Interdisciplinary Core
Introduction to Eastern Philosophy
Brian Barnes
MWF, 9-9:50
Course Description:
We will explore philosophical elements
of Hinduism, Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Islam. I will include relevant
cultural activities traditionally practiced by adherents to these disciplines in
order to highlight the connection between ritual and practical reality. Students
will use this background of topics to practice oral and written critical
analysis and argument skills.
Cross-Cultural Sexuality
Don Osborn
MWF, 10-10:50
Course Description:
Human sexuality lies at the
intersection of biology and culture. While the biology of sex is the same
the world around, different cultures have vastly different ways of
conceptualizing the meaning of sexuality. Taking a social constructivist
approach, this course is designed to explore the different ways societies see
sexuality through readings, videos, and class presentations and discussion.
Topics covered include the presentation and modification of the desired sexual
body, religious and ethnic viewpoints on the meaning of sexuality, love and
marriage, autoerotic and interpersonal practices, unconventional sexual
behaviors, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, gender viewpoints, and
popular culture representations of sexuality.
Caribbean literature: The “Other” Side of the Story: Rewriting Canonical Fiction
Melody Carriere
MW, 1-2:15
Course Description:
Have you ever wondered about the life
of the madwoman in Bronte’s Jane Eyre?
What about Caliban in Shakespeare’s Tempest?
Just as the story of the Wicked Witch is revealed in Gregory Maguire’s
Wicked, many Caribbean authors have rewritten their history through modern works
that lend sympathy to these marginalized figures. Previously, European authors
have written about colonial society in their own words, which has often
contributed to negative stereotypes of the Caribbean “Other” and an ignorance of
Caribbean history. Since Caribbean
culture has been impacted by and is still reeling from the effects of
colonialism, Caribbean authors have decided to write their own stories.
One method they have used to fight back is to consume the influence; they
re-write the canonical texts and in so doing reverse the colonial power.
This serves to both question the validity of the classic texts as well as
to give a voice to the forgotten Other.
In this course, students will read the original texts written by the
European authors of the Western tradition, and then follow them with the
rewritten work of the Caribbean author, thus exploring the cultural and textual
implications of this unique approach. Students will also read
Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, which
uses the same approach.
World Mythology
Michele Ruby
MW, 2-3:15
Course Description:
Gods,
heroes, and humans; creation and cosmic battles; sex, disaster, and death; the
quest for eternal life; journeys to the underworld and back – myths are the
first stories, the stories that unite us all.
We will examine myth and its functions for individuals and societies
around the world and through the ages.
We will look primarily at archetypes (the similarities), but we may also
consider culture-specific adaptations (the differences).
We'll examine the presence of myth in the modern world through movies
that enact the journey of the hero.
Each student will choose a culture and acquire expertise in its mythology.
African Culture through Fiction
Cathy Sutton
W, 6-8:30
Course Description: The contemporary novel provides a window on any culture that produces it since no writer lives in a vacuum. African writers, quite the contrary, focus their novels on the social, political, and cultural contexts that surround them. The class will concentrate on several of these cultural contexts found in the novels of contemporary African novelists. A major point of view found in contemporary African novelists involves the maturation story of a young person who has left Africa to be educated in the West and then returns as a changed person, often unsure about his identity and his native culture. In addition, gender plays a major role in works of a growing number of female African novelists. As a third area of interest, some of the novels we read will reflect the effects of the colonial period and the various political, social, and economic factors reflected in various African cultures since the end of colonialism. I hope that this class will help make various areas of Africa a real place for students in the U.S.—a place with unique histories, traditions, and cultures.
Women in Islam
Page Curry
TTh, 9:25-10:40
Course Description:
Was the Prophet misogynous? Is Islam incompatible with democracy? Do all Muslim
women have to wear the burqa? In this class, we will explore the variety of
scenarios in which Islamic women live, primarily abroad, but also in the United
States. Several novels depict lives ‘in the harem’ and breaking out of it, while
another imagines the lives of the women who knew Mohammed. Non-fiction books
examine the historical roots of Islam, and the interpretation of the Koran by
different cultures. Films, newspaper
and magazine articles and web
research will also allow us to explore the diversity of situations in which
Muslim women live today.
Before Globalization: The literature of Imperialism and Post-Colonialism
(Cross List ENGL
333)
Chuck Hatten
TTh, 12-15-1:30
Course Description:
Today we are often told that we live in a globalizing world where trade
and communication span vast distances and link far-flung continents in an
interdependent web. This
course will look at where our modern globalized world comes from, which is out
of an earlier world of global empires, primarily those of Britain and other
European powers. If the contemporary
world is globalized, the reality is that in fact this is not at all a new thing.
