Jump to Religious Studies Courses
CS 1100 - Introduction to the Humanities: Cross-Cultural Perspectives
Professor Nina Berman | MW 12:40-1:35 | Dreese Lab | #21473*
This course will introduce students to the humanities through literary texts and films. Through these texts/films, we will engage historical and social constructions of race, gender, and class. On the one hand, we can ask through these texts: How do social, cultural, economic, political realities relate to questions of identity (self and other), violence, justice, community, domination, and resistance? On the other hand, these texts compel us to address some great humanistic questions, including: what is ethical and unethical, and how do we know the difference? Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 1100H (100H) or 100. GE lit and diversity global studies course.
*Students must also sign up for a recitation section. Recitations will be held Fridays at the following times: 9:10-10:05, 10:20-11:15, 12:40-1:35, and 1:50-2:45.
Other Lecture sections for 1100 can be found on Buckeyelink.
CS 1100H - Introduction to the Humanities: Cross Cultural Perspectives
Professor Kwaku Korang | TR 9:35-10:55AM |Campbell Hall 119 | #23976
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.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 1100H (100H) or 100. GE lit and diversity global studies course.
CS 2101 - Literature and Society
Elizabeth Marsch | TR 3:55-5:15 | Mendenhall Lab 173 | #23976
Study of relationships among politics, society, and literature; analysis of social and political elements of literature and film from diverse cultures and historical periods. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2101H (201H, 201). GE lit and diversity global studies course.
CS 2103 - Literature and the Self
TBA | TR 3:55-5:15PM | Campbell Hall 309 | #14032
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. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2103H (203H) or 203. GE lit and diversity global studies course
CS 2103H - Literature and the Self
Professor Ashley Perez | TR 2:20-3:40pm | Enarson Classroom Building 206 | #14033
Assuming the self is something that exists (and not everyone agrees on this), what does it mean to have, be, or make a self? How do we present our selves to others, and what accounts for our different ways of being in varied contexts? Is there such a thing as an “authentic” self? Is the self constant over time? What is the relationship between the “me” I show (or the “I” I am) when I am with my family versus the “me” that hangs out with friends, crosses paths with a stranger, enters an unfamiliar space? In this course, we will focus on the relationship between the self and various forms of narratives, especially autobiography, fiction, comics and graphic art, and film. We will consider a number of historical and cultural positions, and we will draw on personal intuitions, impulses, and insights to generate our own self-narratives. We will consider how our selves shape the way we read and write, and we will ask what it means for an author to invent a “self” in the form of a narrator or character. We will also explore how authors shape the way we feel or think in our selves as we encounter narratives.
This course requires daily, engaged participation and demonstrated preparation. Assignments include personal and exploratory writing, a course portfolio, an in-class presentation of original research, and student-led seminar-style discussions. It meets General Education requirements in both Literature and Diversity.
CS 2104 - Literature, Science, and Technology: The Rise of A.I.- Artificial Intelligence
Professor Eugene Holland | TR 11:10AM-12:30PM | McPherson Lab 1040 | # 21880
Machines, computers and robots are becoming more powerful and sophisticated every day. Some say they are becoming more intelligent, but others disagree. Is intelligence innately and uniquely human? What happens when artificial computing power exceeds our own mental abilities? Will this be a boon or a bane to humankind? This course explores the past, present, and posible futures of the relations between human and artificial "intelligence" through readings of fiction and non-fiction and viewing films and anime. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2104H (204H) or 204. GE lit and diversity global studies course.
CS 2105 - Literature and Ethnicity
Professor Maurice Stevens | TR 11:10AM-12:30PM | Hagerty Hall 359 | #14034
Study of relationships between literature and ethnicity; analysis of concepts of ethnicity as represented in literature and film of diverse cultures and historical periods. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 205. GE lit and diversity soc div in the US course.
CS 2214 - Introduction to Sexuality Studies
Lucia Bortoli | WF 11:10AM-12:30PM | Campbell Hall 355 | #14035
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 or EduPAES 214.
CS 2264 - Introduction to Popular Culture Studies
Multiple Sections and Instructors, see Buckeyelink.
Introduction to the analysis of popular culture texts, with special emphasis on the relationship between popular culture studies and literary studies. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 264, or English 2264 (264). Cross-listed in English. GE cultures and ideas course.
