General Studies
in the Humanities

Chairman and Director of Undergraduate Studies: Herman L. Sinaiko, G-B 505, 702-7987
General Studies Collegiate Adviser: Lewis Fortner, HM 286, 702-8613
Committee Office and Secretary: JoAnn Baum, G-B 309, 702-7092

Program of Study

The Bachelor of Arts degree program in the Committee on General Studies in the Humanities offers qualified undergraduates the opportunity to shape an interdisciplinary plan of course work centered in, but not necessarily restricted to, study in the Humanities. The initial formulation of such a plan of study is contained in the written proposal for admission to the B.A. program that every applicant must submit.

Program Requirements

Potential applicants to General Studies should reflect on the set of guidelines that govern the overall form of individual B.A. programs and also consult with the director of undergraduate studies and the General Studies Collegiate adviser about their plans and the curricular resources involved. Because the Humanities encompass widely varying endeavors and approaches, the B.A. program guidelines in General Studies aim at helping students define a balanced and coherent interdisciplinary plan of course work. Accordingly, the guidelines specify

1. Six courses in a major field (concentration) or in closely integrated subject areas in more than one field.

2. Four courses in a supporting field or in closely integrated subject areas in more than one field.

3. Three courses in a minor field or combination of fields.

4. A sequence or group of two courses that emphasizes intellectual approaches, or scholarly and critical methods, germane to a student's particular interdisciplinary course program.

5. One course devoted to the preparation of the bachelor's thesis or project (General Studies in the Humanities 299). The development of the thesis or project is closely supervised by a faculty member of the student's choice (who need not be a member of the General Studies faculty and who serves as the second reader for the completed work) and by a first reader assigned by the committee whose responsibility is to provide guidance in matters pertaining to organization and exposition of the work.

It should also be noted that any one of the fields listed under 1, 2, and 3 in the preceding paragraphs may be drawn from outside the Humanities in formulating a proposed General Studies program. However, the sequence or group of courses described in 4 must, in keeping with the humanistic basis and orientation of General Studies, be offerings from the Humanities Collegiate Division. Commonly, this sequence consists of General Studies in the Humanities 240-241 (Criticism: Its Philosophic Bases and Practice).

The rationale for the proportional distribution of courses specified in the guidelines is twofold: (1) to ensure that students are given substantial exposure to more than one aspect of humanistically centered inquiry, and (2) to cultivate a level of sufficient competence in at least one field so that this field, alone or in combination with material learned in other fields, can serve as the basis for the B.A. paper or project.

Because the B.A. program in General Studies is not a specialized concentration in a single department, students need to use some courses normally reserved as free electives in order to complete the specified extension of study in at least three fields. However, as the above guidelines show, the B.A. in General Studies is an intensely "elective" program overall, affording broad scope to informed and intelligent individual choice. In itself the program involves proportional distribution of course work over at least three fields.

Summary of Requirements

Fields of Concentration. While the potential for developing individual B.A. programs in General Studies is as great as the combined ingenuity, imagination, and interest of each student in consultation with both advisers, there are identifiable patterns in the choices of fields and lines of inquiry currently being implemented in the committee. The most prominent of these include

1. Study in philosophy and literature (as six- and four-course fields with either literature or philosophy emphasized) to investigate differences in handling concepts and language in philosophy and literature and/or mutual influence between the two fields.

2. Study in verbal and nonverbal art forms and expressions (art and literature, music and literature) leading to consideration of the implications of the verbal and nonverbal distinction for interpretation and criticism.

3. Study in the history, philosophy, language, religious expression, and literary and artistic productions of a given culture or of a given historical period within one or more cultures. Examples include American Studies, the Renaissance, or Greece (and the Mediterranean) in the preclassical and classical ages.

4. Study in humanistic fields (for example, literature and philosophy) and in a social science field (for example, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and political science). This option is particularly adapted to a focus on women's studies, insofar as Collegiate course offerings make this possible to implement.

5. Study in languages working toward and combined with study in comparative literature, usually literature in English and in one other language.

6. Study of modern culture in its various aspects of popular and elite forms of cultural expression.

7. Study of traditional and newer art forms. Examples include literature and film, and fine arts and photography.

8. Study combining critical and creative endeavor as aspects of the same humanistic field. Examples include literature and creative (or expository) writing, drama and work in theater, art history and studio art, and languages and original compositions (or translations). General Studies in the Humanities recently developed a formal theater/drama option involving course work in the history of drama, practical aspects of theater, and dramatic criticism. Courses offered on a regular basis include Playwriting, Lighting Design for Stage and Film, Introductory and Advanced Directing, Acting Fundamentals, and Shakespeare in Performance. (For more information, consult the Drama section of this catalog or call Curt Columbus at 702-2982.)

