Seminars

ANTHROPOLOGY

1.
ANTH 14F, sec. 01: Digital Cultures (BH, CC), 3 s.h., CRN 93843
M/W, 11:20 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Racquel Lee

Have digital technologies fundamentally reshaped patterns of human connection and identity, or just given us new tools for old problems? This course explores shifts in the organization of culture through the study of online worlds and the people who create them. Drawing on examples from China, India, Mexico, the U.S., and elsewhere, students will learn about qualitative methods in anthropology to create a research project on an interest of their choice. Sample topics covered in the course include live streaming, esports, hackers, health tracking apps, surveillance technologies, and virtual reality.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in either the Social Sciences or Cross-Cultural category.

ART HISTORY

2.
AH 14F, sec. 01: Exploring New York City’s Art Museums (AA), 3 s.h., CRN 91351
M/W, 9:40-11:05 a.m., Susan Schafer

This course will be an introduction to art history through virtual tours of the great art museums of New York City. We will begin with the extraordinary collections of Egyptian art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum, and continue through Ancient Greece and Rome and the Middle Ages. Next, we will focus on the great artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods -- for example Titian, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Vermeer -- in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Frick Collection. We will continue our exploration with the art of the 18th and 19th centuries including Impressionist painters Monet and Degas and Post-Impressionists Van Gogh and Gauguin and will end our semester-long virtual journey in the rich collections of 20th and 21st-century art in the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.

ASTRONOMY

3.
ASTR 14F, sec. Q1 & Q1L: Cosmic Explosions: The Cataclysmic Lives of Stars & Galaxies (NS, QR), 3 s.h. CRNs 91962 & 91963
Lecture, W, 2:40-4:35 p.m.; Lab, M, 2:40-4:35 p.m.; Christina Lacey

This course investigates the birth and lives of stars, including stars like our sun. We study how stars produce energy and how some stars die with a whimper and some die spectacularly in massive supernova explosions. From there we talk about galaxies that are composed of these stars and the supermassive black holes that lurk at the hearts of most galaxies.

Please note: This course satisfies University graduation requirements in both the Natural Sciences and Quantitative Reasoning categories.

4.
ASTR 14F, sec. Q2 & Q2L: Our Solar System: From the Ancient Greeks to Interstellar Life (NS, QR), 3 s.h. CRNs 93636 & 93637
Lecture, T, 2:40-4:35 p.m.; Lab, TH, 2:40-4:35 p.m.; Stephen Lawrence

In this survey of our solar system, we discuss the evolution of ideas about the nature of our world, and the structure of our cosmos — from visions of an Earth-centered universe to the modern view of Earth as a small, blue dot in the vast Milky Way galaxy. This seminar covers the sun, the planets and their moons, and the small, wandering asteroids and plutoids orbiting in the empty places of the solar system. We also learn about planets orbiting other stars in other solar systems, and consider the possibility of extraterrestrial life in all these places, far beyond the boundaries of our home on Earth. The class includes lectures, participatory labs and astronomical observations at the Hofstra Observatory.

Please note: This course satisfies University graduation requirements in both the Natural Sciences and Quantitative Reasoning categories.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

5.
CLL 14F, sec. 01: The Perils of Love in Literature (LT), 3 s.h. CRN 92507
T/TH, 1-2:25 p.m., John Krapp

There are few things people desire more than love. We revel in it when we feel it. We fear the loss of it. We lament it when it is gone. But what is love? Is it anything more than an idea and a feeling associated with biochemical and neurological responses to our own bodies and the world around us? Would such knowledge help us negotiate love any more successfully? One of the places we can look for understanding and appreciation of love is literature, which represents characters with the same desires, appetites, and needs as we have. In this course, we will look at a variety of literary texts to prompt a conversation about the meaning and value of love both historically and in contemporary American culture. Along the way, we will discuss whether unconditional love is possible, how social circumstances may color our understanding of love, whether or not love may have a spiritual component, whether we should separate love from sexual desire, and what may happen if we confuse the two.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.

