Faculty of Arts & Sciences

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas, analyzing sources, and writing clear, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.

The idea that there is a hierarchy separating high and low art extends as far back as Aristotle, but during the past fifty years American culture has depended upon destroying this hierarchy. This course examines what happens to art and society when the boundaries separating high and low art are gone. We will examine Thomas Pynchon, Andy Warhol, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show along with cultural theorists such as Adorno, Benjamin, Sontag, and Bakhtin.

The idea that there is a hierarchy separating high and low art extends as far back as Aristotle, but during the past fifty years American culture has depended upon destroying this hierarchy. This course examines what happens to art and society when the boundaries separating high and low art are gone. We will examine Thomas Pynchon, Andy Warhol, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show along with cultural theorists such as Adorno, Benjamin, Sontag, and Bakhtin.

Beyond the abstraction of American democracy as government of, by and for the people, what can we glean about our definitions of American governance from historical and artistic representations of it? This course will examine what US democracy looks like when brought to life in campaign commercials, in the architecture of government buildings, and in conspiracy films. We will ask how these works shape our understanding of the possibilities and constraints of democratic action.

Beyond the abstraction of American democracy as government of, by and for the people, what can we glean about our definitions of American governance from historical and artistic representations of it? This course will examine what US democracy looks like when brought to life in campaign commercials, in the architecture of government buildings, and in conspiracy films. We will ask how these works shape our understanding of the possibilities and constraints of democratic action.

Beyond the abstraction of American democracy as government of, by and for the people, what can we glean about our definitions of American governance from historical and artistic representations of it? This course will examine what US democracy looks like when brought to life in campaign commercials, in the architecture of government buildings, and in conspiracy films. We will ask how these works shape our understanding of the possibilities and constraints of democratic action.

Beyond the abstraction of American democracy as government of, by and for the people, what can we glean about our definitions of American governance from historical and artistic representations of it? This course will examine what US democracy looks like when brought to life in campaign commercials, in the architecture of government buildings, and in conspiracy films. We will ask how these works shape our understanding of the possibilities and constraints of democratic action.

This course compares the significance of race in social life in North and Latin America. We will consider questions such as the following. How are we to understand "race?" How are racial ideologies in North and Latin America different? Are Latin American societies less racist than the U.S., as is sometimes claimed? Our texts will include theoretical and ethnographic works drawn mainly from the disciplines of anthropology, sociology, and history.

We will first examine what Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet can tell us about how individuals-in particular Shakespeare himself-actively invent and renegotiate their identities within the confines of a given culture. In the third unit we will look at Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966) and Shakespeare in Love in order to assess the extent to which we rely on the re-invention of Shakespeare's works for our own cultural identity.

We will first examine what Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet can tell us about how individuals-in particular Shakespeare himself-actively invent and renegotiate their identities within the confines of a given culture. In the third unit we will look at Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966) and Shakespeare in Love in order to assess the extent to which we rely on the re-invention of Shakespeare's works for our own cultural identity.

We will first examine what Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet can tell us about how individuals-in particular Shakespeare himself-actively invent and renegotiate their identities within the confines of a given culture. In the third unit we will look at Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966) and Shakespeare in Love in order to assess the extent to which we rely on the re-invention of Shakespeare's works for our own cultural identity.

We will first examine what Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet can tell us about how individuals-in particular Shakespeare himself-actively invent and renegotiate their identities within the confines of a given culture. In the third unit we will look at Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966) and Shakespeare in Love in order to assess the extent to which we rely on the re-invention of Shakespeare's works for our own cultural identity.

In this course we will examine patterns of human attraction, using an evolutionary perspective to better understand mate choice. In the first unit, we will explore the roles of biology versus culture in human behavior. Next, we will address female attraction and attempt to determine whether women prefer "nice guys" or "bad boys." In the final unit, students will have an opportunity to undertake independent research as they explore the nature of male attraction.

In this course we will examine patterns of human attraction, using an evolutionary perspective to better understand mate choice. In the first unit, we will explore the roles of biology versus culture in human behavior. Next, we will address female attraction and attempt to determine whether women prefer "nice guys" or "bad boys." In the final unit, students will have an opportunity to undertake independent research as they explore the nature of male attraction.

In this course we will examine patterns of human attraction, using an evolutionary perspective to better understand mate choice. In the first unit, we will explore the roles of biology versus culture in human behavior. Next, we will address female attraction and attempt to determine whether women prefer "nice guys" or "bad boys." In the final unit, students will have an opportunity to undertake independent research as they explore the nature of male attraction.

In this course we will examine patterns of human attraction, using an evolutionary perspective to better understand mate choice. In the first unit, we will explore the roles of biology versus culture in human behavior. Next, we will address female attraction and attempt to determine whether women prefer "nice guys" or "bad boys." In the final unit, students will have an opportunity to undertake independent research as they explore the nature of male attraction.

According to civil rights scholar Charles Payne, "Our understanding of social change, our conceptions of leadership, our understanding of the possibilities of interracial cooperation are all affected by how we remember the movement." In this seminar, we investigate the work of remembering and interpreting the mid-twentieth-century civil rights movement. We consider both popular and scholarly accounts, and we focus on the use of speeches, memoirs, and newspapers to reconstruct the events of the past.

According to civil rights scholar Charles Payne, "Our understanding of social change, our conceptions of leadership, our understanding of the possibilities of interracial cooperation are all affected by how we remember the movement." In this seminar, we investigate the work of remembering and interpreting the mid-twentieth-century civil rights movement. We consider both popular and scholarly accounts, and we focus on the use of speeches, memoirs, and newspapers to reconstruct the events of the past.

According to civil rights scholar Charles Payne, "Our understanding of social change, our conceptions of leadership, our understanding of the possibilities of interracial cooperation are all affected by how we remember the movement." In this seminar, we investigate the work of remembering and interpreting the mid-twentieth-century civil rights movement. We consider both popular and scholarly accounts, and we focus on the use of speeches, memoirs, and newspapers to reconstruct the events of the past.

According to civil rights scholar Charles Payne, "Our understanding of social change, our conceptions of leadership, our understanding of the possibilities of interracial cooperation are all affected by how we remember the movement." In this seminar, we investigate the work of remembering and interpreting the mid-twentieth-century civil rights movement. We consider both popular and scholarly accounts, and we focus on the use of speeches, memoirs, and newspapers to reconstruct the events of the past.