9. Study in humanistic approaches to biological or physical science. This option is particularly adapted to interest in problems or aspects of intellectual and cultural history (for example, the impact of Newtonian physics on eighteenth-century European thought) or to study of modern society and science's role within it (medical ethics being one possible focus among many).

Application to the Program. Students who are interested in a General Studies course program should make application to the Committee as soon as possible upon completion of Common Core requirements (normally by the end of the second College year). Transfer students in particular are urged to apply at the earliest point that they can, given the large number of courses in the General Studies B.A. program. An application is initiated by securing an interview with the chairman or an appropriate Committee adviser, including the General Studies Collegiate adviser, to consult about the feasibility of shaping and implementing a given set of interdisciplinary concerns into a course of study for the B.A. After consultation, students who wish to pursue an application to the Committee must submit a two-part written proposal. The first part consists of a personal reflective statement of about one thousand words in length, explaining the character of their interdisciplinary interests and stating as thoughtfully as possible how they propose to channel and expand them within course offerings currently available. Some consideration of prospects and possibilities for a B.A. paper or project is a desirable part of these statements, if it can be provided. The second part of the application consists of a proposed list of courses to fill the headings given in the above set of guidelines. A General Studies faculty committee then considers applications. In addition to considering the substance and workability of a proposed program, the Committee generally requires a B average in preceding course work.

Special Honors. To be eligible for special honors a student must have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher. These honors are reserved for the student whose B.A. paper or project shows exceptional intellectual and/or creative merit in the judgment of the first and second readers (see number 5 under the preceding Program Requirements section), the chairman of the Committee, and the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division.

Advising. Clarity as well as flexibility in shaping an interdisciplinary plan of course work is emphasized from start to finish in General Studies. Accordingly, discussion is encouraged in the early stages of a student's thinking. Continuing discussion is provided for after admission to General Studies by assignment to a faculty adviser who specifically stands ready to help the student bring his or her individual program to a rewarding completion.

Faculty

RALPH A. AUSTEN, Professor, Department of History, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, and the College; Cochairman, Committee on African and African-American Studies

TED COHEN, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committees on the Visual Arts and General Studies in the Humanities, and the College

BERTRAM COHLER, William Rainey Harper Professor, the College; Professor, Departments of Psychology (Human Development), Education, and Psychiatry and the Divinity School; Committee on General Studies in the Humanities

CHRISTOPHER A. FARAONE, Associate Professor, Department of Classical Languages & Literatures, Committees on the Ancient Mediterranean World and General Studies in the Humanities, and the College

MIRIAM HANSEN, Ferdinand Schevill Distinguished Service Professor in the Humanities, Department of English Language & Literature, Committees on the Visual Arts and General Studies in the Humanities, and the College

SAMUEL P. JAFFE, Professor, Department of Germanic Studies, Committees on Jewish Studies, Medieval Studies, General Studies in the Humanities, and New Collegiate Division, and the College

MARK KRUPNICK, Professor, Department of English Language & Literature, the Divinity School, and Committees on Jewish Studies and General Studies in the Humanities

LARRY NORMAN, Assistant Professor, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, and the College

D. NICHOLAS RUDALL, Associate Professor, Department of Classical Languages & Literatures, Committees on the Ancient Mediterranean World and General Studies in the Humanities and the College; Founding Director, Court Theatre

JOSHUA SCODEL, Associate Professor, Department of English Language & Literature, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, and the College

MARK SIEGLER, Professor, Department of Medicine and Committee on General Studies in the Humanities; Director, Maclean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics

MICHAEL SILVERSTEIN, Samuel N. Harper Professor, Departments of Anthropology, Linguistics, and Psychology (Cognition & Communication) and Committees on Analysis of Ideas & Study of Methods and General Studies in the Humanities

HERMAN L. SINAIKO, Professor, Division of the Humanities and the College; Chairman, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities

JOEL M. SNYDER, Professor, Department of Art History, Committees on the Visual Arts and General Studies in the Humanities, and the College

TAMARA TROJANOWSKA, Assistant Professor, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, and the College

KATIE TRUMPENER, Associate Professor, Department of English Language & Literature, Germanic Studies, Comparative Literature, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities and the College

CANDACE VOGLER, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, and the College

KENNETH W. WARREN, Associate Professor, Department of English Language & Literature, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, and the College

Courses

101. Drama: Embodiment and Transformation. PQ: This course fulfills the Common Core requirement in the musical, visual, and dramatic arts. Designed for students with no previous experience or training, this course serves as a first encounter with the dramatic art form in all of its component parts. Participants study and perform various methods of acting, directing, and design. J. Thebus, P. Pascoe. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

200. Introduction to Film I (=ArtH 190, CMS 101, Eng 108, GS Hum 200). PQ: This is the first part of a two-quarter course. The two parts may be taken individually, but taking them in sequence is helpful. The first part introduces basic concepts of film analysis, which are discussed through examples from different national cinemas, genres, and directorial oeuvres. Along with questions of film technique and style, we consider the notion of the cinema as an institution that comprises an industrial system of production, social and aesthetic norms and codes, and particular modes of reception. Films discussed include works by Hitchcock, Porter, Griffith, Eisenstein, Lang, Renoir, Sternberg, and Welles. J. Lastra. Autumn.

