Comparative Studies Courses
This list is current as of June 14, 2023. Course schedule and descriptions are subject to change; we are adding here course-specific descriptions, as well, as they become available. Please refer to SIS for the most up-to-date information. Contact arceno.1@osu.edu if you notice any discrepancies or have any questions.
Comparative Studies 1100 Introduction to the Humanities: Cross-Cultural Perspectives
Online (asynchronous) and In-person | Multiple sections
GEL Literature, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Literary, Visual and Performing Arts
GEN Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity
COMPSTD 1100 is an introductory course designed to survey some of the current preoccupations in the Humanities, especially as they relate to culture, power, and identity. Across several sections with varied content, instructors of 1100 seek to present relevant issues in comparative cultural study, employing a mix of cultural theory, current events, and literature, visual, and performing arts with a focus on race, ethnicity, and gender.
Comparative Studies 1100H Introduction to the Humanities: Cross-Cultural Perspectives Honors
TuTh 11:10-12:30 | Kwaku Korang | Stillman 240
GEL Literature, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Literary, Visual and Performing Arts
GEN Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity
This Honors version of COMPSTD 1100 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.
COMPSTD 2099 Question of Comparative Studies - CANCELLED (Will be offered Spring 2024)
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. Please note that this course is graded S/U.
COMPSTD 2101 Literature and Society
TuTh 9:35-10:55 | Rob Barry | Ramseyer 110
GEL Literature, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Literary, Visual and Performing Arts
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.
COMPSTD 2105 Literature and Ethnicity
TuTh 3:55-5:15 | John Brooks | Dreese Lab 305
GEL Literature, and GEL Social Diversity in the United States
GEN Literary, Visual and Performing Arts
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.
COMPSTD/ENGLISH 2264 Intro to Popular Culture Studies
Section 1: WeFr 2:20-3:40 | Umut Gürses | Denney Hall 238
Section 2: TuTh 3:55-5:15 | TBA | Denney Hall 250
GEL Cultures and Ideas
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
GEN Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity
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. Cross-listed in English. Not open to students with credit for English 2264.
COMPSTD 2281 American Icons
TuTh 3:55-5:15 | Ionna Kipourou | Psychology 10
GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Social Diversity in the United States
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
GEN Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity
Interdisciplinary methods in American studies; emphasis on the plurality of identities in American culture. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv.
COMPSTD 2301 Intro to World Literature
MW 2:20-3:40 | Shurouq Ibrahim | Hagerty 42
GEL Literature, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Literary, Visual and Performing Arts
GEN Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity
Analysis of oral and written literatures of diverse cultures and historical periods. Prereq: English 1110, or equiv.
COMPSTD 2321 Intro to Asian American Studies
TR 11:10-12:30 | Julianna Crame | Jennings 136
GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Social Diversity in the United States
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
This course is an introduction to Asian American studies, focusing on the history, experiences, and cultural production of Americans of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South Asian, Filipino, and Southeast Asian ancestry.
COMPSTD 2322 / SPANISH 2242 Intro to Latinx Studies
TR 9:35-10:55 | Mintzi Martinez-Rivera | Page 60
GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Social Diversity in the United States
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
This course is an introduction to Latino studies, with a focus on the history, politics, and cultural production of Latino/a communities in the U.S. and its borderlands. Cross-listed in Spanish. Not open to students with credit for Spanish 2242.
COMPSTD 2323 Intro to American Indian Studies - CANCELLED (Will be offered Spring 2024)
GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Social Diversity in the United States
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
This course explores the legal, cultural, historic, and political foundations, experiences, and perspectives and futures of American Indians in the U.S.
COMPSTD 2340 Intro to Cultures of Science and Technology
WF 3:55-5:15 | Liliana Gil | Mendenhall 175
GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
Critical analysis of the multiple relations of science to society, with emphasis on knowledge, power, authority, values, and ethics. Prereq: English 1110, or equiv. Not open to students with credit for COMPSTD 2341.