This course explores the meaning and function of Gothic literature, a genre characterized by secrecy, perversion, madness, and death. In our first unit, short stories-of various centuries and nations-will allow us to develop a working definition of Gothic. In unit two we'll interpret Jane Austen's Gothic spoof Northanger Abbey in the context of both popular fiction and eighteenth-century debates about reading. The third unit introduces research methods that focus on the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

How does fiction represent cross-cultural encounters between Eurocentric and non-Eurocentric worlds? In what ways do the specific social and political circumstances under which these contacts occur influence the nature of the cross-cultural encounters? Do issues of power, class, and gender function differently in cross-cultural environments for the racial groups involved than they would within a single culture? In exploring literature about three kinds of cross-cultural encounters-transient, colonial/postcolonial, and immigrant-we'll pose such resonant questions.

How does fiction represent cross-cultural encounters between Eurocentric and non-Eurocentric worlds? In what ways do the specific social and political circumstances under which these contacts occur influence the nature of the cross-cultural encounters? Do issues of power, class, and gender function differently in cross-cultural environments for the racial groups involved than they would within a single culture? In exploring literature about three kinds of cross-cultural encounters-transient, colonial/postcolonial, and immigrant-we'll pose such resonant questions.

How does fiction represent cross-cultural encounters between Eurocentric and non-Eurocentric worlds? In what ways do the specific social and political circumstances under which these contacts occur influence the nature of the cross-cultural encounters? Do issues of power, class, and gender function differently in cross-cultural environments for the racial groups involved than they would within a single culture? In exploring literature about three kinds of cross-cultural encounters-transient, colonial/postcolonial, and immigrant-we'll pose such resonant questions.

How does fiction represent cross-cultural encounters between Eurocentric and non-Eurocentric worlds? In what ways do the specific social and political circumstances under which these contacts occur influence the nature of the cross-cultural encounters? Do issues of power, class, and gender function differently in cross-cultural environments for the racial groups involved than they would within a single culture? In exploring literature about three kinds of cross-cultural encounters-transient, colonial/postcolonial, and immigrant-we'll pose such resonant questions.

To learn about human biology and behavior, researchers often use people as research subjects. Although such research has produced many social benefits, it sometimes comes at a cost to study participants. In this course, you will weigh the costs and benefits of a controversial psychological study, take a psychological approach to understanding why unethical research practices occur, and consider how research can be done to maximize its impact while minimizing the risks to human participants.

To learn about human biology and behavior, researchers often use people as research subjects. Although such research has produced many social benefits, it sometimes comes at a cost to study participants. In this course, you will weigh the costs and benefits of a controversial psychological study, take a psychological approach to understanding why unethical research practices occur, and consider how research can be done to maximize its impact while minimizing the risks to human participants.

To learn about human biology and behavior, researchers often use people as research subjects. Although such research has produced many social benefits, it sometimes comes at a cost to study participants. In this course, you will weigh the costs and benefits of a controversial psychological study, take a psychological approach to understanding why unethical research practices occur, and consider how research can be done to maximize its impact while minimizing the risks to human participants.

To learn about human biology and behavior, researchers often use people as research subjects. Although such research has produced many social benefits, it sometimes comes at a cost to study participants. In this course, you will weigh the costs and benefits of a controversial psychological study, take a psychological approach to understanding why unethical research practices occur, and consider how research can be done to maximize its impact while minimizing the risks to human participants.

This course will examine representations of Jews in American culture and the evolution of Jewish-American culture since World War II, as well as how shifts in the cultural conversation about minorities in America have affected our understanding of Jewish identity. We will question how recent works of literature, art, film, and television challenge and reinforce Jewish stereotypes, and how they continue to shape our ideas about assimilation, the Holocaust, ethnicity, and religious practice in America.

This course addresses questions about the past and present urban experience by analyzing American cities from various disciplinary perspectives. Unit I hones critical skills through close readings of How the Other Half Lives, an expose of late nineteenth-century New York. Unit II emphasizes the importance of context through analysis of the play, A Raisin in the Sun with companion texts. Unit III teaches the fundamentals of research through independent projects on our local, urban environment: Cambridge, Massachusetts. Together, these units teach the mechanics of academic writing while providing insight into the problems and promise of the American city over time.

This course addresses questions about the past and present urban experience by analyzing American cities from various disciplinary perspectives. Unit I hones critical skills through close readings of How the Other Half Lives, an expose of late nineteenth-century New York. Unit II emphasizes the importance of context through analysis of the play, A Raisin in the Sun with companion texts. Unit III teaches the fundamentals of research through independent projects on our local, urban environment: Cambridge, Massachusetts. Together, these units teach the mechanics of academic writing while providing insight into the problems and promise of the American city over time.

This course addresses questions about the past and present urban experience by analyzing American cities from various disciplinary perspectives. Unit I hones critical skills through close readings of How the Other Half Lives, an expose of late nineteenth-century New York. Unit II emphasizes the importance of context through analysis of the play, A Raisin in the Sun with companion texts. Unit III teaches the fundamentals of research through independent projects on our local, urban environment: Cambridge, Massachusetts. Together, these units teach the mechanics of academic writing while providing insight into the problems and promise of the American city over time.

Perhaps more than any other event in the last quarter of the twentieth century, the AIDS crisis condensed or crystallized cultural anxieties about the body, identity, and difference. In this course, we will examine the cultural response to HIV/AIDS in North and Latin America through fiction, poetry, and visual art from the pandemic's first fifteen years. No knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is necessary; all materials will be available in English.

Perhaps more than any other event in the last quarter of the twentieth century, the AIDS crisis condensed or crystallized cultural anxieties about the body, identity, and difference. In this course, we will examine the cultural response to HIV/AIDS in North and Latin America through fiction, poetry, and visual art from the pandemic's first fifteen years. No knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is necessary; all materials will be available in English.

Perhaps more than any other event in the last quarter of the twentieth century, the AIDS crisis condensed or crystallized cultural anxieties about the body, identity, and difference. In this course, we will examine the cultural response to HIV/AIDS in North and Latin America through fiction, poetry, and visual art from the pandemic's first fifteen years. No knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is necessary; all materials will be available in English.

Perhaps more than any other event in the last quarter of the twentieth century, the AIDS crisis condensed or crystallized cultural anxieties about the body, identity, and difference. In this course, we will examine the cultural response to HIV/AIDS in North and Latin America through fiction, poetry, and visual art from the pandemic's first fifteen years. No knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is necessary; all materials will be available in English.