206. Classical Film Theory (=CMS 270, Eng 283, GS Hum 206). This course examines basic questions associated with the film medium through the writings of some of its earliest and most influential theorists. Beginning with the question of what constitutes a "theoretical" or "philosophical" approach to film, we pursue a series of persistent issues. What is the nature of film's relationship to reality? Are there "essential" features of the medium that determine its form? How do images and editing make meaning? We place writers (such as Vachel Lindsay, Hugo Münsterberg, Sergei Eisenstein, Siegfried Kracauer, Walter Benjamin, and André Bazin) in historical and cultural terms, and use their work to frame our own theoretical questions. J. Lastra. Spring.

207. Cinema as Vernacular Modernism (=CMS 246, Eng 280, GS Hum 207). This course considers exemplary films of the 1920s and 1930s as a form of "popular" or "vernacular modernism:" as aesthetic expressions of (and responses to) the social and cultural experience of modernity and modernization. In addition to a small sample of Hollywood films (e.g., The Crowd, and Gold Diggers of 1933), we discuss films from Soviet Russia (Bed and Sofa), Germany (Diary of a Lost Girl), France (Ménilmontant, Coeur Fidèle), England, and (depending on availability) China and Japan. Readings include texts (Kracauer, Benjamin, Epstein, Dulac, Kuleshov, and Shklovsky; and selections from the magazine Close-Up). M. Hansen. Spring.

208/315. Le lyrisme française au Moyen Âge (=French 220/320, GendSt 220, GS Hum 208/315). PQ: Knowledge of French. Through their songs, we examine the lives of medieval poets, asking how a culture of performance required goliards, minstrels, and starving scholars to invent poetic identities and assert their authority before patrons and public. We also explore how the archetypal lady of medieval poetry compares with what we know of women's lives as poets, patrons, and objects of desire. Finally, we consider how the poet's identity in the late Middle Ages became both more idealized and realistic and evolved into a poetic construct in itself. Classes conducted in French; with prior consent of the instructor, nonconcentrators in French may write in English. K. Duys. Winter.

209. German and Norwegian Literature: Reconnecting Two Germanic Literatures (=GS Hum 209, German 235, Hum 204, Norweg 235). This course explores the intrinsic, yet neglected, relationship between modern German and modern Norwegian literature. Examining the period from approximately 1870 to 1933, we expose not only the undeniable connections between the two modern traditions, but also, in particular, the substantial impact of Norwegian literature's so-called "modern breakthrough" on German literature of the period. Classes conducted in English; texts in English and the original. K. Kenny. Autumn.

216/316. Stendhal (=French 264/364, Fndmtl 280, GS Hum 216/316). Ce cours portera sur Stendhal (Le Rouge et le noir, La Chartreuse de Parme) comme romancier et comme témoin de son temps. A cheval sur les Lumiéres et l'époque romantique, à la fois inspiré et hanté par la figure de Napoléon, cet auteur à mille masques ne cesse de se déguiser pour s'imposer aux "Happy few." A travers ses personnages il formule un commentaire puissant sur son époque. Lectures et discussion en français; written work in French or English. R. Morrissey. Autumn.

220/320. Colonial Autobiography (=GS Hum 220/320, Hist 201/30). We read autobiographical works (fiction and nonfiction) from Africa, India, the Caribbean, and (maybe) Southeast Asia. Background readings consider European, American, and African-American autobiographies as a model against which the works here are written. The aim is to examine forms of subjectivity and the experience of "coming of age" in a context where European domination is at once contested politically and embraced as a means of self-expression. R. Austen. Spring.

223. Culture History of American English (=Anthro 271, GS Hum 223). This course explores the emergence of the contemporary American English linguistic community within the context of North American and more global English-centered speech communities. Topics include American culture and the American culture of language, genres of textual monument of it, as well as the dynamic intersections of institutional forces that have shaped, and are currently shaping American English discursive practices and linguistic structure. M. Silverstein. Spring.

