Courses - Summer 2023
AAST355
Cross-listed with: AMST328W.
Credit only granted for: AAST355, AAST398L or AMST328W.
Formerly: 398L.
Explores how Asian Americans have historically been represented in the U.S. by Hollywood, and in turn, how independent and Hollywood Asian American filmmakers have represented themselves. It covers the history of racial, gendered, and sexualized representations of Asian Americans in Hollywood, as well as Asian American filmic responses within and outside Hollywood. It also introduces how four basic tools of film analysis mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound work together to create meaning in moving images. It examines how these elements are put together in three different types of films by Asian American filmmakers: narrative, documentary, and experimental. How films function in society to circulate ideas that reproduce and challenge stereotypes about Asian Americans.
AMST
American Studies
Department Site
AMST101
Credit only granted for: AMST101 or AMST201.
Formerly: AMST201.
Introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of American Studies by examining concepts such as culture, identity, cultural practices, and globalization, as well as theories underlying these concepts. Engages key themes, especially constructions of difference and identity, cultures of everyday life, and America and the world.
AMST213
Cross-listed with: CINE282.
Credit only granted for: AMST213, HONR219F, CINE282 or FILM298V.
Formerly: HONR219F, FILM298V.
We will examine the complex, changing, and ever-present representations of heroes and villains in American film. Beginning with a foundational understanding of how heroes and, conversely, villains have been defined through classic Hollywood film, we will explore how these definitions have shifted throughout the 20th and 21st century in various narrative genres, including westerns, war films, film noir, fantasy, science fiction, and, of course, superhero movies. In particular, we will be focusing on how the hero and villain maintain or disrupt specific cultural ideologies concerning race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and ability. This course will examine how these various ideologies have evolved throughout the 20th and 21st century, impacting the ways in which heroes and villains are both represented in American film and perceived by diverse audiences. Finally, we will examine our own complicated and sometimes troubling identification with these heroes, even when they might stand in stark contrast to our cultural values and identities.
AMST290
Shifting Sands: Constructing Cultural Mainstreams and Margins in the U.S.
Credit only granted for: AMST289A or AMST290.
Formerly: AMST289A.
Examines the construction, operation, and meaning of cultural mainstreams and margins in a range of contexts, spaces, and times in the U.S. Using a variety of primary sources, research methods, and interdisciplinary scholarship, we will explore how Americans make and assign meaning to cultural mainstreams and margins. We will examine how and why cultural margins and mainstreams shift over time and what their consequences have been for social policies, laws, power relations, and national identity.
ARCH
Architecture
Department Site
ARCH225
History of World Architecture I
Pre-1500 World Architecture survey course - History of Architecture structured to develop critical thinking and visually literacy with regard to the worldwide legacy of design thinking and cultural production through architecture
ARHU
Arts and Humanities
Department Site
ARHU230
Introduction to Humanities, Health, and Medicine
Restriction: Permission of ARHU-English Department.
Cross-listed with: ENGL254, HIST219N, WGSS230.
Credit only granted for: ARHU230 , ENGL289C, ENGL254, ARHU298A, HIST219N, or WGSS230.
An overview of the historical, cultural, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of medicine, human health, disease, and death from the points of view of various humanistic disciplines.
ARTH
Art History & Archaeology
Department Site
ARTH200
Art and Society in Ancient and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean
Examines the material culture and visual expressions of Mediterranean and European societies from early times until ca. 1300 CE, emphasizing the political, social, and religious context of the works studied, the relationships of the works to the societies that created them, and the interrelationship of these societies.
ARTH255
Explores the origins and evolution of art in the modern American world, from the late colonial era to the present, comparing major artistic movements and their historical contexts. Considers the diversity of art across Latin America and the United States, and the ways in which artworks mediate social, ethnic, political, and national identities.
ARTH263
A comparative and thematic approach to studying the representation of otherness in art and visual culture from the eighteenth century to the present. Students will work to expand the definition of otherness, and consider the roles that ethnicity, nationality, and politics play in representations of otherness across various continents and chronologies.