What is authority? First, we will read the controversial One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, closely investigating that explosive novel's complex treatment of authority. Next, we will read and meet two "at-risk" writers, comparing and analyzing effects and expressions of artistic challenges to governmental and cultural authority. Finally, our ongoing inquiry into authority will shape research topics as we investigate issues arising out of authority's relation to education, rhetorical strategy, politics, human rights, and art.

What is authority? First, we will read the controversial One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, closely investigating that explosive novel's complex treatment of authority. Next, we will read and meet two "at-risk" writers, comparing and analyzing effects and expressions of artistic challenges to governmental and cultural authority. Finally, our ongoing inquiry into authority will shape research topics as we investigate issues arising out of authority's relation to education, rhetorical strategy, politics, human rights, and art.

What is authority? First, we will read the controversial One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, closely investigating that explosive novel's complex treatment of authority. Next, we will read and meet two "at-risk" writers, comparing and analyzing effects and expressions of artistic challenges to governmental and cultural authority. Finally, our ongoing inquiry into authority will shape research topics as we investigate issues arising out of authority's relation to education, rhetorical strategy, politics, human rights, and art.

What is authority? First, we will read the controversial One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, closely investigating that explosive novel's complex treatment of authority. Next, we will read and meet two "at-risk" writers, comparing and analyzing effects and expressions of artistic challenges to governmental and cultural authority. Finally, our ongoing inquiry into authority will shape research topics as we investigate issues arising out of authority's relation to education, rhetorical strategy, politics, human rights, and art.

This course addresses questions about the past and present urban experience by analyzing American cities from various disciplinary perspectives. Unit I hones critical skills through close readings of How the Other Half Lives, an expose of late nineteenth-century New York. Unit II emphasizes the importance of context through analysis of the play, A Raisin in the Sun with companion texts. Unit III teaches the fundamentals of research through independent projects on our local, urban environment: Cambridge, Massachusetts. Together, these units teach the mechanics of academic writing while providing insight into the problems and promise of the American city over time.

This course inquires into the origin and political and moral nature of the state, into its forms, functions, and connections with the education and the erotic life of its citizens. Readings to be discussed and written on are taken from Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and Marx. Throughout the course, students adjudicate between different conceptions of the state and their ends, and examine the source of power of the state.

This course inquires into the origin and political and moral nature of the state, into its forms, functions, and connections with the education and the erotic life of its citizens. Readings to be discussed and written on are taken from Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and Marx. Throughout the course, students adjudicate between different conceptions of the state and their ends, and examine the source of power of the state.

This course inquires into the origin and political and moral nature of the state, into its forms, functions, and connections with the education and the erotic life of its citizens. Readings to be discussed and written on are taken from Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and Marx. Throughout the course, students adjudicate between different conceptions of the state and their ends, and examine the source of power of the state.

This course inquires into the origin and political and moral nature of the state, into its forms, functions, and connections with the education and the erotic life of its citizens. Readings to be discussed and written on are taken from Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and Marx. Throughout the course, students adjudicate between different conceptions of the state and their ends, and examine the source of power of the state.

This course explores how artists have idealized, humanized, and celebrated the naked and nude human form over the centuries. Taking advantage of local museum collections, we will consider the tradition of the flawless classical god and goddess, how modern artists like Manet, Degas, Matisse and Picasso transgressed it, and, finally, how contemporary artists continue to radically transform the nude today. No experience with art history is necessary.

This course explores how artists have idealized, humanized, and celebrated the naked and nude human form over the centuries. Taking advantage of local museum collections, we will consider the tradition of the flawless classical god and goddess, how modern artists like Manet, Degas, Matisse and Picasso transgressed it, and, finally, how contemporary artists continue to radically transform the nude today. No experience with art history is necessary.

This course explores how artists have idealized, humanized, and celebrated the naked and nude human form over the centuries. Taking advantage of local museum collections, we will consider the tradition of the flawless classical god and goddess, how modern artists like Manet, Degas, Matisse and Picasso transgressed it, and, finally, how contemporary artists continue to radically transform the nude today. No experience with art history is necessary.

This course explores how artists have idealized, humanized, and celebrated the naked and nude human form over the centuries. Taking advantage of local museum collections, we will consider the tradition of the flawless classical god and goddess, how modern artists like Manet, Degas, Matisse and Picasso transgressed it, and, finally, how contemporary artists continue to radically transform the nude today. No experience with art history is necessary.

This course explores the subjective experience of social class in the U.S. from an ethnographic perspective. We will examine how members of the working and professional classes define themselves and view the classes above and below them. We will focus in particular on how class position influences beliefs about work, achievement, and taste. We will also consider the role of elite educational institutions such as Harvard in shaping the class system.

Writers and filmmakers have long been fascinated by the artistic challenge of representing madness. What can those portraits tell us about the relationship of illness and identity, the ease of losing touch with rationality, the nature of the mind, and our own relative sanity? We will study Susanna Kaysen's memoir Girl, Interrupted; Patrick McGrath's gothic novel Spider and its film adaptation; and the films Donnie Darko, The Hours, and The Silence of the Lambs.

This course considers Austen in her own historical context and ours, and as an author whose importance lies both inside and outside the university. In our first unit, we'll undertake a close reading of Persuasion in order to assess Austen's analysis of British society at a transitional moment in its history; in unit 2 we'll consider how film and television adaptations have reinvented her best known novel, Pride and Prejudice, for a different historical moment, and in unit 3 students will engage with Austen scholarship by writing a research paper on an Austen novel or film adaption of their choice.

This course considers Austen in her own historical context and ours, and as an author whose importance lies both inside and outside the university. In our first unit, we'll undertake a close reading of Persuasion in order to assess Austen's analysis of British society at a transitional moment in its history; in unit 2 we'll consider how film and television adaptations have reinvented her best known novel, Pride and Prejudice, for a different historical moment, and in unit 3 students will engage with Austen scholarship by writing a research paper on an Austen novel or film adaption of their choice.

What constitutes an act of resistance? What role do individual beliefs, collective action, public protest, art and literature have in resistance movements? What can the study of resistance teach us about the past and about the world we live in today? This course will explore these questions through case studies drawn from contemporary politics and culture, the apartheid era in South Africa, and Harvard history.

