Significant aspects of the history of African Americans with particular emphasis on the evolution and development of black communities from slavery to the present. Interdisciplinary introduction to social, political, legal and economic roots of contemporary problems faced by blacks in the United States with applications to the lives of other racial and ethnic minorities in the Americas and in other societies.

Significant aspects of the history of African Americans with particular emphasis on the evolution and development of black communities from slavery to the present. Interdisciplinary introduction to social, political, legal and economic roots of contemporary problems faced by blacks in the United States with applications to the lives of other racial and ethnic minorities in the Americas and in other societies.

Students will examine the birth of the racial caste system following the abolition of slavery, the parallels between the racial hierarchy of the Jim Crow system and contemporary mass incarceration, and the rise of the prison industrial complex as a multi-billon business which thrives on the oppression of low-income populations and poor communities of color.

The course examines important aspects of African American life and thought which are reflected in African American literature, drama, music and art. Beginning with the cultural heritage of slavery, the course surveys the changing modes of Black creative expression from the 19th-century to the present.

The course examines important aspects of African American life and thought which are reflected in African American literature, drama, music and art. Beginning with the cultural heritage of slavery, the course surveys the changing modes of Black creative expression from the 19th-century to the present.

Prevailing thought suggests that we live in an era that is post-racial, particularly after the election of Barack Obama. Media often serves to drive our assessment of where our nation stands on issues like race, gender and sexuality. This course uses the film Get Out to delve into the production, evolution and significance of race in present day America. The course will engage multiple forms of media to investigate life in "Post-Racial" America, including but not limited to the role of stereotypes, interracial relationships, police-community relations, etc.

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.

Investigates the ways that African Americans are represented and constructed in public and private spheres and explores the social constructions and representations of Black manhood and womanhood from various disciplinary perspectives.

The readings will be directed by the faculty of African American Studies. Topics to be covered will be chosen to meet the needs and interests of individual students.

The readings will be directed by the faculty of African American Studies. Topics to be covered will be chosen to meet the needs and interests of individual students.

The aggregate experience of Asian Pacific Americans, from developments in the countries of origin to their contemporary issues. The histories of Asian Pacific American groups as well as culture, politics, the media, and stereotypes, viewed from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Introduction to the history of Asian Americans and Asians in the United States and the Americas and to the field of Asian American Studies, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Topics include theories of race and ethnicity; Asian migration and diaspora to the Americas; Asian American work and labor issues; gender, family, and communities; nationalism and nativism, and anti-Asian movements; Asian Americans in World War II, the Cold War, and the issues in the civil rights & post-civil rights era.

Explores historical and contemporary Asian immigration to the US in comparison to and in the context of other immigrant groups. From low-skilled laborers to highly-skilled professionals, Asian and other immigrants have been an integral part of the shifting US economy and society since its inception. The course includes theories on why immigration occurs, determinants of its continuation, the uses of migrant labor, and immigrant adaptation and settlement. The second part of the course focuses on theories of ethnicity and racial formation and how immigrants develop and challenge the definitions of race, ethnicity, the "other", and ultimately, who is American. Students will also have the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of the immigrant experience through a life history interview project.

From yellow peril invaders to model minority allies, Asian Americans have crafted their own dynamic cultural expressions in a number of media from film, television, and music to fashion, sports, and food that reveal and contest the contradictions of the U.S. nation-state. Asian American culture also uniquely sits at the nexus of immigration flows and digital technologies, providing a transnational lens to view the US place in the world. This advanced course, then, will introduce students to the study and practice of Asian American culture as multiple , hybrid, and heterogeneous. It will do so through three sections: section one will introduce students to classical, cultural, and media concepts as well as relevant keywords outlined by Asian American Studies scholars; section two will review the work of Asian American cultural theorists; section three will focus on analyses of particular Asian American cultural productions. In doing so, students will gain an understanding of the shifting and interlocking tensions among the local, the national, and the global that form the cultural geographies of Asian America.

Focus is placed on Filipino American experiences with an emphasis on identity, community building and organizing to influence public policy We will cover pertinent events from the US and Philippine history in order to understand the impact of colonialism, migration, immigration and assimilation on Filipino Americans.

