Fall 2024
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in English and Religion
Stephen Shoemaker PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This proseminar focuses on the research, writing, critical and analytical skills necessary to produce a successful graduate-level research project in the humanities. Attention is paid to the development of competency in close-reading and to the strategies of textual analysis. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42a is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2025
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in English and Religion
Stephen Shoemaker PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
This proseminar focuses on the research, writing, critical and analytical skills necessary to produce a successful graduate-level research project in the humanities. Attention is paid to the development of competency in close-reading and to the strategies of textual analysis. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42a is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2025
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in English and Religion
Brian Pietras PhD, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University
This proseminar focuses on the research, writing, critical and analytical skills necessary to produce a successful graduate-level research project in the humanities. Attention is paid to the development of competency in close-reading and to the strategies of textual analysis. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42a is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Fall 2024
Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in English and Religion
Collier Brown PhD, Research Advisor in Social Science and Humanities, Harvard Extension School
This proseminar focuses on the research, writing, critical and analytical skills necessary to produce a successful graduate-level research project in the humanities. Attention is paid to the development of competency in close-reading and to the strategies of textual analysis. Because skills learned in this course are useful in subsequent courses, it is the first course that prospective Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) candidates should take toward the degree (or the second, if they are completing the expository writing prerequisite). While not designed to be a thesis or capstone proposal course, this course does serve as a foundation for eventual work on the thesis or capstone.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42a is strongly recommended. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
Spring 2025
Proseminar: Elements of the Writer's Craft
Elisabeth Sharp McKetta PhD, Writer
This is an intensive course in the craft and analysis of prose from a writer's perspective. The focus of this course is to teach prose writers how to read well. Students explore the potential and possibilities of different approaches to writing, and, by the end of the course, apply their close reading to their own fiction and nonfiction. The goal of this course is to build a deep understanding of key elements of craft through close reading and textual analysis of the work of master prose writers. We analyze the work of these writers, discussing how they employ structure, character, setting, dialogue, point of view, and other aspects of craft. Students write critically and creatively, both in class and out of class, about the works under discussion and about possible applications to their own creative writing. Students examine the conscious choices about craft that published writers make in order to fully realize a piece of writing.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42a is strongly recommended. Students in this course are expected to have a firm command of grammar, syntax, and prose composition, and to have read widely.
Spring 2025
Proseminar: Elements of the Writer's Craft
Leah De Forest MFA, Writer
This is an intensive course in the craft and analysis of prose from a writer's perspective. The focus of this course is to teach prose writers how to read well. Students explore the potential and possibilities of different approaches to writing, and, by the end of the course, apply their close reading to their own fiction and nonfiction. The goal of this course is to build a deep understanding of key elements of craft through close reading and textual analysis of the work of master prose writers. We analyze the work of these writers, discussing how they employ structure, character, setting, dialogue, point of view, and other aspects of craft. Students write critically and creatively, both in class and out of class, about the works under discussion and about possible applications to their own creative writing. Students examine the conscious choices about craft that published writers make in order to fully realize a piece of writing.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42a is strongly recommended. Students in this course are expected to have a firm command of grammar, syntax, and prose composition, and to have read widely.
Spring 2025
Proseminar: Elements of the Writer's Craft
Katie Beth Kohn MA
This is an intensive course in the craft and analysis of prose from a writer's perspective. The focus of this course is to teach prose writers how to read well. Students explore the potential and possibilities of different approaches to writing, and, by the end of the course, apply their close reading to their own fiction and nonfiction. The goal of this course is to build a deep understanding of key elements of craft through close reading and textual analysis of the work of master prose writers. We analyze the work of these writers, discussing how they employ structure, character, setting, dialogue, point of view, and other aspects of craft. Students write critically and creatively, both in class and out of class, about the works under discussion and about possible applications to their own creative writing. Students examine the conscious choices about craft that published writers make in order to fully realize a piece of writing.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42a is strongly recommended. Students in this course are expected to have a firm command of grammar, syntax, and prose composition, and to have read widely.
January 2025
Proseminar: Elements of the Writer's Craft
Bryan Delaney MA, Playwright and Screenwriter
This is an intensive course in the craft and analysis of prose from a writer's perspective. The focus of this course is to teach prose writers how to read well. Students explore the potential and possibilities of different approaches to writing, and, by the end of the course, apply their close reading to their own fiction and nonfiction. The goal of this course is to build a deep understanding of key elements of craft through close reading and textual analysis of the work of master prose writers. We analyze the work of these writers, discussing how they employ structure, character, setting, dialogue, point of view, and other aspects of craft. Students write critically and creatively, both in class and out of class, about the works under discussion and about possible applications to their own creative writing. Students examine the conscious choices about craft that published writers make in order to fully realize a piece of writing.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42a is strongly recommended. Students in this course are expected to have a firm command of grammar, syntax, and prose composition, and to have read widely.
