Course listings | Case Western Reserve University

Term: Spring 2018

USSO 209: Face First (100/10575)

MW 08:00-09:15 AM Jan 16-Apr 30

Hans, M

Human beings greet the world face first. In fact, the ability to process facial features seems to be innate. A baby easily recognizes its mother's face yet the most powerful computers have difficulty using facial features to identify people. This is because all human faces are similar while fine details make each face unique. This course will begin by studying the human face as an anatomic construction of hard and soft tissue skeletal components. We will discuss how we use anatomic facial features to recognize individuals. One homework exercise will be to construct faces using an FBI identikit. Each student will create an FBI composite sketch of their own face. Seminar time will then be used to view each sketch and try to match the sketch with the seminar participant. Discussion will focus on how facial anatomy is similar or different. Following this introduction, the seminar will shift focus from anatomy to sociology. We will discuss facial attractiveness and beauty. Seminar topics will also include manipulation of facial appearance i.e., cosmetics, body piercing, veils, and plastic surgery.

USSO 234: Questions of Identity (100/10378)

MW 04:50-06:05 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Arnoff, G

Who we are informs the ways in which we act in the world. How we respond to society in the individual, local, and global community is impacted by the way we see ourselves, the way others see us, and the way we see others. Who am I? How do I look at myself in relationship to others? How does the way in which society views me affect the way I think of myself? How have writers, historians, and philosophers dealt with the challenges of self and group identity? We will explore these issues through readings from the Civil Rights Era, the Holocaust, and the period of decolonization in Africa.

USSO 255: Hinduism (100/10668)

TR 01:00-02:15 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Sarma, D

This course will provide an introduction to Hindu thought and culture. We will read a wide range of texts and secondary sources. Two readings, the Ramayana and Samskara, will focus on issues of ethics and proper dharma. We will also be watching Deepa Mehta's Fire. There will be a visit to the Shiva-Vishnu Temple in Parma. Heavy emphasis on research and writing.

USSO 271: Schoolhouse Rocked: Education Reform (100/10303)

TR 02:30-03:45 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Ewing, K

Today, the term "education reform" may bring to mind standardized tests and No Child Left Behind. Many believe that our schools must become more rigorous, with stricter rules and definable goals. "Reform," however, used to be defined differently. John Dewey, Maria Montessori, and Paulo-Freire, for example, struggled to make schools freer and more humane. They hoped not to make the classroom less challenging, but more child-centered. Some disciples of such reformers, discouraged by schools' resistance to change, eventually turned to homeschooling--pulling kids out of school and educating them with real-life learning experiences. In this seminar, we will explore progressive educational theory and connect it with contemporary alternative schools and homeschooling. Visits to nearby Montessori and Waldorf schools and discussions with homeschoolers will make real-life connections to seminar reading and classwork. Challenging assumptions about how well our schools work and raising questions such as, "How do we learn?" and "What is good teaching?" will provoke thought, conversation, and interesting writing.

USSO 286E: Global Tourism (100/10304)

TR 02:30-03:45 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Fejes, N

Tourism can be viewed as a metaphor for contemporary existence in an increasingly globalizing world where attachments and ties to a concrete place are often temporary. Besides capturing the essence of present-day mobility, tourism is a phenomenon that can be researched both politically and economically. Indeed, 10 percent of global GNP comes from tourism and many poor countries rely on the tourism industry to sustain national economic development. In this class, we will touch on the economic and political significance of tourism, but will spend most of our time thinking of what happens in the tourist encounter, what tourists expect, what drives them, and who loses as well as benefits in the encounter. Some of the specific themes include: the nature of tourist destinations, quest for authentic sites, entertainment tourism (Disneyland, Dracula-Park), tourism to Auschwitz, culinary tourism, sex tourism, and eco-tourism. By reading theoretical works, travel blogs, and literature, we will gain insight to the motivations of tourists, the inhabitants of the places being visited, and international organizations as well as governments who oversee this industry.