Students will gain a greater understanding of 1) the role of Asian Americans in US politics, 2) the political attitudes and behaviors of Asian Americans and 3) how to conduct research on Asian American politics. Though the class will concentrate on Asian Americans, issues related to Asian American politics will be examined within the larger context of America's multicultural political landscape.

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.

Historical survey of American material culture. Ways of describing and interpreting accumulated material evidence (e.g., buildings, town plans) introduced by stressing relationship between artifact and culture.

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.

The aggregate experience of Asian Pacific Americans, from developments in the countries of origin to their contemporary issues. The histories of Asian Pacific American groups as well as culture, politics, the media, and stereotypes, viewed from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Developed by feminists of color, reproductive justice frameworks offer a roadmap for economic, social, and medical justice advocacy attentive to the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability. This course reviews the historical, legal, and social bases of reproductive rights in the U.S.; discusses the history of feminist organizing for reproductive freedom; surveys critical theories of reproductive justice that go beyond abortion law to advocate for broader social transformation; and evaluates the possible futures of intersectional feminist activism after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

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.

Introduces students to the study of race and ethnicity in the United States. The class is organized according to the following five units: (1) Introduction; (2) Key concepts; (3) Mechanisms of racial formation; (4) Prevailing myths about race; and (5) Contemporary issues related to race and ethnicity. Through readings, film clips, and presentations, we will explore how the concept of race has developed and endured over time and become familiar with key concepts, such as "race" and "intersectionality". We will attempt to better understand how race is associated with other forms of difference, such as class, gender and ethnicity. We will identify and confront the prevailing myths about race and ethnicity in the United States. Finally, we examine the ways in which contemporary issues reveal the dynamics of race and ethnicity.

Explores how representations of various geographic spaces in American film impact our understanding of community, identity, and place. In particular, we will think about how these spaces are culturally produced and changeable rather than static. The same space can hold diverse meanings for various groups of people and how such a space is represented in film is often wrapped up with issues of power, the reinforcement of stereotypes, and the creation of self/other dichotomies. By analyzing a variety of narrative, documentary, major studio, and independent films, we will seek to understand how American films' representations of rural, urban, and suburban spaces both reflect, contradict, and often influence our lived experiences of these spaces; in other words, this course will examine how the "reel" intersects with the "real".

Students will gain a greater understanding of 1) the role of Asian Americans in US politics, 2) the political attitudes and behaviors of Asian Americans and 3) how to conduct research on Asian American politics. Though the class will concentrate on Asian Americans, issues related to Asian American politics will be examined within the larger context of America's multicultural political landscape.

An introduction to the central concepts in medical anthropology and the anthropology of global health. This course is a survey of anthropological notions of health, disease, and the body in cross-cultural and global contexts, including classic and contemporary texts. It will provide an examination of systems of knowledge and practice with regard to illness, healing, and global health inequities.

An introduction to the evolution of human physiology and human behavior, the relationship between hominid and non-hominid primates, and the study of relationships between a population of humans and their biophysical environment.

Exploration of the variety of past human societies and cultures through archaeology, from the emergence of anatomically modern humans to the more recent historical past.

Culture and social relationships in a wide variety of settings from small-scale to complex societies. An overview of how anthropology analyzes human behavior. Particular attention to the relationship between language and culture.

Provides a critical perspective to global health that encompasses key political, economic, and cultural factors associated with the nature and magnitude of global health issues such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, paying particular attention to how poverty and inequalities within and between societies has accelerated current global health challenges. Introduces students to how medical anthropologists have contributed to the debates surrounding the globalization of health.

Food is the stuff of everyday routine and rich symbolic meaning, from holiday meals to daily staples. Studying food offers new perspectives on modernization, colonialism, and nationalism, and illuminates popular experiences of major historical events. This course introduces students to the history and cultures of the modern Middle East and North Africa using secondary literature and primary source materials addressing the sources and methods used in humanistic food studies scholarship. Students will gain a nuanced understanding of the diversity and complexities of the region as well as a lens for analyzing its cultures and societies from an everyday human perspective.

