First Year Seminars, Spring 2017
Seminars are small classes – limited to 19 students – that fulfill general education requirements. Many of the seminars involve activities in New York City. Seminars are an excellent way to connect with peers and faculty in a relaxed and friendly setting.
ANTHROPOLOGY
1. ANTH 14S, sec. 1: Mummies and What We Learn From Them
(BH, CC) CRN 24222 (3 s.h.)
M/W, 2:55PM - 4:20PM, Anne Buddenhagen
Human fascination with mummies has lasted thousands of years and questions about the rationale for mummification and processes involved persist. But now, mummies are used to help answer questions about the life and culture of the individuals who were mummified. What diseases did they have, what was the impact of their diet and lifestyle? What was the cause of death? What are the differences between the deliberately mummified individuals (Egypt, Andes) and the naturally mummified people (Siberia, Italy, Arctic areas)? What do the items buried with the mummies tell us? The answers to these questions have been expanded as the result of unwrapping, X-rays, MRIs and DNA analysis and have revealed family structure, marriage patterns and religious beliefs. This course will explore some of the most famous mummies as well as the little known ones. A trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and/or the Brooklyn Museum will be a part of this course.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in either the Social Sciences or Cross-Cultural category.
2. ANTH 14S, sec. A: Exploring Culture Through Film
(BH, CC) CRN 24223 (3 s.h.)
TU/TH, 4:30PM - 5:55PM, John Pulis
This course will introduce students to the diversity of cultures and societies around the world through film and related visual media (YouTube). Visual media has been part of anthropology since the discipline was established (1895), and we begin our exploration with “Nanook,” a classic in the genre. Nanook documents the lifestyle of Inuit, hunter-gatherers who have resided and until recently produced a livelihood in Arctic, one the harshest environments in the world. We travel next to the Amazon and a series of films that document the life of two indigenous societies (Jivaro, Yanomami). These groups live in the rainforest, have until recently remained unknown, and avoid contact with outsiders. We continue our journey in Australia and New Zealand with Aborigines and Maori, the original inhabitants, and films (Ten Canoes, Whale Rider) that depict life before the arrival of Europeans. And we conclude the course with a series (Sankofa, Smoke Signals, Sugar Cane Alley, Fast Runner, Once Were Warriors, ) produced by indigenous filmmakers.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in either the Social Sciences or Cross-Cultural category.
ART HISTORY
3. AH 14S, sec. 1: What is a Museum?
(AA) CRN 24287 (3 s.h.)
M/W, 12:50PM - 2:15PM, Martha Hollander
What is a museum? What exactly does it do, and why? Do museums have a future? This class is designed for anyone who is interested in any aspect of why and how museums exist. We delve into the mysteries and histories of museums in all their forms, where our ideas of museums come from, and what types of people work, play at, and support museums. We also consider objects and their conservation, the role of museums in contemporary society, finances, the often conflicting goals of research and public display, exhibit design, legal and ethical issues, and other challenges. There will be trips to museums in New York City as well as on campus, plus opportunities to create your own communal art project and “shoebox museum.”
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.
ASTRONOMY
4. ASTR 14S, sec. 1 and 1L: Shining Stars and Beyond: The Birth, Life, and Death of Stars, Galaxies, and the Entire Universe
(NS) CRNs 22855 and 22856 (3 s.h.)
Lecture, TU, 2:20PM - 4:10PM; Lab, TH 2:20PM - 4:10PM, Brett Bochner
In this survey of the universe on truly big scales, we show how an understanding of light can bring us information from the greatest distances, and how matter itself is turned into energy to make the stars shine. We explore the births and deaths of stars, discovering how dying supergiant stars create the most powerful explosions,
while also forming deadly Black Holes. We explore the different varieties of galaxies, and examine galactic clusters so large that the entire Milky Way is an invisibly tiny dot in comparison. The ideas of Albert Einstein are discussed, from the well-known E=mc^2, to his discovery that gravity is really a warping of space and a stretching of time. Lastly, we discuss how the universe itself originated in the "Big Bang", and how we can observe that the entire universe still expanding (and even accelerating in speed!) to this day.
