Fall 2022

Humanities Courses

An introduction to critical thinking about world culture through selected readings in major literary forms from ancient times to 1700.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 101-50 DISTANCE EDUCATION K. Green

In this interactive course, students will use a humanities lens to explore questions about what it means to be human: How and why have individuals throughout history and around the globe sought to make sense of their world through creative expression? How do our interactions with society and the environment around us shape our sense of self? How do we in turn shape society and our environment? Throughout the course, students will engage with examples of cultural products from a range of humanities disciplines, such as art history, literature, religion, music history, theater, film, philosophy, and language and linguistics. In the course of this engagement, students will practice skills that are not only essential for humanities classrooms but extend to any workplace: thinking critically, interpreting evidence, and communicating effectively, all while striving towards a deeper understanding of diversity in order to respond creatively and constructively to the challenge of difference.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 105-01 (HONORS) MWF 11:00am–11:50am P. Beattie
E. Lewis
H. Salo
Note: This section is restricted to students active in the University Honors Program. Please call Honors at 502-852-6293 for more information.
HUM 105-02 MWF 10:00am–10:50am N. Polzer
A. Bittner
P. Wessels
HUM 105-03 MWF 11:00am–11:50am F. Schildknecht
HUM 105-04 MWF 12:00pm–12:50pm D. Wilder
HUM 105-05 MW 04:00pm–05:15pm C. Stewart
HUM 105-06 TTh 09:30am–10:45am E. Ghita
HUM 105-07 TTh 11:00am–12:15pm R. Ismaila
HUM 105-08 TTh 02:30pm–03:45pm S. Dave
HUM 105-09 TTh 01:00pm–02:15pm (2ND HALF) E. Ghita
Note: This section does not follow regular semester dates. It meets during the second half of the semester. This class will meet for 2 hours and 30 minutes each week and an additional 2 hours each week will be fulfilled by online, web-based work.
HUM 105-50 DISTANCE EDUCATION L. Mercer
HUM 105-51 DISTANCE EDUCATION (2ND HALF) C. Stewart
Note: This section does not follow regular semester dates. It meets during the second half of the semester.
HUM 105-52 DISTANCE EDUCATION (2ND HALF) TBD
Note: This section does not follow regular semester dates. It meets during the second half of the semester.

Introduction to the fundamental vocabulary, principles, analytical processes, and styles of the creative arts (painting, sculpture, architecture, and the printed image), with an emphasis on the performing arts (theatre, dance, music, film, and television). The course will include a variety of individual and group activities focused on creativity and performance in the classroom and in the community.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 151-01 MW 04:00pm–05:15pm K. Hill
HUM 151-50 DISTANCE EDUCATION K. Hill

Interdisciplinary study of the arts and humanities in contemporary American culture emphasizing the convergence of European, African, Hispanic, Asian, and indigenous cultures, as well as the distinguishing characteristics of each culture as revealed in three of the following areas: fine arts, drama, literature, philosophy, religion, and popular entertainment.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 152-01 (HONORS) TTh 02:30pm–03:45pm M. Johmann
Note: This section is restricted to students active in the University Honors Program. Please call Honors at 502-852-6293 for more information.
HUM 152-02 MWF 09:00am–09:50am J. Fraley
HUM 152-03 MWF 10:00am–10:50am J. Fraley
HUM 152-04 MW 02:00pm–03:15pm J. Fraley
HUM 152-05 W 04:00pm–06:45pm K. Green
HUM 152-50 DISTANCE EDUCATION L. Mercer
HUM 152-51 DISTANCE EDUCATION J. Cresseveur
HUM 152-52 DISTANCE EDUCATION (2ND HALF) J. Cresseveur
Note: This section does not follow regular semester dates. It meets during the second half of the semester.
HUM 152-54 DISTANCE EDUCATION (2ND HALF) TBD
Note: This section does not follow regular semester dates. It meets during the second half of the semester.

The study of the principal world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous traditions) in their cultural contexts.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 216-01 (HONORS) TTh 01:00pm–02:15pm M. Hagan
Note: This section is restricted to students active in the University Honors Program. Please call Honors at 502-852-6293 for more information.
HUM 216-02 TTh 09:30am–10:45am M. Hagan
HUM 216-03 MWF 10:00am–10:50am E. Denton
HUM 216-50 DISTANCE EDUCATION R. Fuller
HUM 216-51 DISTANCE EDUCATION (2ND HALF) E. Denton
Note: This section does not follow regular semester dates. It meets during the second half of the semester.