This interdisciplinary course explores social and economic development around the world. Topics include geography, democratization, political instability and conflict, health and education, agricultural development, micro-entrepreneurship, and an introduction to impact evaluation methods used to evaluate the efficacy of public policy aimed at alleviating poverty.

An introduction to the problem of world hunger and possible solutions to it. World demand, supply, and distribution of food. Alternatives for leveling off world food demand, increasing the supply of food, and improving its distribution. Environmental limitations to increasing world food production.

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.

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.

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.

Explores the origins and creation of Japan from ancient to contemporary times through East Asian and European exchange. Acquaints students with painting, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, gardens, and other art forms in relation to the various cultural contexts within which they were produced and used.

Explores diverse artistic movements and makers in the United States, beginning at the end of the Civil War in 1865 and concluding with the art of Civil Rights era in the 20th century. We will ask how the visual arts construct and challenge formations of race, class, gender, and citizenship in the context of political transformations and social movements over a century of US history. This course emphasizes the practice of close looking as we encounter works art across a range of media--photography, painting, sculpture, film, material culture, performance art and public art.

Role and treatment of racial/ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system. Course will provide students with historical and theoretical framework for understanding this dynamic.

Explores the cultural, historical, educational, and medical roots of difference among human beings and examines the impact of cultural and technological changes on individuals traditionally identified as disabled. The course is designed to develop a broad understanding of the concept of "disability" and the emerging technologies that shape contemporary understanding of this phenomenon and the lives of those considered disabled.

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.

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.

Interrogates how slavery permeated the ancient Mediterranean societies of Greece and Rome. We will pay particular attention to how hierarchical inequalities are institutionalized, experienced, and represented and to how different marginalized and dominant groups interacted. Enslaved persons performed necessary labor in Greece and Rome and their work was essential for the formation of ancient society in agriculture, mining, domestic spaces, literature, finance, and government. Studying ancient slavery offers a chance to examine Greece and Rome from the bottom up, parsing the scant literary and material evidence for the lives and struggles of enslaved persons. We will practice several different approaches in order to tease out the systematic, economic, political, and personal effects of slavery in the ancient world. The United States of America was also founded as a slave society, and discussions of slavery in the Americas often look back to the ancient Mediterranean. The course will therefore conclude with a unit on how enslavers and abolitionists in the United States utilized and responded to slavery in antiquity.

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.

Comparative study of literature through selected literary works from several non-Western cultures, viewed cross-culturally in light of particular social, political, and economic perspectives.

Comparative study of selected works by women writers of several countries, exploring points of intersection and divergence in women's literary representations.

Comparative study of several North, South, and Central American cultures with a focus on the specificities, similarities, and divergences of their literary and cultural texts.

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.

Race and gender have shaped computing from its earliest histories to contemporary debates over bias in search algorithms, surveillance, and AI. As computational processes shape ever more dimensions of everyday life from the personal to the global scale, understanding how they operate and how power operates within them grows ever more important. Combating racism and sexism is not as simple as ensuring the pool of programmers and engineers is more diverse; structures of power are embedded in digital technologies as they are in all aspects of our society, and we must learn to perceive their operation if we hope to transform them. We will examine how racism and sexism operate in the field of computer science and in everyday uses of digital technologies, while studying how feminist and racial justice movements have created alternative approaches. This class is for anyone who wishes to better understand the relationships between digital technology, structural power, and social justice.

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.

Introductory colloquium II: Continued examination of issues related to the convergence of the environment, technology and the economy. Group projects in sustainable development.

Development of the individual in the context of relationships with the formal and informal institutions of society. An examination of various aspects of development from the broad perspective of the social sciences.

Students examine historical foundations of special education, including legislation; review components necessary for effective service delivery; and develop an understanding of the role of collaboration and consultation with parents, school personnel and other professionals.

Students examine historical foundations of special education, including legislation; review components necessary for effective service delivery; and develop an understanding of the role of collaboration and consultation with parents, school personnel and other professionals.