COMPSTD 2341 Technology, Science, and Society
Online | TuTh 12:45-1:35 | Seth Josephson
+ Online Recitations | F 12:40-1:35 or F 1:50-2:45 | Patrick Dunn
GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
Critical analysis of the relations among science, technology, and culture, with particular emphasis on ethical issues in technology and engineering. Prereq: English 1110, or equiv. Not open to students with credit for COMPSTD 2340.
COMPSTD 2350 / ENGLISH 2270 Intro to Folklore
Hybrid | MW 3:55-5:15 | Daisy Ahlstone | Mendenhall 131
GEL Cultures and Ideas
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
GEN Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity
Folklore is the culture that people make for themselves. Not all of us are specialists, but all of us tell stories and cultivate communities. This class explores everyday expressive forms including stories, customs, objects and digital forms shared in informal contexts. Recurring central issues will include the dynamics of tradition, the nature of creativity and artistic expression, and the construction of group identities. We will consider various interpretive approaches to these examples of folklore and folklife and will investigate the history of folklore studies through readings and an independent collecting project in which students will gather folklore from the field, document it and interpret it for meaning. Under-read and represented texts in the field of folklore were intentionally chosen as readings for this course. By the end of this course, students should gain a basic orientation towards thinking through the power and significance behind the everyday creative expressions of their communities.
Guiding questions: How do people express themselves in traditional forms? How are social concerns articulated in stories, jokes, memes and other genres? How does human creativity burble up in everyday life?
Though this is a hybrid class, it requires a high degree of participation and engagement with your classmates as well as reading. You will be reading as much as 50 pages of text per week, and additionally will be asked to engage in digital exhibits and media. This course works a little differently than others you may have encountered, as we will hold one synchronous class via CarmenZoom and one class in-person each week. For your efforts, you will develop insights with your peers and with me as you practice your analytical and communication skills to gain higher levels of awareness and aptitude that will serve you throughout your life.
The creation of this syllabus comes in part from the combination of the recent push to represent underrepresented authors, subjects, and fields of study and the groundwork laid by the American Folklore Society for an accessible revitalization of introduction to American folklore courses. I am grateful for the work already done to bring the less heard voices to the front of the stage when it comes to representing the discipline of folklore to new students.
COMPSTD 2350H / ENGLISH 2270H Intro to Folklore Honors
WF 9:35-10:55 | Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth | Enarson 243
GEL Cultures and Ideas
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
GEN Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity
This Honors version of COMPSTD 2350 is 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: Honors standing, and English 1110, or equiv. Cross-listed in English. Not open to students with credit for COMPSTD 2350, English 2270, or English 2270H.
COMPSTD 2360 Intro to Comparative Cultural Studies
TuTh 12:45-2:05 | Nicole Stevens | Hopkins Hall 250
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. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.
COMPSTD 2367.04 Science and Technology in American Culture
Full-term Course, TR 10:20-11:15 + asynchronous, outside-of-classroom activities | Seth Josephson | Hagerty 56
Second Session Course, WF 3:55-5:15 | NJ Jesser | Denney Hall 213
GEL Writing and Communication, Level 2; GEL Culture and Ideas; and GEL Social Diversity in the U.S.
GEN Writing and Information Literacy
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
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, or equiv, and Sophomore standing. Not open to students with credit for 2367.08H.
COMPSTD 2367.08 American Identity in the World
Section 1: Online | TuTh 2:20-3:40 | Shaida Akbarian
Section 2: Second Session Course, Online |TuTh 3:55-5:15 | Shaida Akbarian
GEL Writing and Communication, Level 2; GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Social Diversity in the United States
GEN Writing and Information Literacy
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
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, or equiv, and Sophomore standing. Not open to students with credit for 2367.08H.