A survey of the history, beliefs, and sacred literatures of the religions of South and East Asia from the perspectives of the humanities and the history of religions.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 218-01 (HONORS) MWF 11:00am–11:50am P. Pranke
Note: This section is restricted to students active in the University Honors Program. Please call Honors at 502-852-6293 for more information.

A comparative introduction to Western world religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) through a systematic survey of history, scripture and interpretation, doctrine, practice, and aspects of religious material and literary culture.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 219-01 MWF 11:00am–11:50am E. Denton

This course provides an introduction to Jewish diversity and the Jewish historical minority experience through the prism of the arts and the humanities. Five chronologically sequenced units will examine Jewish cultures in different historical periods and geographical regions to communicate the scope of diverse Jewish communities in the past and present. Special attention will be placed on how gender, ethnicity, and demographic realities, such as displacement and migration, influenced the creation, design, and consumption of Jewish literature, art, music, theater, film and media, food, and philosophic tradition.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 220-50 DISTANCE EDUCATION A. Angermann

Introduction to the fundamentals of film form and film content, including narrative, mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, genre, acting, and sound, with emphasis on relationships between these elements and diverse cultural contexts.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 224-01 (HONORS) TTh 11:00am–12:15pm
M 05:00pm–07:00pm
R. Smith
Note: This section is restricted to students active in the University Honors Program. Please call Honors at 502-852-6293 for more information.
HUM 224-02 TTh 09:30am–10:45am B. Kilpatrick
HUM 224-03 TTh 01:00pm–02:15pm E. Polley
HUM 224-04 MWF 10:00am–10:50am J. Richie
HUM 224-05 W 04:00pm–06:45pm D. Carpenter
HUM 224-50 DISTANCE EDUCATION E. Polley
HUM 224-51 DISTANCE EDUCATION (2ND HALF) D. Carpenter
Note: This section does not follow regular semester dates. It meets during the second half of the semester.

An analysis of American thought and artistic expression since 1900.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 305-01 MWF 09:00am–09:50am M. Johmann

An overview of Islamic religious, cultural, political, and social experience through the centuries.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 306-01 MWF 11:00am–11:50am M. Moazzen

This course examines the intersections of religion and culture. It does not focus on religious texts; instead, its focus is on how religion plays a part in people’s everyday lives as a source of meaning and order, as well as by creating a nexus of rituals, communities, spaces, and identities. It analyzes world religion (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism), as well as local and indigenous religious traditions from a cultural perspective.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 310-51 DISTANCE EDUCATION R. Fuller

Study of the outlook of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in relation to the cultures from which it is derived.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 311-01 MWF 12:00pm–12:50pm N. Polzer

Study of the canonical and apocryphal books of the New Testament as an expression of the world outlook of the primitive Christian community.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 312-01 MWF 01:00pm–01:50pm K. Kleinkopf

An introduction to twentieth-century fiction, featuring a global array of novels and short stories. Years ago, this class was primarily European fiction, but we’ve expanded our horizons to include works from Asia, Africa, and the Americas. We’ll also look at certain non-establishment trends in fictional art, from magical realism and the gothic all the way to science fiction. Three short papers and lively discussion.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 322-01 TTh 01:00pm–02:15pm S. Bertacco

A film theory course that introduces students to theoretical approaches to cinema that may include structuralism, semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminism, and post-structuralism, as well as historical, cultural, and gender theory.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 324-50 DISTANCE EDUCATION L. Mercer

Offers students the opportunity to study a specific group of films in greater depth. Topics could include a focus on genre (e.g., rom com, mystery, film noir), or the course could focus on a particular theme (e.g., food and film, war and film).

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Note: May be repeated up to three times if different selections of films are studied.

Course/Section Topic Days/Times Instructor
HUM 326-01 African American History through Film TTh 02:30pm–03:45pm F. Jamison

This class explores major themes in African American history through the medium of film. More specifically, it analyzes the ways in which popular Hollywood films construct the historical past, the ensuing battles among historians and the public over Hollywood’s version of American history, and the ways that such films can be utilized as historical documents themselves. To better understand the ways in which film can be used as historical artifacts, we will engage in critical readings and analyze primary sources from the period in which the films were created. We will consider films as products of the culture industry; as visions of popularly understood history and national mythology; as evidence for how social conflicts have been depicted; and as evidence of how popular understanding and interpretations of the past have been revised from earlier eras to the present.

