Courses - Fall 2023
AASP200
African Civilization
A survey of African civilizations from 4500 B.C. to present. Analysis of traditional social systems. Discussion of the impact of European colonization on these civilizations. Analysis of the influence of traditional African social systems on modern African institutions as well as discussion of contemporary processes of Africanization.
AASP298L
Cross-listed with: ENGL234.
Credit only granted for: ENGL234 or AASP298L.
An exploration of the stories black authors tell about themselves, their communities, and the nation as informed by time and place, gender, sexuality, and class. African American perspective themes such as art, childhood, sexuality, marriage, alienation and mortality, as well as representations of slavery, Reconstruction, racial violence and the Nadir, legalized racism and segregation, black patriotism and black ex-patriots, the optimism of integration, and the prospects of a post-racial America.
Cross-listed with ENGL234. Credit granted for AASP298L or ENGL234.
AAST
Asian American Studies
Department Site
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.
AMST205
AMST298Q
Cross-listed with: ENGL235.
Credit only granted for: ENGL235 or AMST298Q.
Examines the poetry, prose, and theater of Latinx communities in the United States from their origins in the Spanish colonization of North America to their ongoing development in the 21st century. Considers how authors use literary form to gain insight into human experience, including mortality, religious belief, gender and sexuality, war and peace, family, language use, scientific inquiry, cultural tradition, ecology, and labor. Also studies how Latinx literary traditions have shaped and been shaped by broader currents in American literature, as well as what connections exist between Latinx literature and social and artistic developments in other parts of the world, particularly Latin America and the Caribbean. Authors may include Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Eulalia Perez, Juan Nepomuceno Seguin, Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, Jose Marti, Arthur A. Schomburg, Jesus Colon, Julia de Burgos, Cesar Chavez, Ariel Dorfman, Gloria Anzaldua, Junot Diaz, and Cristina Garcia.
AMST320
Credit only granted for: AMST320 or AMST328X.
Formerly: AMST328X.
Explores the connection between film and disability through an analysis of independent and mainstream American films in various film genres. Specifically, we will consider how these film representations reflect and/or challenge the shifting social perspectives of disability over the 20th and 21st centuries. Beginning with the presentation of disability as theatrical spectacle in the traveling sideshow and early cinema, we will work our way through film history to develop an understanding of our society's complicated relationship with disability.
AMST328W
Cross-listed with: AAST355.
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.
ARCH
Architecture
Department Site
ARCH170
Design Thinking and Architecture
Examines conceptual, perceptual, behavioral, and technical aspects of the built environment, and methods of analysis, problem-solving, and design implementation.
ARCH226
History of World Architecture II
Post-1500 - History of Architecture survey course - History of Architecture structured to develop critical thinking and visually literacy with regard to the worldwide legacy of design thinking and building innovation in 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.
ARHU275
Cross-listed with: ENGL275.
Credit only granted for: ENGL275 or ARHU275.
Introduction to the theory and practice of scriptwriting with an opportunity to read, view, evaluate, write, and revise texts meant to be performed. Students will practice writing for the stage, film, and television and also examine selected scripts, performances, and film and television clips as models for their own creative work. Students will complete frequent writing exercises, participate in workshops, and learn to apply scholarship to the analysis and critique of scripts.
ARHU298L
"Are you - Nobody - too?" Why we create and share stories, poems, comics and zines
Our ability to create and maintain meaningful social connections tells us that we are not alone; it reminds us that we are connected to something larger, a community, a group of people willing to celebrate our triumphs and help us cope during difficult times. Emphasizing the principles of participation, connection, and collaboration, this course explores how various traditionally marginalized people form their own cultural communities and develop a sense of reciprocal belonging through the creation (and independent distribution) of stories, poems, spoken word poetry, comics and zines.In spite of intersectional obstacles such as the lack of political power, access to resources and economic opportunities, these communities may find it possible to redefine their place in society by demonstrating originality, resilience, and talent.
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.
ARTH201
Art and Society in the West from the Renaissance to the Present
Examines representative European and American works of art from the later Middle Ages to the present, highlighting the dynamic exchange between artistic and cultural traditions both within periods and across time.
ARTH260C
Can art effect social change? How may we use the history of radical and avant-garde art to inform present-day movements and models of artistic and creative activism? This course explores the modern and contemporary history of political art and arts activism on local, national, and global scales.
Restricted to students in Carillon Communities.
ARTH351
Picturing Contemporary Life: Art Since 1945
Visual art since 1945, with an emphasis on North America and Europe.
ARTH362
Presently Black: Contemporary African American Art
Looks critically at African-American and African diaspora art, focusing particularly on works made in the 20th and 21st centuries. Organized chronologically, this class will provide students with a more thorough understanding of this period of art, as well as the overall connection of visual material to the social, the political, and the aesthetic frames of its production. We will study the ways in which African-American visual production has been shaped by larger discourses about American art, but has also responded to the very real circumstances of racial exclusion in both the mainstream art world and larger society. Students will also have a chance to interact directly with the collection of the David C. Driskell Center throughout the semester.
ARTH392
Contemporary Chinese Art and Film
Cross-listed with: CINE337.
Credit only granted for: ARTH392, FILM329L or CINE337.
Formerly: FILM329L.
Contemporary Chinese art and film are arguably the most vibrant of all national arts at the turn of the millennium and have become the face - both figuratively and literally - of contemporary China, a complex society with historic overlays of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Communism, Post-socialism, and state capitalism. Students will consider a wide range of art forms (painting, photography, video, installation, web-based media, and film) in four broad themes (uses of the past; critiques of power; representations of race, gender, and sexuality; socially engaged art) and explore the complex intertwining of the political, historical, and aesthetic aspects in Chinese contemporary art and film, as well as the multiple contexts in which these artworks are created and circulated.
Cross-listed with FiLM329L. Credit only granted for ARTH392 or FILM329L.
ARTT
Art Studio
Department Site
ARTT150
Introduction to Art Theory
Fundamental concepts of global, philosophic, and critical art theory examined through various historic and contemporary texts, and the analysis of works of art.