CREATIVE WRITING

6.
CRWR 14F, sec. 01: Keeping a Journal (CP), 3 s.h. CRN 92683
M/W, 2:40- 4:05 p.m., Martha McPhee

Using Lynda Barry’s book Syllabus as an inspiration this class will be an exploration of the artistic benefits of keeping a journal. Students will be required to keep a daily journal, using exercises as prompts for noticing the world, for becoming aware of how to be present with our own selves and our inner lives while also coming to understand the importance of observation and seeing what’s there right in front of us. Prompts will come in many forms and generally engage questions that writers are constantly asking either indirectly or directly: What makes good art? Where does imagination come from? How do we learn from books we love? Can creativity be contagious? Why do details matter? How does writer’s block get broken? What is bad writing? Why does art exist? In addition to Lynda Barry we will also look at journal excerpts from Anais Nin, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Ann Frank, Susan Sontag, Vladimir Nabokov and others.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.

CRIMINOLOGY

7.
CRM 14F, sec. 01: Mass Incarceration: A Health and Safety Issue (IS), 3 s.h. CRN 92713
M/W, 2:40- 4:05 p.m., Lior Gideon

As a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, increased interest in public health has led many students and scholars to examine the nexus between public health and other disciplines. This course will examine the potential public health consequences of mass incarceration and its effects on specific communities. Through exploration of public health, sociology and theories of prison and punishment, students will examine and discuss articles and research on the nexus between health and incarceration. Students will be exposed to principles of scientific research and learn how to critically evaluate write-ups of research.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Interdisciplinary Studies category.

ECONOMICS

8.
ECO 14F, sec. 01: The Future of Capitalism: Economics and Politics in Our Times (BH), 4 s.h.
CRN 90470
M/W, 9:10-11:05 a.m., Massoud Fazeli

Globalization and technological change are potent forces that offer prosperity to many and yet are also causing deep rifts, anxiety, and anger in considerable segments of our society. Many observers have referred to rising inequality and the erosion of economic security as defining characteristics of our evolving capitalist economy. Is it feasible to generate sustainable economic growth that is more equitably distributed? Do populism and nationalism merely signify a passing backlash against the new global order? Has the U.S. lost its economic and political dominance permanently? And is it possible to envision a new and qualitatively different global order?

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.

FINE ARTS

9.
FA 14F, sec. 01: Curious Stranger: Experimental Drawing (CP), 3 s.h. CRN 92559
M/W 9:40 -11:05 a.m.; James Lee

This course is devoted to the exploration of alternative techniques, methods and concepts in contemporary art. Students will develop individual artworks and experiment with materials and processes that contribute to a broadened understanding of drawing as a discipline. Selected readings may be required, along with virtual/actual field trips to galleries and museums in New York City. During the semester each student will develop a small series of drawings (approximately 8–12) of a body of work that incorporates some form of experimentation or the use of a specific technique or alternative material that we have discussed and worked on during class.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.

10.
FA 14F, sec. A: The Art and Design of Music (CP), 3 s.h. CRN 93212
M/W 6-7:25 p.m.; Johnathan Swafford

The Art and Design of Music is so compelling it is as influential on culture as the music itself. In this class, students will study designers and artists who created iconic artwork as well as develop class projects covering various mediums that visualize music. Projects will include creating vinyl, CD, digital album covers, music videos, sound design, and other printed matter. Lectures will include Music Industry leaders in design, production, engineering, and marketing.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.

GEOGRAPHY

11.
GEOG 14F, sec. 1: Child Labor in the World Today (BH,CC), 3 s.h. CRN 93491
Lecture, M/W, 11:20 a.m.-12:45 p.m.; Kari Jensen

This course will present facts and discourses about child labor in the world today, focusing on the Global South (Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean). After an overview of different discourses on child labor, child work, and childhood, we will take a country-by-country approach where the students will participate in the decision about which countries in the Global South to focus on. We will study the country-specific historical, societal, economic, and cultural contexts of child labor issues, coupled with an analysis of governmental policies and intergovernmental as well as non-governmental organizations’ strategies to help alleviate problems related to child labor, such as poverty and a low degree of access to education. The literature required for this course gives a voice to those who themselves have experience with child labor in the Global South. The course will be based on readings, writing, lectures, documentary films, class discussions, student presentations, tests, and group-work.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in either the Social Sciences or Cross-Cultural category.