Opportunity for peer mentor training and field experience for national CRLA certification (crla.net) to become a certified peer mentor by learning about and providing inclusive support for students with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the inclusive post-secondary TerpsEXCEED program at UMD. Students will develop an understanding of disability inclusion and ways to support students and build friendships through a mentoring relationship. Direct application of content instruction with weekly field experience allows students to maximize peer mentoring scholarship-to-practice understanding and application. The course trains peer mentors who provide same-age academic, social, and career mentoring supports for TerpsEXCEED students with intellectual disabilities on campus.

Who gets to speak for nature? This course explores the long history of environmental writing in the context of the complex relationship between European and Indigenous North American traditions. We will not just survey environmental literature; we will inquire into the pressures under which contemporary ideas of nature evolved from a colonial past. Students will learn about the history of representing other-than-human actors in the world--including Indigenous ways of knowing--and how this history can help us envision new, shared relationships with the natural world.

What does the literature of Maryland teach us about our state's past, present, and future? "Literary Maryland" explores this question by taking students on a tour of our state's prose, poetry, and drama from colonization to the present. In addition to reading fascinating writing and visiting interesting places, you'll learn how the Chesapeake was formed; why nobody sings the entire national anthem; and what led Baltimore to name its football team after a poem written by a Virginian.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Service learning in collaboration with students at area high schools. Explores how writing can be a tool for social change. Participants serve as mentors, create a performance event concerning a pressing social issue, and compose reflections, literacy narratives, publicity materials, and a multimodal project. Focus on developing critical self-awareness.

Service learning in collaboration with students at area high schools. Explores how writing can be a tool for social change. Participants serve as mentors, create a performance event concerning a pressing social issue, and compose reflections, literacy narratives, and publicity materials. Students also design individual projects that link course content and students' own professional interests.

The objective of this gateway course is to help you understand and apply basic theories and empirical data on family health. The course is designed to provide you with skills to think critically about theories including: Life Course Theory, the Bio-Ecological and Social-Ecological Models, and Systems Theory. We will ask questions about the distinct qualities and intersections of contexts and characteristics that impact the functioning of families. We will apply theory and research to topical issues in family health that are impacted by social structures such as conflict, crisis, migration, incarceration and inequalities.

Social, political, cultural and economic factors influencing income and wealth in American families.

Theories of child, spouse, and elder abuse in the family setting. Emphasis on historical, psychological, sociological and legal trends relating to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Introduction to methods for prevention and remediation.

An analysis of the works and ideas of 20th and 21st century Francophone writers (Africa, the Caribbeans, France). Taught in English.

A study of the major factors underlying international relations, the causes of conflict and cooperation among international actors, the role of international institutions, the interactions of domestic and foreign policies, and major issues in security, economy and the environment.

A study of the domestic governmental institutions; processes and problems such as conflict and economic development; and the socio-economic environments that are common to lower-income countries around the world.

Students will gain a greater understanding of 1) the role of Asian Americans in US politics, 2) the political attitudes and behaviors of Asian Americans and 3) how to conduct research on Asian American politics. Though the class will concentrate on Asian Americans, issues related to Asian American politics will be examined within the larger context of America's multicultural political landscape.

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.

The development of Europe in the Middle Ages; the role of religious values in shaping new social, economic, and political institutions; medieval literature, art and architecture.

Overviews early mid-19th-century changes in African societies, European conquest and African resistances in the late 19th-century, colonial states and societies, African nationalisms and decolonization and the independence era. Struggles over social, economic, and political changes are emphasized.

Examines the complicated relationship between theology, nationalism, sovereignty, and the ethical exercise of social control using case studies drawn from the Jewish historical experience. The universal and age-old issues implicit in the exercise of power have gained special moral force for Jews with the creation of the State of Israel, a Jewish and a democratic state with substantial non-Jewish minorities and hundreds of thousands of non-citizen subjects. Can these be reconciled? Jewish efforts over the ages and in recent times to define justice provide concrete examples through which to examine and discuss crucial abstract principles.

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.

