Comparative Studies
Comparative Studies 1100 Introduction to the Humanities: Cross-Cultural Perspectives
Multiple Sections
Explores the role of literature and the arts in constructing, maintaining, and questioning the values and beliefs of diverse cultures and historical periods; topics vary. GE Literature and Diversity: Global Studies. Honors version.
*Other sections of 1100 can be found on buckeye link
Comparative Studies 2099 Questions in Comparative Studies
Mo 5:20PM – 6:15PM | Hagerty Hall451| David Horn
This course offers an introduction to the Comparative Studies major. It is designed to help students to take advantage of curricular, research, and advising opportunities; to manage the particular challenges of independent and interdisciplinary work; to link classroom work to social and political engagement with relevant communities; and to prepare for life after graduation. This course is graded S/U.
Comparative Studies 2101 Literature and Society
WeFr 11:10AM - 12:30PM | Campbell Hall 213 | Staff
Through readings, films, and extensive class discussion, the course explores the relationship between literature and society. Organized around five novels and five accompanying films, students will read texts from different regions of the world and cultural contexts, addressing their social implications and political conditions. Class discussions will turn on questions of social critique, representations of culture and community, and discourses of social relation and justice. Prereq: Honors standing, and English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2101 (201, 201H). GE lit and diversity global studies
Comparative Studies 2103 Literature and the Self
TuTh 9:35AM - 10:55AM | Campbell Hall 213 | Lucia Bortoli
Study of relationships between psychology and literature; analysis of psychological concepts and processes as represented in literature and film of diverse cultures and historical periods. GE Literature and Diversity: Global Studies.
Comparative Studies 2104 Literature, Science, and Technology
MoWeFr 11:30AM - 12:25PM | Hayes Hall 025 | Brittany Murray
Study of relationships among literature, science, and technology; analysis of representations of science and technology in literature and film of diverse cultures and historical periods.
Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2104H (204H) or 204. GE lit and diversity global studies course.
Comparative Studies 2105 Literature and Ethnicity
TuTh 11:10AM - 12:30PM | McPherson Lab 1040 | Kwaku Korang
Study of relationships between literature and ethnicity; analysis of concepts of ethnicity as represented in literature and film of diverse cultures and historical periods. GE Literature and Diversity: Social Diversity in the U.S.
Comparative Studies 2214 Introduction to Sexuality Studies
TuTh 11:10AM - 12:30PM | Jennings Hall 050 | Lucia Bortoli
This course provides an introduction to sexuality studies through an interdisciplinary approach, examining a range of sexual and gender diversity, primarily in the U.S. We will discuss a variety of ways in which gender and sexuality are constructed, performed, experienced and written about. This course serves as the introductory course to the Sexuality Studies Major, and is highly recommended for the Sexuality Studies Minor. Cross-listed in EduPAES.
Comparative Studies 2214 Introduction to Sexuality Studies
TuTh 11:10AM - 12:30PM | Jennings Hall 050 | Lucia Bortoli
Provides an introduction to sexuality studies through an interdisciplinary approach. To apply the knowledge learned, this course requires a fieldwork component.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 214, EduPAES 214, or SxltySt 2214. GE diversity soc div in the US course. Cross-listed in SxltySt.
Comparative Studies 2220 Introduction to South Asian Studies
Mo 2:15PM - 5:00PM | Hagerty Hall 251| Ila Nagar
A multi-disciplinary introduction to South Asia's geographical, political, cultural, and religious contexts and connections. Cross-listed in NELC. GE Cultures and Ideas and Diversity: Global Studies.
Comparative Studies 2264 Introduction to Popular Culture Studies
WF 2:20-3:40 | Hagerty Hall 359 | Staff
Introduction to the analysis of popular culture texts, with special emphasis on the relationship between popular culture studies and literary studies. Cross-listed in English. GE Cultures and Ideas.
*Other sections of 2264 can be found on buckeye link
Comparative Studies 2281 American Icons
TuTh 2:20PM - 3:40PM | University Hall 086 | Staff
Interdisciplinary methods in American studies; emphasis on the plurality of identities in American culture. GE Cultures and Ideas and Diversity: Social Diversity in the US.
Comparative Studies 2301 Introduction to World Literature
TuTh 9:35AM - 10:55AM | Bolz Hall 316 | Ashley Perez
What is “world literature”? Is it the “best of the best” of all the national literatures in the world? Works that people everywhere claim as their cultural inheritance? Is it what we call any literary work once it travels beyond the context in which it was originally written? Does world literature enrich our lives through cultural exchange? And what about the realities of writers in many parts of the world who can only access a significant audience by writing in English or producing works that “travel well” via translation?
