holes, and other unusual effects of Einstein’s theory of gravity (general relativity); (5) the structure and behaviors of our and other galaxies and, (6) dark matter, dark energy, and the Big Bang theory of the creation of the universe. The class includes lectures, participatory labs and activities, including astronomical observations on the roof of the Chemistry/Physics Building.

ECONOMICS

ECO 14S sec. 91 (CRN 23355): POLITICAL ECONOMICS OF GLOBALIZATION
Massoud Fazeli
MW 2:55-4:20 p.m.
203 Breslin
Distribution Category: Behavioral Social Sciences (BH)

How do you make sense of people when they argue that they are “pro-“ or “anti-“ globalization? How are goods, capital and people moving around the world in new ways? How do these movements change politics locally and globally? How do they relate to national security and national sovereignty? Why does increasing global interconnectedness also seem to lead to greater division, greater inequality and greater tension? How are we all connected, and who are “we”? Topics may include: terms of trade between and among nations; sweatshop labor; the role of the IMF, the World Bank and other intermediaries in international trade; the state of and putative causes of disparities in wealth between nations; peace and security in the world; the environment; human rights; and cultural preservation.

 

ENGINEERING

ENGG 14S sec. 91 (CRN 24440): STEM CELLS: SCIENCE, ETHICS AND POLITICS – Cross-listed with TPP 14S 91 (CRN 24610)
Sina Rabbany
T/TH 12:45-2:10 p.m.
103 Weed
Distribution Category: Natural Science (NS)

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ENGG 14S sec. 91L (CRN 24442): STEM CELLS: SCIENCE, ETHICS AND POLITICS LAB - Cross-listed with TPP 14S 91L (CRN 24611) (0 s.h.)
Sina Rabbany
W 1:55-3:45 p.m.
106 Weed

ENGG 14S sec. 92 (CRN 24441): STEM CELLS: SCIENCE, ETHICS AND POLITICS – Cross-listed with TPP 14S 92 (CRN 24612)
Sina Rabbany
T/TH 2:20-3:45 p.m.
208 Weed
Distribution Category: Natural Science (NS)

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ENGG 14S sec. 92L (CRN 24443): STEM CELLS: SCIENCE, ETHICS AND POLITICS LAB – Cross-listed with TPP 14S 92L (CRN 24613) (0 s.h.)
Sina Rabbany
W 1:55-3:45 p.m.
106 Weed

Stem cells have become front page news. Why all the fuss? This course explores the biology of stem cells, their potential uses in medicine and some of the challenges facing stem cell research, from self-renewal through to clinical applications. It then focuses on the various types of stem cells, including their isolation, growth and potential in regenerative medicine. The moral, religious and policy concerns surrounding this intensely debated area of science are also covered. This is a science course for non-scientists.

ENGLISH

ENGL 14S sec. 91 (CRN 23041): OTHER WORLDS IN EARLY MODERN LITERATURE
Vimala Pasupathi
M/W/F 12:50-1:45 p.m.
20 Mason
Distribution Category: Literature (LT)

This course introduces students to the idea that literary texts make worlds, literally and figuratively. Examining texts written during the English Renaissance, a period of early European exploration and expansion, we will explore the aesthetic and political choices that English writers from the 16th and 17th centuries made when they built their own textual worlds. How did early English constructions of such worlds in turn construct or deconstruct cultural perceptions of humanity, national identity, gender and class? How do these worlds function in our imagination of our own world? What happens when we remove these texts from their historical contexts and bring them to bear on very different worlds? In Unit 1, we look at how English writers fashioned their own country. Then, in Unit 2, we turn to English accounts of places beyond the island, considering English exploration and colonialism. Finally, in Unit 3, we look at less “worldly” worlds in English accounts of heaven and hell. Major texts for this course include Dante’s Inferno, Milton’s Paradise Lost, Shakespeare’s Henry V and The Tempest as well as travel narratives, Montaigne’s essay “On Cannibals” and Margaret Cavendish’s The Blazing World.

ENGL 14S sec. 93 (CRN 24462): THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION
Barbara Bengels
T/TH 11:10 a.m.-12:35 p.m.
104 Brower
Distribution Category: Literature (LT)

Science fiction has been called the literature of change. This course considers how science fiction has shown the human response to real and imagined technological advancements as well as how the craft of science fiction writing has changed over the years. We trace its evolution with a brief nod to the earliest writers (Lucian, deBergerac, Swift), then to American precursors (Hawthorne, Poe), and finally to the real fathers of the genre (Verne, Wells) and the blossoming of the 20th century writers, such as Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov and Bradbury. We read several exemplary novels and many short stories, and examine how science fiction movies are a genre unto themselves.