USSO 286L: Exploring Non-Profit Organizations (100/10305)

TR 08:30-09:45 AM Jan 16-Apr 30

Clemenson, B

This seminar is structured to expose students to the opportunities and challenges of working in and running non-profit organizations. Students will explore the importance and significant roles non-profit organizations play in our society. The class will learn how non-profits are organized and regulated and the importance of the organization's mission is to determining the impact of the non-profit organization in the community. Additionally, the students will learn how non-profits are funded and how these organizations maintain their financial stability and sustainability in the community. These goals will be accomplished through group analysis of non-profit organizational principles, and investigation of existing non-profit organizations.

USSO 286L: Exploring Non-Profit Organizations (101/10306)

TR 10:00-11:15 AM Jan 16-Apr 30

Clemenson, B

USSO 286V: Management of Chronic Illness in a Cultural Context (100/10307)

MW 12:45-02:00 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Zhang, A

This course will explore the cross cultural, self-care approaches to health problems. It covers substance-based (e.g., herbs, acupuncture), mind-body (e.g., yoga, qigong), spiritual (e.g., prayer) and social (e.g., communal, family) approaches that have been used to manage chronic diseases and promote wellness in various cultural settings.

USSO 286X: The Future of News (100/10308)

MW 05:30-06:45 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Doll, W

The saying goes, "Strong Press, Strong Democracy." But what of strong democracy in the Internet Age when the traditional press seems weak? That's this seminar's big question. Can the "old" media, struggling to avoid financial collapse, still deliver the news necessary to be democracy's watchdog, as in the past? Can the new internet media--blogs, YouTube, viral videos, "hyperlocalism" experiments, pro publica investigations, crowd sourcing, instant news, Facebook, Gawker, True/Slant, Drudge and the proliferation of the other news and entertainment sources--take its place or complement traditional journalism? How do these new entrants change the nature of news and the role of the media in our society? These are uncharted developments, but they go to the heart of the continued success of America's democratic experiment. Our goal is to grasp more clearly the connections between media, news, citizenship and democracy in this new age.

USSO 287T: Gender, Visibility and Performance: The Courtesan (100/10309)

MW 12:45-02:00 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Nielson, L

Throughout history, the figure of the courtesan has embodied seduction, performance, and mystery; occupying the private spaces of the real and the imaginary across cultures. The impact of the courtesan on society can be seen in travelogues, poetry, and historical treatises, as well as in texts written specifically about courtesans themselves. Those cultures which had a courtesan class frequently experienced varying degrees of social discomfort. Within the culture, there was tension between those who patronized courtesans and those who considered them a social menace. From without, cultures which had courtesans were believed to be either excessively decadent or highly civilized, depending on the cultural standpoint of the observer. In this seminar, we will study real courtesans as well as examine the figure of the courtesan within the context of literature, religion, music history, and gender theory. The seminar will begin with an overview of the origins of the courtesan, focused on the roles of women and slave musicians in the court and temple in Egypt, India, Greece, and Mesopotamia starting in 3,000 BCE. Then, we will explore factors leading to the development of a courtesan class and compare the roles of courtesans and their place in their culture in Europe, India, Asia, and the Middle East. Readings and class discussion will encompass issues relating to the impact of gender on performance, literary genres, education, and social and legal status, as well as continuing questions related to translation of primary sources, colonialism, and religious movements. In addition to the readings, we will also study images of the courtesan from antiquity to the present, listen to music by and about courtesans, sample some of their writing, and watch films about "real" courtesans. The primary goal is not only to look at the impact of courtesans in history, but also to engage issues related to gender and performance from a variety of different disciplinary and cultural points of view.