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.
CINE280
Cross-listed with: CMLT280.
Credit only granted for: CINE280, FILM298D or CMLT280.
Formerly: FILM298D.
Comparative study of a variety of film traditions from around the world, including cinema from Hollywood, Europe, Asia and developing countries, with a stress on different cultural contexts for film-making and viewing.
CINE283
Iranian Cinema
Cross-listed with: PERS283.
Credit only granted for: PERS283, CINE283 or FILM298B.
Introduction to Iranian cinema, society, and culture. Taught in English.
CINE337
Contemporary Chinese Art and Film
Cross-listed with: ARTH392.
Credit only granted for: ARTH392, FILM329L or CINE337.
Formerly: FILM329L.
Contemporary Chinese art and film are arguably the most vibrant of all national arts at the turn of the millennium and have become the face - both figuratively and literally - of contemporary China, a complex society with historic overlays of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Communism, Post-socialism, and state capitalism. Students will consider a wide range of art forms (painting, photography, video, installation, web-based media, and film) in four broad themes (uses of the past; critiques of power; representations of race, gender, and sexuality; socially engaged art) and explore the complex intertwining of the political, historical, and aesthetic aspects in Chinese contemporary art and film, as well as the multiple contexts in which these artworks are created and circulated.
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.
CLAS190
Discovering the World of Ancient Rome
Cross-listed with: HIST219T.
Credit only granted for: CLAS190 or HIST219T.
An exploration of the cultural traits and developments of ancient Roman civilization from its roots in Etruscan culture, through the rise of the Roman Republic, to the expansion of Roman cultural influence in the ancient world and the emergence of the Roman Empire. Drawing upon the evidence of the archaeological remains as well as ancient historical and literary documents, students gain a basic familiarity with the principal monuments and artifacts of ancient Roman civilization, the various institutions and values that characterized the Romans, and the significant historical events that transformed the culture over the course of antiquity.
CLAS274
What is romance? This course approaches the question by reading ancient Greek romance novels in tandem with works inspired by them from a range of times and places. We will attempt to identify which traits define romance in a society and how romance narratives change in translation and adaptation.
CLAS312
Examines the question of how Ancient Greek thought can be a tool for facing the challenges of the modern world. Topics such as political participation and engagement in politics, lawfulness and justice, freedom and autonomy, democracy and civic responsibility are found at the core of Ancient Greek thought. In addition to these topics, the course explores, through the teachings of ancient Greek philosophers, historians, and poets, the questions of virtue and happiness at a personal level and the pursuit of happiness at the societal level. Love and friendship are necessary virtues to shape a harmonious and prosperous polis. By studying selected excerpts from the primary sources of Ancient Greek literature in translation, the course defines the core values of democratic society from the viewpoint of the Greeks.
CMLT
Comparative Literature
Department Site
CMLT235
Examination of key works by writers of the African Diaspora. Relationship among black people across multiple geographic spaces; Africa, the Caribbean, the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Specific historical, cultural, and literary contexts; themes such as gender, sexuality, migration, slavery, freedom, and equality. Readings may include literary texts (fiction, poetry, drama), music and film. All readings in English, but drawn from multiple languages of the black diaspora, including English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.
CMLT275
Cross-listed with: WGSS275.
Credit only granted for: WMST275, CMLT275 or WGSS275.
Formerly: WMST275.
Comparative study of selected works by women writers of several countries, exploring points of intersection and divergence in women's literary representations.
CMLT280
Cross-listed with: CINE280.
Credit only granted for: CINE280, FILM298D or CMLT280.
Formerly: FILM298D.
Comparative study of a variety of film traditions from around the world, including cinema from Hollywood, Europe, Asia and developing countries, with a stress on different cultural contexts for film-making and viewing.
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.
Electrical Engineering (09090) and Computer Engineering(09991) majors have priority. Non-majors should choose the holdfile option. Department will release available seats to students in the holdfile after the last day of Early Registration for Freshmen.
ENES
Engineering Science
ENES200
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
ENGL120
Acting Human: Shakespeare and the Drama of Identity
Shakespeare's ideas of dramatic realism studied through close examination of literary and dramatic techniques. How Shakespeare generates the fiction of a living, thinking person in the space of five acts, and how readers participate in the making of that fiction. Some attention to Shakespeare on film and what the playwright can teach us about different media.
ENGL126
Consider how short stories, novellas, and novels are vital to understanding our world and ourselves. Read and analyze a diverse range of twentieth- and twenty-first-century fiction, and apply the techniques of form and craft to your own experiments in fiction writing. Use critical analysis and hands-on creative experimentation to explore how fiction helps us understand the past, engage in the present, and build a better future.
ENGL130
Race and the Cultural Politics of Blood: A Historical Perspective
Exploration of race, as term and concept, at three different historical times and from three different perspectives, through the reading of three stories: William Shakespeare's drama Othello, Aphra Behn's novella Oroonoko, and the short story Benito Cereno by Herman Melville. Exploration of the importance of context in interpretation. Study of how a concept for rationalizing human difference appears and adapts, fuses and fades away, relocates and is repurposed. How understanding of the particular situation of the concept, its context, changes our reading of the story.
ENGL140
American Fictions: U.S. Literature, History, Politics, and Constitutional Law
Works of American literature explored in the context of major texts and developments of U.S. history, culture, politics, and constitutional law. We begin with the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, and survey the course of American literature and history, from 1776 to the present, in relation to defining political and constitutional issues. Readings of canonical works like "Huckleberry Finn" and "The Grapes of Wrath" coupled with special attention to minority authors and issues, and horizons of constitutional contemplation opened up by minority, immigrant, and women's voices and experiences. Key historical and political issues include human rights; equal protection; religious tolerance; democratic principles; republican structures of government; independence; revolution; slavery; removal; immigration; free speech; labor rights; civil rights; feminism; environmentalism; international law and flows of people; economic globalization; technology and digital innovation; and the role that literature and the humanities play in fostering various forms of civil society, multiculturalism, and a globally accountable citizenship.