GEOLOGY

12.
GEOL 14F, sec. QR & QRL: Science of Gemstones and Crystals (NS,QR), 3 s.h. CRNs 91960 & 91961
Lecture, M/F, 10:10-11:05 a.m.; Lab, F, 12:30-2:25 p.m.; Steven Okulewicz

This course explores the world of precious and semiprecious gems, metals, and crystals. Students learn about the variety of precious materials that come out of the Earth, how precious stones form, and where we find them. We also explore how to identify precious stones, how to tell real stones from fakes, and how raw gems are turned into jewelry. This course includes a laboratory component where students work with a variety of precious stones.

Please note: This course satisfies University graduation requirements in both the Natural Sciences and Quantitative Reasoning categories.

HISTORY

13.
HIST 14F, sec. A: Red State/Blue State: American Elections in History (HP), 3 s.h. CRN 92293
T/TH, 4:20-5:45 p.m., Carolyn Eisenberg

The 2024 Presidential election is likely to be one of the most polarized and consequential in our country's history. The purpose of this class is to look beneath the media focus on personalities and political tactics to understand the profound social divisions, which have led the United States to this point. The social cleavages in our country have been developing over decades and intersect with specific issues, in sometimes surprising ways. Together we will follow the evolving election story in the media, while emphasizing historical works and films, which can enable us to better interpret unfolding events.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.

14.
HIST 14F, sec. 1: Italian Diaspora (HP), 4 s.h. CRN 93495
M/W, 11:20 a.m.-1:15 p.m., Stanislao Pugliese

Italy is a country of 60 million people. There are at least another 60 million people of Italian descent scattered across the globe, not just in the US, but in Canada, the Caribbean, South America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia. What can these different migrations and subsequent histories tell us about Italian history, migration, transnational ties, racism, assimilation, and cultural legacies? How does this diaspora compare to others?

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.

LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN STUDIES

15.
LACS 14F, sec. 1: From Latin Jazz to Salsa: Afro-Cuban Roots of American Music (CC, IS), 3 s.h. CRN 93713
T/TH, 2:40-4:05 p.m., Alfonso García-Osuna

This course is geared towards students with little or no formal training in music although skilled musicians are welcome too. Because of the important African presence in Cuba, Cuban music evolved markedly away from the traditional European model towards improvisational African traditions. Since the early 1800's these innovative Afro-Cuban musical paradigms have been entering the United States in significant ways. The course will explore the impact of Afro Cuban music on culture and on the mainstream currents of music in the U.S. It will also identify the social processes and historical contexts that made this influence possible. We will survey various genres and assess the contributions of those individuals whose talent, efforts and foresight allowed this considerable transculturation to take place, all the while listening to and analyzing their musical productions. Taught by Latin Jazz big band leader and Hofstra professor Alfonso García-Osuna.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in either the Cross-Cultural or Interdisciplinary Studies category.

LEGAL EDUCATION ACCELERATED PROGRAM (LEAP)

Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Hofstra’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law offer a selective, accelerated program in which students earn both the Bachelor of Arts and the Juris Doctor in six years (one year less than if each degree were pursued separately). LEAP students can choose from among a wide variety of liberal arts majors. For a full program description, please visit hofstra.edu/leap. LEAP students are strongly encouraged to register for one of the following first-year seminars:

16.
PSC 14F, sec. 01: Law, Politics, and Society (BH), 4 s.h. CRN 91407
T/TH 9:10-11:05 a.m., Celeste Kaufman

Every year, tens of thousands of young people enter law school and begin the study of legal rules. Most do so because they see the legal profession as a noble calling, and they enter it with a desire to promote justice. In their three years of full-time study of the law, however, these future lawyers spend little time thinking critically about legal rules and about the place of the lawyer in a just society. In this course we explore how our legal rules and constitutional norms have developed; how the American legal system interacts with the rest of our political institutions; how the American legal system reflects the cultural norms, class distinctions, and idiosyncrasies of our society; and how legal rules and the role of the lawyer relate to larger ideals of a just society.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.