USSO 288B: Doing Good: How Nonprofits Change Lives (100/10310)

TR 01:00-02:15 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Henry, C

The American economy is made up of three sectors: government, business, and nonprofit. It's pretty obvious what government and business do, but the activity of nonprofits, while it is everywhere, is much more subtle. A nonprofit is most likely where you were born, went to school, attend church, or adopted your family dog. If you became an Eagle Scout, watched "Sesame Street," attended a benefit concert, or participated in a walk for a cause, you were engaged with a nonprofit. Perhaps you haven't given much thought to the way the organization was structured, where it gets its money, or what kind of an impact it's really having. In this seminar, students will learn what nonprofits are, how they operate, how they influence everyday lives, and their role in advancing social change and a civil society. We will consider the economic impact of nonprofits as well as their role in protecting culture, environment, values, and heritage. We will also look at the key challenges facing nonprofits today and how they are addressing them. Writing assignments will include a grant proposal for a new or existing nonprofit. The seminar will feature guest speakers and class visits to nonprofits in the Cleveland area.

USSO 288T: Coffee and Civilization (100/10311)

MW 03:20-04:35 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Pecastaings, A

Whether you enjoy an occasional cup or sip throughout the day from a bottomless mug, did you know that since its introduction in the Western world coffee has been intimately tied to sociability and intellectual life? In this seminar, we will explore coffee's civilizing history, from eighteenth-century coffee houses buzzing with political dissent, to 1920s establishments crowded with avant-garde artists and our modern bookstore cafes. We will also explore the human and ecological costs of our taste for coffee by investigating the enduring connections between coffee, slavery, North-South geo-political relations, and notions of fair trade.

USSO 289K: Riots and Rituals: Struggles for Justice in a Globalizing World (100/10312)

TR 02:30-03:45 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Hanson, P

This course asks students to explore two broad questions: How might we understand contemporary globalization? And, how do those people marginalized by globalization seek justice? Globalization and social justice have now become household terms. However, today, perhaps more than ever, we must ask precisely what type of globalization we are experiencing and what type of globalization we want for our future. If we are seeking the best possible global future for everyone, then it is crucial that we understand how those left behind by globalization struggle to get their interests heard. This course takes a unique approach to these problems by working with two extended case studies. We start with Cleveland, Ohio in the 1960s, and the beginnings of economic globalization in the United States. Cleveland's Hough riots of 1966 were one of the most violent political events in the city's history. We then move to contemporary Madagascar, where global rainforest conservation programs pose a real threat to the cultures of indigenous groups and their rights to land. Here, ritual has become a powerful means by which Malagasy groups assert their interests. With both case studies, important questions arise for classroom consideration: What is the exact nature of the globalization processes at work in both places? What can we learn about the development of globalization between the 1960s and now? Who are the groups most harmed by these processes? And, what can riots and rituals teach us about how groups marginalized by globalization struggle to have their claims for justice heard? The instructor has carried-out long term research in both Cleveland and Madagascar, and will take an interdisciplinary approach to theories of globalization and justice throughout the course.

USSO 289Y: The Symphony Orchestra and its Place in Contemporary Culture (100/10458)

MW 04:50-06:05 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Charnofsky, E

In measuring the cultural profile of a metropolitan area, the presence of a successful symphony orchestra is often used as a model to determine cultural sophistication and refinement. In recent years, however, the model of the orchestra has encountered significant challenges. Using the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra as a paradigm, this seminar will examine the orchestra in contemporary culture and attempt to answer the questions: what will the symphony orchestra be in the near future and what must it become to sustain its cultural importance? In this course, we will focus our seminar-style discussions, formal presentations, and research-based writing on the following six topics: defining evolving cultural norms and the place of the orchestra in today's culture as compared to previous eras; describing the orchestra audience of the future based on social and cultural trends; defining the ideal balance of orchestral repertoire for tomorrow's listeners; discovering how technology has affected the institution of the orchestra, including performances, recordings, marketing, and communications; examining the financial challenges and bankruptcies of orchestras in recent years and analyzing their causes; and analyzing changes in fund-raising techniques and searching for ideal future models.

