The following Liberal Arts courses are available for Spring 2011 registration. Learn about the rest of our Spring 2011 electives here, or find a complete list of courses offered in other years here.
The Travels of Marco Polo
A close reading of The Travels of Marco Polo, an iconic text in world history and literature, is a journey of discovery. Through Marco Polo’s eyes students will encounter the cultures along the Silk Road as they were at the end of the 13th century. In addition to the study of the text itself, students will be required to undertake guided research pertaining to Polo’s travels in multiple contexts— historical, cultural and geographical. The results of these research projects will be presented in class.
taught by Peter Row
Europe in the 19th Century
Europe in the 19th Century discusses the political, economic and cultural forces shaping the great age of European power – and of modernity – from the fall of Napoleon to the origins of the Great War. Students will investigate the critical trends of the age: the triumph of consumer capitalism; the growth of political democracy; the rise of empires; the emergence of women into the public sphere. We will read, analyze, and discuss such defining intellectual trends as historical relativism, modern secularism, and the doctrine of progress. We will also examine the era’s critical cultural movements, ranging from Romanticism to Impressionism, exploring the works of such artists as Lord Byron, Alexandre Dumas, Edouard Manet, and Henrich Ibsen.
taught by James Klein
Advanced Seminar: The Civil Rights Movement: The Era that Transformed America
The Civil Rights Era explores the revolution in political, civil, and economic rights that transformed modern America. Students will analyze and discuss the strategic choices that civil rights activists – lawyers, ministers, musicians, and students – made in the exciting, but dangerous, days of the movement. We will explore not only the politics, but also the economic and cultural forces that helped to shape the campaign, and that were, in turn, shaped by them. We will look at the tactics behind the now legendary NAACP campaign for desegregation, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the wave of historically black college student sit-ins, and the Mississippi Freedom Rides. We will investigate how those campaigns resisted the forces of racial conservatism, ranging from mainstream American politics to the resurgent Ku Klux Klan. Finally, we will assess not only the successes and failures of that movement, but its influence on the politics of our own generation.
taught by James Klein
The Presidential Campaign: Party Politics in the 21st Century
The Presidential Campaign introduces students to American politics through the study of today’s candidates, each vying to win the party’s nomination and then prepare for the national contest. The class will focus on the 2012 election, yet will do so by exploring the historical development of presidential campaigns: the status of candidates; the emergence of the primary system; the changing roles of parties and media; the complex realities of fund-raising and spending; the development of issues and issue advocacy; and the national mobilization of supporters, activists, and voters. Students will not only explore the academic and political debates on these issues, but also have a voluntary, extra-curricular opportunity to see ‘retail politics’ at first hand. A trip to New Hampshire – still the most important primary in the crowded campaign calendar – will be available to those who are interested in seeing presidential politics from the local perspective.
taught by James Klein
2011-10-05
DUKE ELLINGTON