ENGL143C
Explores how technology and people shape our current age of information through the various forms of visually representing information. Visualizations do not show us things that are evident--visualizations make things evident. We will thus examine the history of visualization practices, the theories of image-making that guide their production, and the current state of the art. Students will engage critically with a wide range of information visualization practices to gain an understanding of the work involved in producing them and their histories. Students will also seek out contemporary visualizations, interact with the practitioners who produce them, and produce their own visualization as a response or critique.
Restricted to students in Carillon Communities.
ENGL222
American Literature(s)
Explore American literary traditions in a variety of poetic and narrative forms and in diverse historical contexts, ranging from colonization to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. Genres examined in this course might include lyric poems, travel narratives, gothic short fiction, slave narratives, and science fiction. Emphasis on developing skills of literary interpretation and critical writing, while attending to the place of race, class, gender, and sexuality in American literary culture. Authors may include Phillis Wheatley, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, among others.
ENGL234
Cross-listed with: AASP298L.
Credit only granted for: ENGL234 or AASP298L.
An exploration of the stories black authors tell about themselves, their communities, and the nation as informed by time and place, gender, sexuality, and class. African American perspective themes such as art, childhood, sexuality, marriage, alienation and mortality, as well as representations of slavery, Reconstruction, racial violence and the Nadir, legalized racism and segregation, black patriotism and black ex-patriots, the optimism of integration, and the prospects of a post-racial America.
Cross-listed with AASP298L. Credit will be granted for one of the following: AASP298L or ENGL234.
ENGL235
Cross-listed with: AMST298Q.
Credit only granted for: ENGL235 or AMST298Q.
Examines the poetry, prose, and theater of Latinx communities in the United States from their origins in the Spanish colonization of North America to their ongoing development in the 21st century. Considers how authors use literary form to gain insight into human experience, including mortality, religious belief, gender and sexuality, war and peace, family, language use, scientific inquiry, cultural tradition, ecology, and labor. Also studies how Latinx literary traditions have shaped and been shaped by broader currents in American literature, as well as what connections exist between Latinx literature and social and artistic developments in other parts of the world, particularly Latin America and the Caribbean. Authors may include Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Eulalia Perez, Juan Nepomuceno Seguin, Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, Jose Marti, Arthur A. Schomburg, Jesus Colon, Julia de Burgos, Cesar Chavez, Ariel Dorfman, Gloria Anzaldua, Junot Diaz, and Cristina Garcia.
ENGL243
What is Poetry?
An exploration of arguably the most complex, profound, and ubiquitous expression of human experience. Study through close reading of significant forms and conventions of Western poetic tradition. Poetry's roots in oral and folk traditions and connections to popular song forms.
ENGL244
The Play's the Thing
Exploration of drama through a consideration of plot, narrative flow, analytical flow, staging, performance, manuscript and printing history, text and textual change over time, and interpretation. Plays will be approached as public attempts to understand what it means to be alive.
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.
ENGL250
Cross-listed with: WGSS255.
Credit only granted for: ENGL250, WMST255 or WGSS255.
Formerly: WMST255.
Explores literary and cultural expressions by women and their receptions within a range of historical periods and genres. Topics such as what does a woman need in order to write, what role does gender play in the production, consumption, and interpretation of texts, and to what extent do women comprise a distinct literary subculture. Interpretation of texts will be guided by feminist and gender theory, ways of reading that have emerged as important to literary studies over the last four decades.
ENGL254
Introduction to Humanities, Health, and Medicine
Restriction: Permission of ARHU-English Department.
Cross-listed with: ARHU230, 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.
ENGL255
Literature of Science and Technology
Examines science and technology through the lens of British and American literature, primarily between 1800 and the present. Readings from early natural and experimental philosophers of the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment. How literary works represent the ethics of science and technology; beneficial developments of science, and also heavy toll of industrialization. Writers studied may include Francis Bacon, Mary Shelley, Charles Darwin, H.G. Wells, Albert Einstein, Aldous Huxley, Richard Feynman, Philip K. Dick, Octavia Butler, Michael Frayn, and Tom Stoppard.
ENGL256
Fantasy Literature
How fantasy employs alternate forms of representation, such as the fantastical, estranging, or impossible, which other genres would not allow. Through novels, short stories, graphic novels, and film, traces fantasy's roots in mythology and folklore, then explores how modern texts build upon or challenge these origins. Examination of literary strategies texts use to represent the world through speculative modes. How to distinguish fantasy from, and relate it to, other genres such as science fiction, horror, fairly tales, and magical realism. Fantasy's investment in world-building, history, tradition, and categories of identity such as race, class, and gender. How fantasy, as a genre, form, and world-view, is well-suited to our contemporary reality.
ENGL257
Children's Literature
Literature of the nineteenth through the twenty-first century concerned with, and written for, children and young adults. How such narratives speak to themes of changing social, religious, political, and personal identity. Through poetry, novels, graphic novels, and film, explores how children's tales encapsulate and reflect on human existence, while pushing boundaries of what constitutes "children's literature" and what exactly defines the "child." Considers questions of literary classification through investigation of political and religious issues, gender politics, animal rights, social justice, race, war, and what it means to "grow up."
ENGL262
Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Cross-listed with: JWST262, HEBR298B.
Credit only granted for: JWST262, HEBR298B, or ENGL262.
Origins of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), with attention to literary formations, archaeology, and social-political settings. Explorations of major questions, including who wrote the Bible, and when; relationships of the biblical tradition to the mythology and religious structures of ancient Israel's near eastern neighbors; and dynamics of politics, religious leadership, and law.
ENGL265
Restriction: Must not have completed LGBT265.
Cross-listed with: LGBT265.
Credit only granted for: ENGL265 or LGBT265.
A study of literary and cultural expressions of queer and trans identities, positionalities, and analytics through an exploration of literature, art, and media. We will examine historical and political power relations by considering the intersections of sexuality and gender with race, class, nation, and disability. Topics include the social construction and regulation of sexuality and gender, performance and performativity, intersectionality, and the relationship between aesthetic forms and queer/ trans subjectivity. Our interpretations will be informed by queer and trans theories.