USSO 290B: Contemporary American Rhetoric (100/10313)

TR 04:00-05:15 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Schaffer, M

The health of a democratic society depends on an informed electorate. And yet the attack ads, unverified accusations, sound-bites, and carefully scripted and staged media events that fill television and the Internet tend to misinform, confuse, and disengage voters. How might we reverse this trend? How can we meaningfully enter into political conversations? How can we listen to others, form our own beliefs, and then communicate them respectfully and with purpose? To help answer these questions, we will return to modern democracy's ancient roots, using the lens of classical rhetoric to explore contemporary political debate. While the word "rhetoric" is often used today to deride precisely what's wrong with political discourse, as when a policy proposal is dismissed as mere "campaign rhetoric," it more properly denotes the techniques of effective persuasion. By learning how rhetorical devices are used, we can empower ourselves to analyze policy debates and to make our own contributions. As part of this investigation, we will research issues, debate and develop positions, read and evaluate speeches, write about our own positions, participate in public conversations by writing letters to representatives and opinion pieces for newspapers, and prepare an oral presentation. We will also complete a research project in which we analyze the different perspectives on an issue of interest, formulate our own positions on an issue, and reflect on our internal processes as we take on a belief and act on it.

USSO 290G: A History of Workers in the US (100/10314)

TR 05:30-06:45 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Flores, J

This course examines the lives of the ethnically and racially diverse women and men, skilled and unskilled, and rural and urban laborers that produce the goods and provide the services that society consumes. At crucial moments, working people have joined social movements in an effort to improve some aspect of their lives. We therefore will assess workers in relation to several known and less known American social movements, such as the eight-hour day movement during the late nineteenth century, the peace movement during WWI, and the Civil Rights movement in the wake of WWII. As we study these social movements through the lens of labor history, we will focus on making sense of periods of conflict and cooperation between European American, African American, and Mexican American workers. Throughout the course we will also discuss the politics of time-managed work, the role of unions within a competitive market economy, the influence of public policy and government institutions, and the relationship between industrial economies and blue-collar communities.

USSO 290N: Perspectives on Dying and Death: Normalizing the Inevitable (100/10459)

TR 01:00-02:15 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Prince-Paul, M

The inevitability of death encompasses us all. We are all born with the disease of mortality. We all die. And yet, to many of us the details of dying and death are a mystery. It is an abstraction we would rather not think about. This course aims to create thoughtful and reflective dialogue about dying and death, confronting death as something more than an abstract possibility. We will review the physical, psychological, social, spiritual, cultural, ethical, and economic perspectives of dying in America. Reflective thinking will be carefully guided by an array of faculty and guest speakers, both those who are directly involved in the care of the dying and those who provide services to families of the deceased. We are likely to visit a funeral home, a cemetery, and/or a hospice house to explore opportunities to reflect on our own views of dying and death and to consider others' cultural beliefs and traditions. Finally, we will discuss the concept of quality of life and examine current evidence related to dying and death in America, such as the 2015 Institute of Medicine Report, Dying in America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life.

USSO 290S: Cultural Ecology and Sustainability: An Anthropological Approach (100/10315)

TR 10:00-11:15 AM Jan 16-Apr 30

Smith, R

In the modern period, we have witnessed spectacular scientific and technological achievements. We have also experienced devastating climate change and massive biodiversity loss that threaten life on Earth as we know it. Is it possible that the solutions to these problems are not scientific or technological, but rather cultural? How have other cultures, whether from the present or the past, dealt with sustainability challenges? How might an examination of indigenous or traditional cultures, some of which have existed sustainably for thousands of years and even enhanced the biodiversity of their environments, lead to a clearer understanding of the deleterious attitudes and actions of our own modern culture? How can we integrate the wisdom of these cultures to ensure the survival of our own? In this seminar, we will use these questions to enhance our understanding of the relationship between human culture and the natural world, as well as the ways in which a deeper understanding of cultural ecology can promote sustainability.