(Students in daytime sections will be required to attend several evening telescope observing sessions during the semester at the Hofstra Observatory, dynamically scheduled to account for the weather.)
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Natural Sciences category.
DRAMA
5. DRAM 14S, sec. 1: Improv for Everyone
(AA, CP) CRN 22599 (3 s.h.)
M/F 9:35 AM -11:00 AM, Christopher Dippel
Trust, teamwork, honesty, communication, risk: these are the foundations of improvisation. These skills are useful in every career field. This course employs theater games and performance exercises to help students learn to think on their feet, work collaboratively, communicate effectively, and trust their own creativity and ideas. Students attend performances of various types of improvisation.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.
ECONOMICS
6. ECO 14S, sec. 1: How Globalization Is Re-shaping Your World: Rising Harmony or Hostility?
(BH) CRN 24263 (3 s.h.)
M/W/F, 10:10AM - 11:05AM, Massoud Fazeli
The Great Recession of 2008 and recent political upheavals have forced many of us to reexamine our beliefs about markets and globalization. Many politicians now advocate more regulation and less openness. Is this merely a temporary setback for the ultimately inevitable trend towards hyper-globalization or were we mistaken in the first place thinking that globalization is a win-win proposition for all parties involved? For instance, do less developed countries benefit from the inflow of American and European capital? In other words, do transnational corporations modernize the less developed countries or are they instruments of exploitation and plunder? And should the United States welcome immigration or do you believe immigration must be restricted? Who is right: the globalists or the nativists? Finally, does globalization mean the rich and powerful now possess a new mechanism to further enrich and empower themselves or is it a process that enables the less developed and smaller countries to catch up and reduce global inequality?
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.
ENGLISH
7. ENGL 14S, sec. 1: Popular Song Lyrics
(LT) CRN 22597 (3 s.h.)
TU/TH, 9:35AM - 11:00AM, Scott Harshbarger
Although it’s long been debated whether song lyrics can be considered poetry, scholars for decades have taken interest in popular song lyrics for a variety of reasons: they allow us to consider the rise of “popular culture”; they provide a window into the lives and times of popular audiences; they illuminate the creative process; they are a good gauge of recurring themes and concerns; and, whether poetry or not, they are a kind of verbal art, worthy of analysis and interpretation. In this class, we will draw on all of these approaches, all the while considering the aesthetic interplay between words and music, lyric and literature. To aid in our endeavor, we will consider popular song lyrics within the cultural and evolutionary contexts presented by Daniel Levitin in The World in Six Songs.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.
8. ENGL 14S, sec. 2: “If I Can Make it There”: Strivers, Flops, and Con Men in the Literature of NYC
(LT) CRN 23296 (4 s.h.)
M/W, 2:55PM - 4:50PM, Andrew Stambuk
The famous refrain of Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “New York, New York” expresses the allure of the city to those who view it as a proving ground to test their mettle. This course will explore twentieth-century works that use the skyward-expanding metropolis as the backdrop for human aspiration and failure, peopled by characters trying to make a splash, attain a dream, or just survive. Ranging from Edith Wharton’s trenchant critique of a patriarchal world that crushes the independent spirit of her heroine Lily Bart in New York’s marriage culture, to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s narrative of Gatsby’s colossal ambition and failure, to Colum McCann’s poignant chronicle of the quiet triumphs and despair of city residents, and to Joseph O’Neill’s reworking of Gatsby’s story of gargantuan desire, this seminar will chart the ordinary and not-so-ordinary lives of those drawn to Gotham, “seeking,” as E.B. White puts it, “sanctuary or fulfillment or some greater or lesser grail” (Here Is New York). Complementing our study of these novels, we will read selections from Phillip Lopate’s Waterfront, which offers his reflections on the rich social, literary, and economic history of Manhattan’s storied shoreline.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.
9. ENGL 14S, sec. 3: A Coney Island of the Mind: Myth-making, Manhattan and the Movies
(LT) CRN 24272 (4 s.h.)