LINGUISTICS

LING 14F, sec. 01: The Language Detective: Confession, Interrogation, & Deception (IS), 3 s.h.
CRN 93442
T/TH, 1-2:25 p.m., Robert Leonard

Interested in true crime—and social justice? Hofstra professors work with the FBI—and with student interns at the Hofstra Death Penalty Innocence Project—to analyze evidence in the cause of justice. This course centers on how Hofstra professors’ forensic linguistic analyses have proven successful in real-world criminal and intel investigations--cases of murder, blackmail, terrorism, false confessions--and exoneration. You’ll receive training the instructor regularly gives to FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit agents and many others. Every time you open your mouth or sit down at a computer keyboard, you give away far more information about yourself than you realize. Language choices tell an expert who you are, where you’re from, where you work, where you’ve lived, what movies you watch, what games you play, what school you attended—and whether you wrote that death threat letter. We will analyze specific cases on which the instructor worked together with—and sometimes on the opposite side of—the FBI, NCIS, British intelligence, and the NYPD. The textbook is The Language of Murder Cases authored by Roger Shuy, the instructor’s investigative partner who worked with him on several of the cases described. Be advised: Some case studies and other course content contain extremely strong language, themes, sexual situations, and distressing, violent, and often gruesome details of crimes and pathological motivations. It will not be possible for student participants to avoid seeing and hearing this content, and dealing with it in analyses.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Interdisciplinary Studies category.

MUSIC

MUS 14F, sec. 01: Listening as a Way of Knowing. The Philosophy and Practice of Sound in South Asian Music Literature. (AA, CC), 3 s.h. CRN 93644
T/TH, 11:20 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Francesca Cassio

One of the earliest sources on South Asian music states, “There is no song without sound, there are no musical notes without sound, there is no dance without sound, hence the world is of the essence of sound” (Matanga Muni, 6th century CE). With a focus on listening as ‘a way of knowing the world’ (Feld 2010) in this class, on the one hand, we will reflect on the role of the ear as a cognitive apparatus, while exploring the ‘yoga of sound’ as a philosophy and a practice transmitted in pre-modern texts as well as in lineages of South Asian musicians. Through an experiential approach, we will delve into the relationship between intonation, melodic frameworks (rāgas), Nature, breath, time, and rhythm (tāla), as foundational principles of the Indian music system. From this ‘indigenous’ standpoint, and a ‘fresh ear’, we will study some masterpieces of South Asian music literature - from devotional to love songs - in which the notion of sound is mentioned as a significant component.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in either the Humanities or the Cross-Cultural category.

PHILOSOPHY

19.
PHI 14F, sec. 01: The Meaning of Life (HP), 4 s.h. CRN 91034
T/TH, 12:30-2:25 p.m., Mark McEvoy

For us to have a chance of finding the meaning of life, human life must have meaning, or at least the lives of individual human beings must have meaning. But perhaps these claims aren’t true, or don’t even make sense. Further, if claims about life having meaning aren’t true, or don’t even make sense, would that horrify or at least disappoint you? If so, does that reaction itself show that life has some kind of meaning after all? We pursue these questions through class discussions and readings.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.

POLITICAL SCIENCE

20.
PSC 14F, sec. 02: Juvenile Justice and Law (BH), 4 s.h. CRN 91050
T/TH, 11:20 a.m.-1:15 p.m., Celeste Kaufman

This course will examine the law and practice of juvenile justice in the United States. We will explore the historical reasons for a separate juvenile justice system, one that holds children legally accountable for criminal acts, and the role of the US Supreme Court in limiting and expanding the constitutional rights of juveniles. In this course, students will learn to analyze the ways that legal, political, and historical factors have influenced the development of the American juvenile justice system, describe the legal and philosophical reasons for the existence of two distinct courts for crimes committed by juveniles, and identify landmark US Supreme Court cases that have established criminal procedures dealing with issues ranging from apprehension and prosecution to detention of juveniles.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.