Study of encounters, exchanges, and clashes between Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans in the early modern Atlantic World. Examines conquest and colonial systems; movement of men and women and mixing of peoples, and the persistence of native folkways.

Introduction to the history of Asian Americans and Asians in the United States and the Americas and to the field of Asian American Studies, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Topics include theories of race and ethnicity; Asian migration and diaspora to the Americas; Asian American work and labor issues; gender, family, and communities; nationalism and nativism, and anti-Asian movements; Asian Americans in World War II, the Cold War, and the issues in the civil rights & post-civil rights era.

The history of immigration and the development of diverse populations i the United States are examined. Topics include related political controversies, the social experiences of immigrants, ethnicity, generations, migration, inter-group relations, race, and diversity in American culture.

Britain's empire from the mid-sixteenth century to the late twentieth century, focusing on the encounter between Britain and indigenous peoples. Topics include the origins of British imperialism in Ireland and North America, the slave trade, the East India Company and India, women in empire, transportation and the making of Australia, sex in empire, missionaries, racial theories, and decolonization.

Introductory survey of the history of Latin America from the era of independence (c. 1810-1825) through the early 1980s. Major themes include independence and sovereignty, postcolonialism and neocolonialism, nation- and state-building, liberalism, citizenship, economic development and modernization, social organization and stratification, race and ethnicity, gender relations, identity politics, reform and revolution, authoritarianism and democratization, and inter-American relations.

Examines the history and culture of the Jews from the thirteenth century BCE/BC to the present through an examination of significant themes or problems (such as "religion" or "diaspora") that shape our understanding of the Jewish people. A primary focus in the course will be on texts, artifacts, and other cultural products by Jews and others that illustrate the history of the Jews help understand their cultural heritage.

An exploration of the discourses and practices of the Spanish colonial project in the New World and the ways in which Indians and Blacks were incorporated into or excluded from that project. Also examines native and African resistance and adaptation to Spanish rule, and the process of transformation and hybridization of Spanish, native and African cultures in Spanish America. An analysis of recent historiographical developments that have profoundly changed the understanding of the Spanish conquest and colonization of the New World.

Exposes students to the fundamental aspects of the lived experiences of Black men in the U.S. by critically examining social, economic, cultural, historical, and environmental factors that determine the health and well-being of this heterogenous population. Utilizing a life course perspective, students will assess the health status and health care needs of this population using a health equity lens by drawing upon foundational aspects in the field of public health including, the ecological approach, determinants of health, public heath critical race praxis, and the health disparities generation research framework. Current contemporary health issues will be applied to both highlight and provide evidence of the multitude of factors shaping the lives of Black men. Ultimately, the course aims to identify potential recommendations and solutions to support the well-being of this critically important community.

In 2023, Maia Kobabe's graphic memoir, Gender Queer, was the most challenged book in the U.S. Often restricted due to spurious claims about corrupting children, comics have a long history of upsetting the status quo with their unique use of words and pictures. Artists from historically marginalized communities continue to shape this medium. This class examines comics, from glossy horror comics to grungy punk zines, that reject the conventional and subvert suppression. Learning experientially through DMV resources like the D.C. Punk and Indie Fanzine Archive and local comics fests, students will generate their own comics and investigate censorship and resistance.

From the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1920 to the Covid-19 pandemic, and from the appearance of HIV/AIDS in queer communities to its spread in Africa, the world's disease crises have been inflamed by colonialism, imperialism, and other structural forms of exploitation and dispossession. This course asks: What is the connection between seemingly interruptive global health crises and our everyday normal? By engaging with novels, long-form journalism, and other stories of global crises, we will grapple with the possibility that, far from averting disaster, capitalism and the legal structures that support it create the conditions for crises to thrive. We will investigate the failures of public response but also the heroic actions of individuals fighting for life. Students will learn to connect individual experience to broad structural explanations and to analyze historical moments to better understand our present and the shared forces that shape our lives.

Introduces concepts and theoretical interpretations about the causes of international migration; provides an historical overview of the main flows of immigration to the U.S.; analyzes economic, political, social, and cultural aspects that impact the immigrants' settlement process.