ENGL275
Cross-listed with: ARHU275.
Credit only granted for: ENGL275 or ARHU275.
Introduction to the theory and practice of scriptwriting with an opportunity to read, view, evaluate, write, and revise texts meant to be performed. Students will practice writing for the stage, film, and television and also examine selected scripts, performances, and film and television clips as models for their own creative work. Students will complete frequent writing exercises, participate in workshops, and learn to apply scholarship to the analysis and critique of scripts.
Cross-listed with ARHU275.
ENGL280
The English Language
Introduction to the structure of English and its historical development, with a focus on techniques of linguistic analysis. Major topics include the sound systems of English and its patterns of word formation and sentence structure, and the ways these have changed over time and vary around the world.
ENGL282
How Rhetoric Works: Persuasive Power and Strategies
Examines how persuasion functions and influences our lives and perception, focusing on a variety of contexts: business, politics, media, law, and entertainment. Students learn persuasive and argumentative principles to understand what rhetoric is, how it works, and what it does, and to apply the knowledge to produce effective communication appropriate for their purpose, audience, and context. A wide range of persuasive media, genres, and forms will be studied to help students sharpen how they interpret and practice persuasion.
ENGL290
Introductory course in digital studies. Surveys contemporary humanities work in digital technologies, including the web and social media and their historical antecedents. Explores design and making as analytical tools alongside reading and writing. Situates digital media within power and politics and develops critical awareness of how media shape society and ethics. Interdisciplinary approaches to creativity, analysis, and technology. While the course will include hands-on practice, no prior experience of programming, designing, or making required other than a willingness to experiment and play.
ENGL291
Prerequisite: Must have satisfied Fundamental Studies Academic Writing requirement.
Intermediate-level, writing-intensive course for students who have successfully satisfied the Fundamental Studies Academic Writing requirement but wish to hone skills in analyzing and producing rhetorically attuned, well-styled prose. Deeper study of rhetorical theory and its application to a wide variety of arguments and situations. Additional writing practice, techniques of revision, study of effect of stylistic choices. Topics may include argumentation theory, visual rhetoric, stylistic theory, and writing theory.
ENGL293
Recommended: ENGL101.
A hands-on exploration of writing at the intersection of technology and rhetoric. Students will learn to read, analyze, and compose the kinds of multimodal documents--documents combining text, image, and sound--that constitute communication in our digital world.
ENGL295
Introduction to Digital Storytelling and Poetics
What is the thread weaving through an animated visualization of economic data in a popular newspaper, an indie text-based videogame, a saucy twitter bot spitting out haikus, and an interactive digital essay? Storytelling--using whatever is at hand to communicate with audiences in evocative and connected ways. Combining technical and textual analysis with their own experiments in digital composition, students will learn to use new media techniques for the interpretation, creation, and dissemination of both critical and imaginative writing. From branching narratives to hypertext media and video games, to more recent developments in machine-generated poetry, XR, and embodied and location-based narrative, the methods and materials in this introductory course link creative expression and analysis of texts to contemporary conversations about social difference, representation, interface, and computation.
ENGL296
Locates and analyzes disability in various settings, modes, and texts. Investigates the material and cultural effects of the language, stories, and myths of disability. Explores the many definitions and frameworks of disability: as dynamic lived experiences, as a political identity, as a rich culture, as socially constructed barriers, and as an oppressed minority group. Examines how disability is portrayed, controlled, stereotyped, and celebrated across social, medical, political, cultural, and personal networks.
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.
FREN
French
Department Site
FREN250
Introduction to Cultural and Textual Analysis
Prerequisite: FREN204; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
Restriction: Must not be a native/fluent speaker of French.
Credit only granted for: FREN250 or FREN250H.
Introduction to cultural and textual analysis of selected readings from various genres in French literature. Taught in French.
Jointly offered with FREN 250H.
FREN250H
Introduction to Cultural and Textual Analysis
Prerequisite: FREN204; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
Restriction: Must not be a native/fluent speaker of French.
Credit only granted for: FREN250 or FREN250H.
Introduction to cultural and textual analysis of selected readings from various genres in French literature. Taught in French.
For general honors students only. Jointly offered with FREN 250.
GERS
German Studies
GERS322
Highlights of German Literature and Culture
Prerequisite: GERS302; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
Credit only granted for: GERM322 or GERS322.
Formerly: GERM322.
Selected literary masterworks, social and cultural issues, and historical events in German-speaking countries from the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Junges Deutschland, Realism, Naturalism and its counter currents, Expressionism to the present. Taught in German.
Taught in German. Cross-listed with GERM322H.
GERS322H
Highlights of German Literature and Culture
Prerequisite: GERS302; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
Credit only granted for: GERM322 or GERS322.
Formerly: GERM322.
Selected literary masterworks, social and cultural issues, and historical events in German-speaking countries from the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Junges Deutschland, Realism, Naturalism and its counter currents, Expressionism to the present. Taught in German.
Taught in German. Cross-listed with GERM322.
GERS436
The Usual Suspects: Criminals in German Literature and Film
Prerequisite: GERS320 or GERS322; or permission of instructor.
Credit only granted for: GERM436 or GERS436.
Formerly: GERM436.
An examination of how historical, cultural and political discourses in German-speaking countries influence social norms and criteria for judging what is considered socially acceptable or "deviant". Texts and films span from the 18th to 21st centuries. Taught in German.
Crosslisted with GERS689J. Credit only granted for GERM436, GERS436, or GERS689J.
HEBR
Hebrew
Department Site
HEBR298B
Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Cross-listed with: JWST262, ENGL262.
Credit only granted for: JWST262, HEBR298B, or ENGL262.
Origins of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), with attention to literary formations, archaeology, and social-political settings. Explorations of major questions, including who wrote the Bible, and when; relationships of the biblical tradition to the mythology and religious structures of ancient Israel's near eastern neighbors; and dynamics of politics, religious leadership, and law.