RELIGION

21.
RELI 14F, sec. 01: Spirituality in a Digital Age (CC, HP), 4 s.h. CRN 92545
M/W, 9:10-11:05 a.m., Balbinder Bhogal

This course will explore a range of themes tied to spirituality and technology that humans face in an ever-expanding, digitally simulated world of the Internet and social media platforms. It asks how revelation and story differ from logic and algorithm? How human intelligence differs from Artificial Intelligence? Whether we are souls or data-sets? And how to think beyond the binary of technology being a tool or a curse, providing utopic or dystopic futures? Bring your favorite social media sites and apps and let’s discuss some of the issues.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in either the Cross-Cultural or Social Sciences category.

22.
RELI 14F, sec. 02: Hoaxes, Fakes, and Imposters (CC, HP), 3 s.h. CRN 93610
T/TH, 4:20-5:45 p.m., Sophie Hawkins

In this seminar we explore both the human capacity for deception and, conversely, the willing suspension of disbelief. We take a case study approach, examining, for example, the biographies of imposters from different historical periods and cultures; the emergence of the modern con artist in 19th century America; the global market for forgeries (e.g., artworks) and knockoffs (e.g., purses); and successful media hoaxes. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we question what these case studies can tell us about the relationships between technology and deception, between modernity and authenticity, and between faith and gullibility.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in either the Cross-Cultural or Social Sciences category.

ROMANCE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES

23.
RLLT 14F, sec. 01: European Comic Book Culture (LT), 3 s.h. CRN 93625
T/TH, 4:20-5:45 p.m., Simone Castaldi

This seminar provides an introduction to the history of the comics medium in Europe, focusing in particular on Franco-Belgian, Italian, and Spanish traditions. Charting the development of the medium from its advent as children's literature in the early 20th century to the appearance of the graphic novel in the late 1970s, students will learn how these different comics cultures interacted with contemporary art trends, and were shaped by historical events like WWI, the rise of Fascism in Europe, WWII, the postwar reconstruction period, the dawn of the European Union, immigration, and a cultural reconfiguration of gender dynamics. In addition to being introduced to popular comics characters like Tintin, Spirou, and Corto Maltese, students will learn the rudiments of comics criticism and analysis. All texts assigned and discussed will be presented in English.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.

SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES

24.
SBLY 14F, sec. 01: Sustainability and Food (IS), 3 s.h. CRN 92743
T/TH, 1-2:25 p.m., Sasha Pesci

Do you ever wonder how your food got to your plate? Do you wonder who produced it and what their farms are like? What are the environmental impacts of food production? Why do so many people in the world go hungry when it seems like so much food is wasted? How did we go from a situation where the vast majority of people were involved in agriculture, to the situation now where most of us only know about food through grocery stores? Should we eat organic and local, or eat more plant-based foods? What efforts exist to make the food system more equitable and sustainable? If these questions are interesting to you, then Sustainability & Food is a course for you!

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Interdisciplinary Studies category.

STUDENT SUCCESS

25-28
University 101 is designed to assist first-year students in making a positive adjustment to University life. Students discuss topics that have an impact on a college experience, and they learn about important resources and support services available at the University. Through discussions, readings, and assignments, students develop the skills and awareness that will serve them throughout their years at Hofstra and in the future.

Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the electives category. Three sections are being offered. One is geared toward students interested in pre-health disciplines, and meets for one hour each week throughout the Fall semester. The other two sections are appropriate for students interested in any discipline for a major, and for students who are undecided. These latter two sections meet only during the first half of the Fall semester, for two hours each week.

25.
UNIV 101, sec. F01: University 101: Pre-Health, 1 s.h., 92535
TH, 9:55-11:05 a.m., Ellen Miller and Monica Schauss

26.
UNIV 101, sec. F02: University 101: All disciplines, 1 s.h., 92536
T/TH, 9:55-11:05 a.m., Christina Cacioppo Bertsch
This section ends on 10/25/24

27.
UNIV 101, sec. F03: University 101: All disciplines, 1 s.h., 92537
T/TH, 9:55-11:05 a.m., Brittany Rhoden
This section ends on 10/25/24

28.
UNIV 101, sec. F04: University 101: Student Athletes, 1 s.h., 93752
W, 5-6:15 p.m., TBD