Undergraduate Courses for Autumn 2016

Jump to Religious Studies Courses

 

CS 1100 - Introduction to the Humanities: Cross-Cultural Perspectives
Professor Philip Armstrong | MW 12:40-1:35PM | Dreese Lab 113 | #21187*

Organized around a series of key concepts, the course offers an introduction to the Humanities from cross-cultural perspectives. The Humanities consist of various disciplines and fields, including literary and cultural studies, philosophy, religious studies, history, and language studies. These disciplines and fields are concerned with human beings and their cultures, specifically with how humans create meaning in distinct ways across time and space. We will pursue themes that are central to the Humanities, including: How is meaning constituted and what is considered knowledge? How are notions of justice, religion, empire, colonialism, and exclusion and inclusion articulated and practiced across time and space? How do cultural practices—literary and visual—relate to questions of social belonging (religion, race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality) as well as discourses and practices of community, democracy, war and violence, technology, and the environment? Finally, what role might the study of the humanities play at the beginning of the twenty-first century, notably in the contexts of contemporary globalization? We will pursue these questions by drawing on materials from diverse cultural and historical context. Attendance in both lectures and sections is mandatory.

*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 2101 - Literature and Society
Vidar Thorsteinsson | TR 2:20-3:40PM | Mendenhall Lab 185 | #23394

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. 

 

Readings and Films:
George Orwell, Down and Out in London and Paris
Dirty Pretty Things (2002, dir. Stephen Frears)
Marguerite Duras, Hiroshima Mon Amour
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959, dir. Alain Resnais)
Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Smoke Signals (1999, dir. Chris Eyre)
Moshim Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012, dir. Mira Nair)
 

 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

Lucia Bortoli | TR 3:55-5:15PM | Mendenhall Lab 185 | #14210

 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 |  Baker Systems 128 | #14211

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
Professor Eugene Holland | TR 11:10AM-12:30PM | Baker Systems 198 |  # 21565

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 
Zeynep Aydogdu | TR 11:10AM-12:30PM | Mendenhall Lab 129 | #14212

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 | Mendenhall Lan 185 | #14213

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
Matt Brenn | TR 3:55-5:15PM | Derby Hall 048 | #21566

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
Professor Ashley Perez | TR 11:10-12:30PM | Denney Hall 214 | #14214

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 texts from the literary traditions of five geopolitical areas: the Middle East; Africa; Asia; Latin and Central America/the Caribbean; and Europe/North America. Classroom discussions will focus on select twentieth century texts from these areas that comment on cultural contact, especially as related to colonization and globalization. Class explorations and student presentations will introduce additional examples of literary texts from different time periods. In addition to engaged in-class and online discussion, course assignments may include short papers and a presentation. All assignments are designed to help you pursue the course goals and participate deeply in a community of learners.
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
Tiffany Salter | WF 3:55-5:15PM | Mendenhall Lab 185 | #22219

  Introduction to Asian American studies; history, experiences, and cultural production of Americans of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South Asian, Filipino, and Southeast Asian ancestry. 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 Frederick Aldama | TR 9:35-10:55 AM | TBA | #21423

 
Introduction to Latino studies; history, politics, and cultural production of Latino/a communities in the U.S. and its borderlands. 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 | Mendenhall Lab 185 | #21417

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 Katherine Hendy | TR 3:00-3:55, check buckeyelink for recitation times | Jennings Hall 155 | #14186

Critical analysis of the relations among science, technology, and culture, with particular emphasis on ethical issues in technology and engineering. 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
Afsaneh Rezaeisahraei | MWF 10:20-11:15AM | Journalism Building 371 | #24893 / #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 Sabra Webber | TR 11:10-12:30PM | Hagerty Hall 145 | #24894 / #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
Professor Miranda Martinez | WF 12:45-2:05PM | Knowlton Hall 195  | #14227

People participate every day in making, maintaining, contesting, and changing cultures here and across the globe. How does this happen? What does it mean? How might we understand particular cultural expressions? This course will guide students in considering concepts for defining, analyzing, and interpreting culture, as we critically engage literature, film, art, music, religion, and other social practices that offer provocative considerations of particular cultures. The catalog description of this course is as follows: 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
Nicholas Flores | TR 2:20-3:40 | Hagerty Hall 351 | #24746

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

Multiple Sections and Instructors, see Buckeyelink

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 2689 - City and Culture in the U.S.
Professor Miranda Martinez | TR 11:10AM-12:30PM | Caldwell Lab 177 | #32781
 