ARTH330
Seventeenth-Century European Art
Painting, sculpture and architecture concentrating on Italy, Spain, France, and England.
ARTH351
Picturing Contemporary Life: Art Since 1945
Visual art since 1945, with an emphasis on North America and Europe.
CHIN
Chinese
Department Site
CHIN315
Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
Major works of fiction and drama from 1920 to the present read in the context of social and literary change. Emphasis on western and traditional Chinese influences on the writers and their works. No knowledge of Chinese required.
CINE
Cinema and Media Studies
CINE245
Film Form and Culture
Cross-listed with: ENGL245.
Credit only granted for: ENGL245, CINE245 or FILM245.
Formerly: FILM245.
Introduction to film as art form and how films create meaning. Basic film terminology; fundamental principles of film form, film narrative, and film history. Examination of film technique and style over past one hundred years. Social and economic functions of film within broader institutional, economic, and cultural contexts.
CLAS
Classics
Department Site
CLAS170
Cross-listed with: RELS170.
Credit only granted for: CLAS170 or RELS170.
Additional information: This course cannot be taken for language credit.
What are myths and why do we tell them? What powers do myths have? We will tackle these questions by looking at the enduring and fascinating myths from ancient Greece and Rome. In addition to studying how they shaped ancient societies, we will also look at their modern influence and reflect upon the power that myths still hold in our contemporary world. Taught in English.
CLAS276
Credit only granted for: CLAS276 or CLAS289A.
Formerly: CLAS289A.
America, from its very origins as an independent nation, saw itself as the new Rome: its system of government is built on Roman precedents, its national buildings look as if they came from the Roman Forum, and its leisure activities take us to stadiums modeled on the Colosseum. America's relationship to Rome, however, raises its greatest anxiety: will America fall as Rome did? In 1776, the year of American independence, Edward Gibbon published his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; America has been thinking about the trajectory of its history alongside Rome's from the very beginning.
COMM
Communication
Department Site
COMM324
Explores how communication shapes constructions of gender, sex, sexuality and other identity markers. Topics include issues of oppression, identity, and power and social, political, and economic situations and examines how these issues impact our daily lives.
ENEE
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Department Site
ENEE200
Technology and Consequences: Engineering, Ethics, and Humanity
Credit only granted for: ENEE200 or ENES200.
What makes a technology socially responsible? At UMD, the Fearless Ideas campaign asks us to aim our enthusiasm for technology at big real problems. At the same time, we are coming to appreciate the increasingly complex nature of technological systems as they become integrated into all forms of infrastructure, we realize they may be unpredictable, interdependent on social and biological systems, and have unintended consequences. In this midst of this complexity, people make decisions with far reaching impacts. How then do we follow our passion for technology and innovation but also stay skeptical in a way that allows us to consider the potential and shortcomings of technology? Designed for both engineering and non-engineering students wishing to explore and assess the impact of engineering technology on society and the role of society in generating that technology.
ENGL
English
Department Site
ENGL245
Film Form and Culture
Cross-listed with: CINE245.
Credit only granted for: ENGL245, CINE245 or FILM245.
Formerly: FILM245.
Introduction to film as art form and how films create meaning. Basic film terminology; fundamental principles of film form, film narrative, and film history. Examination of film technique and style over past one hundred years. Social and economic functions of film within broader institutional, economic, and cultural contexts.
ENGL359F
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Film and Video
Restriction: Junior standing or higher.
Cross-listed with: LGBT327.
Credit only granted for: LGBT327 or ENGL359F.
Comparative analysis of forms, themes, and the politics of representation in film and video by and/or about LGBT people.
Also offered as LGBT327. Credit granted for LBGT327 or ENGL359F.
ENGL375
J.R.R. Tolkien: Middle-earth and Beyond
An in-depth look at major themes and ideas spanning Tolkien's well-known and lesser-known works across a variety of genres and styles. We will study "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" in connection with Tolkien's back-story mythology expressed in "The Silmarillion." We will also consider film adaptations and other popular fantasy influenced by Tolkien. And we will explore lesser-known works such as "Farmer Giles of Ham," and Tolkien's essays on fairy stories and on "Beowulf.