We will tackle these questions through our discussion of literatures of the world in their historical and social contexts. We will read twentieth-century texts from the literary traditions of five geopolitical areas: the Middle East; Africa; Asia; Latin and Central America/the Caribbean; and Europe/North America. Student presentations will introduce additional examples of literary texts from different time periods.
In addition to engaged in-class and online discussion, course assignments include short papers and a presentation. All assignments will help you pursue the course goals and participate deeply in a community of learners.
This course meets GE requirements in Literature and Diversity (Global Studies).
Comparative Studies 2322 Introduction to Latino Studies
TuTh 9:35AM - 10:55AM | Ramseyer Hall 115 | Miranda Martinez
The course presents and analyzes scholarly works that include theoretical models, methodological strategies, and analytical approaches to learning about U.S. Latinos. We will take a social science approach to understand the demographics, immigration and socioeconomic incorporation of distinct Latino/a groups, and we will discuss policy issues related to growing Latino/a visibility in U.S. society. We will use fiction, essays and poetry to understand the historical and actual experience of Latinos/as, and the distinct cultural and political expressions that have emerged through the Latino/a encounters with U.S. politics and culture. This course fulfills the GE requirements for "Cultures and Ideas" and "Social Diversity in the U.S.”
Comparative Studies 2340 Introduction to Cultures of Science and Technology
TuTh 2:20PM - 3:40PM | Campbell Hall 213 | Noah Tamarkin
This class provides an introduction to the field of Science & Technology Studies. Science & Technology Studies, often referred to as STS, is an interdisciplinary field that examines how science and technology are shaped by and shape culture and society. STS brings the sciences, social sciences, and humanities together by asking questions such as: How do we know what we know? What do we mean when we talk about things like facts, objectivity, and scientific methods? How do historical and social contexts shape the production of science, and how does science in turn shape our world, our experiences, and our relationships? As we address these questions, we will familiarize ourselves with critical thought about science and technology, including key historical, sociological, and anthropological theories and case studies. We will learn to think critically about how scientific practice claims access to truth, reason, and universality. Together, we will hone our analytical skills by discussing a broad range of contemporary issues in which scientific knowledge and technological capacity are entwined with the power relations of race, sex, global capitalism, and politics. This course is an experiment in collective knowledge production in which we will all participate, and throughout the course, we will follow the ideas of knowledge, culture, and experimental worlds. These themes organize the course into two units: 1. ways of knowing: science as culture and cultures of science and technology; and 2. Experimental worlds.
Comparative Studies 2341 Technology, Science, and Society
TuTh 9:35AM - 10:55AM | Hagerty Hall 046 | Monamie Haines
This course explores, from a variety of perspectives, the multiple relations among social and cultural formations, scientific and technical work, and the production and circulation of knowledge. Topics include the everyday life of the laboratory, the shifting boundaries of science and other ways of knowing, the political and ethical contours of scientific and technical work, and the social effects of scientific discourses and technological systems. This class fulfills the GE Cultures and Ideas and Diversity (Global Studies) requirements and the Professional Ethics requirement for the College of Engineering.
Comparative Studies 2367.02 US Latino/a Identity
TuTh 2:20PM - 3:40PM | Enarson Classroom Bldg 214 |Staff
This is a writing intensive course that examines the formation and expression of Latino/a identity in the U.S. We will look at the impact of historical experiences, including patterns of (im)migration, socioeconomic and political incorporation on identity formation of major Latino/a groups: Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican. We will use social science, as well as visual media, fiction and essays to examine the role of race, class and sexuality in identity construction and cultural expression. We also discuss questions related to the ambiguities and uncertainties related to U.S. Latinos/as: how do different Latino ethnicities at different times make sense of being “ni de aquí, ni de allá” (neither from here nor there)? How has urbanization and changing migrations patterns changed the expression and cultural impact of Latino/a identities? To what degree is there a corporate Latino/a identity? What is the cultural significance of racial and cultural hybridization on these identities, and is there such a thing as an “authentic” Latino/a identity? The course assignments will include an interview/observation exercise looking at Latino/a cultural incorporation in the central Ohio, Columbus area. GE Diversity: Social Diversity in the US; GE Writing and Communication, Level 2.
Comparative Studies 2367.04 Science and Technology in American Culture
WeFr 9:35AM - 10:55AM | TBA | Staff
Role of science and technology in contemporary American society; their relationship to human values; sources of concern about their impact; evaluation of selected issues. GE Writing and Communication: Level 2 and Cultures and Ideas and Diversity: Social Diversity in the US. Honors version.