HEBR313
Conversation and Composition I
Prerequisite: HEBR212; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
A practical language course recommended for all students continuing with Hebrew. Review of grammar and composition. Selected readings. Oral and written exercises.
HHUM
Honors Humanities
Department Site
HHUM105
Honors Humanities: Introduction to the Arts and Humanities
Restriction: Must be an entering freshmen in the Honors Humanities Program.
Credit only granted for: ARHU105 or HHUM105.
Formerly: ARHU105.
Introduction to the university, the different fields of the arts and humanities, and the history of how the university and the humanities have evolved across the world from ancient times to the present. Primary emphasis on reading and discussion of literary artifacts to assess the meaning and social status of the arts and humanities in the past and their personal and social value for the future.
HIST
History
Department Site
HIST120
Islamic Civilization
Cross-listed with: RELS120.
Credit only granted for: HIST120 or RELS120.
Introduction to society and culture in the Middle East since the advent of Islam: as a personal and communal faith; as artistic and literary highlights of intellectual and cultural life; and as the interplay between politics and religion under the major Islamic regimes.
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.
HIST219T
Discovering the World of Ancient Rome
Cross-listed with: CLAS190.
Credit only granted for: CLAS190 or HIST219T.
An exploration of the cultural traits and developments of ancient Roman civilization from its roots in Etruscan culture, through the rise of the Roman Republic, to the expansion of Roman cultural influence in the ancient world and the emergence of the Roman Empire. Drawing upon the evidence of the archaeological remains as well as ancient historical and literary documents, students gain a basic familiarity with the principal monuments and artifacts of ancient Roman civilization, the various institutions and values that characterized the Romans, and the significant historical events that transformed the culture over the course of antiquity.
HIST289R
Pocketbook Politics: A History of American Buying and Selling
Provides a thematic approach to consumerism as it emerged in the United States over the course of three centuries. The history of consumption is a prism through which many aspects of social and political life may be viewed. How does what we wear, what we listen to, or what we eat shape our identities?
HIST289T
Jesus, Mani, and Muhammad: The Dynamics of New Religious Movements
Cross-listed with: RELS273.
Credit only granted for: RELS273 or RELS289M or HIST289T.
Formerly: RELS289M.
We examine three significant ancient religious figures: Jesus (d. 30s CE), Mani (d. 276 CE), and Muhammad (d. 632). All three were founders of long-lasting religions that were part of a dramatic change in the society and religion of the ancient world. Special areas of focus: the biographies of these founding figures, and how we know them; a historical approach to religious founders; and the sociology of new religious movements.
HNUH
University Honors
HNUH228U
A Life Worth Living: The Legacy of Eugenics in Genetics
Should parents be able to choose their child's eye color? Or alter their child's genome to eliminate a hereditary disability? While these might seem like different concerns, both are eugenic questions. In this class students will learn about the legacy of eugenics and its role in the development of genetics by analyzing science fiction works through the lens of disability studies. We'll explore the past to identify who has historically been considered "fit" and look to the future to consider what kinds of embodiments, and life experiences, society seems willing to let disappear.
Restricted to University Honors students matriculating in Fall 2020 and HNUH228U is part of the Redesigning Life cluster. Redesigning Life courses will be offered throgh Spring 2024.
HNUH268U
Power, Politics, and the Past: Local Communities and Cultural Heritage
The politics of the past surround us. An online memorial to the struggle against the Dakota Pipeline, the call to commemorate Indigeneity instead of Columbus, monuments to the Confederacy torn down... How do diverse communities claim--or reject--particular places, practices, and ideas as their shared heritage, and why? In this course, we will explore these questions with reference to Indigenous communities in global context, with a particular focus on Mexico. Students will engage with theoretical approaches and contemporary case studies to analyze the politics and ethics surrounding the use of the past in diverse Indigenous presents. Visits to DC's museums and archives will help students practice theorizing real-world materials. Students will leave the course with the analytical tools necessary to understand cultural heritage and advocate for Indigenous perspectives on the past. A typical day in this course will involve reading an article-length work and participating in student-led discussion.
HNUH268U is part of the Heritage thematic cluster and pairs with HNUH268B to complete the cluster. Heritage courses will be offered through Spring 2025.
HNUH278B
How do ordinary citizens power democracy? At the age of 18, every American citizen is endowed with the right to vote, but what if democracy demands more than voting? With democratic processes seemingly in peril all around us, what can and should ordinary citizens do to safeguard democracy? Looking beyond the basic right to vote, this class will instead explore the complex ecosystem of citizenship practices necessary for collective self-governance. Turning to both philosophy and history, the course material addresses the power and peril of such civic habits as mutual aid, economic participation, tolerance, attention, organizing, protest, and more. We consider what resources these habits require, what virtues they inspire, and what happens when they conflict with each other. Students in this course will acquire the tools to develop and act on their own answer to the pressing question of what it will take to save democracy.
Restricted to UH students matriculating in Fall 2020 or later.
HNUH278B-0101 is the required I-Series course in the Civil Bonds thematic cluster. Civil Bonds courses will be offered through Spring 2025.
HNUH278B-0101 is the required I-Series course in the Civil Bonds thematic cluster. Civil Bonds courses will be offered through Spring 2025.
IMDM
Immersive Media Design
IMDM150
Digital Media Theory and Culture
Restriction: Must be in the Immersive Media Design program; or permission of IMDM - Immersive Media Design program.
Credit only granted for: ARTT150 or IMDM150.
An introduction to the fundamental structures and themes of digital culture in contemporary society. This course will provide you with a theoretical grounding in which to understand the current landscape of digital media culture, design and art. As an introductory course for the Immersive Media Design major, the focus will be on contextualizing immersive digital media such as virtual reality, augmented reality, immersive projection, and electronic art installation through reading, writing and discussion. Students will have opportunities to experience a range of these technologies first hand.