Examines the complicated relationship between theology, nationalism, sovereignty, and the ethical exercise of social control using case studies drawn from the Jewish historical experience. The universal and age-old issues implicit in the exercise of power have gained special moral force for Jews with the creation of the State of Israel, a Jewish and a democratic state with substantial non-Jewish minorities and hundreds of thousands of non-citizen subjects. Can these be reconciled? Jewish efforts over the ages and in recent times to define justice provide concrete examples through which to examine and discuss crucial abstract principles.

There are a number of overly stereotypical gendered and sexualized images of Japanese in the United States. Consider, for instance, the continued dominance of the icons of Japan, the Samurai and Geisha. An examination of the wide variety of representations of femininity and masculinity and gender and sexual identities in Japan, however, offers us a fruitful opportunity to expand and challenge even our most inclusive ideas of gender and sexuality. The title of this course derives from a feminist, theoretical work by Judith Butler, Gender Trouble. Putting a critical lens to fiction, film, drama, art, and legal documents, we will trouble (complicate and deconstruct) received notions of gender and sexuality in a number of fundamental ways.

An analysis of the information, values and underlying messages conveyed via television, newspapers, the internet, magazines, radio and film. Examines the accuracy of those messages and explores how media shape views of politics, culture and society.

Examines the complicated relationship between theology, nationalism, sovereignty, and the ethical exercise of social control using case studies drawn from the Jewish historical experience. The universal and age-old issues implicit in the exercise of power have gained special moral force for Jews with the creation of the State of Israel, a Jewish and a democratic state with substantial non-Jewish minorities and hundreds of thousands of non-citizen subjects. Can these be reconciled? Jewish efforts over the ages and in recent times to define justice provide concrete examples through which to examine and discuss crucial abstract principles.

Examines the history and culture of the Jews from the thirteenth century BCE/BC to the present through an examination of significant themes or problems (such as "religion" or "diaspora") that shape our understanding of the Jewish people. A primary focus in the course will be on texts, artifacts, and other cultural products by Jews and others that illustrate the history of the Jews help understand their cultural heritage.

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.

Sport will be related to such social problems as delinquency, segregation, collective behavior, and leisure; to social processes such as socialization, stratification, mobility, and social control; and to those familiar social institutions the family, the school, the church, the military, the economy, the polity, and the mass media.

Study of the field of adapted physical activity and its impact on the health and wellness of individuals with disabilities. Students will design an adapted physical activity program proposal and develop the skills needed to empower people with disabilities to participate in physical activity and sports programs. Students will explore their own perceptions towards disability and how people with disabilities are portrayed in our society. They will study the etiology of disabling conditions and the implications for participating in physical activity.

Examination of sport culture from a global perspective; focuses on theorizing the similarities and differences between various national sporting cultures.

Major issues shaping Latin American and Caribbean societies including the changing constructions of race, ethnicity, gender and class as well as expressions of popular cultures and revolutionary practices. Taught in English.

Introductory survey of the history of Latin America from the era of independence (c. 1810-1825) through the early 1980s. Major themes include independence and sovereignty, postcolonialism and neocolonialism, nation- and state-building, liberalism, citizenship, economic development and modernization, social organization and stratification, race and ethnicity, gender relations, identity politics, reform and revolution, authoritarianism and democratization, and inter-American relations.

An interdisciplinary study of the historical and social contexts of queer and trans life. Explores the social meanings of sex and gender in our current moment; traces the formation of LGBTQ+ social and cultural movements; unpacks the categorization of genders and sexualities.

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.

Queer femme identity, rooted in 1940s and 1950s bar culture, continues to resonate. Often linked with butch, femme is a queer, feminine expression that challenges the binary tying femininity to cisgender, heterosexual women. Femme exists outside that frame. Black women have long moved beyond white heteropatriarchal norms, and Black femmes of all genders have turned that resistance into power. This course explores Black femme identity as a radical critique of gender, sexuality, and whiteness. Through cultural studies and humanities methods, we will examine femme's complexity and how it unsettles what we assume about queerness, femininity, and identity.

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.