*Other sections of 2367.04 can be found on buckeye link
Comparative Studies 2367.07 Religious Diversity in the U.S.
MoWeFr 10:20AM – 11:15AM | Enarson Classroom Bldg 211| Staff
Exploration of the concept of religious freedom and the position of minority religious groups in American society. GE Writing and Communication: Level 2 and Cultures and Ideas and Diversity: Social Diversity in the US.
*Other sections of 2367.07 can be found on buckeye link
Comparative Studies 2367.08 American Identity in the World
TuTh 9:35AM - 10:55AM | PAES Bldg A105 | Staff
American culture viewed from inside and from the perspective of foreign cultures, as seen in literature, film, art, music, journalism, folklore, and popular culture. GE Writing and Communication: Level 2 and Cultures and Ideas and Diversity: Social Diversity in the US. Honors version.
*Other sections of 2367.08 can be found on buckeye link
Comparative Studies 3360 Introduction to Globalization and Culture
TuTh 2:20PM - 3:40PM | Dreese Lab 305| Philip Armstrong
The course introduces students to the histories and principle concepts and themes defining the discourses and practices of globalization. Through weekly readings, lectures, documentaries, and extensive class discussions, the course will cover a range of debates concerning the historical and contemporary meanings of globalization and its intersection with a number of related fields of research, including patterns of migration and trade routes; economics; political sovereignty, the nation-state, and global governance; NGOs and international organizations; cultural exchange, media, and telecommunications; religion; the environment; and global justice movements. We will also situate the weekly readings in relation to a range of material addressing global issues, as well as research sites that offer different ways of situating globalization in both historical and contemporary contexts. In this sense, we will be asking not only “what is globalization?” (Its meanings and thematic concerns. How is it represented historically?) but also “when is globalization?” (What are its origins? How do we begin to write its history?), “where is globalization? (How do we think the relation between the local, regional, and global? What are the geopolitical spaces of the global?), and “globalization for whom?” (Who experiences globalization and in what ways? Which voices speak for and against globalization?).
Course textbook: Jürgen Osterhammel and Niels P. Petersson, Globalization: A Short History (ISBN-10: 0691133956). Other readings for the course will be available on Carmen
Comparative Studies 3501 Humanities Questions
TuTh 11:10AM - 12:30PM | Stillman Hall 135 | Katherine Borland
Explore the history, dominant discourses, and practices of aid (governmental and grassroots) to Central America by investigating primary texts dating from the nineteenth century to the present, by consulting the critical literature on the history of development, and by examining dramatizations in film and literature of both the predicaments of the region and solutions generated by residents and outsiders. Throughout, we will attempt to understand why some humanitarian projects flourish whereas other, equally well-intended ones constitute setbacks rather than advances toward a more just, prosperous, and peaceful Central American reality.
Comparative Studies 3603 Love in World Literature
MoWeFr 9:10AM - 10:05AM | Cockins Hall 218 | Lucia Bortoli
This course explores diverse formulations, presentations, and engagements with love in fiction, poetry, and visual forms. Underlying nearly every story of human relationships is a particular concept of what love is, and we will seek to articulate this idea, understand its complexity, and compare it to other conceptions in other texts. Through our explorations of literature, we will consider what makes love particular or universal to people and cultures, the extent to which love is described as spiritual as compared to animal, and the extent to which love reflects individual needs and drives or, alternatively, how it develops in response to community and tradition. We will also consider the influence of various notions (e.g., affection, friendship, attraction, sexuality, duty, kinship, community, religion, patriotism, power, and commodities) on how we—and the texts we read—construct love. This course requires engaged participation and demonstrated preparation and will engage students in a range of structures for discussion and collaboration. Assignments include several short response papers, an in-class analysis presentation, and a final course portfolio. GE Literature and Diversity: Global Studies.
*Other sections of 3603 can be found on buckeye link
Comparative Studies 3606 The Quest in World Literature
TuTh 3:55PM – 5:15PM | Hagerty Hall 062 | Elizabeth Marsch
Motif of the quest in world literature; physical and mental journeys as metaphors of personal transformation and salvation. GE Literature and Diversity: Global Studies.
Comparative Studies 3607 Film and Literature as Narrative Art
MoWeFr 11:30AM - 12:25PM | University Hall 047 & Biological Sciences Bldg 676 | Staff
Relationships between film and literature; emergence of cinematic art as a form of representation with emphasis on diverse cultural traditions. GE Visual and Performing Arts and Diversity: Global Studies. Honors version.