CS 2281 - American Icons
Instructior TBA | TR 3:55-5:15PM | Enarson Classroom Building 240 | #21881
Interdisciplinary methods in American studies; emphasis on the plurality of identities in American culture. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 234. GE cultures and ideas and diversity soc div in the US course.
CS 2301 - Introduction to World Literature
Rick Livingston | WF 2:20-3:40 | University Hall 038 | #14036
Analysis of oral and written literatures of diverse cultures and historical periods. Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 273. GE lit and diversity global studies course.
CS 2321 - Introduction to Asian American Studies: Race, Technology, and Bio/Digital/Visual Cultures
Professor Jian Chen | WF 3:55-5:15PM | Cockins Hall 218 | #22651
Pan-ethnic Asian American racial identities, communities, and cultures have been shaped by the contradictory aims of U.S. state during its most legible moments of nation-building from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. Prior to World War II, the semi-voluntary and forced recruitment of Filipino, Asian Indian, Chinese, and Japanese immigrants provided the cheap, expendable labor needed to build the economic and technological infrastructure of a modernizing U.S. nation-state. Following World War II, new transnational networks extended the military, political, and economic reach of the U.S. state into different regions in Asia and racial policies shifted towards managing increasingly decentralized “cultural flows,” including migrants from countries impacted by the U.S. Cold War in South/Northeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Much of late 20th century Asian American literary and cultural production (including criticism) has focused on reclaiming the erased histories and narratives of Asian Americans and Asian diasporas that have contributed to—while problematizing—America’s modernity. The turn of the 21st century has posed renewed questions around American empire, war, and transnational, regional, and local economic and political expansion—questions that situate and delimit prior approaches to Asian American literatures, cultures, histories, and social identities and movements.
This course will engage with Asian American literature and bio/digital/visual cultures and their relationship to social identities and histories and political mobilization through the lens of technology. How does a rethinking of race, racialization, and racism as technologies contribute to our understanding of racial formation, histories, and futures, especially at this moment in time? How do bio/digital/visual cultures based in performance, film/video, and the Internet as mediating technologies reframe our interactions with Asian American literature and with race, gender, sexuality, class, and migration?
Course materials may include work by Haunani-Kay Trask, Carlos Bulosan, Amie Phan, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Vandana Singh, Ryka Aoki, Justin Chin, David Henry Hwang, Grace Lee Boggs, Lisa Lowe, Elaine Kim, John Kuo Wei Tchen, Nayan Shah, Mai Ngai, Mimi Thi Nguyen, Celine Parreñas Shimizu, Gayatri Gopinath, Hoang Tan Nguyen, Wendy Chun, Lisa Nakamura, Karen Shimikawa, and Eng-Beng Lim.
Course materials will also include select film and digital media screenings.
Course requirements may include an in-class presentation, regular participation in a course blog, midterm, and final paper project. The course will fulfill requirements towards the Comparative Studies major and Asian American Studies minor. (Check with your program/department for more details.). Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 241. GE cultures and ideas course and diversity soc div in the US course.
CS 2322 / Spanish 2242 - Introduction to Latino Studies
Professor Theresa Delgadillo | TR 11:10AM-12:30PM | Campbell Hall 309 | #21722
This course provides an introduction to Latina/o Studies for those interested in learning more about the national, racial, social, and economic diversity of Latinas/os; key issues facing Latinas/os; and important topics and methods in the study of Latinas/os. Students will gain an overview of the historical and cultural experience of Latinas/os from the 19th century forward and study specific political, social, and cultural events of relevance to Latinas/os. Some of the questions we will explore include: What defines, unites or divides Latinas/os? How have Latinas/os been viewed in the U.S.? What important political movements have enjoyed Latina/o leadership or participation? What is the significance of sexuality, gender, race, and class among Latinas/os? What kinds of literature and art have Latinas/os created? How pervasive is Latina/o influence in popular culture? How do Latinas/os fit into the U.S. mosaic? Surveying the historical and current efforts of Latinas/os in the legal, religious, political, literary, and artistic arenas will allow students to better understand and appreciate the visions of this American community. This course fulfills GE Requirement in "Cultures and Ideas" and "Social Diversity in the U.S."
CS 2340 - Introduction to Cultures of Science and Technology
Professor David Horn | TR 9:35-10:55AM | Caldwell Lab 177 | #21716
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. Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2341 (272). GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.