INST
Information Studies
INST104
What is design, who does it, and how is it done? There is no one answer to this question--it depends on who you ask. The answers to these questions vary across disciplines and across the University campus. This course, designed with modules from contributors in UMD programs including Information Studies, Human-Computer Interaction, Graphic Design, Immersive Media Arts, Journalism, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Engineering, and Policy, will introduce students to the goals and values, approaches, skills, and practices of diverse fields of design. It will enable students to identify grand challenges in design and serve as a sorting hat to help students find a design practice that matches their own values, approaches, skills and goals.
ITAL
Italian
Department Site
ITAL207
Speaking and Writing in Italian
Prerequisite: ITAL204; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
Restriction: Must not be a fluent/native speaker of Italian.
An intensive upper intermediate language course that focuses on Italian speaking and writing. The course, which is taught entirely in Italian, is designed to reinforce and deepen the students' knowledge of the Italian language and its idiomatic usage, and to improve their speaking ability and listening comprehension. Students will be given practice both in speaking extemporaneously and giving oral reports written on a wide range of topics dealing with contemporary Italy. One of the main objectives of the course is to prepare students to take upper level courses (300-400 levels) in Italian language, literature, and culture
ITAL441
The Dark Side of the Italian Renaissance
Recommended: Some knowledge of Italian at the elementary or intermediate level.
Examines the dark aspects of the Italian Renaissance, focusing on artistic and literary patronage as a strategy of self-promotion and as a means to achieve and preserve power. From the Northern court of Milan to the Southern Kingdom of Naples, we journey through the Italian peninsula, a land that gave birth to illustrious artists and poets in one of the most troubled periods of Italian history, marked by political conflict, bloody rivalries, family betrayals, and wars. What hides beneath the image of some of these benevolent and enlightened patrons of learning, often praised as "ideal rulers" by artists and writers of the Renaissance, are ambitious and crafty politicians, who sought their own interests and goals in their ruthless pursuit of power
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.
JOUR283
Probing War: Investigative Narratives and American Conflicts
Credit only granted for: JOUR283 or JOUR289J.
Formerly: JOUR289J.
What role should the American news media play when the United States is at war? Students will explore the realities of war through the work of journalists who pushed beyond the daily headlines, some risking life and limb, to challenge official versions and document uncomfortable realities about American conflicts.
JOUR456
Literature in Journalism
Credit only granted for: JOUR456 or JOUR673.
From Truman Capote's In Cold Blood to Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down, students will examine how literary works can help writers approach a subject in a different way than more traditional forms of journalism, including the advantages and limitations of the style.
JWST
Jewish Studies
Department Site
JWST171
Cross-listed with: RELS171.
Credit only granted for: JWST171 or RELS171.
Jewish identity can be framed in terms of ethnicity, culture, and religious practice, but also in terms of more contemporary social constructions including social action, political engagement, and intellectual pursuit. In the context of such diverse social and individual frames, what does it mean to identify Judaism as a religion? Attention to Jewish society in historical and global perspective will provide a backdrop for a particular focus on contemporary Jews in the United States and Israel.
JWST262
Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Cross-listed with: ENGL262, HEBR298B.
Credit only granted for: JWST262, HEBR298B, or ENGL262.
Origins of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), with attention to literary formations, archaeology, and social-political settings. Explorations of major questions, including who wrote the Bible, and when; relationships of the biblical tradition to the mythology and religious structures of ancient Israel's near eastern neighbors; and dynamics of politics, religious leadership, and law.
JWST274
Jerusalem in Antiquity: The History of Sacred Space in a Holy City
Cross-listed with: RELS274.
Credit only granted for: JWST274, RELS274, JWST289J or RELS289J.
Formerly: JWST289J, RELS289J.
Examines the complex history of Jerusalem's status as a holy city, with a focus on constructions of sacred space in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
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.
LACS
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
LACS234
Issues in Latin American and Caribbean Studies I
Cross-listed with: PORT234, SPAN234.
Credit only granted for: LASC234, PORT234, SPAN234, or LACS234.
Formerly: LASC234.
Interdisciplinary study of major issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Latin America's cultural mosaic, migration and urbanization. Democratization and the role of religions. Taught in English.
LACS234H
Issues in Latin American and Caribbean Studies I
Cross-listed with: PORT234, SPAN234.
Credit only granted for: LASC234, PORT234, SPAN234, or LACS234.
Formerly: LASC234.
Interdisciplinary study of major issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Latin America's cultural mosaic, migration and urbanization. Democratization and the role of religions. Taught in English.
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
LGBT265
Restriction: Must not have completed LGBT265.
Cross-listed with: ENGL265.
Credit only granted for: ENGL265 or LGBT265.
A study of literary and cultural expressions of queer and trans identities, positionalities, and analytics through an exploration of literature, art, and media. We will examine historical and political power relations by considering the intersections of sexuality and gender with race, class, nation, and disability. Topics include the social construction and regulation of sexuality and gender, performance and performativity, intersectionality, and the relationship between aesthetic forms and queer/ trans subjectivity. Our interpretations will be informed by queer and trans theories.
LING
Linguistics
Department Site
LING240
Language and Mind
Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C- in LING200.
Additional information: Required for Linguistics majors and recommended for students in related fields.
The study of language as a cognitive phenomenon. Ways of representing people's knowledge of their native language, ways in which that knowledge is attained naturally by children, and how it is used in speaking and listening. Additional topics may include: animal communication, language and the brain, language and thought.
MLSC
MD Language Science Ctr
MLSC250
Lol that's not funny: Language change and linguistic creativity in online communication
Recent developments in technology, from texting to Zoom, have created new environments for human language use. Examining how communication is changing in these environments highlights humans' endless linguistic ingenuity -- ranging from new vocabulary and punctuation conventions to the use of hashtags, emoji and memes. At the same time, these linguistic innovations exemplify broader patterns of language change and diversity that have been documented and studied by language scientists. In this course, we will engage with the study of language variation and change through a survey of language use in different online environments, and will apply insights from linguistic research to analyze our own and others' language use in more nuanced ways.
MUSC
School of Music
Department Site
MUSC204
Traces black popular music in the U.S. with a special focus on spirituals, ragtime, the blues, early jazz, R&B, Motown, funk, soul, and rap. Examines how these styles have been borrowed by the American music industry.