TU/TH, 2:15PM - 4:10PM, Paula Uruburu
Through a variety of perspectives (with a focus on film, literature, and photography) we will examine "pictures of a gone world" and the metropolis that exists as much in myth as it does the eye of the beholder. We will study both the high and low culture of the city and its environs, trying to understand how Manhattan has historically offered writers, filmmakers, and artists a unique site of creativity, no more or less fantastic than the city itself.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.
FINE ARTS
10. FA 14S, sec. 1: Thinking in Clay: An Excursion into the Three-Dimensional World. (CP) CRN 23358 (3 s.h.)
M/W, 1:00PM - 2:50PM, Paul Chaleff
This seminar is a hands-on experiential course in making art with clay. Students are introduced to thinking in three-dimensional terms about the human impulse to make art and to comprehend how that impulse has combined with the physical and chemical forces that allow clay to do what it does. Human beings have been making art from fired clay for at least 27,000 years. As far as we can now determine, fired ceramic art predates the development of agriculture by about 18,000 years, predates the development of cities by 22,000 years, and predates the use of digital technology by 27,000 years. Using historical analysis and the science of clay to inform our present-day studio practices, we will trace the advancements in the use of clay as a material to make art and products.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.
GEOGRAPHY
11. GEOG 14S, sec. 1: Child Labor in the World Today
(BH, CC) CRN 23348 (4 s.h.)
TU/TH, 11:10AM - 12:35 PM, Kari Jensen
After a general overview of child labor in the world today, we begin a country-by-country approach to this complex issue. (The students participate in the decision about which countries to study in more detail.) We then focus on the country-specific historical and societal context of child labor issues, coupled with a study of governmental policies and nongovernmental organizations’ strategies to help alleviate the problems related to child labor, such as poverty and inadequate access to education. The course is based on lectures, documentary films and discussions, and includes one semester hour of instruction in library research methods.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in either the Social Sciences or Cross-Cultural category.
HISTORY
12. HIST 14S, sec. 1: Sport and Society
(HP) CRN 23272 (4 s.h.)
M/W, 12:50PM - 2:45PM, Ahr Johan
In the contemporary world sport and society are inextricably linked. This course will examine the social and historical development of mass sports, including major league baseball, golf, soccer, and athletics. How did we arrive at a place in time when leading sports figures such as Tiger Woods—athlete, person, and brand all in one--fascinate and occupy us? Students will read about the likes of Muhammed Ali, Andre Agassi, and Pete Rose, as well as about Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph and the phenomenon of the Olympics.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.
13. HIST 14S, sec. 2: New York City Before & After 9/11
(HP) CRN 23273 (4 s.h.)
M/W, 2:55PM - 4:50PM, Mario Ruiz
One of the common assumptions Americans share is that the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center changed New York City forever. In this course we’ll examine this assumption by studying how New York changed before and after 9/11. In addition to studying the events that led up to the September 11 attacks, we’ll study the development of New York City as a magnet for immigration, architecture, art, and photography. We’ll begin the course with one of the first disasters in twentieth-century New York involving massive loss of life (the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire) and conclude with personalized projects reflecting on the effects of the 9/11 attacks. Field trips in this course include visits to Washington Square Park, Hofstra’s September 11th Project Collection, and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.
14. HIST 14S, sec. 3: Paris: City of Lights, City of Love, the Capital of All the World. (HP) CRN 23274 (4 s.h.)
TU/TH, 2:15PM - 4:10PM, Sally Charnow
Paris has famously been called the "capital of the nineteenth century," the heart of revolutionary politics and avant-garde culture in a Europe at the height of its power. This interdisciplinary history course will use a variety of primary sources (including first-hand accounts from individuals, fiction, poetry, theatre, painting, architecture, philosophy) and secondary sources to study the drama of political revolutions, economic transformations, and cultural developments that made Paris the quintessential modern Western metropolis between 1815 and 1914. We will chart the slow growth of the city (and its inhabitants), as it developed from a provincial town to the cultural hub of Western Europe. Discussions will center on a series of overlapping questions: How did Paris take shape (culturally and physically) in the 19th century? How should we conceptualize and theorize the city? How did/do groups and individuals negotiate and appropriate urban spaces? And finally, how have Parisians, provincials, artists, and foreigners "experienced" Paris?