USSO 290T: Making: Innovation, Work, and Competition (100/10316)

TR 08:30-09:45 AM Jan 16-Apr 30

Helper, S

Manufacturing has been an important source of economic growth and innovation. In many countries, it has helped create a middle class by providing both well-paying jobs and cheap goods. In recent decades, however, manufacturing has declined in the US. Should we be concerned about this trend? Does off-shoring of production to places like China threaten or enhance the US standard of living or technological strength? Do efforts to protect manufacturing in the US hurt people in developing countries? How will the development of "maker spaces" (such as CWRU's ThinkBox) affect the way goods are produced? How does high-wage Germany run a trade surplus in manufacturing? Does environmental regulation help or hurt manufacturing? In this seminar, we will address these questions both practically and theoretically. In addition to reading engineering, historical and literary depictions of manufacturing, we will visit factories and speak with leaders from industry, labor, and government. We will also consider broader economic policy questions by reading the works of prominent economists and political scientists.

USSO 290Y: Shrinking the World: Ham Radio and Distance Communication (100/10440)

MW 08:00-09:15 AM Jan 16-Apr 30

Kazdan, D

Radio operators can talk to each other across the world, launch and use space satellite stations, and bounce their voices off the moon. And yet the Federal Communications Commission still regulates what they may say on the air. Why is that? And why does amateur radio require a license? In this course, we'll discuss the history of long-distance communication methods stretching from the British Penny Post into the modern digital age, viewed particularly through the lens of the Amateur Radio Service. We will also explore the ways that advances in communication technology have changed politics, entertainment and personal interactions. Who makes the rules for a new system of communication? What causes changes in those rules? Was Orson Welles morally, ethically, or legally responsible for causing a mass panic with his reading of "War of the Worlds?" What might the future hold for communications? Students will earn amateur radio licenses, make contacts with other radio amateurs around the world and with each other, and possibly bounce signals off the moon and listen for their return. We will also look at the ham radio culture, from QSL cards to public service and contesting. Students will learn some basic hands-on electronics, but no previous technical background is required.

USSO 291L: Our Food, Our Lives: Food, Agriculture, Society (100/10509)

TR 11:30-12:45 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Fejes, N

Where does our food come from? Who grows it? What technologies have enabled the emergence of our current food system? In this seminar, we will ask and ponder these and similar questions as we address the achievements, ills, and sustainability of our global food system. We will explore wide-spread concerns about the ecological consequences of industrial agriculture, its future opportunities, the livelihood of the world's farmers, food waste, and health issues caused by contemporary dietary habits. In our inquiry, we will focus on both neighborhood communities in Cleveland and various geopolitical entities including Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia to observe food corporations' power to control food choices. In the second part of our class, we will examine community organizations' efforts to give these choices back to the people. To this end, we will participate in various food-movement activities on or near campus and visit some local food-related organizations such as farmers markets, soup kitchens, and restaurants.

USSO 291N: Literature and Nation Building in Africa (100/10317)

TR 11:30-12:45 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Doho, G

This seminar introduces students to the process of nation-building in former French African colonies. It focuses on the impact of literature on the colonizers and the colonized. It is well established that writers in African colonies used their pens as canons against a dehumanizing colonial system. Nor did they refrain from asking themselves what kinds of nations would replace the colonial society once it had been overthrown. More precisely, their works questioned the kind of political, economic, educational, and cultural systems that could help shape the social structures and people that would inhabit these post-colonial nations.

USSO 291O: Empathy, Identity, and the Moral Emotions (100/10318)

TR 01:00-02:15 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Houser, K

We are often told to be true to ourselves. We are also told to care about others. There are times when it is difficult to do both at the same time. If being myself causes others pain, should I care? Is it possible that caring for others is an important piece of who I am? Or is it a threat to it? In such cases, our separate identities seem to challenge morality's insistence that we should not remain estranged from others or their concerns. Such challenges raise a question about the value of empathy--the ability to share the viewpoints and feelings of others. Empathy seems to explain why we care for one another, and this speaks to who we should be. Yet empathy also seems to be a threat to morality and identity, inasmuch as it might lead us to identify more with some persons than others, and so cause us to be less objective and fair. Likewise, identifying too strongly with others might undermine identity, as Stockholm syndrome and other pathologies of self-loss suggest. In this seminar, we will examine the concepts of identity, empathy, and morality through a variety of philosophical, historical, scientific, and literary texts in a collaborative attempt to understand who we are who we ought to be. This will be a discussion-driven, writing-intensive course, ranging over religious, historical, philosophical, literary, and scientific literature, as well as music and film. Together we will examine these three concepts in all their historical, cultural, and trans-disciplinary diversity, in a collaborative attempt to understand and evaluate empathy's importance to matters of who we are and who we ought to be.