225. American Writing since 1925 (=DivRL 261, Eng 261, GS Hum 225). The linking concern will be religious belief and vestiges (traces) of belief in modern American literature. Wherever relevant, religious or antireligious attitudes (whether of author, character, or the implied reader) will be brought into relation with social and political attitudes. Some writers whose work may be represented on the syllabus are William Faulkner, Nathanael West, Djuna Barnes, Saul Bellow, John Cheever, Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Mary McCarthy, Norman Mailer, Flannery O'Connor, and John Updike. M. Krupnick. Autumn.

226. Translation: Mediating Texts (=GS Hum 226, Hum 217). Translated texts make up a good portion of the reading lists for courses in the College, yet very little attention is given to the fact that the text at hand is a translation. This course aims to bring the translator out into the open to examine the factors that influence a translator and, in turn, shape the translation. We explore in depth how these different constraints structure particular texts via specific examples from multiple English translations of Homer's Iliad and of Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil, as well as different film versions of Nabokov's novel Lolita. C. Scheiner. Spring.

227. Staging Femininity: Gender as Spectacle in Opera and Film (=CMS 223, German 238/338, GS Hum 227, MAPH 335). This course explores the relationship between cultural production and gender identity. We read a broad range of texts from contemporary cultural production and gender identity. We read a broad range of texts from contemporary cultural, performance, and film theory (e.g. Judith Butler, Catherine Clement, Mary Ann Doane, Susan McClary, Laura Mulvey, Slavoj Zizek) and examine a number of symptomatic films and operas where gender norms become apparent through their exaggeration, violation, or suspension. All readings in English. Films by Josef von Sternberg The Blue Angel, 1930; Busby Berkeley, The Gang's All Here, 1943; King Vidor, Gilda, 1946; Werner Schroeter, Death of Maria Malibran, 1972, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Lili Marleen, 1980, and Jean-Jacques Beineix, Diva, 1982; operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Marriage of Figaro, Gaetano Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor; and Giacomo Puccini, Turandot. David J. Levin. Autumn.

228-229. Problems in Gender Studies (=Eng 102-103, GendSt 101-102, GS Hum 228-229, Hist 180-181, Hum 228-229, SocSci 282-283). PQ: Second- or third-year standing and completion of a Common Core social science or humanities course or the equivalent. This two-quarter interdisciplinary sequence is designed as an introduction to theories and critical practices in the study of feminism, gender, and sexuality. Both classic texts and recent reconceptualizations of these contested fields are examined. Problems and cases from a variety of cultures and historical periods are considered, and the course pursues their differing implications for local, national, and global politics. Topics might include the politics of reproduction; gender and postcolonialism; women, sexual scandal, and the law; race and sexual paranoia; and sexual subcultures. D. Nelson, Staff, Autumn; E. Povinelli, Staff, Winter.

234/334. History of Photography: 1839-1969 (=ArtH 264/364, GS Hum 234/334). PQ: Any 100-level ArtH or COVA course. The invention of the photographic system as a confluence of art practice and technology is studied in detail. The aesthetic history of photography is traced from 1839 through the present. Special emphasis is placed on the critical writings of P. H. Emerson, Erwin Panofsky, Alfred Stieglitz, Lewis Mumford, Susan Sontag, and Michael Fried. J. Snyder. Winter.

235. Multimedia Web Programming as a Interdisciplinary Art I (HyperCard and QuickTime) (=ComSci 110, GS Hum 235). PQ: Math 102 or 106, or placement into 131 or equivalent, and ComSci 101; or consent of instructor. ComSci 110-111 fulfills the Common Core requirement in the mathematical sciences. This sequence provides students with both practical programming skills and core ideas in computer science in relation to interdisciplinary applications. Across all disciplines, our ideas of the arts, the character of "images" and "texts," and the ways we form communities are being transformed by the World Wide Web (e.g., by scripting languages and the QuickTime Media Layer). Students learn to program on an Apple Macintosh using HyperCard, QuickTime, and a variety of user scripting languages including Lingo, JavaScript, HyperTalk, AppleScript, and related scripting languages. As an introduction to programming in a multimedia context, the course presents techniques of problem solving, program coding, algorithm construction, and debugging using the Web as its programming environment. W. Sterner, D. Crabb. Winter.

236. Multimedia Web Programming as an Interdisciplinary Art II (HyperCard and QuickTime) (=ComSci 111, GS Hum 236). PQ: ComSci 110 or consent of instructor. ComSci 110-111 fulfills the Common Core requirement in the mathematical sciences. This course continues ComSci 110, enlarging upon Web programming arts by identifying characteristic forms of applications that may be deployed on the Web as applets, including machines, models, simulations, and games as genres of argumentation. Students encounter such forms as recurrent scientific strategies that are making important contributions to new patterns of thinking in the humanities and in the social, biological, and physical sciences. They acquire more complete programming experience in multimedia user scripting languages. Topics include Turing Machines, multimedia objects, computer games, and the complexity of Web information delivery and access. W. Sterner, D. Crabb. Spring.