CS 2341 - Technology, Science, and Society
Professor Leo Coleman | TR 3:00-3:55, check buckeyelink for recitation times | Page Hall 020 | #14006
What inspires scientists and engineers to explore and invent? How do we understand discovery and invention as forces shaping our social world—and vice versa? How do technological systems shape us as persons, and what role does scientific knowledge play in culture and society? How are the benefits and the harms of technological society distributed locally and globally? This class is an introduction to ways of asking social, cultural, and ethical questions about contemporary science and technology, and students will learn how cultural approaches—exploring the role of history, gender, race, and power in sci/tech—can help us better understand and respond to the challenges of technological and social change. We will examine how law and politics shape the technologically and scientifically possible, and ask when and how can we draw the line between the technically possible and the socially desirable. Key topics include the global historical formation of science and technology, and case-studies at the intersection of science, technology, society, and politics—including as energy-consumption and climate change, automation and human autonomy, the medical and scientific meanings of race and identity, and the development of techno-scientific life forms like genetically-modified organisms and cybernetic selves. Prereq: English 1110.01 (110.01) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2340 (272). GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.
CS 2350 / English 2270 - Introduction to Folklore
Instructor TBA | MWF 10:20-11:15AM | Denney Hall 250 | #32881 / #32904
A general study of the field of folklore including basic approaches and a survey of primary folk materials: folktales, legends, folksongs, ballads, and folk beliefs. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for English 2270 (270), or 2350H. GE cultures and ideas course. Cross-listed in English 2270.
CS 2350H / English 2270H - Introduction to Folklore (Honors)
Professor Dorothy Noyes | TR 2:20-3:40PM | Denney Hall 268 | #32878 / #32905
Folklore is the culture that people make for themselves. Not all of us are specialists, but all of us tell stories, shape our environments, cultivate communities, and take care of our souls and our bodies. The forms of folklore circulate from person to person and group to group, adapting to every change of situation; they lend themselves to a wide array of social purposes. We'll look at a range of genres from both US and international settings: folktales, legends, jokes, song and dance, religious and holiday custom, foodways, craft, and domestic art. You’ll conduct a small field project of your choice and learn the basics of these folkloristic skills:
- Interpreting culture. Learn how to “read” a wide variety of cultural messages according totheir own conventions and in their social context.
- Field observation and ethnography. Learn how to size up an unfamiliar situation, participate in it appropriately, and describe it in writing.
- Interviewing and rigorous listening. Learn how to understand what someone is telling you without imposing your own agenda on the conversation.
- Understanding diversity. Learn how communities in the US and internationally develop distinctive forms of expression that can foster strong identities, exercise social control, provoke conflict, and build bridges.
- Connecting vernacular and codified expression. Learn about the interchanges and miscommunications among communities, professionals, and institutions.
Prereq: Honors standing, and English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for CompStd 2350, English 2270 (270), or 2270H. GE cultures and ideas course. Cross-listed with English 2270H.
CS 2360 - Introduction to Comparative Cultural Studies
Carolyn Elerding | MWF 11:30AM-12:25PM | Campbell Hall 213 | #14050
Introduction to interdisciplinary field of cultural studies; emphasis on relation of cultural production to power, knowledge, and authority, globally and locally. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 274. GE cultures and ideas course.
CS 2367.02 - U.S Latino Identity
Professor Miranda Martinez | TR 2:20-3:40 | Hagerty Hall 186 | #32631
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 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 as: what has been the impact of urbanization and changing migration patterns on these 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? Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv, and Soph standing. Not open to students with credit for 367.04. GE writing and comm: level 2 and diversity soc div in the US course.
CS 2367.04 - Science and Technology in American Culture
Instructor TBA, MWF 1:50-2:45PM, #14020 | Instructor TBA, MWF 1:50-2:45PM, #14049
Role of science and technology in contemporary American society; their relationship to human values; sources of concern about their impact; evaluation of selected issues. Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv, and Soph standing. Not open to students with credit for 2367.04H (367.02H) or 367.02. GE writing and comm: level 2 and cultures and ideas and diversity soc div in the US course.
CS 2367.07 - Religious Diversity in America
Multiple Sections and Instructors, see Buckeyelink
Exploration of the concept of religious freedom and the position of minority religious groups in American society. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv and Soph standing. Not open to students with credit for 367.03. GE writing and comm: level 2 and cultures and ideas and diversity soc div in the US course.
