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CLASSICS 173: Hagia Sophia (ARTHIST 208, ARTHIST 408, CLASSICS 273)

This seminar uncovers the aesthetic principles and spiritual operations at work in Hagia Sophia, the church dedicated to Holy Wisdom in Constantinople. Rather than a static and inert structure, the Great Church emerges as a material body that comes to life when the morning or evening light resurrects the glitter of its gold mosaics and when the singing of human voices activates the reverberant and enveloping sound of its vast interior. Drawing on art and architectural history, liturgy, musicology, and acoustics, this course explores the Byzantine paradigm of animation arguing that it is manifested in the visual and sonic mirroring, in the chiastic structure of the psalmody, and in the prosody of the sung poetry. Together these elements orchestrate a multi-sensory experience that has the potential to destabilize the divide between real and oneiric, placing the faithful in a space in between terrestrial and celestial. A short film on aesthetics and samples of Byzantine chant digitally imprinted with the acoustics of Hagia Sophia are developed as integral segments of this research; they offer a chance for the student to transcend the limits of textual analysis and experience the temporal dimension of this process of animation of the inert.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

CLASSICS 179: Dancing in Ancient Greece and Rome (CLASSICS 279)

What was the role of dance in Greek and Roman cultures? Who danced and who were their spectators? Dance as an art for its own sake and as a vehicle of meaning; aesthetics and ethics of ancient dance; Philosophical and Anthropological aspects of dance in Greek and Roman societies. Detailed discussion of visual and textual sources (in English) . 
Last offered: Winter 2023 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II

CLASSICS 181: Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought (CLASSICS 381, ETHICSOC 130A, PHIL 176A, PHIL 276A, POLISCI 230A, POLISCI 330A)

Political philosophy in classical antiquity, centered on reading canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle against other texts and against the political and historical background. Topics include: interdependence, legitimacy, justice; political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; law, civic strife, and constitutional change.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

CLASSICS 186: African Archive Beyond Colonization (AFRICAAM 187, AFRICAST 117, ARCHLGY 166, CLASSICS 286, CSRE 166)

From street names to monuments, the material sediments of colonial time can be seen, heard, and felt in the diverse cultural archives of ancient and contemporary Africa. This seminar aims to examine the role of ethnographic practice in the political agendas of past and present African nations. In the quest to reconstruct an imaginary of Africa in space and time, students will explore these social constructs in light of the rise of archaeology during the height of European empire and colonization. Particularly in the last 50 years, revived interest in African cultural heritage and preservation raises complex questions about the problematic tensions between European, American, and African theories of archaeological and ethnographic practice.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
Instructors: Derbew, S. (PI)

CLASSICS 262: Sex and the Early Church (FEMGEN 262, FEMGEN 362R, RELIGST 262, RELIGST 362)

Sex and the Early Church examines the ways first- through sixth-century Christians addressed questions regarding human sexuality. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between sexuality and issues of gender, culture, power, and resistance. We will read a Roman gynecological manual, an ancient dating guide, the world's first harlequin romance novels, ancient pornography, early Christian martyrdom accounts, stories of female and male saints, instructions for how to best battle demons, visionary accounts, and monastic rules. These will be supplemented by modern scholarship in classics, early Christian studies, gender studies, queer studies, and the history of sexuality. The purpose of our exploration is not simply to better understand ancient views of gender and sexuality. Rather, this investigation of a society whose sexual system often seems so surprising aims to denaturalize many of our own assumptions concerning gender and sexuality. In the process, we will also examine more »
Sex and the Early Church examines the ways first- through sixth-century Christians addressed questions regarding human sexuality. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between sexuality and issues of gender, culture, power, and resistance. We will read a Roman gynecological manual, an ancient dating guide, the world's first harlequin romance novels, ancient pornography, early Christian martyrdom accounts, stories of female and male saints, instructions for how to best battle demons, visionary accounts, and monastic rules. These will be supplemented by modern scholarship in classics, early Christian studies, gender studies, queer studies, and the history of sexuality. The purpose of our exploration is not simply to better understand ancient views of gender and sexuality. Rather, this investigation of a society whose sexual system often seems so surprising aims to denaturalize many of our own assumptions concerning gender and sexuality. In the process, we will also examine the ways these first centuries of what eventually became the world's largest religious tradition has profoundly affected the sexual norms of our own time. The seminar assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP

COLLEGE 101: Why College? Your Education and the Good Life

You're about to embark on an amazing journey: a college education. But what is the purpose of this journey? Why go to college? Some argue that the purpose of college is to train you for a career. Others claim that college is no longer necessary, that you can launch the next big startup and change the world without a degree. Peter Thiel offers students like you $100,000 to skip or stop out of college because knowledge that is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind. Why read Plato if you're a STEM major, after all? Why think about primate health if you're in the arts? In the face of such critiques, this class makes a case for an expansive education that trains your mind to engage with a variety of subjects and skills. The philosophy behind this model has traditionally been called liberal education (from the Latin word for freedom, libertas). Together we will explore the history, practice, and rationales for a liberal education by putting canonical texts in conversation wit more »
You're about to embark on an amazing journey: a college education. But what is the purpose of this journey? Why go to college? Some argue that the purpose of college is to train you for a career. Others claim that college is no longer necessary, that you can launch the next big startup and change the world without a degree. Peter Thiel offers students like you $100,000 to skip or stop out of college because knowledge that is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind. Why read Plato if you're a STEM major, after all? Why think about primate health if you're in the arts? In the face of such critiques, this class makes a case for an expansive education that trains your mind to engage with a variety of subjects and skills. The philosophy behind this model has traditionally been called liberal education (from the Latin word for freedom, libertas). Together we will explore the history, practice, and rationales for a liberal education by putting canonical texts in conversation with more recent works. We will consider the relevance of liberal education to all areas of study, from STEM to the arts, and its relations to future careers. And we will examine the central place that the idea of 'the good life' has historically enjoyed in theories of liberal education. You will be prompted to examine your own life, to question how and why you make decisions, and to argue for your views while respecting those of others. Maybe you will conclude that a liberal education is no longer relevant in the twenty-first century, but we hope that you will do so armed with a thorough understanding of what it has been and what it can be. In the end, college is less about what you will do in life, than about what kind of person you will be. So: what kind of person do you want to be? What kind of life will you live? Join us as we explore what others have said about these questions and prepare to answer them for yourself.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II

COLLEGE 103: Globally Queer

The progress of LGBTQ+ rights over the last half century has been remarkably swift and absolutely global. Pride parades and marriage rights have become emblems of a global movement that seems to transcend culture. This course asks what has allowed LGBTQ+ issues to become leading indicators of a certain kind of liberalization and modernization. What is the road LGBTQ+ rights took from the Stonewall Inn in 1969 to Pride Parades in Minsk, Kolkata and Nuuk, Greenland by 2015? This course will introduce students to the concepts and issues that have shaped this development. But it will also highlight the concepts by which historians, social scientists and political theorists have interrogated the problematic underbelly of this story of global triumph. What gets left out when we frame the course of LGBTQ+ history as somehow moving from Lower Manhattan to the rest of the world? Many academics studying LGBTQ+ history worry about the eurocentrism inherent in this way of telling the story this wa more »
The progress of LGBTQ+ rights over the last half century has been remarkably swift and absolutely global. Pride parades and marriage rights have become emblems of a global movement that seems to transcend culture. This course asks what has allowed LGBTQ+ issues to become leading indicators of a certain kind of liberalization and modernization. What is the road LGBTQ+ rights took from the Stonewall Inn in 1969 to Pride Parades in Minsk, Kolkata and Nuuk, Greenland by 2015? This course will introduce students to the concepts and issues that have shaped this development. But it will also highlight the concepts by which historians, social scientists and political theorists have interrogated the problematic underbelly of this story of global triumph. What gets left out when we frame the course of LGBTQ+ history as somehow moving from Lower Manhattan to the rest of the world? Many academics studying LGBTQ+ history worry about the eurocentrism inherent in this way of telling the story this way, and about how it truncates our understanding of LGBTQ+ culture. After all, are LGBTQ+ identities and rights one size-fits-all? Do they become a way for Western nations to once again set the standards by which others are judged developmentally deficient? In certain societies reference to a 'traditional' national way of thinking about gender and sexuality is simply a fig leaf for homophobia and transphobia. But in other countries an international vocabulary of LGBTQ+ identity comes face-to-face with longstanding or newly emergent configurations of gender and sexuality that look very different. How do we mediate between those two? At the same time, the way Western societies export their conception of what LGBTQ+ identity is and why and when it matters tells us something about how Western Europe and the United States think about these issues themselves? What kinds of rights do Western nations tend to (or at least claim to) champion? Who gets to have and claim those rights?
Last offered: Spring 2022 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP

COLLEGE 113: Utopia, Dystopia, and Technology in Science Fiction

We live immersed in technology but are perplexed by deep uncertainties about where technology is taking us - to a dead end or a better place? Technology has helped create utopian visions of good society while plunging societies into dystopic nightmares. Science and technology have been a universal path for all societies to join the modern world, but different cultures think about them differently. The Enlightenment ofthe West conceives scientific modernity as emancipation from religion and superstition and as a power over nature. In contrast, the traditional Chinese worldviews incorporate technology into a sacred cosmos where humans use science and technology to stay in tune with Heaven and Earth. Today, technoscience discourse has become a dominant power and ideology. Technoscientific agendas are generating class disparity,eroding the social fabric, undermining the humanist traditions, and damaging nature and climate. Science fiction thinks about how science and technology transform h more »
We live immersed in technology but are perplexed by deep uncertainties about where technology is taking us - to a dead end or a better place? Technology has helped create utopian visions of good society while plunging societies into dystopic nightmares. Science and technology have been a universal path for all societies to join the modern world, but different cultures think about them differently. The Enlightenment ofthe West conceives scientific modernity as emancipation from religion and superstition and as a power over nature. In contrast, the traditional Chinese worldviews incorporate technology into a sacred cosmos where humans use science and technology to stay in tune with Heaven and Earth. Today, technoscience discourse has become a dominant power and ideology. Technoscientific agendas are generating class disparity,eroding the social fabric, undermining the humanist traditions, and damaging nature and climate. Science fiction thinks about how science and technology transform human society, values, and everyday experiences in ways good or bad. By projecting both utopia and dystopia, sf reveals and critiques technology-induced social malaises and keeps hopes alive by projecting better futures, testifying to the ceaseless human potential for self-renewal in sustaining civilization on Earth. This course asks the two-fold question: How can humans of diverse cultures harness technoscientific innovations while preserving humanist values and maintain a sustainable economy and civilization? How do narratives of utopia and dystopia depict the anthropocentric domination of nature and the exploitation working classes through themisuse and abuse of technology? Two evening film screenings required.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, College, THINK

COLLEGE 114: Looking for the Dao in East Asia

This course explores an array of early thought and practices in East Asia that had lasting impact--down to today. The focus is on foundational texts, systems of belief, and the arts (music, calligraphy, painting). In one way or another, these were primarily concerned with discovering and propagating a certain Way (Dao) that was believed to embody cosmic principles and be essential to a good life and a harmonious society. But there was plenty of disagreement about what the Way was, where to look for it, and how best to practice it in daily life. We concentrate on cultural values in ancient China that became intrinsic there and were later transported throughout East Asia (Korea, Japan) and even to Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, etc.). Since antiquity, Chinese thinking grappled with the question of how society should be ordered and what if any model should be adopted to achieve social harmony. A range of rival philosophical and religious systems emerged. Later, people who we more »
This course explores an array of early thought and practices in East Asia that had lasting impact--down to today. The focus is on foundational texts, systems of belief, and the arts (music, calligraphy, painting). In one way or another, these were primarily concerned with discovering and propagating a certain Way (Dao) that was believed to embody cosmic principles and be essential to a good life and a harmonious society. But there was plenty of disagreement about what the Way was, where to look for it, and how best to practice it in daily life. We concentrate on cultural values in ancient China that became intrinsic there and were later transported throughout East Asia (Korea, Japan) and even to Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, etc.). Since antiquity, Chinese thinking grappled with the question of how society should be ordered and what if any model should be adopted to achieve social harmony. A range of rival philosophical and religious systems emerged. Later, people who were not satisfied with any one of these extended their inquiries into other areas of human endeavor, especially in the literary, musical, and visual arts, discovering that these could embody their own Way that led to a fulfilling life. We will give attention to all of these alternative understandings of the Way, which collectively account for many of the distinctive traits of culture and history in East Asia.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, THINK, College

COLLEGE 115: Ancient Greece and Rome

Ancient Greek and Roman texts have long been regarded as the touchstones of Western culture. Many of the disciplines that we study at the university - including history, philosophy, political theory, and literature - evolved out of classical texts. In this course, we will read and discuss some of the most influential Western works, ranging from Homer and Plato to Cicero and Seneca. Not only do these texts reward attentive reading, but for much of Western history, their knowledge was considered essential for an education. (No knowledge of Greek or Latin required).
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, THINK, College
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