Fall 2024
Proseminar: Elements of the Writer's Craft
Elisabeth Sharp McKetta PhD, Writer
This is an intensive course in the craft and analysis of prose from a writer's perspective. The focus of this course is to teach prose writers how to read well. Students explore the potential and possibilities of different approaches to writing, and, by the end of the course, apply their close reading to their own fiction and nonfiction. The goal of this course is to build a deep understanding of key elements of craft through close reading and textual analysis of the work of master prose writers. We analyze the work of these writers, discussing how they employ structure, character, setting, dialogue, point of view, and other aspects of craft. Students write critically and creatively, both in class and out of class, about the works under discussion and about possible applications to their own creative writing. Students examine the conscious choices about craft that published writers make in order to fully realize a piece of writing.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42a is strongly recommended. Students in this course are expected to have a firm command of grammar, syntax, and prose composition, and to have read widely.
Fall 2024
Proseminar: Elements of the Writer's Craft
Mande Zecca PhD, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University
This is an intensive course in the craft and analysis of prose from a writer's perspective. The focus of this course is to teach prose writers how to read well. Students explore the potential and possibilities of different approaches to writing, and, by the end of the course, apply their close reading to their own fiction and nonfiction. The goal of this course is to build a deep understanding of key elements of craft through close reading and textual analysis of the work of master prose writers. We analyze the work of these writers, discussing how they employ structure, character, setting, dialogue, point of view, and other aspects of craft. Students write critically and creatively, both in class and out of class, about the works under discussion and about possible applications to their own creative writing. Students examine the conscious choices about craft that published writers make in order to fully realize a piece of writing.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42a is strongly recommended. Students in this course are expected to have a firm command of grammar, syntax, and prose composition, and to have read widely.
Fall 2024
Proseminar: Elements of the Writer's Craft
Anne Elliott MFA, MFA, Workshop Leader, A Public Space
This is an intensive course in the craft and analysis of prose from a writer's perspective. The focus of this course is to teach prose writers how to read well. Students explore the potential and possibilities of different approaches to writing, and, by the end of the course, apply their close reading to their own fiction and nonfiction. The goal of this course is to build a deep understanding of key elements of craft through close reading and textual analysis of the work of master prose writers. We analyze the work of these writers, discussing how they employ structure, character, setting, dialogue, point of view, and other aspects of craft. Students write critically and creatively, both in class and out of class, about the works under discussion and about possible applications to their own creative writing. Students examine the conscious choices about craft that published writers make in order to fully realize a piece of writing.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course. EXPO E-42a is strongly recommended. Students in this course are expected to have a firm command of grammar, syntax, and prose composition, and to have read widely.
Fall 2024
Sea Monsters Throughout the Ages: Fables, Films, and Facts
Peter Girguis PhD, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
There have always been tales of sea monsters. For as long as we humans have ventured into the ocean, our imaginations have conjured images of serpents, krakens, leviathans, and other creatures, all of whom seem bent on the destruction of those who dare set foot into the sea. Humankind's conviction that sea monsters are real is so powerful that even today rumors abound of sea monsters lurking in the depths. Indeed, every major religion eastern and western features sea monsters. Are these declarations true? Do giants roam the deep sea? Did the explorers of centuries ago see creatures from their small wooden boats that we do not see today? During this course we explore sea monsters through a social, spiritual, literary, and scientific lens. We study the sea monsters that flourish on ancient maps to understand the minds of sixteenth century scholars. We examine the bodies of real sea monsters, and consider the world in which such grotesque creatures might evolve. We read tales of creatures from classic and contemporary literature. Most importantly, we develop a better understanding of how humans perceive the world, and how our consciousness can simultaneously embrace our wildest dreams and cower from our greatest fears. Sea monsters, both real and imagined, tell us much about life in the deep sea, and even more about humankind.
Spring 2025
Masterpieces of World Literature
Martin Puchner PhD, Byron and Anita Wien Professor of Drama and of English and Comparative Literature, Harvard University - David Damrosch PhD, Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University
This course surveys world literature from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the present, with an emphasis on different cultures and writing traditions. Produced by HarvardX, the course is based not on lectures but on a more vivid dialogue format between instructors Martin Puchner and David Damrosch. The course also includes travel footage from Istanbul and Troy to Jaipur and Weimar and interviews with authors, such as Orhan Pamuk, and other experts.
Spring 2025
Book to Stage: Adaptations of Literature to Opera
Alexandra Amati PhD, Associate of the Department of Music, Harvard University
The course explores the relationship between two worlds that of opera and that of literature, both prose and plays. The two have been very tightly connected and there are hundreds of operas that are based on great literature. In the course we also examine some examples of three-way relationships involving another genre film or musical theater. Many opera composers, like Giuseppe Verdi and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for example, have based their work on high literature, including William Shakespeare, Augustin de Beaumarchais, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Amy Tan. In the course, we first closely study the literary model (play or story), discuss its features and suitability to being adapted as an opera, including potential obstacles. We then discuss the changes needed for the creation of a viable libretto for an opera and what music supplies that replaces or transcends words. Ultimately, we examine the opera in question and unpack the different impacts, functions, and emotional and dramatic content of the written versus sung works with an eye to the different audiences and societies of each. In the case of play to opera we also compare the theatrical acting, for example of a Shakespearean company, to the movement on an operatic stage. Works examined include Othello (Giraldi Cinzio to Shakespeare to Verdi), The Marriage of Figaro (Beaumarchais to Mozart), The Bonesetter's Daughter (Tan to Stewart Wallace), and The Ring of the Nibelung/Rheingold (an anonymous twelfth-century author to Richard Wagner).