Note: Co-listed with HIST 310-04.

Analysis of sex roles as embodied in classic works in philosophy, literature, history, drama, and art in ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary times.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 331-01 (HONORS) TTh 11:00am–12:15pm S. Bertacco
Notes: (1) This section is restricted to students active in the University Honors Program. Please call Honors at 502-852-6293 for more information. (2) Cross-listed with WGST 303-01.
HUM 331-50 DISTANCE EDUCATION J. White
Note: Cross-listed with WGST 303-50.

A survey of the universal aspects of Native American religions, cosmologies, and practices from prior to European contact until the present day.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 336-01 MW 02:00pm–03:15pm H. Cruz

Mythology of Greek gods and goddesses through the study of ancient texts, major sites of worship, and ancient representations of these deities.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 338-01 TTh 01:00pm–02:15pm B. Kilpatrick

Comparison and contrast of different mythic systems. Emphasis on myth as response to the demands of specific cultural experiences.

Course/Section Topic Days/Times Instructor
HUM 339-01 Norse and Celtic Mythology TTh 11:00am–12:15pm T. Stewart

This course places Norse and Celtic mythologies in the context of the study of mythology more broadly, seeking parallels and contrasts with other worldviews. The traces of gods, demigods, and heroes of the Norse and Celtic cultures are visible in many forms of human expression: place names, monuments, literature, seasonal celebrations, and religious and other practices. Students will first examine traditional narratives in prose and poetry, then they will follow threads in other disciplines: in art, inscriptions, and iconography; in music from opera to heavy metal; and in film and TV, novels and comics. This humanistic exploration is designed to bring out the values, strengths, fears, and humor woven into and descending from Norse and Celtic influences.

A historical survey of the relationship between the social-cultural roles of women and their representation in world religion.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 340-01 Th 04:00pm–06:45pm N. Polzer
Note: Cross-listed with WGST 340-01.

Study of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism and their interrelationship with the cultures of South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan).

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 341-02 MWF 02:00pm–02:50pm P. Pranke
Note: Cross-listed with AST 340-02.

An overview of Eastern mysticism through a close reading of significant primary texts from Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Daoist mystical traditions in the light of perennial and contextual theoretical frameworks and current critical scholarships.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 342-02 TTh 02:30pm–03:45pm M. Hagan
Note: Co-listed with AST 390-04.

The varieties of religious experience in the United States: native traditions, manifestations and adaptations of Christianity, and other religions practiced in the United States.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 344-50 DISTANCE EDUCATION T. Burden

An investigation of the literary fairy tale from the Renaissance to the twentieth century.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 350-50 (HONORS) DISTANCE EDUCATION K. Sheehan
Notes: (1) This section is restricted to students active in the University Honors Program. Please call Honors at 502-852-6293 for more information. (2) Cross-listed with M L 350-50.

This course discusses various African understandings of religion by examining specific traditions, beliefs, and practices from Ancient Egyptians, Yoruba, Dogon, and Dagara, among others. Christianity and Islam are discussed as unique parts of the African religious experience.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 351-50 DISTANCE EDUCATION C. McAllister
Note: Cross-listed with PAS 351-50.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Topic Days/Times Instructor
HUM 361-01 The Literature of the Holocaust TTh 11:00am–12:15pm R. Omer-Sherman

