Courses

A study of the origins, history, tales, and influences of The 1001 Nights (Alf Layla wa Layla) in both their medieval Arab-Islamic milieu and modern adaptations in world literature and film.

Aesthetic aspects of events in communication-visual, aural, written, and gestural- are explored.

Aesthetic aspects of events in communication-visual, aural, written, and gestural- are explored.

Analysis of African American achievement in the genres of film and media, from the earliest days of the silent film to the contemporary moment. We will pay close attention to the political, historical, and artistic contexts of African American representation, participation, and creative agency in the motion picture industry. This course provides an opportunity to study some of the most significant films, actors, and directors in African American cultural history.

Reading of some of the major works of Goethe (excluding Faust), Schiller, Holderlin, and Kleist.

Surveys the rise and fall of the studio system; the star system; financing and marketing of mainstream films; the economics of independent cinema; and globalization. Also focuses on directors who have worked outside of the system or who have straddled the independent and the mainstream film worlds.

Demographic and social characteristics, communal and political organization, and problems of identity and assimilation within the American Jewish community.

An analytical study of the office and powers of the President as chief of state, head of its executive branch, commander-in-chief of its armed forces, director of its foreign policy, and his role as legislator, party leader, and spokesman of the nation. The concept of the presidency and the achievements of the presidents will be particularly examined.

The American Revolution, the establishment of the federal union, and the formation of political parties in the 1790s.

A study of the settlement, development, and impact of the American West. Explores the mythology of the American West in history and popular literature.