USSO 291Q: Money Talks (But Do We Understand What it is Saying?) (100/10319)

TR 04:00-05:15 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Oakley, T

Money is the most enigmatic social institution that influences virtually every facet of post-industrial, capitalist society. The goal of this seminar is to think deliberately about money as a social institution, paying special attention to the forms of political and economic organizations it helps define, as well as to the historical changes to sovereign money systems over the last 4,000 years. The focus will be on historical and economic methods for examining its relation to human behavior, social organization, and historical change. Some of the key questions we will engage with include: how did money arise historically? How is money created, by whom and in what form? What is and should be the role of central banks and banking in a political economy? What does it mean for a nation to adopt and develop a sovereign currency (e.g., the United States, or the United Kingdom)? What are the consequences of giving up a sovereign currency (e.g., the Eurozone nations, Ecuador)? What is the relationship between money and debt? Why is it not possible for a nation that issues its own currency to go bankrupt? How is money related to inflation, hyperinflation, stagflation, and deflation? and Are there things money should not buy?

USSO 291T: Beyond Male and Female: Histories of Transgender & Non-Binary Genders (100/10460)

MW 12:45-02:00 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Bychowski, G

Gender is personal and political. Gender is not just a set of physical or mental characteristics but an ongoing social conversation between identities, expressions, and relations that fight to order how we define bodies and what roles or values these bodies will possess. While different times and places define gender in culturally specific ways (e.g. medieval eunuchs and modern transsexuals), history offers numerous instances of patterns of identity and discrimination. A medieval eunuch might not know the modern word "transphobia" or "transsexual" but likely would be able to recognize the ongoing prejudice against people who cross or fall outside the gender binary of man and woman. Histories and narratives form and repeat when readers follow debates on gender in society. These narratives influence cultural imagination with tales that reflect and resist public concepts of gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, disability, and class. In this seminar, we explore how rhetoric and worldviews have worked together to form diverse categories of embodiment that have come to be collected under the name "transgender" as well as other forms of gender beyond the binary categories of "male" and "female." By tracing a cultural genealogy that spans the western Middle Ages to today, we map how texts in the history of gender reinforce and resist mechanisms of control. This course asks: How is gender not just something you have but something you do? How does the doing of gender shape your embodiment? How does the lack or existence of disability access and gender-neutral bathrooms create and enforce divisions between communities? As part of the course, participants will engage with a variety of religious, scientific, and cultural texts such as selections from the Bible and Greco-Roman mythology, excerpts from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), films such as The Danish Girl and Transformation, and biographies such as those of Caitlyn Jenner and Jazz Jennings.

USSO 291U: Talking Bodies: An anthropological approach to tattoos, the body, and American culture (100/10320)

MW 03:20-04:35 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Belkin, S

Tattoos, once seen as disgraceful and lowbrow, are undergoing a renaissance. Undoubtedly you have seen a tattoo today; on you, your friends, your parents, someone on the street, or in the media. What explains this increased social acceptance of tattoos? Why are people motivated to get tattoos in the first place? What are they communicating about themselves? How, and why, do segments of American culture view tattoos differently? To answer these questions, we will use anthropology, the study of cultures around the people, as a lens to understand people's use of, and attitudes toward, tattoos in American culture.