In studying fictional, poetic, and nonfictional narratives of the Holocaust, our task will be to witness the event through the texts we read: what does it mean to think of literature as a kind of witnessing? And just what are the limits of language in representing such an unrepresentable event? For the writer, there is a very real crisis of representation. In The Story of a Life, Aharon Appelfeld, the Israeli novelist and Holocaust survivor, describes the feeling of being defeated by his own story: “Every time you talk about those days, you feel that this is incredible. You tell and you don’t believe that this happened to you. This is one of the most humiliating feelings that I’ve experienced.” And Charlotte Delbo testifies that “Auschwitz is there, fixed and unchangeable, but wrapped in the impervious skin of memory that segregates itself from the present ‘me.’” Included in the argument of this course, is the idea that literature can and does respond vigorously to catastrophe. Our main focus will emphasize the roles of silence, memory, identity, and problems of representation, but we will also consider other issues along the way, such as the psychology and history of antisemitism, as well as the problem of articulating a new ethics for humanity. Drawing from European, American, and Israeli narratives, our readings will introduce some of the significant poets and writers who were witnesses to, survivors, and in some instances victims of the Holocaust. Later in the semester, we will encounter narratives by Ozick, Spiegelman, Semel, and others, a second generation whose work is distinguished by a tension between the desire to write about the Holocaust and guilt at doing so. What does it mean to be the child or even grandchild of a survivor? What will the collective memory of the Holocaust be in the twenty-first century, after the last survivors have given testimony? The way that Jews and others deal with the Holocaust is not always wise. Sometimes we manipulate it, turning Holocaust-related fears into an outlook and a value system. Time and again, we discover that, whether we want it or not, nearly every one of us is a carrier pigeon of the Holocaust. So it is worth coming to terms with it more consciously. As Ecclesiastes (1:18) tells us: “For in much wisdom [is] much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.”

Note: Co-listed with ENGL 372-01.
HUM 361-03 Music and Sound in Film TTh 02:30pm–03:45pm D. Burke

Over the course of the semester, we will study representative films from different eras, cultures, and genres. Through discussions of films and readings as well as written assignments, we will dig into topics including film sound theory, the history of film sound technology, and sociocultural and historical contexts for trends in film sound styles and aesthetics. The course will develop critical thinking and listening skills that are unique to film sound. Given the global ubiquity of film, these skills will benefit students as a form of cultural literacy.

Note: Co-listed with MUH 315-01.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Course/Section Topic Days/Times Instructor
HUM 362-50 Race, Gender, and Human Behaviors DISTANCE EDUCATION L. Anthony

The course is an elective that examines human behaviors in relation to race and gender from psychological, sociological, and technological perspectives. These perspectives will be viewed in terms of contemporary societies throughout the African diaspora. At the end of the term, students will demonstrate their knowledge by creating a presentation for an adverse audience while taking a supportive position of a social issue relating to race and/or gender.

Note: Co-listed with PAS 300-50 and WGST 390-50.

This course explores various religious beliefs, practices, experiences, traditions, and institutions of African-descended people in the United States. Students will be introduced to a range of African American religious traditions and a variety of perspectives within African American religious thought. These traditions and their respective beliefs and practices will be situated within their proper historical, social, and cultural contexts.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 377-01 MW 01:00pm–02:15pm B. McCormack
Note: Cross-listed with PAS 317-01.

Methods and theories in interdisciplinary thinking and research, emphasizing (1) the interrelationships of the disciplines; (2) the importance of synthesizing art, theatre, literature, music, philosophy, and religion in a cultural context; and (3) the critical examination of issues arising from fields outside the humanities that have significant impact on and synergy with the humanities.

Prerequisites: Junior standing; majors only.

Notes: (1) Credit may not be earned for both HUM 509 and HUM 609. (2) Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR). (3) This course fulfills the Culminating Undergraduate Experience (CUE) requirement for certain degree programs. CUE courses are advanced-level courses intended for majors with at least 90 earned credits/senior-level status.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 509-01 M 04:00pm–06:45pm K. Kleinkopf
Notes: (1) Co-listed with HUM 609-02. (2) Register for this section if you are an undergraduate student.

Prerequisite: Junior standing.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 515 and HUM 615.

Course/Section Topic Days/Times Instructor
HUM 515-01 Women and Gender in Muslim Societies MW 02:00pm–03:15pm M. Moazzen

This course will examine women’s lives in Muslim societies from the seventh century to the present, in the Middle East and throughout the world by covering crucial moments in the religious and intellectual history of Muslim societies. Topics include women’s rights in the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions. We will read and analyze passages from these foundational texts, to learn how gender is textually defined, and how these definitions are socially enacted. We will then explore women’s position in Islamic law; Muslim women and education, and Sufi traditions and thoughts, Western images of Muslim women; the ideals and realities of veiling and seclusion for women in various contexts; debates over gender and law in “Islamized” Iran; and reinterpretations of Islam among African-American women.