Cities are one of humankind’s most richly complex inventions and can best be understood through both creative and critical thinking. In this course, we will first explore some theories of the urban, thinking of questions like: What make cities? How are cities shaped by global forces, like capitalism and modernity? How can we analyze them? Are there particular subjectivities and cultures that cities allow? We will then analyze how distinctions based on race, class, and gender are lived through space. We will explore how the contemporary language of creative economy and private-sector led spatial development generates topographies of exclusion, and complicates the maintenance of place-based identities for individuals and communities. We will examine how people and communities live with, and also challenge their exclusions. Finally, we will examine some theories of urban change, resistance, and the politics of the possible. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 239.


CS 2864H - Modernity and Postmoderntiy: Issues and Ideas
Professor Philip Armstrong | TR 11:10AM-12:30PM | Caldwell Lab 102 | #23395

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 | Journalism Building 304 | #14216 / #

Are we living in an age of translation?  Do globalization and the Internet push us more than ever to translate between languages, sign-systems, and ourselves?  Can we live without translation?  In this class we will deal with these questions and explore how we translate between languages, across different media, disciplines, and cultural contexts. We will read theoretical texts on translation and relate them to novels, short stories, popular songs, the Bible, philosophy, visual arts, advertising, and film.  In short, we will study translation as a linguistic as well a general cultural practice.  Students will be asked to produce translations into English from a foreign language or to comment on specific translations. 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 3360 - Introduction to Globalization and Culture
Professor Nancy Jesser | WF 11:10-12:00PM | Macquigg Lab 159 | #32776

History and contemporary dimensions of globalization, focusing on period preceding European hegemony, era of European colonialism, period of decolonization, and contemporary contexts.
Prereq: Soph standing, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 357.


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 | Mendenhall Lab 185 | #21572

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:
Robert Livingston | M 12:10-2:00PM and WF 12:40-1:35PM | Mendenhall Lab 0131 | #14228
Staff | MW 4:10-5:05PM and F 4:10-6:00PM | Hayes Hall 006 #23752

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:
Staff, MWF 8:00-8:55AM, #14220
Susan Hanson, MWF 3:00-3:55PM, #14221
Susan Hanson, MWF 4:10-5:05PM, #14222

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 | Campbell Hall 119 | #23396
 

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 3646 - Cultures, Natures, Technologies
Professor Bernhard Malkmus | TR 12:45-2:05PM | Mendenhall Lab 185 | #32789

What defines us as humans? Biological species, ‘animal symbolicum,’ and designers of tools alike, humans have to negotiate again and again how to relate to their evolutionary, cultural and technological histories.
In this class we will discuss central concepts of nature that have emerged in human history in various societies and explore their respective anthropological implications. Then we will compare specific US-American and European cultural self-reflections since Enlightenment thinking and discuss their ecological and anthropological ramifications. Finally, we will ask in what ways the contemporary global ecological crisis challenges tacit assumptions about nature, culture, and technology that we have inherited.
Theoretical texts will include excerpts from the works of Humboldt, Thoreau, Descola, Heidegger, Berger, Latour. Literary readings by Franz Kafka, Don DeLillo, and Julia Leigh. Since we are dealing with world views and images about the world, we will also engage with a range of visual representations, including paintings, sketches, photographs, statistic graphs, and films (Lang, Metropolis; Tarkovsky, Stalker).
Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. GE cultures and ideas course.
 

CS 3686 - Cultural Studies in American Popular Musics
Professor Barry Shank | TR 12:45-2:05PM | Caldwell 115 | #14233

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 238 | #14224
 

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
Staff | TR 2:20-3:40PM | Hagerty Hall 186 | #24750

 
Explores relations among culture, science, and technology in changing global contexts. Previous completion of 2367.02 or 367.02 recommended. 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 course.