237. Introduction to Interactive Logic (=ComSci 112, GS Hum 237). PQ: Math 102 or 106, or placement into 131 or equivalent. Some experience with computers is helpful. This introductory course in first-order logic covers much of the same theoretical territory as a standard course in logic, but is much more "hands on." It presents logic as a concrete discipline that is used for understanding and creating human-computer technology in the context of science, technology, and society. We look at computer science, logic, philosophy, aesthetics, design, and the study of technology, as well as the software packages of Tarski's World and possibly HyperProof. No programming skills are assumed, but those with some programming background do projects with HyperCard, a Computer Assisted Design package, Prolog, or other software. The course continues in the same spirit as ComSci 110-111, but they are not prerequisites. W. Sterner. Spring.

240-241/340-341. Criticism: Its Philosophic Bases and Practice I, II. These courses may be taken in sequence or individually. This course sequence focuses on the problems of judging works of art. Recognizing that there are different fundamental conceptions of the nature and function of art, the sequence explores the ways these philosophical commitments affect the interpretations and evaluation of particular works. Two major philosophic positions are examined each quarter along with a number of literary works that serve to exemplify and test the critical theories. H. Sinaiko. Autumn, Winter.

240/340. Criticism I: The Nature of the Work of Art. Aristotle's Poetics and Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy are discussed in detail along with several tragedies. The nature of an individual work of art, the nature of tragedy, and the critical status of a poetic genre are central critical themes.

241/341. Criticism II: Art in Its Relations. We consider Plato's Phaedrus and Heidegger's The Origin of the Work of Art, along with several short prose works. Our major themes are the personal relation of the artist to the work and the relation of the work to the experience of the audience.

242/342. History and Theory of Drama I (=ClCiv 212/312, ComLit 305, Eng 138/310, GS Hum 242/342). PQ: May be taken in sequence with GS Hum 243/343 or individually. This course is a survey of major trends and theatrical accomplishments in western drama from the ancient Greeks through the Renaissance: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, medieval religious drama, Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Jonson, along with some consideration of dramatic theory by Aristotle, Horace, Sir Philip Sidney, and Dryden. The course features optional but highly recommended end-of-week workshops in which individual scenes are read aloud dramatically and discussed. The goal is not to develop acting skill but, rather, to discover what is at work in the scene, and to write up that process in a somewhat informal report. Students have the option of writing essays or putting on short scenes in cooperation with some other members of the class. D. Bevington, N. Rudall. Autumn.

243/343. History and Theory of Drama II (=ComLit 306, Eng 139/311, GS Hum 243/343). PQ: May be taken in sequence with GS Hum 242/342 or individually. This course is a survey of major trends and theatrical accomplishments in western drama from the late seventeenth century into the twentieth: Molière, Goldsmith, Ibsen, Chekhov, Strindberg, Wilde, Shaw, Brecht, Beckett, and Stoppard. Attention is also paid to theorists of the drama, including Stanislavsky, Artaud, and Grotowski. Like the autumn-quarter course, the winter-quarter course features optional but highly recommended end-of-week workshops in which individual scenes are read aloud dramatically and discussed. The goal is not to develop acting skill but, rather, to discover what is at work in the scene, and to write up that process in a somewhat informal report. Students have the option of writing essays or putting on short scenes in cooperation with some other members of the class. D. Bevington, N. Rudall. Winter.

247/347. Revolutions in the Theater (=GS Hum 247/347, GnSlav 284/384). This course examines Stanislavski's, Meyerhold's, Grotowski's, and Kantor's theoretical thought and theater practice. It places these revolutionary European directors within a broader context of the most important theater reforms in the twentieth century, such as naturalism and symbolism; the search for the absolute autonomy of theater performance; and the attempts to retheatricalize the theater and to create a ritualistic and mythic holy theater. We focus on their contribution to theater aesthetics, and their views on major elements of theater performance and on the relationships of these elements. Revolutions in the theater are placed within the context of other revolutions of the twentieth century. T. Trojanowska. Winter.

251. Acting Fundamentals. PQ: Consent of instructor. Prior theater or acting training not required. This course introduces students to fundamental concepts of acting in the theatrical art form. The class emphasizes the development of creative faculties and techniques of observation, as well as vocal and physical interpretation. Participants study various techniques of psychological and gestural interpretation. Concepts are introduced through directed reading, improvisation, and scene study. C. Columbus. Spring.