Notes: (1) Co-listed with HUM 615-01, WGST 593-02, and WGST 692-01. (2) Register for this section if you are an undergraduate student.

Prerequisite: Junior standing.

Course/Section Topic Days/Times Instructor
HUM 561-02 Playscript Interpretation MW 02:30pm–03:45pm R. Vandenbroucke

Some Reasons UofL Students Might Want to Take TA 571/HUM 561:

  • You want to improve your ability to imagine a play produced on stage from text alone.
  • You want to expand your grasp of a variety of periods, styles, and cultures including older plays from them.
  • You want to challenge your imagination by reading plays and authors you have not studied carefully before.
  • You wonder what it’s like to write a play.
  • You want to broaden your understanding beyond the contemporary focus of most American theatres.
  • You want to use essential theatre terms precisely and correctly.
Note: Co-listed with TA 571-01.
HUM 561-75 Introduction to Public History Th 04:30pm–07:15pm G. Crothers

Introduction to nature, history, and methods of public history. Emphasis on relationship of historical scholarship to nonacademic applications.

Note: Co-listed with HIST 597-75 and HIST 697-75.

Notes: (1) May be repeated up to three times under different topics. (2) Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).

Course/Section Topic Days/Times Instructor
HUM 590-04 Sherlock Holmes in Fiction, in Movies, and on Television MWF 10:00am–10:50am M. Johmann

With the sole exceptions of Santa Claus and Count Dracula, Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective Sherlock Holmes has been portrayed more times in film and on television than any other fictional character. Played by actors ranging from Basil Rathbone to Benedict Cumberbatch, Holmes has not only survived attempts by his own author to kill off the character as early as 1893 but has lived to fight Nazis, defeat Jack the Ripper, reside simultaneously in London and New York, and use digital messaging to taunt the police. This class will explore the publishing and media phenomenon that is Sherlock Holmes, who first appeared in print in 1887. Beginning with the novels and short stories, we will examine the fascination with the character among his earliest Victorian readers, which extended onto the Victorian stage and even into silent film during Doyle’s lifetime. With the coming of sound in the 1930s, we’ll explore the ways in which Sherlock, along with his friend and biographer John Watson, become the model for Batman and Robin, along with other superheroes, during the golden age of comics and are transformed from their Victorian origins into patriotic Britons fighting against Hitler’s spies and saboteurs during World War II. We’ll examine the return to a traditional depiction of the great Victorian detective in the Granada Television productions of the 1980s and early ’90s starring Jeremy Brett, and his emergence as a twenty-first-century crime solver living in today’s London in the BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Along the way, we will consider some of the other characters and types of fiction created by Conan Doyle that either mirror his greatest success or starkly contrast with the Holmes universe. We’ll examine the development of both the literary detective and the detective story genre inspired by Holmes which dominates so much of contemporary fiction and media and try to answer the question: why does such an egotistical, arrogant, cocaine-addicted Victorian continue to fascinate us? As one of Sherlock’s adversaries, Irene Adler, famously puts it: “Brainy is the new sexy.” Be sure to bring your pipe and deerstalker hat.

HUM 590-05 Faith and Film T 02:30pm–04:30pm
Th 02:30pm–03:45pm
J. Ferré

From Charlie Chaplin’s 1917 silent movie Easy Street to the 2018 film First Reformed, feature films have explored the promises and shortcomings of religious faith and institutions. Because films about religion consider values, beliefs, or perspectives that are important at the time of their release, popular films about religion can serve as an index to religious anxieties and preoccupations. This course will trace the history of religion and film decade by decade from the silent era to the twenty-first century, focusing on the themes, values, and contexts of films about Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—the predominant religions in North America.

Note: Co-listed with COMM 463-02.

What constitutes queer performance? Is queer who you are or what you do? Is sexuality all we mean by queer? What are the historical, aesthetic, and political aspects of queer performance? Integral to our theoretical discussions will be questions of practice and production: Where is queer performance staged and how is it received? How is it produced, for whom, by whom, and with what funds? Is queer inherently or even necessarily radical? Within rigid Western notions of gender, the “queer performer” is a gender outlaw: an individual who pushed at the edges of gender, forcing us to recognize that gender has little to do with our biological sex. Their performances of their gender(s), race(s), and/or sexuality(ies) challenges our prevailing notions of what it means to be queer and what it means to perform identity. This course will examine the artistic and aesthetic performances of various queer performers to foster an understanding and appreciation of the rich diversity of the forms of performance styles and practitioners that might be called “lesbian,” “gay,” “transgender,” and “queer,” among others. Secondly, it will motivate students to examine the broad social, political, religious, and cultural contexts in which queer performance takes place. Lastly, this course will allow students to contemplate what it means to be a spectator of performance through a queer perspective, regardless of one’s identity, or sexual orientation.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 608-01 W 04:00pm–06:45pm K. Story
Note: Cross-listed with WGST 508-01 and WGST 608-01.