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.
ITALIAN STUDIES
15. ITST 14S, sec. 1: Medieval and Modern Hellscapes: Culture and Dante’s Inferno
(AA, LT) CRN 24432 (3 s.h.)
TU/TH, 2:20PM - 3:45PM, Lori Ultsch
In the 13th century a medieval genius, torn from home and family for the final nineteen years of his life, questions the meaning of his life and sets out on a vision quest through the nine circles of Hell to find it. The Inferno that Dante then writes is a bold and thrilling portrait of eternal damnation that has inspired centuries of imitation in both high and popular culture. As we read together Dante’s most memorable inventions—the fatal kiss between Paolo and Francesca, the twisted tree that weeps blood, the desperate father who may have cannibalized his children—we will investigate what they have to say about free will, sin, and choice as well as redemption, freedom, and purpose. We will also explore how this at-once political, spiritual and literary journey into Hell transcends both the man and his time: the Dantesque hellscape informs generations of cultural production from popular representations of it in computer games, in recent fiction, in films such as Se7en and Hannibal and also has great impact on other arts (sculpture, painting, music). Far from Dante’s injunction on the Gate of Hell to “Abandon all hope, ye who enter!”, we will find many riches within this text and far beyond.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category and can also be applied to the Italian Studies minor and/or Italian major.
PHILOSOPHY
16. PHI 14S, sec. 1: The Meaning of Life
(HP) CRN 23325 (3 s.h.)
M/F, 11:15AM - 12:40PM, 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. This course includes one semester hour of instruction in library research methods.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Social Sciences category.
RHETORICAL STUDIES
17. RHET 14S, sec. 1: Communicating about Climate Change
(CP) CRN 24470 (3 s.h.)
M/W, 2:55PM - 4:20PM, Mary Anne Trasciatti
Climate change is among the most urgent and important issues we face in the world today. Although knowledge of the science of climate change is growing, we are still not sure how to communicate that knowledge in ways that empower and motivate people to address the issue in constructive ways. How do we make climate science meaningful to non-scientists? How do we convince skeptics that climate change is real? In this seminar we will engage with research on the causes of climate change and possible solutions, and explore various communication strategies and tactics for translating scientific knowledge into social advocacy.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.
18. RHET 14S, sec. 2: Performing for Social Change
(AA) CRN 24471 (3 s.h.)
TU/TH, 2:20PM - 3:45PM, Lisa Merrill
How can you use performance to change the world? From small community organizations to international non-governmental agencies, visionary activists looking to broaden their base of appeal and the reach of their message have all used performance as a tactic to inspire social change. In this seminar we will examine the creative actions and interventions of performance artist activists and spoken word performers from the abolition and civil rights movements, to anti war protest performances, to the staging of oral histories and use of guerrilla theatre/art and protest music in campaigns for social justice, labor and the environment. This seminar will introduce students to such performance interventions in the past, as well as encourage them to create their own activist performances and political art to advance the issues about which they feel most passionate. This seminar will involve trips for students to venues in NYC to see and do spoken word /performance work on social change issues, and provide students with an opportunity to work with a performance artist committed to social change.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.
WRITING STUDIES AND COMPOSITION
19. WSC 14S, sec. 1: Fashion Writing for the New Millennium
(CP) CRN 23317 (3 s.h.)
M/W, 12:50PM - 2:15PM, Rory McDonough
Fashion is much more than sequins and chiffon — it serves as a reflection of the zeitgeist of the culture in which it is created. From Anna Wintour's influential role in campaigning for Barack Obama, to Lady Gaga serving as the face of Versace, to Internet fashion bloggers earning millions of dollars for opinions, fashion is at the forefront of creative culture around the world. In this course we will explore the fashion world at large by surveying fashion magazines such as Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, and we will explore the influential role fashion editors play in shaping contemporary culture. If you enjoy designer bags, shoes, and clothing so much that you'd love nothing more than to discuss fashion and write about it, then this course is for you. You’ll even start to create your own fashion writing portfolio.
Please note: This course satisfies a University graduation requirement in the Humanities category.