CS 4597.03 - Global Folklore
Professor Sabra Webber | MW 9:35-10:55PM | Hagerty Hall 145 | #32788


This course provides an introduction to contemporary folklore from around the world.  How do ordinary people create meaning and beauty in their everyday lives?  How do communities and groups mark themselves and maintain a collective sense of themselves as distinct from other communities/groups, particularly in a period of aggressive globalization?  What does it mean to respect and conserve cultural as well as biological diversity?  Students will begin by learning key concepts of folklore scholarship:  culture, tradition, performance, genre, the local/global distinction, the folk/popular divide, the dynamics of tradition and innovation in folklore production.  Through an exploration of these concepts students will develop an expansive definition of folklore in the modern world.  In the second half of the course, we will explore a set of special topics through readings and films from varied world regions, and we will connect via videoconference with student groups in India and elsewhere to exchange knowledge and perspectives.  We will focus on the transmission and transformation of cultural knowledge and practice in situations of want, conflict, and upheaval.  Please note:  all classes will be conducted as student-led discussions of course readings. As an upper-level GE, this course provides practice in reading scholarly articles, discussion and written syntheses.  Class participation is required. 

Prereq: Completion of a Second Writing course. Not open to students with credit for 597.02. GE diversity global studies and cross-disciplinary seminar course.

CS 4655 - Studies in Ethnography
Professor Miranda Martinez | TR 2:20-3:40PM | Mendenhall Lab 129 | #32783

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 cities like Columbus. But it is ethnographers, observing people doing ordinary social activities, who capture what changes in a city mean for how people live, work, and think about the places they call home. This class on ethnography will offer an exposure to the history, theory and practices of ethnographic study by looking at studies of urban communities and urban redevelopment processes. In addition, the class will be organized around a community-based collaboration with a new civic organization in the neighborhood of Franklinton. Formerly neglected, the downtown-adjacent neighborhood of Franklinton is now targeted for new development, but current residents need help thinking about the potential impact on current residents of the neighborhood. Through observation, interviewing and focus groups, the class will practice ethnographic method together, and learn about the pros and cons of new development from a community perspective. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Repeatable to a maximum of 6 cr hrs.

CS 4803/ English 4587 - Asian American Literature and Culture
Staff | TR 11:10-12:30PM | Denney Hall 206 | #35136

What do we make of Asian American characters who are now all over primetime network television? The Asian American family in "Fresh Off the Boat"? Mindy Kaling's unprecedented role as star and showrunner on "The Mindy Project"? Where are Asian Americans in #BlackLivesMatter? Is Yellow Black or White? Why are Asians considered a model minority and other racial groups stigmatized? How has anti-immigrant and xenophobia affected Asian American cultural politics? How do biracial or multiracial Asian Americans "count"? 

"Asian American," a political category, has itself been contested by Pacific Islanders, South Asians, and those of the multiple Asian diasporas. We'll talk about the complex histories of US and European imperialisms and international politics that produce uneven and often illogical racial identities in the US. Given that the category of Asian American is an interracial formation, we will examine how writers of Asian descent merge forms and genres in order to advance an interracial ethics and contest the limitations of an Asian American identity. We will examine a variety of genres: memoirs, coming-of-age novels, drama, poetry, experimental fiction, graphic narratives, television shows, films, and social media.

Assignments will range from weekly online discussion posts, one group presentation, two short written assignments, and one final project (either research paper or digital narrative). Readings to be determined.

Comparative Studies/AfAmSt/WGSST 4921 Intersections: Approaches to Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality
  Professor Maurice Stevens | TR 3:55-5:15PM | Enarson Classroom Building 214 | #14326 
 

This course, Intersections, builds an understanding of the interrelated nature of various axes of social classification or “intersectionality” as a useful lens for theorizing difference. Rather than imagining race, gender, class, sexuality, or ability as separate and at times additive modes of social experience, this course assumes and asks us to investigate how these always-emergent categories work in conjunction with one another in ways that produce both typical and novel contexts for social relation. This comparative and interdisciplinary course examines individual intersections while also emphasizing broad understandings of the social, political and cultural processes that shape lived experiences of difference. Students in this class will engage academic theories of difference and intersectionality.

Intersections, also calls our attention to the intersectionality between knowledge produced in familiar ways and places like classrooms and the academy, and knowledge that is, everyday, being produced in action as individuals and communities work to define and address their needs. Typically, theories are produced in academic contexts and then applied to, imposed upon, or tested by ‘real world’ settings. For us, taking an intersectional approach means ‘listening in’ and ‘learning with’ community actors in participatory and experiential ways. Students in this class will engage community engaged ‘service learning.’

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 | W 2:15-5:00PM  | Hagerty Hall 451 | #24753 / #25752
 
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).  
 