HISP
Historic Preservation
HISP200
The Everyday and the American Environment
Jointly offered with HISP615.
An introduction to the theories of the everyday within the context of the American built environment. Focuses primarily on the American experience of underrepresented, minority, and/or immigrant communities; both historical and contemporary. Attempts to challenge what is meant by American in describing the American everyday built environment.
HIST
History
Department Site
HIST200
HIST201
Interpreting American History: From 1865 to the Present
Credit only granted for: HIST157 or HIST201.
Formerly: HIST157.
The United States from the end of the Civil War to the present. Economic, social, intellectual, and political developments. Rise of industry and emergence of the United States as a world power.
HNUH
University Honors
HNUH238W
Monsters and Racism: Black Horror and Speculative Fiction
Cross-listed with: WGSS298W.
Credit only granted for: HONR299Y, HNUH238W, or WGSS298W.
Formerly: HONR299Y.
The previous decade has been considered a renaissance for Black Horror. From Get Out to Lovecraft Country, the genre has enjoyed unprecedented mainstream media buzz and accolades. This course looks at contemporary Black horror and speculative fiction as cultural texts which put into question our notions of human(e) and inhuman(e) through critiques of white supremacy and accompanying oppressions. Students will learn a host of critical skills through close reading and analysis of literature and film by Black creators such as Jordan Peele, Misha Green, Toni Morrison, Jewelle Gomez, and Octavia Butler. With the ability to interpret cultural texts using literary criticism, film analysis, history, cultural studies, ethnic studies, feminist theory, and the social sciences, students will connect these texts to continuing historical and contemporary issues of racial and cultural oppression such as medical discrimination, policing and criminalization, misogynoir, and racialized capitalism.
The previous decade has been considered a renaissance for Black Horror. From Get Out to Lovecraft Country, the genre has enjoyed unprecedented mainstream media buzz and accolades. This course looks at contemporary Black horror and speculative fiction as cultural texts which put into question our notions of human(e) and inhuman(e) through critiques of white supremacy and accompanying oppressions. Students will learn a host of critical skills through close reading and analysis of literature and film by Black creators such as Jordan Peele, Misha Green, Toni Morrison, Jewelle Gomez, and Octavia Butler. With the ability to interpret cultural texts using literary criticism, film analysis, history, cultural studies, ethnic studies, feminist theory, and the social sciences, students will connect these texts to continuing historical and contemporary issues of racial and cultural oppression such as medical discrimination, policing and criminalization, misogynoir, and racialized capitalism. For permission to take this course, please contact Dario Middleton at Dario@umd.edu
Cross-listed with WGSS298W. Credit only granted for HNUH238W or WGSS298W.
Cross-listed with WGSS298W. Credit only granted for HNUH238W or WGSS298W.
JOUR
Journalism
Department Site
JOUR282
Beyond Facebook: How Social Media are Transforming Society, Culture, Business and Politics
Credit only granted for: JOUR289F or JOUR282.
Formerly: JOUR289F.
How has social media changed the world, and how has the world changed social media? This course explores how social media has influenced relationships, culture, industry, politics, and the information environment, as well as how significant global events and technological advancements have contributed to the evolution of social media. This course gives students a broad contextual understanding of social media that they may apply in their daily lives as well as future academic inquiry.
KNES
Kinesiology
Department Site
KNES285
History of Physical Culture, Sport, & Science in America
Restriction: Restricted to majors or non-majors with less than or equal to 60 credits.
Credit only granted for: KNES285 or KNES293.
Examines the history of physical culture in America, focusing on the period from the end of the Civil War to the Cold War. Physical culture refers to a broad range of movement practices including sport, play, rehabilitative exercise, health and fitness training, and recreation and leisure. More specifically, we challenge the idea that historical physical culture practices--and the scientific processes from which they were derived--were 'neutral' or 'objective'; rather, we explore the cultural, social, political, and economic contexts shaping physical culture knowledge, study, structures, and policies across American history. The goal is for you to learn and apply techniques of historical analysis to develop a critical understanding of how knowledge about, and practices of, physical culture supported a particular social order via the construction of difference, norms, and/or hierarchies, and ultimately contributed to some of the inequalities that endure today.