COMPSTD 2420 American Food Cultures
WF 9:35-10:55 | Rick Livingston | Mendenhall 185
GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Social Diversity in the United States
This course provides a historical perspective on the development of the American food system, including associated discourses and cultures, leading to exploration of contemporary concerns about industrial food, the American diet, and the politics surrounding these issues.
COMPSTD 2995 Race and Gender in Eastern Europe and the US: A Transatlantic Comparison
Online (asynchronous) | Yana Hashamova
GEN Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity
By studying how identities (racial, ethnic, gender, and religious) exist as cultural constructs, this course will examine and compare the experiences of Russian and East European ethnic and racial minorities in their respective countries and African Americans in the US regarding racialization and marginalization through cultural and social constructs. Cross-listed in Slavic. Not open to students with credit for Slavic 2995.99.
COMPSTD 3302/E Translating Literature and Cultures
TuTh 9:35-10:55 | Gregory Jusdanis | Baker Systems 184
GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies course
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
This Embedded Honors course is an introduction to issues and problems inherent to translating literatures and cultures. Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. Depending on the section you enroll in (i.e., COMPSTD 3302 or 3302E), this course is not open to students with credit for the alternate section, i.e., COMPSTD 3302E or 3302, respectively.
COMPSTD 3603 Love in World Literature
TuTh 3:55-5:15 | Lucia Bortoli | Pomerene 250
GEL Literature, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Literary, Visual and Performing Arts
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.
COMPSTD 3606 Quest in World Literature
TuTh 2:20-3:40 | Lucia Bortoli | Mendenhall 185
GEL Literature, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Literary, Visual and Performing Arts
We are all familiar with the fantastic journey of Frodo and Sam in the film trilogy The Lord of the Rings or the action-filled adventure of Indiana Jones in The Raiders of The Lost Ark. Still, not many connect these box office movies with their ancient predecessors the Epic of Gilgamesh or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The archetypal motif of the Quest has characterized literature and the arts over the past thousands of years. It has explored the human soul and condition, always satisfying the need for entertainment and self-reflection with questions about self-awareness and agency in the pursuit of life's meanings and purposes.
In this course, we will analyze classical and contemporary texts that best evoke the spirit of the Quest in a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary manner. We will focus on the texts' social, political, ideological, economic, and religious contexts. We will also address issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and class, as well as ask questions about social injustice. And, last but not least, by admiring diverse cultural expressions, we will better our aesthetic sensibility and artistic appreciation.
COMPSTD 3607 Film and Lit as Narrative Art
TR 11:10-12:30 | Epp Annus | Journalism 375
GEL Visual and Performing Arts, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Literary, Visual and Performing Arts
Relationships between film and literature; emergence of cinematic art as a form of representation with emphasis on diverse cultural traditions. Prereq: English 1110, or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 3607H.
COMPSTD 3608 Representations of the Experience of War
MWF 9:10-10:05 | Jason Payne | Mendenhall 125
GEL Literature, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Literary, Visual and Performing Arts
Representations of war in works of literature, religious texts, and film from diverse cultures and time periods. Prereq: English 1110, or equiv.
COMPSTD 3645 Cultures of Medicine
WF 2:20-3:40 | NJ Jesser | Denney Hall 250
GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
Humanistic, scientific, and clinical perspectives on medical issues; literary uses of medical themes; medicine as art and science. Prereq: English 1110, or equiv. Not open to students with credit for COMPSTD 3645H.
COMPSTD 3686 Cultural Studies of American Music
MW 12:45-2:05 | Van My Truong | Mendenhall 125
GEL Visual and Performing Arts, and GEL Social Diversity in the United States
GEN Literary, Visual and Performing Arts
Investigation of the social, political, and cultural contexts of the development of popular musics in the U.S. Prereq: English 1110, or equiv.
COMPSTD 3990 Approaches to Comparative Studies
TR 2:20-3:40 | Barry Shank | Enarson 214
Introduces comparative studies majors to theoretical tools, methods of investigation, and key concepts in comparative studies research and scholarship. Prereq: English 1110, or equiv. Comparative Studies majors, or permission of instructor.