252. Shakespeare in Performance. PQ: Consent of instructor. Prior theater experience helpful but not required. This course explores the dramatic texts of Shakespeare through the mechanics of performance. Students begin by working to develop awareness of and freedom with the verse in the Sonnets. Moving toward more extensive dialogue and scene-work from the plays, they explore the building blocks of performing Shakespeare, from the text itself to the actor's voice and body. The class teaches specific approaches to both verse and prose, developing a methodology of analysis, preparation, and performance. Each participant directs and performs scenes for class. G. Witt. Winter.

253. Chekhov in Contemporary Context. PQ: Consent of instructor. Priortheater experience or acting training helpful. This course is intended to uncover the universal themes and settings in Anton Chekhov's work, bringing to light the humor and contemporary impact of this classic author. At the same time, focus is placed on expanding the participants' individual creative expression and understanding. The course explores Chekhov's four major plays as a means to enhancing individual performance skills and to understanding the process by which actors and directors bring these dramatic works to life. C. Columbus. Winter.

254. Tennessee Williams: Performing an American Classic. PQ: Consent of instructor. Prior theater experience or acting training helpful. This course addresses the performance aesthetics of Williams's Southern Gothic drama, including the music, poetry, and visual aspects of the playwright's most well-known plays: The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and others. The stylistic challenges of performing Williams's work as an actor, the similarities to American improvised musical forms, such as blues and jazz, and the painterly nature of the Southern Gothic atmosphere of the plays are explored through discussion, reading, and performative tasks. C. Columbus. Not offered 1998-1999; will be offered 1999-2000.

255. Performing Women's Voices in Literature. PQ: Consent of instructor. How does one listen for women's voices in literature, music, theater, and poetry? Dramatic and nondramatic texts are examined through performance to better hear the articulation of women's experiences. The course examines the thematic expressions of gender in primary texts and links those to dramatic expression through the workshop development of performance pieces generated collectively by the participants. L. Holland. Spring.

256. Acting the Greeks. PQ: Consent of instructor. Prior theater experience not required. This course creates an acting vocabulary for classical Greek plays, using texts such as Euripides' Medea, Sophocles' Electra and Antigone, and Aeschylus' Oresteia. Through vocal and physical exercises, we actively work to train the actor's primal impulse in order to fill the stature and emotional fullness that the plays demand. Students are expected to perform choral and scene work in class. Not offered 1998-1999; will be offered 1999-2000.

257. Advanced Shakespeare Scene Study. PQ: Consent of instructor. GS Hum 252 or equivalent Shakespeare training required. How do you translate the politics, poetics, and cultural issues of Shakespeare's texts into actual staging? Moving beyond understanding and delivery of verse drama, this class explores in-depth the visual, physical, and thematic resonances of Shakespeare's plays. Students focus at length on individual scenes, discovering them from a range of approaches to unlock their inherently theatrical elements. G. Witt. Spring.

258. Improvisation for Actors. PQ: Consent of instructor. Prior theater experience or acting training not required. Structured around the idea that acting is doing, this class explores the foundations of the actor's problem-solving process. Emphasis is placed on developing the participants' ability for strong communication on stage, through exercises, games, and performance experiences designed to address sensory awareness, physicalization, focus, and concentration. A. Fenton. Autumn.

260. The Art of Directing. PQ: Consent of instructor. GS Hum 251 or equivalent acting experience helpful. This course introduces students to the basic skills of directing plays, from first contact with the script through work with actors and designers to final performance. After a preliminary examina- tion of directing theory, the class explores the director's role as communica- tor and image-maker and offers practical experience in script analysis, blocking, and the rehearsal process. J. Cooke. Winter.

264. Lighting Design for Stage and Film. PQ: Consent of instructor. Prior theater or film experience not required. This is a basic exploration of the theory and practice of lighting design for both theater and motion pictures. Students develop theatrical lighting vocabulary, knowledge of basic electri-cal theory, color theory, theory of light, design tools, and the actual instru- ments used to light the stage through lectures and projects. M. Lohman. Not offered 1998-1999; will be offered 1999-2000.

265. Scenic Design (=COVA 261, GS Hum 265). PQ: Consent of instructor. Prior theater experience not required. This course considers the process of stage design from both aesthetic and practical points of view. It surveys the historical development of scenography in relation to technology and theatrical style. The influence of tradition on modern stage design is investigated through a comparison of period designs and contemporary solutions established by scenographers. M. Lohman. Winter.

266. Playwriting. PQ: Consent of instructor. Prior theater experience not required. This course introduces the basic principles and techniques of playwriting through creative exercises, discussion, and the viewing of contemporary theater. Structural components of plot, character, and setting are covered as students develop their dramatic voices through exercises in observation, memory, emotion, imagination, and improvisation. C. Allen. Autumn.