LARC
Landscape Architecture
Department Site
LARC160
Introduction to Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design
History, theory, philosophy and current practice of the profession of landscape architecture. Explores the interactive relationship between humans and their environment by examining people's perceptions of and changing attitude towards the landscape, as well as, an examination of how these are related to ecological and cultural influences. Topics include urban, ecological, community and creative design.
LGBT
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Studies
LGBT327
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Film and Video
Restriction: Junior standing or higher.
Cross-listed with: ENGL359F.
Credit only granted for: LGBT327 or ENGL359F.
Comparative analysis of forms, themes, and the politics of representation in film and video by and/or about LGBT people.
Also offered as ENGL359F. Credit granted for LBGT327 or ENGL359F.
MUSC
School of Music
Department Site
MUSC220
Restriction: Must not be in any of the following programs: (Music (Professional Program); Music Education).
A critical and comparative exploration of musical practices from around the world in their social, political and economic contexts.
PHIL
Philosophy
Department Site
PHIL100
Introduction to Philosophy
An introduction to the literature, problems, and methods of philosophy either through a study of some of the main figures in philosophic thought or through an examination of some of the central and recurring problems of philosophy.
An introduction to philosophy that focuses on three central themes in Western philosophy: the nature of death and the possibility of an afterlife (e.g. would immortality in paradise be desirable?), the nature of minds and artificial intelligence (e.g. is the rise of artificial intelligence an existential threat to humankind?), and finally, the ethics of life and death (e.g. is it wrong to have children?)
PHIL140
Contemporary Moral Issues
The uses of philosophical analysis in thinking clearly about such widely debated moral issues as abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, pornography, reverse discrimination, the death penalty, business ethics, sexual equality, and economic justice.
An introduction to the tools and concepts of ethics (and ethical argumentation) through a survey of three topics of current relevance: (i) our relation to the environment; (ii) communities and migration; (iii) technology and privacy.
PHIL202
Know Thyself: Wisdom Through Cognitive Science
Credit only granted for: PHIL209N or PHIL202.
Formerly: PHIL209N.
How do we improve our decision making? Cognitive science demonstrates that self-knowledge isn't as easy as we think, and that there are numerous biases and fallacies that impact our decision-making in ways that are hard for us to be aware of. In this course you will learn what some of these are and how they have been discovered, and you will explore potential strategies for avoiding these fallacies and for making wiser choices.
PHIL204
Credit only granted for: PHIL209E or PHIL204.
Formerly: PHIL209E.
What does the discipline of philosophy teach us about happiness? This course explores how philosophers have addressed questions about the nature of happiness and its role in the good human life. Questions to be addressed include: what is it to be happy? What social, economic, and political institutions foster and support human happiness? Can an immoral person be happy? And is a happy life the same as a meaningful life?
PHIL209T
Do moments cease to exist when they recede into the past? Does time actually pass, or is it just a psychological illusion? Using time travelas our central example, we'll examine these questions through the lens of philosophy, science fiction, and physics
PHIL220
Credit only granted for: PHIL209A or PHIL220.
Formerly: PHIL209A.
Bioethicists formulate ethical guidelines. They answer questions such as: When life-saving health resources are scarce, who should get them? Should we increase supply of one such resource, kidneys, by buying them from living "donors"? If drug trials in developing countries benefit patients who consent to participate, are the trials ethical, even if the same research would be forbidden in the US? If a sick person aims to hasten her death, how, if at all, might her doctor permissibly help her? In this course, students construct and defend ethical rules in four domains: research ethics, allocation of scarce resources, markets in organs, and physician-assisted dying.
PHIL245
Political and Social Philosophy I
A critical examination of such classical political theories as those of Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, and such contemporary theories as those of Hayek, Rawls, and recent Marxist thinkers.