Methods and theories in interdisciplinary thinking and research, emphasizing (1) the interrelationships of the disciplines; (2) the importance of synthesizing art, theatre, literature, music, philosophy, and religion in a cultural context; and (3) the critical examination of issues arising from fields outside the humanities that have significant impact on and synergy with the humanities.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 509 and HUM 609.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 609-02 M 04:00pm–06:45pm K. Kleinkopf
Notes: (1) Co-listed with HUM 509-01. (2) Register for this section if you are a graduate student.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both HUM 515 and HUM 615.

Course/Section Topic Days/Times Instructor
HUM 615-01 Women and Gender in Muslim Societies MW 02:00pm–03:15pm M. Moazzen

This course will examine women’s lives in Muslim societies from the seventh century to the present, in the Middle East and throughout the world by covering crucial moments in the religious and intellectual history of Muslim societies. Topics include women’s rights in the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions. We will read and analyze passages from these foundational texts, to learn how gender is textually defined, and how these definitions are socially enacted. We will then explore women’s position in Islamic law; Muslim women and education, and Sufi traditions and thoughts, Western images of Muslim women; the ideals and realities of veiling and seclusion for women in various contexts; debates over gender and law in “Islamized” Iran; and reinterpretations of Islam among African-American women.

Notes: (1) Co-listed with HUM 515-01, WGST 593-02, and WGST 692-01.(2) Register for this section if you are a graduate student.

An overview of humanities doctoral studies, from basic doctoral and postdoctoral procedures (seminar and conference papers, journal and book publications, the dissertation, the academic job market, jobs for PhDs beyond academe, and more) through an introduction to the general types of advanced modern and contemporary theory students are likely to encounter in courses that follow.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing; doctoral students only.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
HUM 660-01 W 04:00pm–06:45pm K. Swinehart
J. Sichel
Note: Cross-listed with ARTH 641-01.

Linguistics Courses

Introduction to the basic assumptions, methods, and concepts of studying language, focusing on the way language influences human experience and the organization of human behavior. Examines the nature, structure, and use of language. May apply as elective in either Social Sciences or Humanities, meeting divisional or out-of-divisional requirements.

Prerequisite: ENGL 102 or ENGL 105.

Note: Students with credit for LING 518/ENGL 518 may not take this course.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
LING 325-03 MWF 10:00am–10:50am H. Cruz
Note: Cross-listed with ENGL 325-01.

A comparative survey of languages from three contemporary critical perspectives: (1) language families; (2) language areas; (3) language types. Focus will be on language relationships, similarities, and differences.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
LING 327-01 TTh 2:30pm–3:45pm T. Stewart

An ethnographic perspective to the study of language, investigating how it is used to create and maintain social institutions and rituals and how it is differentiated across genders and ethnicities.

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
LING 330-01 TTh 01:00pm–02:15pm K. Swinehart
Note: Cross-listed with ANTH 343-01 and ENGL 330-01.

Critical review of recent and current theoretical approaches to syntax and semantics. Focus on revisions of Chomsky’s extended standard theory and emerging theories. Will survey contributions made by other approaches.

Prerequisite: LING 325 or LING 327

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
LING 503-01 TTh 04:00pm–05:15pm T. Stewart
Notes: (1) Cross-listed with LING 603-01. (2) Register for this section if you are an undergraduate student.

Critical review of recent and current theoretical approaches to syntax and semantics. Focus on revisions of Chomsky’s extended standard theory and emerging theories. Will survey contributions made by other approaches.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing

Course/Section Days/Times Instructor
LING 603-01 TTh 04:00pm–05:15pm T. Stewart
Notes: (1) Cross-listed with LING 503-01. (2) Register for this section if you are a graduate student.