ENGL 14S sec. 94 (CRN 24636): CREATIVITY AND THE FEMALE ARTIST
Susan Lorsch
M/W/F 1:55-2:50 p.m.
20 Mason
Distribution Category: Literature (LT)

Students explore female creativity as it is questioned, propagandized, defined and redefined in the Western world in the 20th century. Set against the standard image of the male artist as creator/God, the image of the female artist (writer, dancer, painter, actor, etc.) evolved in the 20th century in exciting ways and across a variety of media. The works to be considered redefine not only what it is to be an artist but the very conception of art itself. Students’ written work is responsive to the novels, films, art, and music and includes a journal, brief papers and/or other forms of creative response in whatever media students may decide to express their thoughts and reactions to the course readings. Artists studied include painter Frida Kahlo, writer Virginia Woolf, and singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell, among others.

ENGL 14S sec. 95 (CRN 24720): JANE AUSTEN IN CONTEXT
Irene Fizer
223 Mason
T/TH 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Distribution Category: Literature (LT)

Beneath carefully constructed masks seethe the brutal, greedy and licentious impulses of purportedly civilized people. In their midst are women and men with profound insight, reason or feeling, who have to accommodate to a world inferior to their better aspirations. The novelist Jane Austen depicted both the structures of English society and the inner lives of her characters with an acutely observant eye. Taking Austen’s writings as our focus, we explore the literary and cultural contexts within which her writing emerged and has been interpreted. Her depiction of female insanity and seduction in Sense and Sensibility is set in relation to the rebellion and self-destruction glorified during the Romantic era. Austen’s comedic gothic Northanger Abbey is paired with the first horror fiction in English, The Castle of Otranto. Austen’s Emma is placed in context with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; whereas Frankenstein represents a man creating an artificial man, Emma is arguably more radical, as it depicts a woman who makes an artificial woman in order to wield the power of a god. While reading Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, we screen selected scenes from the many film adaptations to consider how Austen’s work was altered and adapted in the 20th century.  

GEOLOGY

GEOL 14S sec. 91 (CRN 23599): FIELD GEOLOGY OF NEW YORK CITY AND LONG ISLAND
Charles Merguerian
T/TH 1-1:55 p.m.
162 Gittleson
Distribution Category: Natural Science (NS)

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GEOL 14S sec. 91L (CRN 23600)” FIELD GEOLOGY OF NEW YORK CITY AND LONG ISLAND LAB (0 s.h.)
Charles Merguerian
TH - 11:05 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
225 Gittleson

Public health, public transportation, water works, and environmental protection – these are endeavors controlled by huge agencies devoted to the implementation of public policy, municipal construction, and oversight of legal issues. They touch all of us in our daily lives, and they depend on the subjects of geology and engineering. This seminar is conducted in a “field trip” format. In traveling to various sites around New York City and Long Island, we see first-hand how science connects with public policy. Students learn to look at issues related to public health and construction in NYC and Long Island through the lens of the field geologist.

HISTORY

HIST 14S sec. 91 (CRN 24339): BASEBALL IN AMERICA
John Staudt
M/W 4:30-5:55 p.m.
103 Roosevelt
Distribution Category: History, Philosophy, Religion (HP)

Baseball has played a central role in American culture for almost 200 years. The game’s most important events and characters reflect critical issues confronted in the larger American society. This course examines how people have absorbed, appreciated and participated in the game of baseball. It explores how the game paralleled the growth and development of the United States from an agrarian society through industrialization and into the 21st century. Among the topics highlighted are the origins of baseball; the development of baseball as a business; its part in national segregation and integration policies; topics of gender, regional identity, demographics and immigration; and economic issues such as the disparity between rich and poor teams, explosion of player’s salaries and labor-management issues. Finally, the course, from time to time, touches on great moments in baseball history such as Satchel Paige’s strike out of Josh Gibson, Bobby Thompson’s “shot heard ’round the world,” and “the catch” by Willie Mays. 

HIST 14S sec. 92 (CRN 24354): MUSLIMS IN AMERICA (4 s.h.)
Mario Ruiz
T/TH 4:30-6:30 p.m.
103 Brower
Distribution Category: History, Philosophy, Religion (HP)

This first-year seminar aims at a greater understanding of the role Arabs and Muslims have played in shaping the social and political history of the United States. Specifically, we examine how African-American Muslims and Muslim immigrants from the Arab World and South Asia have transformed American ideas of religious and political community from the time of Christopher Columbus to the present. We also explore what it means to be American and Muslim in the post-September 11th world. 

 

MATHEMATICS

MATH 14S sec. 91 (CRN 24317): ZERO AND MUCH MORE
Silvia Silberger
M/W/F 1:55-2:50 p.m.
103 Brower
Distribution Category: Mathematics and Computer Science (MC)

This course surveys the history of mathematics as it follows the history of the mathematical world’s acceptance of the number zero. Key mathematics topics such as imaginary numbers, concepts of infinity, the Cartesian plane, derivatives and integrals, and some more modern concepts in mathematics are broached through their relationship with zero. Students in this course should have an interest in philosophy and mathematics, a reasonably strong algebra background and understanding of the real number system.
Prerequisite: An SAT math score of 500 or better, a 16 or better on either placement test, or a C- or better in Math 6.