CS 2367.08 - American Identity in the World
Multiple Sections and Instructors, see Buckeyelink.
American culture viewed from inside and from the perspective of foreign cultures, as seen in literature, film, art, music, journalism, folklore, and popular culture. Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv, and Soph standing. Not open to students with credit for 2367.08H (367.01H) or 367.01. GE writing and comm: level 2 and cultures and ideas and diversity soc div in the US course.
CS 2670 / Philosophy 2860 - Science and Religion
Nancy Jesser | TR 11:10AM-12:30PM | McPherson Lab 2017 | #33298
Nancy Jesser | TR 11:10AM-12:30PM | McPherson Lab 2017 | #33298
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 globalpractices of science.For more information, please contact Nancy Jesser at jesser.2@osu.edu. GE Cultures and Ideas
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 globalpractices of science.For more information, please contact Nancy Jesser at jesser.2@osu.edu. GE Cultures and Ideas
CS 2864H - Modernity and Postmoderntiy: Issues and Ideas
Professor Philip Armstrong | WF 11:10AM-12:30PM | Baker Systems 134A | #23977
This course introduces students to the principle concepts and themes defining the discourse of modernity and postmodernity. Through weekly readings, lectures, films, and extensive class discussions, the course will cover a range of debates concerning the historical and contemporary meanings of (post)modernity and its intersection with a number of related fields of research, including economics and social relations, political sovereignty, the nation-state, and global-governance, colonialism and post-colonialism, migration and human mobility, media and telecommunications, religion, technology, and the environment. We will also situate the weekly readings in relation to extracts from a range of recent literature as well as documentary films addressing issues related to modernity and postmodernity. In this context, we will be asking not only “what is modernity and postmodernity?” (Its meanings and thematic concerns) but also “when is modernity and postmodernity?” (What are their origins? How do we begin to write their history?), and “modernity and postmodernity for whom?” (Who experiences modernity and postmodernity and in what ways? Which voices speak for and against these terms?). Prereq: Honors standing and English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 240H or 240. GE lit and diversity global studies course.
CS 3302/3302E - Translating Literatures and Cultures
Professor Gregory Jusdanis | TR 9:35-10:55AM | Enarson Classroom Building 243 | #14037 / #14038
This course explores the theory and practice of translation between languages, across different media, disciplinary frames, cultural context and historical periods. We will read a series of theoretical texts on translation and relate them to case-studies from literature, philosophy, visual arts and film. This theoretical aspect of the course will be followed by a practical component, in which every student will be asked to produce translations into English from a foreign language he or she is familiar with. These translations will then be discussed in class in terms of various theoretical approaches and case-studies. Basic knowledge of a foreign language (two semesters minimum or equivalent) is sufficient to participate in this task. Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 3302E (373E) or 373. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. Embedded Honors course.
CS 3603 - Love in World Literature
Multiple Sections and Instructors, see Buckeyelink
Representations of love in world literature; emphasis on mythological, psychological, and ideological aspects of selected representations in different cultures and time periods. Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 3603H (301H) or 301. GE lit and diversity global studies course.
CS 3606 The Quest in World Literature
Professor Daniel Reff | WF 9:35-10:55AM | Campbell Hall 335 | #21888
Motif of the quest in world literature; physical and mental journeys as metaphors of personal transformation and salvation. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 306. GE lit and diversity global studies course.
CS 3607 - Film and Literature as Narrative Art
Sections:
Instructor TBA | M 12:10-2:00PM and WF 12:40-1:35PM | Mendenhall Lab 0131 | #14051
Jason Payne | MW 4:10-5:05PM and F 4:10-6:00PM | #24690
Relationships between film and literature; emergence of cinematic art as a form of representation with emphasis on diverse cultural traditions. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 3607H (358H, 358). GE VPA and diversity global studies course.
CS 3608 - Representations of the Experience of War
Sections:
Jason Payne, MWF 8:00-8:55AM, #14042
Susan Hanson, MWF 3:00-3:55PM, #14043
Susan Hanson, MWF 4:10-5:05PM, #14044
Representations of war in works of literature, religious texts, and film from diverse cultures and time periods. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 308. GE lit and diversity global studies course.
CS 3645H - Cultures of Medicine
Professor David Horn | TR 12:45-2:05PM | Smith Lab 3082 | #23979
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, menopause, PTSD, AIDS), the social consequences of “medicalizing” racial and sexual differences, and the concerns raised by recent medical technologies. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. Honors version.