CS 5957.02 - Folklore in Circulation: Cultures of Waste and Recycling
Professor Dorothy Noyes | T/Th 12:45PM-2:05PM | Mendenhall Lab 129 | #32785

The Trash Class is back! This course explores the notion of the residual: what is left over, useless, unclassifiable. We will explore the customary management of communal resources, both human and material, in scarce-resource societies. We’ll consider processes of symbolic classification through which phenomena can be labelled as out of place or out of phase. We'll examine the creation of waste (and its converse, deprivation) with the codification of custom in modernity, and look at strategies by which waste is recuperated as a matter of necessity, aesthetics, or ideology. We'll look at how different kinds of leftover move in and out of systems of value: for example, the labelling of things as "junk" or "antiques," people as "trash," or ideas as "folklore." Finally, we'll think about the status of residues in social and cultural theory. Course requirements include regular Carmen discussion of readings and a research project that traces the social life of a cultural object.

Prereq: 2350, 2350H, English 2270 (270), or 2270H. Not open to students with maximum qtr cr hrs for 677.03 and 677.04. Repeatable to a maximum of 6 cr hrs.

CS 5980 - Ancient and Modern Narrative: Cognition, Affect, Ethics, Belief
Professors Sarah Johnston and James Phelan | Th 2:15PM-5:00PM | Page Hall 060 | #34294 / #34293

This interdisciplinary, team-taught course will juxtapose narratives from ancient Greece with ones from modern and contemporary United States and Great Britain as it explores the hypothesis that the power of narrative arises from its capacity to affect the lives of audiences by engaging their cognition, affect, ethics, and beliefs. By juxtaposing narratives from two different eras, we will consider what has changed and what has remained constant in the techniques, effects, and purposes of storytelling across the centuries.  By studying research drawn from multiple disciplines on cognition, affect, ethics, and beliefs, we will set up a dialogue between the primary narratives and theoretical claims about engaging with narrative. 

Prereq: Not open to students with credit for English 5980. Cross-listed in English.

 
 

Religious Studies Courses

 

RS 2102.01 - Literature and Religion
Professor Theresa Delgadillo | TR 12:45-2:05PM | University Hall 090 | #24745

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 | Bolz Hall 317 | #24741

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, Buddhism, and Sikhism, but also materials from African traditions and from new religious movements such as Scientology and the New Church. Students will also be introduced to basic theoretical tools for reading and interpreting sacred texts from multiple perspectives.  Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 202.02. GE lit and diversity global studies course.

RS/Hebrew 2210 - The Jewish Mystical Tradition
Professor Michael Swartz | TR 3:55-5:15PM | Enarson Classroom Bldg 248 | #32645 / #34151

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 Isaac Weiner  | TR 9:10-11:05AM, see Buckeyelink for recitation times | Scott Lab E001 | #14188

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) a 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 2370H - Introduction to Comparative Religion
Seth Josephson | TR 11:10AM-12:30PM | Enarson Classroom Building 218 | #33334

 
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 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2370, CompStd 2370 (270), or 2370H (270H). GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.

RS 3673 - The Buddhist Tradition
Professor Melissa Curley | TR 12:45-2:05PM | 140 W 19th 131 | #3790

Introduction to Buddhism offers a survey of Buddhist beliefs, practices, and cultures. The Buddhist tradition has its roots in India but it has flowered across the world; this course traces the development of Buddhism from its beginnings as a counter-cultural movement in northeast India, through its travels into Tibet, Thailand, China, Korea, Japan, and America. Covering a range of living traditions—including the Thai forest tradition, Tibetan Mahāyāna, tantric Buddhism, Zen, and Pure Land—we will focus on how Buddhist philosophy is put into practice in daily life, exploring Buddhist monasticism along with a variety of Buddhist arts, from the everyday (calligraphy, cooking, martial arts) to the esoteric (tattooing, ritual healing, self-mummification).

 

RS 3877 - Myth and Ritual

Professor Lindsay Jones | TR 9:35-10:55AM | 140 W 19th 131 | #24744
 

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.

 

RS 4873 - Contemporary Religious Movements in Global Context
Professor Hugh Urban | TR 11:45-12:30PM | Caldwell Lab 115 | #32791

 
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, at the beginning of 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 emerged within the last 150 years, placing them within the larger contexts of globalization and transnationalism. These will include: The Native American Church, the Shakers, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 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 three short papers and give one group presentation based on some new religious movement not covered in the body of the class.
Prereq: One course in CompStd, RelStds, or IntStds; or Grad standing; or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for CompStd 4873 (525) or IntStds 4873 (525). Cross-listed in IntStds.