USSO 291V: Political Corruption in America (100/10325)

TR 01:00-02:15 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Halberstam, M

Recent polling indicates that Americans increasingly believe that their politicians and political institutions are corrupt. They believe that elections are rigged, elected leaders would sell their votes for gifts or campaign contributions from rich donors, and corporate lobbyists typically get their way in Congress. In this seminar we will explore the question whether political corruption is as big a problem in the American political system as people think it is. Using news reports, documentaries, legal sources, and scholarly articles by political scientists, we will define different ways of thinking about corruption, undue influence, and conflicts of interest. We will examine a variety of examples, focusing on the effects of campaign fundraising and legislative lobbying. And we will consider policy proposals that might improve the situation.

USSO 291W: People, Policy, and Place: 20th Century US Urban History (100/10326)

MW 03:20-04:35 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Krinitsky, N

This course will explore the historical development of modern urban America from the early twentieth century through the recent past. We will pursue this examination through three thematic units that focus on the people who make up American metropolises; the public policies that have shaped American cities; and the role of place in making and encountering urban history. Within those units, we will explore key topics in the history of modern urban America, including early urban expansion and the built environment, African American and immigrant experiences, federal housing policy and urban segregation, metropolitan development and suburbanization, and movements for reform and social justice. The course will emphasize African American history while incorporating comparative examples from other groups and communities. Throughout the semester we will return to key questions about the development of American cities, including: what roles have categories of race, class, gender, and sexuality played in the development of urban America? How do histories of migration and immigration intersect with the growth of American cities? What makes a cultural practice or community particularly urban, and how have definitions or boundaries of urban culture changed over time? How has public policy shaped the development of American cities and encouraged inequality over time? Along with assignments that assess students' ability to analyze sources and make evidence-based arguments, this class will also provide them with basic skills of Geographic Information Systems mapping, a crucial tool of urban historical analysis. The final assignment in this course will build upon our discussions of diverse audiences and methods of doing urban history, as each student will complete an urban history portfolio on a city of their choosing, incorporating their GIS mapping skills with original research that contextualizes their spatial analyses.

USSO 291X: History of the US AIDS Crisis (100/10327)

MWF 11:40-12:30 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Milne, A

Thirty-seven years have passed since the summer of 1981, when the Centers for Disease Control published a report on the mysterious deaths of five previously healthy gay men. In that time, more than thirty-nine million people have died of AIDS around the globe. Approximately 600,000 of those people died in the United States; at least 10,000 more Americans will die this year. Why, given the global scope of the crisis and the dramatic impact it has had on US society and culture, do so few students learn about the AIDS crisis in school? Why does it receive less attention than, for example, terrorism? In this course, we will study the first 21 of the United States' AIDS crisis, and use what we learn to contemplate the current status of HIV-positive people and people with AIDS. We will examine the origins of AIDS as a biological, political, and cultural phenomenon in the hopes of understanding why the United States experienced the virus as it did. We will also address the myriad responses to the virus by presidents and preachers, artists and activists, doctors and business people. How did this tragedy impact American politics and culture? What lessons did we learn, and what mistakes are we still repeating today? How can (and should) the history of AIDS inform our response to the opioid crisis, or the battle over Obamacare? Are we ready for the next epidemic?

USSO 291X: History of the US AIDS Crisis (101/10594)

MWF 10:35-11:25 AM Jan 16-Apr 30

Milne, A

USSO 291Y: Immigration, Identity, Writing (100/10379)

MWF 02:15-03:05 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Reader, L

For many in Europe and North America, globalization and immigration increasingly present a challenge to cultural identity. British Prime Minister Theresa May articulated this view when she stated in 2016, "If you believe you're a citizen of the world, you're a citizen of nowhere." More than expressing misgivings about the consequence of globalization and immigration, May was asserting the importance of belonging to a place and a culture. In contrast to this perspective, the genre of writing known as global literature presents a framework for understanding our globalized world not as a cause for anxiety, but rather as an opportunity to understand how new cultural, social, and national identities take shape. As the writer Adam Kirsch has observed, "Individual lives are now lived and conceived under the sign of the whole globe." One example of this more global view is Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who in We Should All Be Feminists uses her experience of immigration to reconcile western feminism with the expectations of her native society. As the popularity and influence of writers like Adichie attest, new voices and forms of writing possess global significance in our cosmopolitan and connected world. Studying this literature reveals both connections and tensions between the local and the global. These connections and tensions provide us with a fuller understanding of how people experience this globalized age and make sense of their place in this new world.