CS 3657 / Arabic 3301 - Contemporary Folklore in the Arab World
Professor Sabra Weber | TR 12:45-2:05PM | Hagerty Hall 042 | #32648
Study of contemporary folklore of the Arab world, including verbal art, material culture, visual self-presentation, and performance as well as the folklore of war, resistance and revolution. Video conferences with students in India and Cairo are planned. Fulfills GE Cultures and Ideas and GE Diversity: Global Studies requirements. Also Meets Arab Literature and Culture in translation requirement for Arabic majors and minors. Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 377 or Arabic 3301 (377). Cross listed in Arabic (3301).
CS 3678 - Religion and American Culture
Professor Isaac Weiner | WF 9:35-10:55AM | University Hall 038 | #32641
What counts as religion in America, and who gets to decide? What broader issues are at stake when we try to define religion in a society as diverse and pluralistic as our own?
In this course, we will explore the complicated connections between religion and American culture by trying to answer these questions. We will analyze case studies drawn from U.S. law, media, and popular culture from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Our discussions will take us from Islam and Mormonism to Scientology and Spaghetti Monsters, from yoga studios and hell houses to football fields and Star Trek conventions, from alien abductees and snake handlers to the contemporary gospel of Oprah Winfrey. Some of these examples may seem self-evidently religious while others may hardly seem recognizable as such at all. In either case, the purpose of our investigations will be to interrogate how, why, and according to what criteria varied cultural forms have come to be categorized as sacred or secular; to consider what work such classifications perform and how such designations have shifted over time; and to assess the continued usefulness of such binary oppositions.
In addition, students will have the opportunity to participate in an ongoing scholarly research initiative, the “Religious Soundmap Project of the Global Midwest,” by producing audio field recordings of the sounds of “religion” here in central Ohio. For questions, please contact Prof. Weiner at weiner.141@osu.edu. 2270 (270) recommended. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv.
CS 3686 - Cultural Studies in American Popular Musics
Professor Barry Shank | WF 2:20-3:40PM | Mendenhall Lab 185 | #14045
This course focuses on the critical analysis of 20th and 21st century popular music in the US. Students should come away from this class with skills of critical listening and thinking that allow them to trace musical influences across historical periods and musical genres, to understand the impact of commodification and commercialization on the development of popular music, to analyze the relationship of musical performance with embodied identities (especially gender, sexuality and race), and to discuss the social and political grounds of musical pleasure. We will begin by developing an interpretive model that will provide the tools for understanding popular music in its historical and cultural context. We will then read a set of case studies about topics in popular music. The main goal of the case studies is to provoke insight and dialogue about the connections between musical pleasure and social life. An important secondary goal is to provide you with examples of high quality scholarship about popular music. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 336. GE VPA and diversity soc div in the US course.
CS 3990 - Approaches to Comparative Studies
Professor Euegene Holland | TR 2:20-3:40PM | Enarson Classroom Building 204 | #14046
Approaches to Comparative Studies is required of all majors in Comparative Studies. It is intended to provide a common experience for all our majors while ensuring that each has some awareness of the chief branches of intellectual work that takes place under the interdisciplinary rubric of Comparative Studies. This class requires a lot of reading in fields as varied as folklore, comparative literature, religious studies, science & technology studies, and comparative ethnic and American studies. The bulk of each class meeting will be devoted to discussion of the required readings. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. CompStd major, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 398.
CS 4597.01 - Global Studies of Science and Technology
Nancy Jesser | TR 2:20-3:40PM | Caldwell Lab 102 | #32643
We will analyze the intersection of values, scientific thought, and technological practice in a global setting. Over the term about the contemporary conditions of the technical and the human under globalization with an emphasis on our lived lives and the possibilities of democracy given emergent capabilities to interact and intervene technologically.
Through critical analyses of scientific and technological issues, we will seek neither to vilify nor glorify scientific-technological practices, but rather demystify and engage with them as they shape our experiences of our bodies, selves and others. In collaborative projects, students will examine the technical and scientific challenges facing us as global citizens through movies, gaming and other technologies of interaction and communication.
Some key questions we will explore are:
• How are scientific knowledges and practices related to the cultural situations and historical moments in which they are produced and enacted?