Comparative Studies 3608 Representations of the Experience of War
Multiple Sections | Susan Hanson & Staff
Representations of war in works of literature, religious texts, and film from diverse cultures and time periods. GE Literature and Diversity: Global Studies
Comparative Studies 3645 Cultures of Medicine
WeFr 2:20PM - 3:40PM | Macquigg Lab 159 | Nancy Jesser
This interdisciplinary course explores medical arts and sciences, concepts of illness and disease, and representations of the human body in a range of cultural and historical contexts. Topics include metaphors and images of the body, the meanings and symbolism constructed around pathology (cancer, depression, eating disorders, AIDS), the cultural construction of death, the social consequences of “medicalizing” racial and sexual differences, and the concerns raised by recent medical technologies.
This class fulfills the GE Cultures and Ideas and Diversity (Global Studies) requirements, and satisfies the foundation course requirement for the new Minor in Medical Humanities
Comparative Studies 3686
WeFr 2:20PM – 3:40PM | Mendenhall Lab 185 | Lindsay Bernhagen
Investigation of the social, political, and cultural contexts of the development of popular musics in the U.S. GE Visual and Performing Arts and Diversity: Social Diversity in the US.
Comparative Studies 4597.01 Global Science and Technology
TuTh 11:10AM – 12:30PM | Hopkins Hall 246 | Noah Tamarkin
This seminar explores relations among culture, science, and technology in changing global contexts. It builds on key ideas in the field of Science & Technology Studies, with particular attention to the global histories, circulations, and contexts of science and technology. Science & Technology Studies, often referred to as STS, is an interdisciplinary field that examines how science and technology are shaped by and shape culture and society. STS brings the sciences, social sciences, and humanities together by asking questions such as: How do we know what we know? What do we mean when we talk about things like facts, objectivity, and scientific methods? How do historical and social contexts shape the production of science and technology, and how do science and technology in turn shape our world, our experiences, and our relationships? In this course, we will focus these questions through a central theme of place, power, and the politics of knowledge. We will develop our understanding of how place, power, and the politics of knowledge matter in scientific and technological meaning, practice, and circulation by considering multiple histories, global circulations, and postcolonial and indigenous approaches to science and technology.
Prereq: Completion of a Second Writing course and Natural Science sequence, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 597.01. GE Diversity: Global Studies and Cross-Disciplinary Seminar.
COMPSTD 4597.02 Global Culture
TuTh 12:45PM - 2:05PM | Campbell Hall 209 | Oded Nir
Examines contemporary global cultural flows, the concepts useful in analyzing them, and the questions they raise about power and cultural change.
Prereq: Completion of Second Writing course. Not open to students with credit for 597.02. GE diversity global studies and cross-disciplinary seminar course.
Comparative Studies 4921 Intersections: Approaches to Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality
TuTh 3:55PM – 5:15PM | Enarson 254 | Wendy Smooth
Examines intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality in various sites within American culture (e.g., legal system, civil rights discourse, social justice movements). Not open to students with credit for 545, or AfAmAst 4921 (545), or WGSSt 4921 (545). Cross-listed in AfAmASt 4921 and WGSSt 4921.
Comparative Studies 4990 Senior Seminar in Comparative Studies
MoWe 11:10AM – 12:30PM | Hagerty Hall 451 | David Horn
This course is the capstone course for majors in Comparative Studies, and its main goal is to develop and refine research and writing skills. We will consider what it means to conduct research, how to go about it, the role of the researcher or research team, and the writing process.
The course is organized as a research and writing workshop. The main task of this course will be to revise and expand an essay that you have previously written (such as a paper that you wrote for a course or a chapter of an honors thesis). This essay will be your starting point for developing an extended research project. You will receive feed-back from your peers and myself throughout the quarter. Materials with guidelines concerning the writing and research process will be posted on Carmen.. Prereq: 3990 (398), and 500 or 4000-level course in CompStd, and Senior standing, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 598.
Religious Studies
Religious Studies 2102.01 Literature and Religion
WeFr 2:20-3:40 | Mendenhall Lab 131 | Daniel Reff
Many of us think of religion, or religious texts and rituals, as meaningful because they convey transcendent truths (i.e. “love thy neighbor;” “this too will pass”). And yet all religions necessarily reflect the particular cultural-historical context in which they emerge and evolve. For instance, the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as conveyed in the New Testament are not fully intelligible or meaningful without reference to the Roman Empire of the first century C.E. However much we may think of religion as transcendent “truths,” religious experience or “religion” is necessarily a matter of time and place. In this class we will consider religious text and experience in the context of empire, or what today we might refer to as “globalization” (when the vagaries of life are governed by forces beyond the local). We will read a variety of texts, including works that are considered “classics” of literature (e.g. Silence, by Shusaku Endo, House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday, and My Name is Red, by Orhan Pamuk, Matagari by Ngugi wa Thiongo). Each of these works explore how individuals from different religious traditions (e.g. Native American, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism) struggle to make sense of their lives in the context of empire.