What constitutes an act of resistance? What role do individual beliefs, collective action, public protest, art and literature have in resistance movements? What can the study of resistance teach us about the past and about the world we live in today? This course will explore these questions through case studies drawn from contemporary politics and culture, the apartheid era in South Africa, and Harvard history.

This course explores the meaning and function of Gothic literature, a genre characterized by secrecy, perversion, madness, and death. In our first unit, short stories-of various centuries and nations-will allow us to develop a working definition of Gothic. In unit two we'll interpret Jane Austen's Gothic spoof Northanger Abbey in the context of both popular fiction and eighteenth-century debates about reading. The third unit introduces research methods that focus on the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

This course investigates how "the global city" brings to the fore the opportunities and challenges of contemporary globalization. How do economic and cultural forms link cities like New York, Paris, and Mumbai? How is urban protest a response to globalization? We will answer these questions by reading a variety of texts - including theoretical works by Saskia Sassen and Ulf Hannerz, and literary non-fiction by Suketu Mehta - and viewing artistic interpretations, including the film "La Haine."

In this course we will examine tragedies both ancient and modern, focusing on problems such as self-knowledge, certainty, intra- and interpersonal conflict, and loneliness. We will explore tragedy both as a form and as a collection of themes, and we will compare the idiosyncratic ways in which terms such as "tragedy" and "tragic" have developed within academic as well as mainstream contexts. Readings and screenings will include works by Sophocles, Shakespeare, Bergman, and Hitchcock.

In this course we will examine tragedies both ancient and modern, focusing on problems such as self-knowledge, certainty, intra- and interpersonal conflict, and loneliness. We will explore tragedy both as a form and as a collection of themes, and we will compare the idiosyncratic ways in which terms such as "tragedy" and "tragic" have developed within academic as well as mainstream contexts. Readings and screenings will include works by Sophocles, Shakespeare, Bergman, and Hitchcock.

Most of us appreciate the importance of friendship, but do we really understand how friendships are formed and how they shape our lives? Do friendships hold a larger potential for social transformation? This course explores the meaning and significance of friendship, particularly in terms of personal identity, community building, and social change. We will explore classical ideas about friendship and delve into contemporary issues such as friendship and difference, changes in personal communities, and the challenge that friendship poses to traditional relational forms.

Most of us appreciate the importance of friendship, but do we really understand how friendships are formed and how they shape our lives? Do friendships hold a larger potential for social transformation? This course explores the meaning and significance of friendship, particularly in terms of personal identity, community building, and social change. We will explore classical ideas about friendship and delve into contemporary issues such as friendship and difference, changes in personal communities, and the challenge that friendship poses to traditional relational forms.

What does it mean-and what has it meant-to have a body? How does the way we think about our bodies depend upon the technologies we use to manage and measure them and the artistic forms we use to represent them? We will explore Harvard's collection of medical curiosities and instruments, analyze how Lamarck, Paley, Darwin, and Byatt theorize the human body, and explore contemporary representations of the body in many contexts, from films to athletics.

What does it mean-and what has it meant-to have a body? How does the way we think about our bodies depend upon the technologies we use to manage and measure them and the artistic forms we use to represent them? We will explore Harvard's collection of medical curiosities and instruments, analyze how Lamarck, Paley, Darwin, and Byatt theorize the human body, and explore contemporary representations of the body in many contexts, from films to athletics.

Most of us appreciate the importance of friendship, but do we really understand how friendships are formed and how they shape our lives? Do friendships hold a larger potential for social transformation? This course explores the meaning and significance of friendship, particularly in terms of personal identity, community building, and social change. We will explore classical ideas about friendship and delve into contemporary issues such as friendship and difference, changes in personal communities, and the challenge that friendship poses to traditional relational forms.

Most of us appreciate the importance of friendship, but do we really understand how friendships are formed and how they shape our lives? Do friendships hold a larger potential for social transformation? This course explores the meaning and significance of friendship, particularly in terms of personal identity, community building, and social change. We will explore classical ideas about friendship and delve into contemporary issues such as friendship and difference, changes in personal communities, and the challenge that friendship poses to traditional relational forms.

If the 20th century was the "American Century," will the 21st be the "Chinese Century"? As the locus of global economic growth shifts to Asia, what cultural and political changes will accompany this transformation? Does China's rise represent a threat, a competing set of values, an opportunity, or some combination of the three? In this course, we will examine the causes and consequences of China's ascendance as a global power. Relying on sources ranging from oral histories to Wikileaks cables, we will analyze how China is changing and how people across the globe understand China's relevance to their own lives.

If the 20th century was the "American Century," will the 21st be the "Chinese Century"? As the locus of global economic growth shifts to Asia, what cultural and political changes will accompany this transformation? Does China's rise represent a threat, a competing set of values, an opportunity, or some combination of the three? In this course, we will examine the causes and consequences of China's ascendance as a global power. Relying on sources ranging from oral histories to Wikileaks cables, we will analyze how China is changing and how people across the globe understand China's relevance to their own lives.

If the 20th century was the "American Century," will the 21st be the "Chinese Century"? As the locus of global economic growth shifts to Asia, what cultural and political changes will accompany this transformation? Does China's rise represent a threat, a competing set of values, an opportunity, or some combination of the three? In this course, we will examine the causes and consequences of China's ascendance as a global power. Relying on sources ranging from oral histories to Wikileaks cables, we will analyze how China is changing and how people across the globe understand China's relevance to their own lives.

If the 20th century was the "American Century," will the 21st be the "Chinese Century"? As the locus of global economic growth shifts to Asia, what cultural and political changes will accompany this transformation? Does China's rise represent a threat, a competing set of values, an opportunity, or some combination of the three? In this course, we will examine the causes and consequences of China's ascendance as a global power. Relying on sources ranging from oral histories to Wikileaks cables, we will analyze how China is changing and how people across the globe understand China's relevance to their own lives.

"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech." The First Amendment has, with this short statement, made America exceptional in its protection of free expression. Yet our commitment to the freedom of speech has real limits. In this course, we'll examine the extent to which the First Amendment protects "dangerous speech"-a category that includes incitements to violence, hate speech, and the communication of "subversive" ideas. Through analysis of Supreme Court decisions, First Amendment theorists and contextual materials, we'll probe the boundaries of, in Justice Holmes's words, "the freedom for the thought that we hate."