Spring 2025
Music, Literature, and the Voice
John T. Hamilton PhD, William R. Kenan Professor of German and Comparative Literature, Harvard University
Since antiquity, literary works have been drawn to music and the human voice: fascinated by their captivating force, seduced by their alluring charms, envious of their capacity to express the singularity of life and lived experience. Literature has also pointed to the fragile evanescence of music and the voice as a way to assert its own enduring power. How has writing attempted to appropriate musical and vocal effects across different epochs and different cultures? What can these varied attempts tell us about human experience and our ways of representing it?
Spring 2025
Buddhism and Japanese Artistic Traditions
Ryuichi Abe PhD, Reischauer Institute Professor of Japanese Religions, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University
This course is designed to enable students to analyze a wide range of Japanese artistic creations including the traditional Noh theater, modern Japanese paintings, and contemporary anime by illustrating the influence of Buddhist philosophy both on their forms and in their depths. The first part of the course is a study of major Buddhist theories and their impact on Japanese literature. The second part observes Buddhist ritual practices and their significance for Japanese performing arts. The last part traces the development of Japanese Buddhist art, and considers the influence of Buddhism on diverse contemporary popular Japanese art media.
Spring 2025
Mexican Postcards: An Introduction to Mexico's Histories, Cultures, and Traditions
María Luisa Parra PhD, Senior Preceptor in Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University
This introductory course allows students to explore and become acquainted with Mexico's ethnic, cultural, and linguistic richness and historical and social complexity. In doing so, students learn about Mexico's many contributions to the world as a crossroads between continents, oceans, historical times, world events, and global forces. The course includes pre-work, co-construction of knowledge through in-class discussion, a final creative project, and a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where students explore Mexican art of the periods of their choice in the museum's American wing.
Fall 2024
Frida Kahlo's Mexico: Women, Arts, and Revolution
María Luisa Parra PhD, Senior Preceptor in Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University
This course revolves around the short and creative life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, as a window to explore the cultural and political revolution that shaped Mexico's identity in the twentieth century and continues to influence Mexican's daily lives. Kahlo lived at a time when Soviet politics and French surrealism merged with national agendas that sought to redefine Mexico's identity through the integration of their indigenous heritage. The result was a time of booming creativity in the arts, radical expansion of educational and political agendas, as well as a redefinition of women's identity, sexuality, and the Mexican family. We trace Kahlo's romantic and artistic relationship with Diego Rivera as we learn about the Mexican muralism and graphic arts traditions along with the beauty of Mexican music and popular culture. We also become familiar with the works of some of Kahlo's female artist friends, such as Lola lvarez Bravo, Tina Moditti, Aurora Reyes, and Mar a Izquierdo, who gave voice to the voiceless: women, indigenous communities, and the disabled. Finally, we explore topics of Kahlo's representations in media, the commodification of her persona, and how and why she has become a global icon.
Fall 2024
Engaging in the Scholarly Conversation I
Stephen Shoemaker PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University - Elise Madeleine Ciregna PhD, Director of Administration, Committee on the Study of Religion, Harvard University
This course trains students in the skills of critically engaging the scholarly literature in their field of study. They learn how to assess the presuppositions, argumentation, methodology, evidence, and conclusions of scholarly writing in their discipline. After building that foundational skill set, the second portion of the course focuses on how to identify patterns, debates, and schools of thought in the larger body of existing scholarship relevant to the students' interests, which is an essential precursor of the final goal: identifying gaps or opportunities for future scholarly contributions.
Prerequisites: Students must have completed either HUMA E-100 or SSCI E-100a (for anthropology students) with a grade of B or higher to enroll in this course. HUMA E-300a and HUMA E-300b must be completed before registering in the Crafting the Thesis Proposal tutorial for thesis-track students and prior to the precapstone course for capstone-track students. We strongly advise students to complete the two weekends in the same academic year with same instructor (part one in fall and part two in spring).
Spring 2025
Engaging in the Scholarly Conversation II
Stephen Shoemaker PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University - Elise Madeleine Ciregna PhD, Director of Administration, Committee on the Study of Religion, Harvard University
This course trains students in the skills of critically engaging the scholarly literature in their field of study. They learn how to assess the presuppositions, argumentation, methodology, evidence, and conclusions of scholarly writing in their discipline. After building that foundational skill set, the second portion of the course focuses on how to identify patterns, debates, and schools of thought in the larger body of existing scholarship relevant to the students' interests, which is an essential precursor of the final goal: identifying gaps or opportunities for future scholarly contributions.
Prerequisites: Only students who have successfully completed HUMA E-300a in the fall with a grade of B-minus or higher may take this course. HUMA E-300a and HUMA E-300b must be completed before registering in the Crafting the Thesis Proposal tutorial for thesis-track students and prior to the precapstone course for capstone-track students. We strongly advise students to complete the two weekends in the same academic year with same instructor (part one in fall and part two in spring).