• How are decisions and arguments about the uses and dangers of technology made and how are these decisions justified?
• What is the relationship between the globalization of sciences/technologies and emergent conflicts over control, values and the conditions of life on this planet?
• How are scientific and technological practices changing what it means to be human?
CS 4655 - Studies in Ethnography: Columbus as Growth Machine
Professor Miranda Martinez | TR 11:10AM-12:30PM | Hagerty Hall 046 | #32634
Columbus is the fastest growing city in Ohio, and one of the fastest growing cities in the country. How is this growth promoted, and who is benefitting from it? Urban political economists have done a good job of exploring the macro level forces, including technological change and globalization, that have changed Columbus, and other cities. But it has been ethnographers, who observe people doing ordinary social activities, to capture what changes in a city mean for how people live, work, and think about the places they all home. For Spring 2015, this class on ethnography will offer an exposure to the history, theory and practices of ethnographic study specifically by looking at studies of urban communities and urban redevelopment processes. We will be reading studies that capture how ethnographers examine the structures and deeper meaning of daily urban life, and theorize its connection to broader processes of urban redevelopment. In addition, we will practice the methods of ethnography through individual an group projects that will examine the people and processes that are promoting the ongoing growth of Columbus, as well as what it means for individual and community life in Columbus.. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Repeatable to a maximum of 6 cr hrs.
CS 4661 - The City and Culture
Professor Leo Coleman | TR 12:45-2:05PM | Mendenhall Lab 173 | #21721
“Cities, like people, can be recognized by their walk.”
--Robert Musil
The majority of the world’s population now lives in a city of some kind, but contemporary urban realities are vastly different from what they were when London, Paris, and New York were the centers and symbols of urban modernity. This course offers a survey of classic theories of urban culture--drawing widely from modern literary, anthropological, and cinematic understandings of the city--in the context of present-day challenges, in order to develop an understanding of the history of urban development, explore how it is intertwined with social, political, and material developments since the dawn of the industrial age, and develop new perspectives on the contemporary role and condition of cities and citizenship in a post-industrial, globalized, and media-rich world. Prereq: One course in CompStd or IntStds, or Grad standing, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 531 or IntStds 4661 (531). Cross-listed in IntStds.
CS 4685 - Comparative Ethnic and American Studies
Professor Maurice Stevens | TR 2:20-3:40PM | Mendenhall Lab 173 | #32638
Examines relationships between interdisciplinary fields of American Studies and Ethnic Studies. Description TBA.
Comparative Studies/AfAmSt/WGSST 4921 Intersections: Approaches to Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality
Rita Trimble | TR 3:55-5:15PM | Hitchcock Hall 446 | #14150 / #21885
Examines intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality in various sites within American culture (e.g., legal system, civil rights discourse, social justice movements). Prereq: One course in CompStd, WGSSt, or AfAmASt. Not open to students with credit for 545, AfAmAst 4921 (545), or WGSSt 4921 (545). Cross-listed in AfAmASt and WGSSt.
CS/NELC 5668 - Studies in Orality and Literacy
Professor Sabra Weber | Th 4:00PM - 6:45PM | Hagerty Hall 451 | #32647 / #32646
Examination of major theories of writing and of oral composition and transmission, in juxtaposition to case material deriving from a variety of Middle Eastern and Western studies.
Sample Texts: Joyce Coleman, “Orality and Literacy,” Walter Ong “Digitization Ancient and Modern,” Denise Schmandt-Besserat, “The Origins of Writing,” David Carr, “Torah on the Heart,” Anna Davies, “Forms of Writing in the Ancient Mediterranean World,” Konrad Hirschler, “Literacy, Orality, Aurality,” and “The Written Word in the Medieval Arabic Lands,” Roman Jakobson "Roman Grammatical Parallelism & Its Russian Facet," Susan Niditch “New Ways of Thinking About Orality and Literacy,” Sabra Webber “Canonicity and Middle Eastern Folk Literature,” James C. Scott, Ch. 6 ½ “ Orality, Writing and Texts” In The Art of Not Being Governed, Salem/Pax, Elaine Richardson and Sean Lewis "'Flippin’ the Script' / 'Blowin’ Up the Spot': Puttin’ Hip-Hop Online in (African) America and South Africa"
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 648, or NELC 5568 (648).