"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech." The First Amendment has, with this short statement, made America exceptional in its protection of free expression. Yet our commitment to the freedom of speech has real limits. In this course, we'll examine the extent to which the First Amendment protects "dangerous speech"-a category that includes incitements to violence, hate speech, and the communication of "subversive" ideas. Through analysis of Supreme Court decisions, First Amendment theorists and contextual materials, we'll probe the boundaries of, in Justice Holmes's words, "the freedom for the thought that we hate."

"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech." The First Amendment has, with this short statement, made America exceptional in its protection of free expression. Yet our commitment to the freedom of speech has real limits. In this course, we'll examine the extent to which the First Amendment protects "dangerous speech"-a category that includes incitements to violence, hate speech, and the communication of "subversive" ideas. Through analysis of Supreme Court decisions, First Amendment theorists and contextual materials, we'll probe the boundaries of, in Justice Holmes's words, "the freedom for the thought that we hate."

"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech." The First Amendment has, with this short statement, made America exceptional in its protection of free expression. Yet our commitment to the freedom of speech has real limits. In this course, we'll examine the extent to which the First Amendment protects "dangerous speech"-a category that includes incitements to violence, hate speech, and the communication of "subversive" ideas. Through analysis of Supreme Court decisions, First Amendment theorists and contextual materials, we'll probe the boundaries of, in Justice Holmes's words, "the freedom for the thought that we hate."

In this course we will examine tragedies both ancient and modern, focusing on problems such as self-knowledge, certainty, intra- and interpersonal conflict, and loneliness. We will explore tragedy both as a form and as a collection of themes, and we will compare the idiosyncratic ways in which terms such as "tragedy" and "tragic" have developed within academic as well as mainstream contexts. Readings and screenings will include works by Sophocles, Shakespeare, Bergman, and Hitchcock.

In this course we will examine tragedies both ancient and modern, focusing on problems such as self-knowledge, certainty, intra- and interpersonal conflict, and loneliness. We will explore tragedy both as a form and as a collection of themes, and we will compare the idiosyncratic ways in which terms such as "tragedy" and "tragic" have developed within academic as well as mainstream contexts. Readings and screenings will include works by Sophocles, Shakespeare, Bergman, and Hitchcock.

Written in the United States from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century, slave narratives represented the story from slavery to freedom, the escape from the South to the North, and the intellectual journey towards literacy and public speaking. This course examines some famous representatives of the genre and the complex questions it provoked as well as post-Civil Rights modifications of such narratives. We will focus on the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), William and Ellen Craft's Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom (1860), Toni Morrison's Beloved (1987), and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012).

The world of sports is one of the most dynamic and complete microcosms of American life. Since the advent of big-money professional and "amateur" athletics at the dawn of the 20th century, sports has had to confront a range of important issues revolving around fairness: race, gender, labor versus ownership, drugs, money, violence, and economic freedom. We will address these issues through court cases, articles, and documentary films. Using these sources, students will craft essays that present powerful arguments about the role and place of sports within American life.

The world of sports is one of the most dynamic and complete microcosms of American life. Since the advent of big-money professional and "amateur" athletics at the dawn of the 20th century, sports has had to confront a range of important issues revolving around fairness: race, gender, labor versus ownership, drugs, money, violence, and economic freedom. We will address these issues through court cases, articles, and documentary films. Using these sources, students will craft essays that present powerful arguments about the role and place of sports within American life.

What does it mean for archaeologists to discover and curate the past? We will consider the rights and problems around the passage of legislation arguing for the return of objects to Native American tribes in the United States. We will grapple with the very mission of archaeology as we study tombstones in Harvard's own backyard, investigating the challenges faced by archaeologists as they collect and interpret often apparently scant, fragile, and historically distant data. We will probe how political regimes use archaeology to legitimate versions of the past, examining cases in Israel and Palestine, Nazi Germany, and Saddam Hussein's regime.

Written in the United States from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century, slave narratives represented the story from slavery to freedom, the escape from the South to the North, and the intellectual journey towards literacy and public speaking. This course examines some famous representatives of the genre and the complex questions it provoked as well as post-Civil Rights modifications of such narratives. We will focus on the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), William and Ellen Craft's Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom (1860), Toni Morrison's Beloved (1987), and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012).

Written in the United States from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century, slave narratives represented the story from slavery to freedom, the escape from the South to the North, and the intellectual journey towards literacy and public speaking. This course examines some famous representatives of the genre and the complex questions it provoked as well as post-Civil Rights modifications of such narratives. We will focus on the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), William and Ellen Craft's Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom (1860), Toni Morrison's Beloved (1987), and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012).

The world of sports is one of the most dynamic and complete microcosms of American life. Since the advent of big-money professional and "amateur" athletics at the dawn of the 20th century, sports has had to confront a range of important issues revolving around fairness: race, gender, labor versus ownership, drugs, money, violence, and economic freedom. We will address these issues through court cases, articles, and documentary films. Using these sources, students will craft essays that present powerful arguments about the role and place of sports within American life.

The world of sports is one of the most dynamic and complete microcosms of American life. Since the advent of big-money professional and "amateur" athletics at the dawn of the 20th century, sports has had to confront a range of important issues revolving around fairness: race, gender, labor versus ownership, drugs, money, violence, and economic freedom. We will address these issues through court cases, articles, and documentary films. Using these sources, students will craft essays that present powerful arguments about the role and place of sports within American life.

What does it mean for archaeologists to discover and curate the past? We will consider the rights and problems around the passage of legislation arguing for the return of objects to Native American tribes in the United States. We will grapple with the very mission of archaeology as we study tombstones in Harvard's own backyard, investigating the challenges faced by archaeologists as they collect and interpret often apparently scant, fragile, and historically distant data. We will probe how political regimes use archaeology to legitimate versions of the past, examining cases in Israel and Palestine, Nazi Germany, and Saddam Hussein's regime.

What does it mean for archaeologists to discover and curate the past? We will consider the rights and problems around the passage of legislation arguing for the return of objects to Native American tribes in the United States. We will grapple with the very mission of archaeology as we study tombstones in Harvard's own backyard, investigating the challenges faced by archaeologists as they collect and interpret often apparently scant, fragile, and historically distant data. We will probe how political regimes use archaeology to legitimate versions of the past, examining cases in Israel and Palestine, Nazi Germany, and Saddam Hussein's regime.

Written in the United States from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century, slave narratives represented the story from slavery to freedom, the escape from the South to the North, and the intellectual journey towards literacy and public speaking. This course examines some famous representatives of the genre and the complex questions it provoked as well as post-Civil Rights modifications of such narratives. We will focus on the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), William and Ellen Craft's Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom (1860), Toni Morrison's Beloved (1987), and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012).