MUSC210
Credit only granted for: MUET210 or MUSC210.
Formerly: MUET210.
Music as a part of culture. Materials drawn from traditions throughout the globe to illustrate issues of historical and contemporary significance, including the impact of race, class and gender on the study of music.
MUSC260
Prerequisite: MUSC151.
Restriction: Must be in a major within the ARHU-School of Music department.
Credit only granted for: MUSC220 or MUSC260.
Explores how and why people create, transform, and move music around the globe. Taking a comparative approach to Western art musics and other musics of the world, course will examine a variety of musical practices in their social, political, and economic contexts. Experiential knowledge will be developed through hands-on ethnographic research.
NAVY
Navy
NAVY200
Restriction: Permission of UGST-Navy ROTC.
Additional information: Priority enrollment will be given to students enrolled in the NROTC program.
Introductory course designed to familiarize students with the theories, processes, and behaviors that enable effective leadership and managerial competence. Students will engage in analytical discussions, review leadership development and education, and Navy/Marine Corps-based case study discussions in order to develop their understanding of personal strengths, values and growth opportunities in the context of team, group and organizational leadership.
PERS
Persian
Department Site
PERS280
Art Activism in Iran
Credit only granted for: PERS289M, ARTH389O, or PERS280.
Formerly: PERS298M.
Explores Iranian artists' intent and hope for change and their critical and playful strategies of making a difference through their visual or performing arts created since 1980. While exploring key concepts, contexts, and debates by examining a variety of artworks, we explore diverse and unique transgressive stories, strategies, and styles that these works present to address themes of social justice through the art. We examine how multimedia art forms (dance, theatre, cinema, painting, digital art, and music) empower Iranian artists to practice their identity and exercise their agency as these aspects intersect with race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, ability, and education in a shifting and multilayered context.
PERS283
Iranian Cinema
Cross-listed with: CINE283.
Credit only granted for: PERS283, CINE283 or FILM298B.
Introduction to Iranian cinema, society, and culture. Taught in English.
Cross-listed with FILM298B. Credit only granted for PERS283, FILM283, or FILM298B.
PERS371
Introduction to Persian Literature in Translation
Introduction to classical and modern canons of Persian literature in historical, esthetic, and social context. Taught in English.
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.
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.
PHIL203
Credit only granted for: PHIL209J or PHIL203.
Formerly: PHIL209J.
Virtually everyone thinks it's permissible to kill people only in special circumstances. But why is killing usually wrong? Is it ever acceptable to kill an innocent human being intentionally? This course raises these and related questions and examines cases such as terrorism, suicide, abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, war. Except for a brief discussion of animals, all the controversies considered deal with killing and causing death to human beings.
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.
PHIL282
Free Will & Determinism
A study of the main positions and arguments in the free will debate in contemporary analytic philosophy.
PHIL310
Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy
Prerequisite: Must have completed 6 credits in philosophy or classics.
A study of the origins and development of philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome, focusing on Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Epicureans, and Stoics.
Cross-listed with PHPE308Y. Credit only granted for PHIL310 or PHPE308Y.
PORT
Portuguese
Department Site
PORT234
Issues in Latin American and Caribbean Studies I
Cross-listed with: LACS234, SPAN234.
Credit only granted for: LASC234, PORT234, SPAN234, or LACS234.
Formerly: LASC234.
Interdisciplinary study of major issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Latin America's cultural mosaic, migration and urbanization. Democratization and the role of religions. Taught in English.
RELS
Religious Studies
RELS120
Islamic Civilization
Cross-listed with: HIST120.
Credit only granted for: HIST120 or RELS120.
Introduction to society and culture in the Middle East since the advent of Islam: as a personal and communal faith; as artistic and literary highlights of intellectual and cultural life; and as the interplay between politics and religion under the major Islamic regimes.
RELS170
Cross-listed with: CLAS170.
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.
RELS171
Cross-listed with: JWST171.
Credit only granted for: JWST171 or RELS171.
Jewish identity can be framed in terms of ethnicity, culture, and religious practice, but also in terms of more contemporary social constructions including social action, political engagement, and intellectual pursuit. In the context of such diverse social and individual frames, what does it mean to identify Judaism as a religion? Attention to Jewish society in historical and global perspective will provide a backdrop for a particular focus on contemporary Jews in the United States and Israel.
RELS273
Jesus, Mani, and Muhammad: The Dynamics of New Religious Movements
Cross-listed with: HIST289T.
Credit only granted for: RELS273 or RELS289M or HIST289T.
Formerly: RELS289M.
We examine three significant ancient religious figures: Jesus (d. 30s CE), Mani (d. 276 CE), and Muhammad (d. 632). All three were founders of long-lasting religions that were part of a dramatic change in the society and religion of the ancient world. Special areas of focus: the biographies of these founding figures, and how we know them; a historical approach to religious founders; and the sociology of new religious movements.
RELS274
Jerusalem in Antiquity: The History of Sacred Space in a Holy City
Cross-listed with: JWST274.
Credit only granted for: JWST274, RELS274, JWST289J or RELS289J.
Formerly: JWST289J, RELS289J.
Examines the complex history of Jerusalem's status as a holy city, with a focus on constructions of sacred space in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
RUSS
Russian
Department Site
RUSS287
The Power of the Word: Freedom of Speech in the U.S. and Russia
Credit only granted for: RUSS287 or RUSS289I.
Formerly: RUSS289I.
Additional information: Taught in English.
The central theme is the abiding human propensity to ask questions, to use language to pursue inquiry. To be a "critical thinker," one must develop the habit and discipline of asking questions and challenging assumptions. Through a comparative approach to the US and Russian experiences, we will explore the role of language and its power in different political and social systems. We will explore such questions as: Why is free speech so fiercely defended in a democracy and such a threat to totalitarianism? What is the relationship between free speech, political power and dissent? Is the pen still mightier than the sword, even in the nuclear age? What has shaped our current attitudes toward freedom of expression? How has the concept of political free speech been extended to include freedom of expression in general, such as in the creative arts? What role do new technologies play in the arena of free speech debates? We will explore how freedom of speech and expression has been defended or its suppression justified in the US and Russia. We will practice the art of questioning and constructing counter-arguments throughout the course.