Religious Studies Courses
RS 2102.01 - Literature and Religion
Professor Lindsay Jones | TR 12:45-2:05PM | PAES Building A111 | #32629
Study of relationships between religion and secular literature; analysis of religious and spiritual elements of literature and film of diverse cultures and historical periods. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2102.01H, CompStd 2102.01 (202.01), or 2102.01H (202.01H). GE lit and diversity global studies course.
RS 2102.02 - Comparative Sacred Texts
Professor Melissa Curley | TR 3:55-5:15PM | Jennings Hall 160 | #32618
Introduction to religious views of the universe, the supernatural, social organization, ethics, etc., through sacred texts (oral and written) of diverse cultures and historical periods. Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 202.02. GE lit and diversity global studies course.
RS/Hebrew 2210H - The Jewish Mystical Tradition
Professor Michael Swartz | TR 2:20-3:40PM | Enarson Classroom Bldg 214 | #32645 / #33523
The history of Jewish mysticism from antiquity to the present, with emphasis on its implications for the comparative study of religious experience. Prereq: Honors standing, and English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2210 (376), 376H, Hebrew 2210 (376), 2210H (376H), JewshSt 2210, or 2210H. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. Cross-listed in Hebrew and JewshSt.
RS 2370 - Introduction to Comparative Religion
Professor Hugh Urban | WF 9:10-10:05AM, see Buckeyelink for recitation times | Page Hall 010 | #14008
This course is intended to provide a general introduction to the comparative study of religions. It is structured around three fundamental questions: (1) what is (and isn’t) religion? (2) what are the major similarities and differences among the world’s religions? (3) what is religious pluralism and what are some of the challenges that pluralism poses for thinking about religion’s place in the world today?
We will begin by orienting ourselves to the academic study of religions. We will continue by surveying a range of religious traditions, including Native American religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Finally, we will try to make sense of the contemporary religious landscape by examining some new religious movements, as well as the rise of religious “nones” and the “spiritual but not religious.” The class is open to all students, no prior knowledge is assumed. It fulfills GE requirements in Cultures and Ideas and Diversity: Global Studies.
RS 4875 - Gender, Sexuality, and Religion
Professor Hugh Urban | WF 11:10AM-12:30PM | Cockins Hall 218 |#32639
This class will explore the intersections between religion, gender and sexuality in a variety of historical examples and from several theoretical perspectives. Topics will include: early Christianity; the contemporary Christian ex-gay movement; contemporary Muslim views of sexuality, gender, and the body; transformations of sexuality in Hindu and Buddhist Tantra; and the role of sexuality and feminism in modern new religious movements such as the Raelians and neo-pagan witchcraft. We will also discuss a variety of contemporary theoretical models for the analysis of religion and sexuality, including Freud, Foucault, Butler, Deleuze, and others.
The class will be collaborative and discussion-based, with students responsible for generating discussion questions for each meeting and helping to guide the conversation. Students will also be expected to pursue an original research project (or creative project) on a topic of their own choosing which will be presented to the class during the last two weeks of the semester.
RS 4877 - Myth and Ritual
Professor Lindsay Jones | TR 9:35-10:55AM | Campbell Hall 335 | #32628
Storytelling is, so it has been said, a universal art. People of all cultures—contemporary America included—invariably express their deepest concerns and highest aspirations in the myths or foundational stories that they tell. Likewise, we are hard pressed to find any society that is not deeply committed to performing a wide range of ritual activities—from religious rites, to public celebrations, to completely personal acts of prayer and devotion.
This class will take a critical look at the supposedly universal categories of ‘myth’ and ‘ritual’ and, moreover, at the complex ways in which myth and ritual are related. To that end, we will consider: (1) a series of alternative academic theories of myth and ritual; (2) a series of specific case studies featuring the myths and rituals of several very different sorts of communities from North and Meso-America, India, Europe, Africa, and perhaps even Columbus, Ohio; and (3) a set of strategies for the cross-cultural comparison of myths and rituals.
This class will take a critical look at the supposedly universal categories of ‘myth’ and ‘ritual’ and, moreover, at the complex ways in which myth and ritual are related. To that end, we will consider: (1) a series of alternative academic theories of myth and ritual; (2) a series of specific case studies featuring the myths and rituals of several very different sorts of communities from North and Meso-America, India, Europe, Africa, and perhaps even Columbus, Ohio; and (3) a set of strategies for the cross-cultural comparison of myths and rituals.