Course Catalog

Studies the nature and causes of individual behavior and thought in social situations. Presents the basic fields of study that compose the science of social psychology, and how its theories impact on most aspects of people's lives. Topics of study include: conformity, persuasion, mass communication, propaganda, aggression, attraction, prejudice, and altruism.

Introduces the study of the moral conscience, repression, and the search for happiness. Examines Freud and Marcuse's theses concerning human sexuality and human rights in terms of antagonisms between, on the one hand, erotic preference, gender identity and aggression, and on the other, socialization, morality, and so-called civilized refinement.

Applies psychodynamic concepts to the understanding of romantic love as presented in the contemporary cinema. Studies in detail the film Dangerous Liaisons (Frears-Hampton), then analyzes a selection of the following films: Nine And A Half Weeks (Adrian Lyne), L'Amant-The Lover (Duras-Annaud), Sunset Boulevard (Wilder).

Topics vary each semester.

Gender in the Italian Renaissance Examines the art and culture of the Italian Renaissance from the ever-expanding modern perspectives of Gay and Women's studies. Studies the art of Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo and lesser-known artists, as well as Castiglione's Book of the Courtier, within the broad context of early modern history and in relation to contemporaneous sexual practices and gender roles. Includes Louvre visits.

Examines the work of international organizations, public and private, that are engaged in exposing the violation of human rights throughout the world, as well as the international agreements that have been concluded and the results of these agreements.

This course introduces students to key concepts, theories and texts in the study of gender and media in a global context. By examining a range of media texts, modes of representation and production, we can analyse established patterns of how gender has come to be depicted and constructed by media, but also changes and challenges to these patterns. Particular emphasis will be placed on the role of power, discourse and ideology in these contexts. Topics of study will include gender roles, body image, empowerment, spectatorship and performance, sexuality, stereotypes and exploitation; examples will be drawn from media forms including advertising, film, television, journalism and the internet. An overview of important feminist, poststructuralist and queer theories will be central to critical approaches to this material.

This course is a quest for understanding of the conventions of medieval romance, a genre of predilection for establishing codified, recognizable normative femininities and masculinities through the lens of gender, sexuality and feminist and queer theory. We will explore medieval texts and the social contexts of their production and reception, the aspirations and contradictions of the idealized, and the heteronormative world of knighthood and courtly love.

Considers a range of literary writing in which experimental prose and challenging depictions of sex have together defined a particularly subversive force. Reads these works against the development of particularly modern arieties of sexual identity and sexual behavior. Includes works by Genet, Nabokov, Orton, Bataille, Kathy Acker, Nella Larsen, among others.

Explores literary works from Africa, Asia, India, Latin American, Ireland and/or the Caribbean alongside classics from the Western canon that address key colonial and post-colonial issues and concepts: imperialism, nationalism, globalization, empire, resistance writing, feminism, hybridity, border-crossing, exile and cultural translation. Introduces major voices in post-colonial literary and cultural studies, Franz Fanon, Edward Said, Homi Bhaba, and Gayatri Spivak.