USSO 291Z: Queer Christianity (100/10461)

MW 03:20-04:35 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Bychowski, G

We live in a historical moment when the relationship between queerness and Christianity is being reconsidered and hotly debated. To better understand this debate, as well as the differences and potential common ground between members of the queer and Christian communities (including those who belong to both!), this seminar examines the history of Christianity and its relationship to queerness. Is Christianity a force for domination or liberation? Orthodoxy or creative multiplicity? Normativity or queerness? To answer these questions, we will read literature that explores how Christianity has both suppressed and in some sense created queerness, as well as how it has been reclaimed by queer communities. We will also look closely at how these historical tensions are being played out locally today. Special attention also will be given to the range of intersecting identities and communities that have responded to the meeting of faith and sexuality in various ways, drawing from diverse contexts of race, ability/disability, gender, and class. Readings include selections from the Bible, books about theology, and documentaries and memoirs attesting to the experience of LGBT Christians.

USSO 292A: What Makes People Happy (100/10462)

MW 12:45-02:00 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Butler, J

What makes people happy? What prevents them from achieving happiness and maintaining it over time? Over the past 20 years, psychologists and cognitive scientists been studying these questions. Achieving happiness seems like a simple goal, and most people can readily name many things that make them happy, such as children, chocolate cake, and success at work or school. However, science shows that happiness is more complicated, as many of the things that people think make them happy also make them quite unhappy. Similarly, data suggests that many of the things that make people happy in the short run do not lead to long-term satisfaction with life. Whereas popular self-help books suggest a variety of ways to increase satisfaction with life, scientific researchers argue that our happiness is essentially predetermined by a genetic set-point. The interdisciplinary approach of this seminar will clarify some of this confusion by focusing on happiness from a variety of angles: the role of the brain in the perception of happiness, the effects happiness has on decision making, and the difference between short- and long-term approaches to boosting happiness. Students will not get credit for this course if they previously earned credit for FSSY 157 Pursuits of Happiness.

USSO 292B: Race, Immigration, and American Popular Entertainment (100/10512)

MW 08:00-09:15 AM Jan 16-Apr 30

Parris, G

This course will investigate the intersection of race and immigration politics and its manifestations in American popular entertainment. Students will explore the immigrant and minority narrative that African Americans and immigrant groups have historically shared--the pursuit of acceptance and entry into the American mainstream. Concurrently we will examine the historic circumstances that made their individual narratives singular and different. Popular entertainment has served as an important lens in assessing how the mainstream viewed these groups at particular points and as forums for these groups to make their case for acceptance and/or understanding. The course will focus on three periods: turn of the 20th century, middle 20th century, and turn of the 21st century. These periods involve different points in the evolution of theater, film, popular music, and television as well as periods in which the question of inclusion of particular groups was high on the public agenda. The course will subsequently, use popular entertainment from these periods to investigate questions of inclusion, national membership, and American cultural identity that the various campaigns for inclusion brought to the American public attention during these periods.

USSO 292C: Culture of Safety: At Home, At Work, and Online (100/10561)

MW 04:50-06:05 PM Jan 16-Apr 30

Danko, C

When something bad happens, we may change our behavior to avoid it happening again. But how do people avoid unforeseen problems? One theory is that individuals can rely on collective beliefs and behaviors that focus on safety. As part of a given culture, behavioral responses are aligned with what is considered right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable, safe or unsafe. In this seminar, we examine concepts of a culture of safety - its attributes, benefits, and challenges. Our examination will consider individual, workplace, and social media examples of safety culture as we ponder questions such as: How do we define/create our own personal safety culture? In what ways do values and experiences shape a culture of safety? How do we address conflicts between our own safety culture and those of others?