HUHC Seminars

Each semester HUHC offers exciting educational opportunities in varying disciplines. HUHC seminars are small, discussion based courses, taught by professors from around the university, who are invited to come teach their dream course. Like Culture & Expression, these seminars often tend toward either greater multidisciplinary or greater particularity in the definition of the topic (see listings and descriptions of recent and future seminars below.) With class sizes limited to no more than 20 students, they are special opportunities to learn by sharing the enthusiasm of professors who are working on well-defined topics in their areas expertise. In some instances seminar credit may count toward a major or minor with departmental approval.

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Previous Semesters | Fall 2012

FALL 2012 HUHC SEMINARS

HUHC 20A (H1) Secrets of the Studio: Artists’ Hopes, Demons and Achievements from the Renaissance to Now
Professor Laurie Fendrich, Fine Arts
MW 2:55-4:20PM

This course begins with a brief look at the place and practice of the artist in antiquity and the Middle Ages, and from there moves to a study of artistic personalities, lifestyles, and work and business habits typical of artists from the Renaissance until now. We’ll consider the artist as craftsman and entrepreneur and, in modern times, as representative of the avant-garde. We’ll examine various stereotypes of artists—the artist as a solitary soul, the artist as hero, the artist as deliberate provocateur. In exploring the situation of contemporary artists, we’ll study the increasing importance of celebrity and fashion in the art world, the relationship of contemporary artists with patrons, collectors and dealers, and the role of the contemporary artist as political commentator. We’ll also look at the impact on contemporary artists of the rise of critical theory—manifested especially in feminism and postmodernism. Finally, we’ll look at the contemporary art market, where a few major international collectors exercise vast power, especially in the careers of young artists. Discussions will be based on readings, which include selections from two books and several essays drawn from a wide range of sources.

HUHC 20B (H1) Don Quixote and the World of Cervantes: An interdisciplinary view
Professor Zenia DaSilva, Romance Languages
TR 11:10-12:35PM

Don Quixote may be the funniest psychological-philosophical-sociological novel ever to spread its compass over countless nations and ages, but it wasn’t spawned in a vacuum. It was born of a man called Cervantes –a soldier, a “failure”, and a genius who lived his moment, yet transcended it to ours.  It grew at a time when exploration and war were rampant, when pirates haunted the seas, when science and religion lunged at sword-stroke, when continents of old encountered others, and the arts sang a new song. It was the world of Shakespeare and Rabelais, El Greco and Rembrandt, Calvin and Loyola, Copernicus and Galileo, of Queen Elizabeth, the Doges of Venice and Suliman the Magnificent, of Jamestown and Pilgrims and the courts of Mexico and Peru.  And as we read the timeless tale of a … madman? … who dreamed of changing the world for the good, we will laugh at his delusions, marvel at his quest, and relive the world that he knew, even to the sound of its music, the savor of its foods and the contours of its dress. Will you join the adventure?

HUHC 20C (H1) Science and Society: Clashes and Collaborations
Professor Sabrina Sobel, Chemistry
MW 4:30-5:55PM

Throughout history, the pursuit of knowledge has been influenced by the prevailing culture. In this seminar, we will explore how the development of math, physics and chemistry have been shaped by culture. To this end we will read and discuss the science history books: ‘Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea’, ‘Galileo’s Daughter’ and ‘Mendeleev’s Dream’.

HUHC 20D (H1) Crisis and America's War on Terror
Professor Boussios, Sociology
TR 4:20-5:55

Known as the "war on terror," this major shift in U.S. foreign policy is grounded in a powerful discourse in the aftermath of 9/11 that justified a series of controversial policies, including the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the enactment of the USA Patriot Act.  How the U.S. media and popular culture participated in the construction, diffusion, and sometimes, critique of this powerful discourse has been influential in shaping American attitudes towards the “war on terror” which in turn has been critical in formulating political, military, and law enforcement responses.  Part of this response has also been the tremendous efforts Western states have taken to control the growing threat of home-grown terrorism.  This course takes a closer look at these different types of domestic and foreign threats, and the cycles of political and discursive processes that constitute security crises and responses with the challenge of balancing these responses with the values of Western democracy. 
(The chair of the Sociology department has indicated this course may be counted as a departmental elective toward the completion of requirements for majors or minors.)

HUHC 20E (H1) Analyzing the 2012 Election
Professor Andrea Libresco, Teaching, Literacy and Leadership
T/R 2:15-4:10PM

This course examines the process of electing a president in 2012 and in historical perspective.   Participants will investigate and assess the nominating procedure; the candidates’ stands on the issues of our time; the roles that media, money, parties, debates, advertisements, and the Internet play; the influence of race, class and gender on both voters and candidates; and the domestic and foreign policy challenges that the new president and Congress will face.  Attention will be given to the ways in which citizens participate in the political process and to their quest for the kinds of reliable knowledge that are necessary to make informed judgments. Attention will be given to how the strategies we use in this class might be successfully deployed in elementary, middle and high school classrooms.