COMPSTD 4597.02 Global Culture
TuTh 12:45-2:05 | Zachary Morgan | Mendenhall Lab 173
GEL Diversity: Global Studies
This Cross-Disciplinary Seminar 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.
COMPSTD 4597.03 Global Folklore
GEN Migration, Mobility, and Immobility
WF 11:10-12:30 | Katherine Borland | Lazenby 34
This course provides an exploration of the dynamics of folklore in a global environment. We will interrogate how culture becomes rooted in place (immobility), how it circulates (mobility) and how it moves from one group to another, one context to another (migration), producing a variety of consequences. How do people from all walks of life create meaning and beauty in their everyday lives? How do communities and groups maintain a collective sense of themselves that distinguishes them from other communities/groups, particularly in a period of rapid globalization? What does it mean to respect and conserve cultural diversity? And what do patterns of cultural circulation tell us about relations between individuals and groups, institutions and groups, as well as among nations. Students will begin by learning key concepts of folklore scholarship: culture, place, tradition, performance, genre, the local/global distinction, the folk/popular divide, the interplay of the customary and innovative in folklore production. Students will develop an expansive definition of folklore as the means by which groups both distinguish themselves from as well as fashion bridges with diverse communities. We will look at the ways folklore moves through a range of concepts spanning everything from sacred ritual to touristic display. We will focus on the transmission and transformation of cultural knowledge and practice in situations of want and plenty, peace and conflict, mobility and rootedness attending to the relations of power operating in and through traditional culture.
Course Goals:
- Learn the basic concepts of folklore study
- Identify folklore processes of cultural circulation
- Take effective notes on lectures, readings, films
- Lead and participate in analytic discussions
- Dialog respectfully and productively with diverse audiences
- Appreciate culturally diverse expressive systems
- Understand the global environment that shapes our everyday lives
- Synthesize the ideas and concepts introduced in class
COMPSTD/AFAMAST/WGSST 4921 Intersections: Approaches to Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality
MW 11:10-12:30 | Maurice Stevens | Hagerty 160
GEL Citizenship for a Diverse and Just World
This course 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. Cross-listed in African American and African Studies and Womens, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Not open to students with credit for AFAMAST 4921 or WGSST 4921.
COMPSTD/AFAMAST/PUBAFRS 5240 Race and Public Policy in the US
WF 9:35-10:55 | (Damian) Akil Houston | Page 60
This course explores Race and Public Policy in the United States from Reconstruction to the present. In particular, the class is designed to look at the long list of "hot topics" in the current policy landscape, including policing, housing, wealth gap, immigration, voting, political representation, and others. Cross-listed in African American and African Studies and Public Affairs. Not open to students with credit for AFAMAST 5240 or PUBAFFAIRS 5240.
COMPSTD 5668 / NELC 5568 Studies in Orality and Literacy
W 3:55-6:30 | Michael Swartz | Hagerty 42
Examination of major theories of writing and of oral composition and transmission, in juxtaposition to case material deriving from a variety of Middle Eastern cultures. Prereq: Permission of instructor. Cross-listed in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. Not open to students with credit for NELC 5568.
Religious Studies Courses
This list is current as of June 14, 2023. Course schedule and descriptions are subject to change; we are adding here course-specific descriptions, as well, as they become available. Please refer to SIS for the most up-to-date information. Contact arceno.1@osu.edu if you notice any discrepancies or have any questions.
RELSTDS 2102.02 Comparative Sacred Texts
TuTh 12:45-2:05 | Savannah Finver | Hayes 25
GEL Literature, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Literary, Visual and Performing Arts
This course provides an 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, or equiv.