268. Performance Art (=COVA 256, GS Hum 268). PQ: Consent of instructor. Prior theater experience or acting training not required. This course offers students a chance to explore some of the aesthetic strategies used by artists/performers working in the genre of performance art. As scholars, we work toward an understanding of how changing notions of what constitutes the "avant-garde" influences the conceptualization, creation, and dissemination of art and performance. As performance artists, we employ various "avant-garde" techniques as we create original performances based on a theme, such as "memory." S. Totland. Spring.

270. Reading Course: Theater Practicum. PQ: Consent of instructor. H. Sinaiko. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

277/377. Milan Kundera (=Czech 276/376, GS Hum 277/377). This course constitutes a survey of the work of the Franco-Czech author Milan Kundera. The primary readings consist of his novels and short stories, from Laughable Loves to the recent Slowness. In studying Kundera's essays (particularly those in The Art of the Novel and Testaments Betrayed) we examine the relation between his critical thought and his novelistic practice. Such topics as sexism/misogyny, national identity, and political ideology are taken up in our discussions of this controversial novelist and critic. In addition, film adaptations of his work are shown and discussed. Texts in English. M. Sternstein. Autumn.

278/378. The Slavic Vampire (=GnSlav 273/373, GS Hum 278/378). This course constitutes a comprehensive examination of the phenomenon of the vampire myth in the Slavic and East-European world. The vampire is traced from its primeval origins through its many incarnations, ending with an assessment of its status in contemporary popular culture. In addition to readings of literary examples of vampirism, the course makes use of Jan Perkowski's treatise on the Slavic vampire, The Darkling, and supplements this survey with visual art and films, as well as readings from popular culture theory. Texts in English. M. Sternstein. Autumn.

282/382. Concepts of Polish Romanticism (=GS Hum 282/382, Polish 261/361). This course introduces the major dramatic and poetic works of Polish Romantics: Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Slowacki, Zygmunt Krasinski, and Cyprian Kamil Norwid. It focuses on three issues that are fundamental to Polish Romanticism: (1) the notion of nature and its relation to man and history, (2) the notion of history (Polish historiosophy and Romantic Messianism), and (3) the new concept of nationhood. In addition to the nineteenth century literary works, we discuss some twentieth century responses to them. Texts in English. T. Trojanowska. Winter.

288/388. Polish School of Post-War Poetry (=GS Hum 288/388, Polish 259/359). PQ: Advanced standing. This course examines the best achievements of Polish post-war poetry, including poems by two Nobel Prize winners: Czeslaw Milosz and Wislawa Szymborska; by two Nobel candidates: Zbigniew Herbert and Tadeusz Rozewicz; as well as by poets of such importance as Anna Swirszczynska, Miron Bialoszewski, and Tymoteusz Karpowicz. Our readings focus on the issues that are most important to the "Polish school of poetry" (to use Milosz's label), that is, on its metaphysical, ethical, and aesthetic dimensions, as well as on the relationships between them. We also place Polish poetry within its European context. Texts in English. T. Trojanowska. Spring.

292. Introduction to Ethics (=GS Hum 292, HiPSS 210, Philos 210). The major portion of this course consists of an examination of the most influential types of ethical theory. After studying these theories, we turn to their practical applications. Special attention is given to the implications of different theories for ethical problems in medicine. A. Davidson. Autumn.

294/394. Greek Religion (=ClCiv 287, Class 387, GS Hum 294/394). This course surveys the history of Greek religion from Homer to the early Hellenistic period and includes inquiries into religious practices (such as animal sacrifice, divination, purifications, and burial rites) and beliefs about fundamental issues such as the proper relationship between the human and the divine, the creation of the cosmos, and the nature of human existence after death. Sources include literary texts and inscriptions as well as archaeological materials, especially Greek vase-painting. Texts in English. C. Faraone. Spring.

297. Reading Course. PQ: Consent of faculty adviser and director of undergraduate studies. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

299. Preparation of the B.A. Paper. PQ: Consent of faculty adviser and director of undergraduate studies. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

301. Human Rights and Natural Law (=GendSt 319, GS Hum 301, Philos 319). PQ: Prior course in ethics, political or social philosophy, or philosophy of law; or consent of instructor. Crimes by peoples against peoples form some of the most urgent cases of human rights abuses in the twentieth century. But this sort of human rights abuse and many of the remedies proposed in response to it are notoriously hard to theorize from a liberal perspective. In this course, we turn to the natural law tradition, concentrating on work by Aquinas and by contemporary Thomistic thinkers, to consider whether or not natural law provides the theoretical resources needed to think about and address human rights abuses involving whole peoples. C. Vogler. Autumn.