Restricted to students in the Carillon Community.
SLLC
School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Department Site
SLLC280
Credit only granted for: SLLC280 or SLLC299J.
Formerly: SLLC299J.
Does information drive human history? Mythological recurrences say much about cultures that had to adapt their world views while attempting to preserve them. This course examines the cognitive or social bases of mythology, to be pursued from insights in cultural and literary studies, linguistics, the cognitive sciences, paleo-anthropology, archeology, etc. The course is designed to help students think about complex problems from a humanistic perspective, making liberal use of the sciences.
Restricted to Carillon Community Language students.
SLLC286
Living the Good Life: Chinese Philosophy in the Modern World
Additional information: Taught in English.
Confucius, Mencius, Zhuangzi and other Chinese thinkers who lived more than 2,000 years ago would argue that the contemporary Western emphasis on self-discovery (Find yourself) and self-acceptance has led you astray. See what they have to say and discuss what relevance it has for the modern world as we study how early Chinese thinkers wrestled with questions of existence, morality, and governance. No previous knowledge of Chinese philosophy and history will be assumed and no prerequisites are required. We will discuss ideas that are both historical and relevant to students' lives. What is "the Way"? How do we cultivate spontaneity? Is there a stable self? How can we be more alive? These are questions important for ancient kings but also for UMD students choosing a major, or wondering how ARHU can benefit them.
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.
SPAN234
Issues in Latin American and Caribbean Studies I
Cross-listed with: LACS234, PORT234.
Credit only granted for: LASC234, PORT234, SPAN234, or LACS234.
Formerly: LASC234.
Interdisciplinary study of major issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Latin America's cultural mosaic, migration and urbanization. Democratization and the role of religions. Taught in English.
SPAN234H
Issues in Latin American and Caribbean Studies I
Cross-listed with: LACS234, PORT234.
Credit only granted for: LASC234, PORT234, SPAN234, or LACS234.
Formerly: LASC234.
Interdisciplinary study of major issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Latin America's cultural mosaic, migration and urbanization. Democratization and the role of religions. Taught in English.
Open to Honor students only.
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.
SPAN331
Spanish Culture, Civilization and Literature I: Medieval Times
Prerequisite: SPAN303; and (SPAN311 or SPAN316).
The exploration of cultures of the Iberian Peninsula from its origins until the 15th century as well as the study of historical and political events that gave rise to the Spanish state. Taught in Spanish.
SPAN333
Spanish Culture, Civilization and Literature III: Modern Times
Prerequisite: SPAN303; and (SPAN311 or SPAN316).
An overview of cultural and literary production of Spain from the late 17th century through the present day, exploring the production of literary texts in their socio-historical, political, religious and cultural contexts and development. Taught in Spanish.
SPAN361
Latin American Literatures and Cultures I: From Pre-Columbian to Colonial Times
Prerequisite: SPAN303; and (SPAN311 or SPAN316).
Overview of cultural history of Latin America from pre-Columbian civilizations to the Colonial period, exploring the foundations of the Spanish American cultural and literary tradition to approximately 1770. 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.
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.
TLPL
Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership
Department Site
TLPL250
Historical and Philosophical Perspectives on Education
Credit only granted for: EDPS210 or TLPL250.
Formerly: EDPS210.
An examination of illustrative historical and philosophical examples of the interplay of ideas and events in the shaping of educational aims and practices from ancient cultures to modern technological societies.
TLPL457
Literature for Adolescents
Restriction: Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75; and permission of EDUC-Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership department.
Credit only granted for: EDCI466 or TLPL457.
Formerly: EDCI466.
Reading and analysis of fiction and nonfiction; methods for critically assessing quality and appeal; current theory and methods of instruction; research on response to literature; curriculum design and selection of books.
WGSS
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
WGSS105
Introduction to Disability Studies
This course will introduce students to theories of disability justice as they intersect with feminist and antiracist struggles. Tracing the emergence of the concept of disability alongside the rise of racial knowledge since the 19th century, we will consider how disability activists have responded to ableism by developing art, political strategies, and subcultures that promote a more just society built for a wider variety of human bodies. Students will learn about the moral, medical, social, and ecological models of disability; explore varied disability experiences relating to mental illness, chronic disease, and sensory and mobility impairments; debate ethical questions concerning eugenics, selective abortion, health care access, and medical technologies; and analyze the work of disabled artists and activists of color. Students will also discuss principles of universal design which seek to make classrooms more just and collaborative. In order to balance accessibility and community building, the course has been designed for synchronous online instruction complemented by optional in-person sessions.
WGSS250
Credit only granted for: WMST250 or WGSS250.
Formerly: WMST250.
Provides students with a critical introduction to the ways that art and art activism have served as a conduit to understanding and challenging systems of inequity and practices of normativity. Interrogating the categories of gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, the course will provide students with an examination of how artists have responded to pressing social justice issues of their eras. While the course centers visual art, students will also engage genres such as music, plays, literature, digital and performance art as arenas of social change.
WGSS255
Cross-listed with: ENGL250.
Credit only granted for: ENGL250, WMST255 or WGSS255.
Formerly: WMST255.
Explores literary and cultural expressions by women and their receptions within a range of historical periods and genres. Topics such as what does a woman need in order to write, what role does gender play in the production, consumption, and interpretation of texts, and to what extent do women comprise a distinct literary subculture. Interpretation of texts will be guided by feminist and gender theory, ways of reading that have emerged as important to literary studies over the last four decades.
WGSS275
Cross-listed with: CMLT275.
Credit only granted for: WMST275, CMLT275 or WGSS275.
Formerly: WMST275.
Comparative study of selected works by women writers of several countries, exploring points of intersection and divergence in women's literary representations.
Flagship Institution of the University System of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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