Evaluation:
There is no midterm or final exam and no term paper. I expect students to cultivate and sustain a reasonable yet regular investment in the course (I personally think that is how you acquire lasting knowledge and skill as a critical thinker). Accordingly, students are evaluated on the basis of class attendance and participation (25%), five, in-class, quizzes (40%) on major readings for the course, and four short essays (35%), approximately 3 pages each. All quizzes and essays are promptly returned (i.e. next class period or week in case of essays) and with written comments (in the case of essays)
Religious Studies 2102.02 Comparative Sacred Texts
TuTh 12:40PM – 1:35PM| Gateway Film Center House 4 | Hugh Urban
This course will cover the sacred texts of a variety of religious traditions and the basic theories and methods for reading religious literature. We will examine texts not only from "mainstream" traditions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, but also materials from Native American traditions and from new religious movements such as Scientology and Wicca. Students will also be introduced to basic theoretical tools for reading and interpreting sacred texts from multiple perspectives. In addition to lectures, films, and in-class discussions, the class will include field trips to a variety of religious sites in central Ohio. GE Literature and Diversity: Global Studies.
*Students will also need to pick a recitation.
Religious Studies 2370 Introduction to Comparative Religion
WeFr 11:10AM - 12:30PM | 140 W 19th 131 | Melissa Curley
Introduction to the academic study of religion through comparison among major traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) and smaller communities. GE Cultures and Ideas and Diversity: Global Studies. Honors version.
Religious Studies 2670 Science and Religion
WeFr 12:45PM – 2:05PM | McPherson Hall 1040| Nancy Jesser
Do religion and science answer different questions? Does one rely on faith and the other evidence? Are they competing frameworks or do they have more in common than is acknowledged by either?
In this course we will examine the historical connections and disconnections between science and religion through controversies, explicit philosophies, and historical accounts of the development of scientific institutions and values from secular and religious sources.
We will then examine practices (from various cultures) that claim to be or are seen as both "religious" and "scientific."
Lastly, we look at contemporary attempts to reconcile science and religion, re-enchant nature, and bring non-western religious and cultural perspectives to bear on the global practices of science.
GE Cultures and Ideas course. Cross-listed in Philosophy.
Religious Studies 3672 Native American Religions
WeFr 11:10AM - 12:30PM | McPherson Lab 1046 | Dan Reff
Course Description:
This course is intended as an introduction of sorts to Native American religions (one course hardly could do justice to the subject), particularly in the United States (but also Canada and Latin America). While the course focuses in part on academic and scholarly understandings and representations of Native American religion, and culture (religion always is implicated in the “economic,” “political,” etc.) the bulk of the class will involve considering how American Indian themselves -- Indian authors, artists, and scholars -- understand their lives as lived, including that which we call religion. The course is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing particularly from anthropology, history, religious studies, and literature. We will devote all or part of a handful of class periods to the representation of American Indian culture and religion in film.
Evaluation:
There is no midterm or final exam and no term paper. I expect students to cultivate and sustain a reasonable yet regular investment in the course (I personally think that is how you acquire lasting knowledge and skill as a critical thinker). Accordingly, students are evaluated on the basis of class attendance and participation (25%), five, in-class, quizzes (40%) on major readings for the course, and four short essays (35%), approximately 3 pages each. All quizzes and essays are promptly returned (i.e. next class period or week in case of essays) and with written comments (in the case of essays)
Religious Studies 3972 Theory and Method in the Study of Religion
TuTh 11:10AM – 12:30PM | Hayes Hall 005 | Isaac Weiner
What is “religion”? How and why do we study “religion”? Is “religion” a manifestation of some sacred, sui generis reality that human beings can only dimly apprehend? Or is “religion” a rickety ideological superstructure built on the foundation of colonial, economic, and gendered oppression? Perhaps it’s a psychological projection, a delusion from which humanity must free itself. Or maybe “religion” is simply the creation of the scholar who studies it. This course provides a survey of classical and contemporary theories that have tried to answer these questions along with many others. We will cover a wide array of approaches to the study of religion, ranging from anthropology to psychology, feminist theory to cognitive science, and apply those approaches to interpret specific case studies of religious practices in particular places. Students also will have the opportunity to contribute original research to the American Religious Sounds Project, an OSU collaborative scholarly initiative. This class is required of Religious Studies majors and minors, though it is open to all students interested in the subject.