What does it mean for archaeologists to discover and curate the past? We will consider the rights and problems around the passage of legislation arguing for the return of objects to Native American tribes in the United States. We will grapple with the very mission of archaeology as we study tombstones in Harvard's own backyard, investigating the challenges faced by archaeologists as they collect and interpret often apparently scant, fragile, and historically distant data. We will probe how political regimes use archaeology to legitimate versions of the past, examining cases in Israel and Palestine, Nazi Germany, and Saddam Hussein's regime.

Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf-few authors have been as celebrated and as influential as these two great literary stylists. Yet it is hard to imagine two authors who differ more in their literary outlook and style. In this course, we will read Woolf and Hemingway side by side. We will investigate how their gendered views on life and art create iconic texts of the twentieth century. Primary sources will include short stories by Hemingway, critical essays and short fiction by Woolf, Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms, and Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway.

Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf-few authors have been as celebrated and as influential as these two great literary stylists. Yet it is hard to imagine two authors who differ more in their literary outlook and style. In this course, we will read Woolf and Hemingway side by side. We will investigate how their gendered views on life and art create iconic texts of the twentieth century. Primary sources will include short stories by Hemingway, critical essays and short fiction by Woolf, Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms, and Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway.

Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf-few authors have been as celebrated and as influential as these two great literary stylists. Yet it is hard to imagine two authors who differ more in their literary outlook and style. In this course, we will read Woolf and Hemingway side by side. We will investigate how their gendered views on life and art create iconic texts of the twentieth century. Primary sources will include short stories by Hemingway, critical essays and short fiction by Woolf, Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms, and Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway.

Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf-few authors have been as celebrated and as influential as these two great literary stylists. Yet it is hard to imagine two authors who differ more in their literary outlook and style. In this course, we will read Woolf and Hemingway side by side. We will investigate how their gendered views on life and art create iconic texts of the twentieth century. Primary sources will include short stories by Hemingway, critical essays and short fiction by Woolf, Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms, and Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway.

What are the goals of public health interventions? What should they be? If public health as practiced today is often concerned with empowering individuals to make their own health choices, then what happens when the health interests of the population conflict with the interests and rights of the individual? In this class, we will use scientific articles and other academic sources to consider potential paradoxes of public health, both historical and contemporary.

What are the goals of public health interventions? What should they be? If public health as practiced today is often concerned with empowering individuals to make their own health choices, then what happens when the health interests of the population conflict with the interests and rights of the individual? In this class, we will use scientific articles and other academic sources to consider potential paradoxes of public health, both historical and contemporary.

What are the goals of public health interventions? What should they be? If public health as practiced today is often concerned with empowering individuals to make their own health choices, then what happens when the health interests of the population conflict with the interests and rights of the individual? In this class, we will use scientific articles and other academic sources to consider potential paradoxes of public health, both historical and contemporary.

What are the goals of public health interventions? What should they be? If public health as practiced today is often concerned with empowering individuals to make their own health choices, then what happens when the health interests of the population conflict with the interests and rights of the individual? In this class, we will use scientific articles and other academic sources to consider potential paradoxes of public health, both historical and contemporary.

Information technology has transformed politics with breathtaking speed. But have these changes been as important, and as positive, as is widely claimed? In this course, we assess technology's alleged role in destabilizing autocratic regimes, look at technology's impact on American politics, and assess whether we should reform our political institutions to make greater use of new technologies. We consult studies by social scientists, read the Twitter feed of the Syrian opposition, watch a documentary about the protestors in Tahrir Square, analyze the rise of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, study a short story by Isaac Asimov, and debate "The Dictator's Practical Internet Guide to Power Retention."

Information technology has transformed politics with breathtaking speed. But have these changes been as important, and as positive, as is widely claimed? In this course, we assess technology's alleged role in destabilizing autocratic regimes, look at technology's impact on American politics, and assess whether we should reform our political institutions to make greater use of new technologies. We consult studies by social scientists, read the Twitter feed of the Syrian opposition, watch a documentary about the protestors in Tahrir Square, analyze the rise of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, study a short story by Isaac Asimov, and debate "The Dictator's Practical Internet Guide to Power Retention."

The United States is a country fascinated with crime stories. But why do crime novels attract us? What do they reveal about where we come from, what we believe in, and who we are? This course will explore these and other related questions by studying fictional and nonfictional accounts of crimes committed in the United States by its citizens. In our third unit, students will research a crime that occurred in their hometown, and think about how that crime might have been shaped by the town's specific culture. Here students will draw on theoretical discussions about culture and criminality and uncover materials from the public record.

The United States is a country fascinated with crime stories. But why do crime novels attract us? What do they reveal about where we come from, what we believe in, and who we are? This course will explore these and other related questions by studying fictional and nonfictional accounts of crimes committed in the United States by its citizens. In our third unit, students will research a crime that occurred in their hometown, and think about how that crime might have been shaped by the town's specific culture. Here students will draw on theoretical discussions about culture and criminality and uncover materials from the public record.

This course will consider the origin and evolution of children's literature by examining pivotal works from the Puritan era to the present. We'll also draw on critical perspectives as we consider evolving ideas of childhood, persistent disputes about what children should read, and the essential function of imaginative literature for children. In the final unit, students will conduct research to place a major children's author of their choice in a relevant cultural and historical context.

The idea that there is a hierarchy separating high and low art extends as far back as Aristotle, but during the past fifty years American culture has depended upon destroying this hierarchy. This course examines what happens to art and society when the boundaries separating high and low art are gone. We will examine Thomas Pynchon, Andy Warhol, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show along with cultural theorists such as Adorno, Benjamin, Sontag, and Bakhtin.

The idea that there is a hierarchy separating high and low art extends as far back as Aristotle, but during the past fifty years American culture has depended upon destroying this hierarchy. This course examines what happens to art and society when the boundaries separating high and low art are gone. We will examine Thomas Pynchon, Andy Warhol, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show along with cultural theorists such as Adorno, Benjamin, Sontag, and Bakhtin.

This course will consider the origin and evolution of children's literature by examining pivotal works from the Puritan era to the present. We'll also draw on critical perspectives as we consider evolving ideas of childhood, persistent disputes about what children should read, and the essential function of imaginative literature for children. In the final unit, students will conduct research to place a major children's author of their choice in a relevant cultural and historical context.