HUHC 20F (H1) Political Marketing and the 2012 Election
Professor Shawn Thelen, Marketing and International Business
MF 11:15-12:40P

Political Marketing: The purpose of this course is to examine various techniques that are used to “market” political candidates and causes. The course will examine political campaigns from a 7P’s perspective (product, promotion, place, price, process, physical evidence, people) with an emphasis on the packaging of the candidate/cause. Students will be required to examine political marketing from a historical perspective, comment on contemporary marketing techniques, as well as develop a political marketing plan for a candidate of their choice. As this is a presidential election year, we will be paying special attention to the ongoing campaigns throughout the semester.

HUHC 20H (H1) Narrative and The Idea of the Double
Professor Susan Lorsch, English
TR 11:10-12:35P

The notion of the divided self is deeply embedded in Western conceptions of identity—whether the parts of the self represent such easy divisions as “good” and evil” or more subtle distinctions between ego and superego or the conscious and the subconscious.  Writers of fiction and creators of film use the ideas of the double or “doppelganger” to reflect psychological struggle and explore the relationship of the self to the self and to the world outside the self. In narrative art one’s shadow self—whether mischievous, malicious, forbidding or friendly—appears as a reflection of a crisis in identity and offers its alter ego the opportunity for self-exploration.

In this course we will be studying narratives which make use of the doppelganger in a variety of creative and often startling ways to dramatize psychological development and/or breakdown.  In addition to investigating the tales that are told, we will also be studying the variety of techniques fiction and film employ in order simultaneously to demonstrate and embody the divisions and conflicts, the complexities of desire, within the self.

There will be two short analytical papers on the class texts, perhaps some brief response sketches, and a longer final paper on an additional work (novel or film) of each student’s choice, selected from a list I will provide.  Class texts will probably include some of the following:  Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Plath’s The Bell Jar, and Nabokov’s Pale Fire.  Films will include Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train,”  Nolan’s “Insomnia” and “The Prestige,” and Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive.”
(The chair of the English department has indicated this course may be counted as a departmental elective toward the completion of requirements for majors or minors.)

HUHC 20I (H1) The Evolution of the Literary Genres in Greece 750-350 B.C.: Epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy, history, and philosophical dialogue
Professor William Thomas MacCary, English
TR 12:45-2:10PM

We shall trace at least three trajectories. First, how the mythopoeic thought of epic yields to the associative/conceptual thought of lyric and tragedy, then on to the analytical thought of history and philosophy. Second, the relation between individual and community changes: epic and lyric are aristocratic genres, but tragedy and comedy reflect the democratic life of the polis. Third, epic was originally orally composed, and always recited aloud at public festivals; lyric was sung at more intimate gatherings; tragedy and comedy were produced theatrically in honor of Dionysos; only with history and the philosophical dialogue do we reach periods and styles of writing which were meant to be read - and even here the texts are based on speeches and conversations, so they represent originally oral events.

Readings assigned from the works of Homer, Archilochus, Sappho, Pindar, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato. 
(The chair of the English department and the director of the Classics major/minor have indicated this course may be counted as a departmental elective toward the completion of requirements for the English and Classics majors or minors.)

HUHC 21 (H1) What Everyone Needs To Know About Business
Professor Simon Jawitz, Finance
TR 2:20-3:55PM

This course is designed to provide students who have no prior exposure to business the tools they need to understand the business world from the inside.  It begins with the assumption that to make sense of our very complex world everyone needs basic information about how businesses come to be and function in relation to one another.  To that end, it will provide a basic understanding of corporate finance, accounting, the debt and equity capital markets and the central role that financial analysis and decision making play in our integrated global economy. Students will learn about how corporations are created and organized, the respective roles and duties of boards of directors, management and shareholders and how conflicts arise and may be resolved.  Students will begin to develop the ability to read and understand financial statements and gain some familiarity with the basic tools used in valuing a business. Students will explore in some depth the concepts of risk and return and learn the fundamentals and key drivers of financial analysis.  Real world examples will be used to illustrate these concepts as we develop them throughout the semester.

The objective of the course is not to encourage students to pursue careers in business.  Nor is it intended as a substitute for courses offered in the Zarb School of Business. While students considering studies in accounting or finance may wish to take this course as an introduction, the purpose of this course is to provide students with information and analytical skills that they will be able to apply in any career.