 

PHYSICS

PHYS 14S 91 (CRN 24397): WORKSHOP IN UNIVERSITY PHYSICS I
Instructor TBA
T/TH 9:10-11 a.m.
31 Chemistry/Physics Building
Distribution Category: Mathematics and Computer Science (MC)

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PHYS 14S 91L (CRN 24398): WORKSHOP IN UNIVERSITY PHYSICS I LAB (0 s.h.)
Instructor TBA
M 2:55-5:45 p.m.
201 Chemistry/Physics Building
Distribution Category: Mathematics and Computer Science (MC)

Physics 14S provides an introduction to mechanics (the physics of motion), using calculus (which was invented in order to solve problems in mechanics) in a workshop setting. Topics include Newton’s laws, motion of the planets (Kepler’s laws), conservation of energy and momentum, and applications of conservation laws to problem solving. Additional topics may be selected from the physics of vibrations, the physics of fluids and heat. This section of Physics 14S is intended as an alternative to Physics 11A and 11B for first-year students majoring in physics, mathematics, the sciences, computer science and engineering.

Course objectives: to understand Newton’s laws and their application to physical problems, to understand the role of conservation laws, to appreciate how science and mathematics develop together, to develop skill in problem solving, and to understand the role of experiment in developing scientific principles. Prerequisite or co-requisite: MATH 71. Typical students have had some high school physics, but no prior college physics outside of AP credit. The workshop format and limited enrollment will allow ample opportunities for student/student as well as student/faculty interaction, and allow students to pursue the course objectives at the level best fitting their background. Students must register for both sections 91 and 91L, the associated laboratory.

PHILOSOPHY

PHI 14S sec. 91 (CRN 24615): THE STATUS OF MORALITY
Terry Godlove
T/TH 11:10 a.m.-12:35 p.m.
301 C.V. Starr
Distribution Category: History, Philosophy, Religion (HP)

We face moral questions all the time. We face them as individuals: Should I turn in my friend for cheating? We face them as communities: Should we use tax dollars to buy clean needles for IV drug users? We face them as countries: Should we put our troops in harm’s way for this or that cause? But while the questions seem clear, it is not at all clear what morality itself is about. Is it about happiness? Is it about duty? Is it about power? What is its connection, if any, to religion? Is it entirely subjective, or does it have some objective basis (and, if so, in what)? This course takes up these and related questions, drawing on philosophical, literary and religious sources.

RELIGION

RELI 14S sec. 91 (CRN 24154): BLACK RELIGION IN AMERICA
Julie Byrne
M/W 2:55-4:20 p.m.
104 Brower
Distribution Category: History, Philosophy, Religion (HP)

African-American religion is African-American history, since religion has so often played a central role in the worldviews and practices of black people’s waymaking in the United States. In this class we explore the history of black religious practice, from the traditional religions of enslaved Africans to 20th century nationalist faiths to contemporary black religious diversity. But while African-American peoples’ myriad religious journeys wend through Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Rastafarianism and neo-traditional religions, among others, almost all share the realities and rhetoric of “black,” “white” and “race.” The course, then, emphasizes two approaches to understanding our topic: critical analysis of the realities and concepts of race, and close reading of primary sources in African-American religious history.

 

TECHNOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY

TPP 14S 91 (CRN 24610): STEM CELLS: SCIENCE, ETHICS AND POLITICS – Cross-listed with ENGG 14S sec. 91 (CRN 24440)
Sina Rabbany
T/TH 12:45-2:10 p.m.
103 Weed
Distribution Category: Natural Science (NS)

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TPP 14S 91L (CRN 24611): STEM CELLS: SCIENCE, ETHICS AND POLITICS LAB – Cross-listed with ENGG 14S sec. 91L (CRN 24442) (0 s.h.)
Sina Rabbany
W 1:55-3:45 p.m.
106 Weed

TPP 14S sec. 92 (CRN 24612): STEM CELLS: SCIENCE, ETHICS AND POLITICS – Cross-listed with ENGG 14S sec.92 (CRN 24441)
Sina Rabbany
T/TH 2:20-3:45 p.m.
208 Weed
Distribution Category: Natural Science (NS)

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TPP 14S 92L (CRN 24613): STEM CELLS: SCIENCE, ETHICS AND POLITICS LAB – Cross-listed with ENGG 14S sec.92L (CRN 24443) (0 s.h.)
Sina Rabbany
W 1:55-3:45 p.m.
106 Weed
Distribution Category: Natural Science (NS)

Stem cells have become front page news. Why all the fuss? This course explores the biology of stem cells, their potential uses in medicine and some of the challenges facing stem cell research, from self-renewal through to clinical applications. It then focuses on the various types of stem cells, including their isolation, growth and potential in regenerative medicine. The moral, religious and policy concerns surrounding this intensely debated area of science are also covered. This is a science course for non-scientists.