Reason has been routinely championed as the epitome of human achievement and framed as profoundly at odds with emotion. For much of the 20th century, scientists had even characterized emotion as unimportant. However, after the past 30 years of research, we now understand emotion to be a crucial factor in human behavior, including reasoning. This class will focus on the science of emotion. We'll read theoretical and empirical pieces from psychology and neuroscience to explore what defines emotion, how it operates, and how it allows for the individuality and universality of human experience.

Reason has been routinely championed as the epitome of human achievement and framed as profoundly at odds with emotion. For much of the 20th century, scientists had even characterized emotion as unimportant. However, after the past 30 years of research, we now understand emotion to be a crucial factor in human behavior, including reasoning. This class will focus on the science of emotion. We'll read theoretical and empirical pieces from psychology and neuroscience to explore what defines emotion, how it operates, and how it allows for the individuality and universality of human experience.

Reason has been routinely championed as the epitome of human achievement and framed as profoundly at odds with emotion. For much of the 20th century, scientists had even characterized emotion as unimportant. However, after the past 30 years of research, we now understand emotion to be a crucial factor in human behavior, including reasoning. This class will focus on the science of emotion. We'll read theoretical and empirical pieces from psychology and neuroscience to explore what defines emotion, how it operates, and how it allows for the individuality and universality of human experience.

Reason has been routinely championed as the epitome of human achievement and framed as profoundly at odds with emotion. For much of the 20th century, scientists had even characterized emotion as unimportant. However, after the past 30 years of research, we now understand emotion to be a crucial factor in human behavior, including reasoning. This class will focus on the science of emotion. We'll read theoretical and empirical pieces from psychology and neuroscience to explore what defines emotion, how it operates, and how it allows for the individuality and universality of human experience.

This course looks at artistic representations of modern warfare and asks what effects war has on those who survive it. How should we represent the horrors of war, and how should we remember them? By reading books by O'Brien and Hemingway, and watching films by Coppola and Bigelow, we'll debate whether the experience of war can ever be adequately communicated to those who weren't there, and whether these attempts can prevent future generations from repeating the mistakes of the past.

This course looks at artistic representations of modern warfare and asks what effects war has on those who survive it. How should we represent the horrors of war, and how should we remember them? By reading books by O'Brien and Hemingway, and watching films by Coppola and Bigelow, we'll debate whether the experience of war can ever be adequately communicated to those who weren't there, and whether these attempts can prevent future generations from repeating the mistakes of the past.

This course looks at artistic representations of modern warfare and asks what effects war has on those who survive it. How should we represent the horrors of war, and how should we remember them? By reading books by O'Brien and Hemingway, and watching films by Coppola and Bigelow, we'll debate whether the experience of war can ever be adequately communicated to those who weren't there, and whether these attempts can prevent future generations from repeating the mistakes of the past.

This course looks at artistic representations of modern warfare and asks what effects war has on those who survive it. How should we represent the horrors of war, and how should we remember them? By reading books by O'Brien and Hemingway, and watching films by Coppola and Bigelow, we'll debate whether the experience of war can ever be adequately communicated to those who weren't there, and whether these attempts can prevent future generations from repeating the mistakes of the past.

How are we to make sense of the high-stakes debates about the environment today? In attempting to answer this question, this course focusses on the rhetoric and not the science of environmentalism. We will look at what happens when the impressions of a naturalist or the findings of a scientist are put into language and communicated to a wider public. As we examine a range of works including Thoreau's Walden, Carson's Silent Spring, and documentary movies, we will ask how each work presents nature to the reader through the medium of language, how each attempts to persuade the reader, and each draws upon sources as varied as literary romanticism and science.

How are we to make sense of the high-stakes debates about the environment today? In attempting to answer this question, this course focusses on the rhetoric and not the science of environmentalism. We will look at what happens when the impressions of a naturalist or the findings of a scientist are put into language and communicated to a wider public. As we examine a range of works including Thoreau's Walden, Carson's Silent Spring, and documentary movies, we will ask how each work presents nature to the reader through the medium of language, how each attempts to persuade the reader, and each draws upon sources as varied as literary romanticism and science.

How are we to make sense of the high-stakes debates about the environment today? In attempting to answer this question, this course focusses on the rhetoric and not the science of environmentalism. We will look at what happens when the impressions of a naturalist or the findings of a scientist are put into language and communicated to a wider public. As we examine a range of works including Thoreau's Walden, Carson's Silent Spring, and documentary movies, we will ask how each work presents nature to the reader through the medium of language, how each attempts to persuade the reader, and each draws upon sources as varied as literary romanticism and science.

How are we to make sense of the high-stakes debates about the environment today? In attempting to answer this question, this course focusses on the rhetoric and not the science of environmentalism. We will look at what happens when the impressions of a naturalist or the findings of a scientist are put into language and communicated to a wider public. As we examine a range of works including Thoreau's Walden, Carson's Silent Spring, and documentary movies, we will ask how each work presents nature to the reader through the medium of language, how each attempts to persuade the reader, and each draws upon sources as varied as literary romanticism and science.

Witches are often imagined to be outside society. But this socially marginal figure may provide a key to understanding social norms, norms that get articulated through the witch's very violation of them. In this course, we ask what discourses about witches tell us about the societies that produce them. We'll examine enduring fascinations with the occult in modernity, a period when magic was supposed to disappear. We'll explore topics ranging from self-identified magicians to the sensationally successful Harry Potter series. Readings draw from anthropology, folklore and mythology, gender studies, history, literature, and popular culture.

Witches are often imagined to be outside society. But this socially marginal figure may provide a key to understanding social norms, norms that get articulated through the witch's very violation of them. In this course, we ask what discourses about witches tell us about the societies that produce them. We'll examine enduring fascinations with the occult in modernity, a period when magic was supposed to disappear. We'll explore topics ranging from self-identified magicians to the sensationally successful Harry Potter series. Readings draw from anthropology, folklore and mythology, gender studies, history, literature, and popular culture.

Witches are often imagined to be outside society. But this socially marginal figure may provide a key to understanding social norms, norms that get articulated through the witch's very violation of them. In this course, we ask what discourses about witches tell us about the societies that produce them. We'll examine enduring fascinations with the occult in modernity, a period when magic was supposed to disappear. We'll explore topics ranging from self-identified magicians to the sensationally successful Harry Potter series. Readings draw from anthropology, folklore and mythology, gender studies, history, literature, and popular culture.