302. Austin and Grice: Selected Readings (=GS Hum 302, Philos 337). PQ: Prior philosophy classes, including at least elementary logic, helpful. Readings include Austin's "Other Minds," "A Plea for Excuses," and How to do Things with Words, and Grice's "Logic and Conversation." If time permits, we also read related work by Wisdom, Derrida, and Cavell. T. Cohen. Winter.

305. Aesthetics and Theory of Criticism (=COVA 251, GS Hum 305, Philos 313). This course is an introduction to problems in the philosophy of art with both traditional and contemporary texts. Topics include the definition of art, representation, expression, metaphor, and taste. T. Cohen. Spring.

309. Philosophy, Literature, and Film. The course begins with a study of two sophisticated oral theories, Hume's and Kant's, and then relates this to current work in moral philosophy. With this study as background, the course then turns to some short novels (including ones by Melville, Conrad, and Achebe) and to some films (including ones by Coppola, Polanski, and Hitchcock) to investigate how moral issues are dealt with in these works of art. T. Cohen. Summer.

325. Aesthetic Theory: Lessing to Romanticism (=GS Hum 325, German 387). PQ: Reading knowledge of German helpful. This course introduces students to the major primary works in German aesthetic theory of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. We read texts by Lessing, Herder, Kant, Schiller, Schlegel, Hegel, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. Some of the issues we consider are the erotic nature of aesthetic attraction, the relationship of art to truth and morality, limits of aesthetic representation, the concept of aesthetic autonomy, and art and ideology. Texts in English and the original. A. Gailus. Spring.

354-355. Language in Culture I, II (=Anthro 372-1,-2, GS Hum 354-355, Ling 311-312, Psych 470-471). PQ: Consent of instructor. Must be taken in sequence. This two-quarter course presents the major issues in linguistics of anthropological interest, including, in the first half, the formal structure of semiotic systems, the ethnographically crucial incorporation of linguistic forms into cultural systems, and the methods for empirical investigation of "functional" semiotic structure and history. The second half of the sequence takes up basic concepts in sociolinguistics and their critique, linguistic analysis of publics, performance and ritual, and language ideologies, among other topics. M. Silverstein, Autumn; S. Gal, Winter.

358. Freud and the Study of Culture (=Fndmtl 233, GS Hum 358, HumDev 345, MAPH 311, Psych 245, SocSci 238). In this course, the study of culture is approached from the perspective of psychoanalysis. Starting with Freud's important work, particularly Totem and Taboo and Civilization and Its Discontents, we consider both contributions and limitations of the psychoanalytic approach as both a method of study and a theory of the significance of symbolic systems in terms of exemplary recent ethnographic study. We use psychoanalysis both as a method for understanding meaning and for understanding wish and intent. B. Cohler. Winter.

359. Sexual Identity, Life Course, and Life-Story (=GendSt 208/308, GS Hum 359, HumDev 346, Psych 246, SocSci 259). This course considers gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual lives from childhood through later life. beginning with study of the concept of sexual identity, the course explores what is known about biological factors presumed relevant to emergence of same gender sexual orientation, social circumstances, and aspects of personal development presumed salient among those persons whose self-identity is or becomes gay, lesbian, or bi-sexual across the years of childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, as well as in middle and later life, focusing on such issues a gender atypical interests, the contribution of familial circumstances, and the role of the "coming-out" story. The course also explores such issues as intimacy, partnership, parenthood, and aging among bi-sexual men and women and lesbians and gay men. We conclude with consideration of the contributions and limitations of "queer theory" to our understanding of sexual identity and life-story. B. Cohler. Spring.

383. Freud and Nietzsche (=Fndmtl 296, GS Hum 383, German 394, Hum 279, JewStd 294/394). This course pursues a comparative analysis of the genesis, structure, and implications of Freudian and Nietzschean thought. Special attention is paid to issues of individual and cultural identiy (sexual, disciplinary, professional, religious, and political) as they emerge from the close reading of two texts: Freud's Moses and Monotheism and Nietzsche's On the Advantages and Disadvantages of History for Life. Texts in English and the original. S. Jaffe. Autumn.

384. Humanism, Feminism, and Antifeminism in Premodern/Modern European Texts and Cultures (=GS Hum 384, German 399, German 399, Hum 283, JewStd 296/396). PQ: Consent of instructor for undergraduates. Knowledge of German desirable not not required. This course is intended as an exploration of relationships between the ideologies of humanism, feminism, and antifeminism, focusing on premodern/modern Germany but attending, where historically pertinent, to broader European contexts as well. Authors to be read include: Christine de Pizan, Johannes von Tepl, Albrecht von Eyb, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Martin Luther, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Mary Wollstonecrafy, John Stuart Mill, Harriet Taylor Mill, Sigmund Freud, and Thomas Mann. Texts will be available in German and English. S. Jaffe. Winter.