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Even if many of us don't fully believe in an afterlife, we remain fascinated by visions of it. This course focuses on Near-Death Experiences and the stories around them, investigating them from the many perspectives pertinent to the growing field of narrative medicine: medical, neurological, cognitive, psychological, sociological, literary, and filmic. The goal is not to understand whether the stories are veridical but what they do for us, as individuals, and as a culture, and in particular how they seek to reshape the patient-doctor relationship. Materials will span the 20th century and come into the present. Taught in English.

Focus on the French New Wave's cinematic revolution of 1959-1962. In a few years, the Nouvelle Vague delivered landmark works such as Truffaut's 400 Blows, Godard's Breathless, Chabro's Le Beau Serge or Resnais' Hiroshima mon amour, and changed forever the way we make and think about movies. Why did these films look so radically fresh? What do they say about France's youth culture in the early 60s? How is the author's theory behind them still influencing us today? Focus is on cultural history, aesthetic analysis, interpretation of narrative, sound and visual forms. Taught in English.

Preference to sophomores. Focus is on human genetics; also assisted reproduction and neuroscience. Topics include forensic use of DNA, genetic testing, genetic discrimination, eugenics, cloning, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, neuroscientific methods of lie detection, and genetic or neuroscience enhancement. Student presentations on research paper conclusions.

Preference to freshman. Natural hazards, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes, and fires, and how they affect people and society; great disasters such as asteroid impacts that periodically obliterate many species of life. Scientific issues, political and social consequences, costs of disaster mitigation, and how scientific knowledge affects policy. How spaceborne imaging technology makes it possible to respond quickly and mitigate consequences; how it is applied to natural disasters; and remote sensing data manipulation and analysis. GER:DB-EngrAppSci

We consider various mythic and religious conceptions of the human from antiquity to Renaissance humanism, key documents of modern secular humanism, and literary works that raise probing questions about humanity. What is peculiar to humans against the foil of animal life forms? Is there a human nature at all, or perhaps a human calling, that might transcend differences among people? Contemporary debates about the limits of the human species, the aspiration to overcome such limits through science, and ecological challenges to traditional views of humans' place in the world.

The theatre is a public forum where politics is both represented and enacted. In this seminar we will examine four theatrical artists who have wrestled with urgent political questions of their time and ours: William Shakespeare, Georg Büchner, Bertolt Brecht, and Anna Deveare Smith. nnQuestions we will consider include: How does Shakespeare¿s Hamlet raise questions about a sovereign¿s right to rule? What might a play such as Büchner¿s Danton¿s Death¿set during the one of the bloodiest periods of the French Revolution¿suggest about the relationship between terrorism and reason? What does a musical such as Brecht¿s Threepenny Opera demonstrate about strategies of mass manipulation? And how could a performance piece such as Smith¿s Twilight: Los Angeles help us better understand the dynamics of police brutality and urban riot? nnIn this course, we will read seven plays, delve into their cultural contexts, and watch film and live versions of them, including field trips to at area theatres. We will also try our hand at staging some scenes in class, in order to get a better sense of the sorts of choices these plays require. Your assignments will include short papers and regular postings on an online discussion board. All readings and discussions will be in English, and no prior theatrical experience is necessary.

This course provides an opportunity to engage with issues and actors, politicians and parties in contemporary Germany, while building German language abilities. We will work with current events texts, news reports, speeches and websites. Course goals include building analytic and interpretive capacities of political topics in today's Europe, including the European Union, foreign policy, and environmentalism. Differences between US and German political culture are a central topic. At least one year German language study required.

Readings from some of the best German-language authors, including Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Heinrich Boll and Herta Muller. How imaginative literature engages with history, and how great authors address the major questions in politics and philosophy in modern Germany. Taught in German. German language equivalent to high school AP.

This course examines the motivations and experiences of polar explorers under the harshest conditions on Earth, as well as the chronicles of their explorations and hardships, dating to the 1500s for the Arctic and the 1700s for the Antarctic. Materials include The Worst Journey in the World by Aspley Cherry-Garrard who in 1911 participated in a midwinter Antarctic sledging trip to recover emperor penguin eggs. Optional field trip into the high Sierra in March.