Witches are often imagined to be outside society. But this socially marginal figure may provide a key to understanding social norms, norms that get articulated through the witch's very violation of them. In this course, we ask what discourses about witches tell us about the societies that produce them. We'll examine enduring fascinations with the occult in modernity, a period when magic was supposed to disappear. We'll explore topics ranging from self-identified magicians to the sensationally successful Harry Potter series. Readings draw from anthropology, folklore and mythology, gender studies, history, literature, and popular culture.

Everyone lives by rules, no matter how free they feel. This course uses literature and film to interrogate the relationship between social rules and individual freedom while considering the following questions: What does it mean to be "free"? How does social obligation impact our personal freedom? Are we even aware of the ways that society controls our behavior, or are rules of social conduct largely invisible? Course texts include short stories by Willa Cather, Flannery O'Connor and National Book Award winner Ha Jin, the films The Graduate and Mean Girls, and the television series Mad Men and Downton Abbey.

Everyone lives by rules, no matter how free they feel. This course uses literature and film to interrogate the relationship between social rules and individual freedom while considering the following questions: What does it mean to be "free"? How does social obligation impact our personal freedom? Are we even aware of the ways that society controls our behavior, or are rules of social conduct largely invisible? Course texts include short stories by Willa Cather, Flannery O'Connor and National Book Award winner Ha Jin, the films The Graduate and Mean Girls, and the television series Mad Men and Downton Abbey.

Everyone lives by rules, no matter how free they feel. This course uses literature and film to interrogate the relationship between social rules and individual freedom while considering the following questions: What does it mean to be "free"? How does social obligation impact our personal freedom? Are we even aware of the ways that society controls our behavior, or are rules of social conduct largely invisible? Course texts include short stories by Willa Cather, Flannery O'Connor and National Book Award winner Ha Jin, the films The Graduate and Mean Girls, and the television series Mad Men and Downton Abbey.

Everyone lives by rules, no matter how free they feel. This course uses literature and film to interrogate the relationship between social rules and individual freedom while considering the following questions: What does it mean to be "free"? How does social obligation impact our personal freedom? Are we even aware of the ways that society controls our behavior, or are rules of social conduct largely invisible? Course texts include short stories by Willa Cather, Flannery O'Connor and National Book Award winner Ha Jin, the films The Graduate and Mean Girls, and the television series Mad Men and Downton Abbey.

Information technology has transformed politics with breathtaking speed. But have these changes been as important, and as positive, as is widely claimed? In this course, we assess technology's alleged role in destabilizing autocratic regimes, look at technology's impact on American politics, and assess whether we should reform our political institutions to make greater use of new technologies. We consult studies by social scientists, read the Twitter feed of the Syrian opposition, watch a documentary about the protestors in Tahrir Square, analyze the rise of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, study a short story by Isaac Asimov, and debate "The Dictator's Practical Internet Guide to Power Retention."

Information technology has transformed politics with breathtaking speed. But have these changes been as important, and as positive, as is widely claimed? In this course, we assess technology's alleged role in destabilizing autocratic regimes, look at technology's impact on American politics, and assess whether we should reform our political institutions to make greater use of new technologies. We consult studies by social scientists, read the Twitter feed of the Syrian opposition, watch a documentary about the protestors in Tahrir Square, analyze the rise of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, study a short story by Isaac Asimov, and debate "The Dictator's Practical Internet Guide to Power Retention."

The United States is a country fascinated with crime stories. But why do crime novels attract us? What do they reveal about where we come from, what we believe in, and who we are? This course will explore these and other related questions by studying fictional and nonfictional accounts of crimes committed in the United States by its citizens. In our third unit, students will research a crime that occurred in their hometown, and think about how that crime might have been shaped by the town's specific culture. Here students will draw on theoretical discussions about culture and criminality and uncover materials from the public record.

The United States is a country fascinated with crime stories. But why do crime novels attract us? What do they reveal about where we come from, what we believe in, and who we are? This course will explore these and other related questions by studying fictional and nonfictional accounts of crimes committed in the United States by its citizens. In our third unit, students will research a crime that occurred in their hometown, and think about how that crime might have been shaped by the town's specific culture. Here students will draw on theoretical discussions about culture and criminality and uncover materials from the public record.

Recent leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden have revealed widespread surveillance by the U.S. government. It is easy to denounce the NSA's activities as Orwellian, or, on the other hand, to reassure ourselves that surveillance only harms those with something to hide. This course seeks to move beyond these simplistic responses. We will begin with a careful exploration of the concept of privacy. We will then turn to the specifics of the NSA's surveillance programs, both within the United States and overseas. We will examine the constitutionality of these programs and the broader policy questions they raise.

Recent leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden have revealed widespread surveillance by the U.S. government. It is easy to denounce the NSA's activities as Orwellian, or, on the other hand, to reassure ourselves that surveillance only harms those with something to hide. This course seeks to move beyond these simplistic responses. We will begin with a careful exploration of the concept of privacy. We will then turn to the specifics of the NSA's surveillance programs, both within the United States and overseas. We will examine the constitutionality of these programs and the broader policy questions they raise.

Recent leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden have revealed widespread surveillance by the U.S. government. It is easy to denounce the NSA's activities as Orwellian, or, on the other hand, to reassure ourselves that surveillance only harms those with something to hide. This course seeks to move beyond these simplistic responses. We will begin with a careful exploration of the concept of privacy. We will then turn to the specifics of the NSA's surveillance programs, both within the United States and overseas. We will examine the constitutionality of these programs and the broader policy questions they raise.

Recent leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden have revealed widespread surveillance by the U.S. government. It is easy to denounce the NSA's activities as Orwellian, or, on the other hand, to reassure ourselves that surveillance only harms those with something to hide. This course seeks to move beyond these simplistic responses. We will begin with a careful exploration of the concept of privacy. We will then turn to the specifics of the NSA's surveillance programs, both within the United States and overseas. We will examine the constitutionality of these programs and the broader policy questions they raise.

This course develops and strengthens the skills necessary for successful public speaking. Students learn strategies for preparing and delivering presentations, formulating and organizing persuasive arguments, impromptu speaking, cultivating critical thinking, engaging with an audience, using the voice and body, and building confidence in oral expression. Students who successfully complete this course are eligible to apply to work as Peer Speaking Tutors.