RELSTDS 2370 Introduction to Comparative Religion
GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
GEN Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity
TR 12:40-1:35 | Hugh Urban | Jennings 155
+ In-Person Recitations | F 10:20-11:15, 11:30-12:25, 12:40-1:35, or 1:50-2:45 | Adam Banks (Derby 48) or Mani Sidhui (Bolz 314)
What is religion? Why are there so many of them? What is the role of religion in the world today, particularly in relation to contemporary social, political, and cultural changes in a complex global context? How is religious identity tied in complex ways to race, gender, and ethnicity?
This course provides a general introduction to the comparative study of religion that addresses these and other fundamental questions. We will begin with a controversial “test case” in the study of religion – the Native American Church and its use of peyote as a sacrament – which raises key questions of religious freedom and the law. We will then discuss six different ways of defining religion and use them to make sense of this particular case. In the rest of the course, we will then look at a series of major traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and contemporary new religious movements. To conclude, we will discuss several different ways of making sense of the plurality and diversity of religious traditions today.
In addition to lectures, films, and discussions, this class will involve several optional field trips to religious organizations in the Columbus area. Students are expected to complete one mid-term and one final exam, as well as two field observation papers based on visits to religious organizations or events that are significantly different from their own.
RELSTDS 2370H Intro to Comparative Religion Honors
WF 2:20-3:40 | Spencer Dew | Derby 30
GEL Cultures and Ideas, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Historical and Cultural Studies
GEN Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity
This Honors version of RELSTDS 2370 is an introduction to the academic study of religion through comparison among major traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) and smaller communities. Prereq: Honors standing, and English 1110, or equiv. Not open to students with credit for RELSTDS 2370.
RELSTDS 3667 Messages from Beyond: Divination, Prophecy, and the Occult in Religion and Culture
WF 2:20-3:40 | Michael Swartz | Hagerty 50
GEN Lived Environments
In this course, we will explore how people from antiquity to our time have sought to find meaning in the complexity and uncertainty around their physical and social environment to access what they perceived as hidden realms as sources of meaning. Students will learn how messages from beyond guide their daily lives, provide them with sources of authority or companionship for their art of philosophy. Cross-listed with Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. Not open to students with credit for NELC 3667.
RELSTDS 3680 Religion and Law in Comparative Perspective
TuTh 2:20-3:40 | Isaac Weiner | Mendenhall 125
GEL Historical Study, and GEL Diversity: Global Studies
GEN Citizenship for a Diverse and Just World
Comparative, interdisciplinary approach to studying religion and law. Drawing on concrete cases, historical studies, and theoretical literature, the course explores how the relationship between religion and law has been configured differently in different liberal democracies, such as the U.S., France, and Israel, and what this might mean for contemporary debates. Cross-listed with History. Not open to students with credit for HISTORY 3680.
RELSTDS 4873 Contemporary Religious Movements in Global Context
TuTh 9:35-10:55 | Hugh Urban | Denney Hall 253
GEN Citizenship for a Just a Diverse World
At the beginning of the twentieth century, many sociologists had predicted that religion would gradually wane in importance as our world became increasingly scientific, rational and technological. And yet today, in the twenty-first century, it would seem that exactly the opposite has happened: new religious movements have proliferated wildly throughout the world in the last hundred years and have become intimately tied to the larger political, economic and cultural forces of globalization.
This course will examine a series of new religious movement that have emerge within the last 150 years, placing them within the larger contexts of globalization and transnationalism. These will include: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Spiritualism, the Shakers, the Nation of Islam, Rastafarianism, Vodou, and various forms of religious terrorism (such as Islamic extremism, Aum Shinrikyo and the Christian Identity movement). In the course of our discussion, we will ask: why has religion not in fact wanted as a global force but instead become even more powerful and relevant in the last century? How are new religious movements related to larger transnational flows of people, goods and information? Why do religious movements often become linked to political violence and terrorism?
In addition to lectures, discussions and films, the class will involve field trips to new religious groups in the Columbus area. Students will one required to write two short papers and one group presentation based on some new religious movement not covered in the body of the class. Cross-listed in International Studies. Not open to students with credit for INTSTDS 4873.