Global Arc

By taking a comparative approach, this course examines the role of social, economic, and political factors in the emergence and transformation of modern cities in the United States and selected areas of Latin America. The class considers the city in its dual image: both as a center of progress and as a redoubt of social problems, especially poverty. Special attention is given to spatial processes that have resulted in the aggregation and desegregation of populations differentiated by social class and race. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

What is the social basis for the production and distribution of carbon emissions, the source of human-induced climate change? Which people, companies, and countries are responsible? On whom do the effects fall? What makes change possible? We examine the institutions that try to govern carbon emissions, with a focus on different types of governments, social movements, and private firms. We consider how these actors are both similar and different across rich and poor countries, and across the global, national, and urban scales. And we debate proposed solutions that rely on the analyses and evidence that we have studied earlier in the course.

This course considers theories and practices of reinterpreting landscape through the lenses of indigeneity, transnational feminism, and decoloniality. We will explore alternative ways of knowing and relating to places--thinking across space and time, built structures and material absences, borders and networks of relation--with a focus on the Americas. Discussions will engage spatial perspectives in geography, anthropology, and decolonial thought along with creative writing and multimedia work. Students will apply critical spatial practices by designing a digital project using textual, sonic, and visual modes to remap a selected site.

Nestled in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan offers an unparalleled perspective on the processes that birthed and continue to shape the modern world. Azerbaijan at the beginning of the twentieth century was a global pacesetter, the center of world oil production and then the first secular democratic republic in the Muslim world. After seven decades of Soviet Communism, Azerbaijan is again an independent state and global energy hub. We will study timeless debates on Islam and identity, empire and independence, autocracy and democracy, and energy and development.

This course will trace the ways in which Greek photographers, the modern Greek poets George Seferis, Odysseus Elytis, Andreas Embirícos, and Yannis Ritsos, and the Canadian poet Anne Carson reflect on the relation between Greece and photography. Visiting Delphi, the site of the Oracle of Apollo, the god of the Sun, Mycenae, the mythical birthplace of Greek literature, and the island of Crete, where Greek history and geology encounter each other, we will be able to see the light and landscape that inspired these photographers and these extraordinary literary texts.

To develop the skills of speaking, understanding, reading and writing Italian. The main emphasis is on oral drill and conversation in the classroom. Aspects of Italian culture and civilization are integrated in the course. The Italian Language Program uses a new digital portfolio that serves as students' textbook. Through this medium, students are exposed to a more dynamic mode of language acquisition.

Further study of Italian grammar and syntax with increased emphasis on vocabulary, reading, and practice in conversation. Skills in speaking and writing (as well as understanding) modern Italian will also be further developed. Students will deepen the study of grammatical functions through the analysis of Italian culture and civilization. Prerequisite: ITA 101 or permission of instructor.

This course is an intensive beginning and intermediate language course that provides an introduction to the Italian language and culture. It covers the material presented in ITA 101 and ITA 102 and prepares students to enroll in ITA 107. Activities and interactions provide the opportunity to develop intermediate speaking, listening, and writing skills using language of a concrete, conversational nature.

Italian 105 provides the opportunity to further develop Italian language proficiency in all areas-cultural understanding, production and receptive skills-through various types of texts (literature, film, visual culture, music, interviews, etc.). At the end of this course, students will have developed all three modes of communication: Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational. In conjunction with language proficiency, students will develop the intercultural competency necessary to better understand and embrace Italian language and culture as a whole.

This course analyzes Italian culture and cultural changes through products such as newspaper articles, essays, comic books, music, film, food, and visual artifacts in connection with Italian history and society. Italian 107 is intended to provide students with tools for communicating effectively in Italian in an informal and formal context, to move students along the proficiency spectrum toward a more advanced language level, and to promote a global awareness and cross-cultural understanding of contemporary Italian life and culture. Classes are conducted entirely in Italian. Prerequisite: ITA 102 or instructor's permission. Five classes.