SPAN
Spanish
Department Site
SPAN207
Reading and Writing in Spanish
Prerequisite: Must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in SPAN204; or must have appropriate Foreign Language Placement Test (FLPT) score.
Selected readings with emphasis on reading comprehension and the development of reading strategies. Work in composition writing and a review of selected grammatical topics. Complements material of SPAN204.
SPAN303
Approaches to Cultural Materials in the Hispanic World
Prerequisite: SPAN301.
Recommended: May elect to take SPAN311 and/or SPAN316 in same semester as SPAN303.
Development of proficiency in critical thought through the reading, viewing, and analytical discussion of major genres and styles of cultural materials selected from Spanish-speaking world. Taught in Spanish.
SPAN363
Latin American Literatures and Cultures III: From Modernism to Neo-Liberalism
Prerequisite: SPAN303; and (SPAN311 or SPAN316).
An overview of cultural and literary production of Latin America from the late 19th through the early 21st centuries, exploring the production of literary texts in their socio-historical, political, and cultural contexts and development. Taught in Spanish.
THET
Theatre
Department Site
THET110
Introduction to the Theatre
In the age of pop music and blockbuster films, of memes and viral videos, we often forget that theatre was one of the original forms of popular entertainment. We will focus on theatre practitioners including actors, directors, designers and backstage personnel to understand how theatre is produced. We will also consider popular entertainment in Europe and America, with a particular focus on musical theatre and Broadway to explore how theatre communicates, resonates, and remains relevant to all audiences.
THET251
Broadway Mashup: Remixing America Through Musical Theater
Interrogate musical theater's political history, investigating how this uniquely American genre uses narrative, song, and dance to weave critical differences across race, ethnicity, immigration status, religion, gender, sexuality, and ability into our national fabric.
THET293
Thematic and historical survey of African-American drama from the late nineteenth century to the 1960s. Emphasis on sociopolitical context, thematic thrust, issues, styles, the aesthetic reflected in the work, impact on African-American and general theatre audiences.
WGSS
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
WGSS298W
Monsters and Racism: Black Horror and Speculative Fiction
Cross-listed with: HNUH238W.
Credit only granted for: HONR299Y, HNUH238W, or WGSS298W.
Formerly: HONR299Y.
The previous decade has been considered a renaissance for Black Horror. From Get Out to Lovecraft Country, the genre has enjoyed unprecedented mainstream media buzz and accolades. This course looks at contemporary Black horror and speculative fiction as cultural texts which put into question our notions of human(e) and inhuman(e) through critiques of white supremacy and accompanying oppressions. Students will learn a host of critical skills through close reading and analysis of literature and film by Black creators such as Jordan Peele, Misha Green, Toni Morrison, Jewelle Gomez, and Octavia Butler. With the ability to interpret cultural texts using literary criticism, film analysis, history, cultural studies, ethnic studies, feminist theory, and the social sciences, students will connect these texts to continuing historical and contemporary issues of racial and cultural oppression such as medical discrimination, policing and criminalization, misogynoir, and racialized capitalism.
The previous decade has been considered a renaissance for Black Horror. From Get Out to Lovecraft Country, the genre has enjoyed unprecedented mainstream media buzz and accolades. This course looks at contemporary Black horror and speculative fiction as cultural texts which put into question our notions of human(e) and inhuman(e) through critiques of white supremacy and accompanying oppressions. Students will learn a host of critical skills through close reading and analysis of literature and film by Black creators such as Jordan Peele, Misha Green, Toni Morrison, Jewelle Gomez, and Octavia Butler. With the ability to interpret cultural texts using literary criticism, film analysis, history, cultural studies, ethnic studies, feminist theory, and the social sciences, students will connect these texts to continuing historical and contemporary issues of racial and cultural oppression such as medical discrimination, policing and criminalization, misogynoir, and racialized capitalism. For permission to take this course, please contact Dario Middleton at Dario@umd.edu
Cross-listed with HNUH238W. Credit only granted for HNUH238W or WGSS298W.
Cross-listed with HNUH238W. Credit only granted for HNUH238W or WGSS298W.
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University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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