As early as the sixteenth and seventh centuries, European traders and
colonialists had begun to forge powerful economic connections linking
continents. In the nineteenth and
early twentieth century the form that global interconnections took was
imperialism, a term that refer to the fact that the residents of places as far
flung as Calcutta, Casablanca, Nairobi, and Hong Kong were all dominated,
politically and economically, by European powers. This course will examine some
of the important imperial literature and crucial history that will help us
understand what the vast colonial empires were and what imperialism in its
heyday felt like. In the latter part of the class we will open up our discussion
to include major texts of neo-imperialism and post-colonialism, texts that
respond to the painful transitions that occurred in the wake of the
disintegration of European empires. Our approach will be interdisciplinary,
blending history and literary studies, but we will also apply what we learn to
help ourselves understand our modern economically interdependent world.
Writers covered will include Kipling, Conrad, Greene, Achebe, and
Rushdie.
Brownson and Marx: Democracy and Communism
Bryan Shepherd
TTh, 3:05-4:20
Course Description:
We will, throughout this course,
examine the philosophies of democracy and communism, the two dominant
philosophies of the 20th century. It is not enough to use the terms
democracy and communism loosely.
What are the philosophical differences between a democracy and a constitutional
republic (America)? What are the differences between communism and socialism?
We will define such terms as labor, capital, the state, wealth, the poor,
aristocracy (“the well born”), fixed wages, etc. Orestes A. Brownson (1803 -76)
and Karl Marx (1818-83) are two men who have written both voluminously and
divergently on the topics which we have enumerated above. Perhaps no two men
better summarize what they feel is the situation of 20th century
civilization. In addition to studying these philosophers and related
philosophical systems, we will examine the papal encyclicals dealing with
democracy and communism. *all texts for this course will either be distributed
by the instructor or easily accessed through the library/online.
Globalization and the Global South: Leading Hope and Change
Adam Renner and Beth
Davis
TTh, 4:30-5:45 (Brown Scholars Section)
Course Description:
This course will provide a
semester-long investigation of globalization through the lens of the Global
South. The course will examine multiple perspectives through various media and
will, at times, use the experience of one Global South country, Jamaica, as
illustrative of the various facets of globalization. The course will also
connect us, locally, to organizations who work with international populations
and the consequences—both opportunities and fall out—of a more ‘globalized’
world. Although the content of the course
will deal with globalization and issues of social justice, the course will more
importantly also focus on each of us in the class.
While the content will be expansive and, at times, complex, we will
endeavor to not let it stand between the professors and students, as we are much
more interested in our evolution as ethical beings poised to help improve the
human condition through our (future) professional roles and as citizens of the
world. Just as your major courses offer you important information to help you
become the best nurse, physical therapist, teacher, musician, etc, you can be,
interdisciplinary courses offer complementary information to help one become the
best citizen they can be—competent, critical, and caring. In particular, since
this is a Brown’s Scholars section, the course will pay particular attention to
leadership development and the expansion of each of our human capacities to lead
processes of hope and change where necessary.
The Israeli-Palestinian Impasse
Ira Grupper
Th, 6-8:30
Course Description:
This course will examine the conflict
over Palestine/Israel from the late 19th century to the present.
It will survey the Ottoman Empire, the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the Balfour
Declaration, the 1947 United Nations resolution recognizing the creation of a
state of Palestine and a state of Israel, and
the Nakba. It will provide an
introduction to the origins of the conflict by considering the social,
ideological, and political forces that shaped it, including the rise of Israeli
and Palestinian nationalisms, European anti-Semitism, Arab resistance to
colonial rule, as well as global war, imperial designs, and the Cold War. It
will discuss the politics of oil and hegemony. Is this a conflict dating
back to time immemorial, Biblical times? Is this conflict religious, secular, or a combination of
both? We will examine the many wars fought over this tiny piece of land.
We will read historical and modern documents, view relevant videos, and, if
possible, have participation of Palestinians and Israeli Jews, and others.
West African Tradition and Culture
Dean Bucalos
Th, 6-8:30
Course Description: In keeping with its interdisciplinary nature, IDC. 301 takes a multiple intelligences approach that draws upon literature, oral history, music, art, experiential learning and includes reflections upon the historical context of West African culture, religion, folklore and mythology, music, art and dance, and West African traditions and mores. The focus will be on Mali, a unique land-locked West African country with an amazing history that includes the mystery of Timbuktu and the wonders of the Dogon country. The course takes a holistic approach to the topic. These aspects of Malian culture and tradition will be explored through hands-on demonstrations, reading, reflection papers, field experiences, and small group presentations. Body, mind and spirit are engaged through dance exercises and exposure to West African drumming and music. In addition, the course will explore West African spirituality, healing practices and storytelling. Throughout the course, students will be challenged to draw parallels as well as distinctions between West African culture and tradition and North American culture and tradition, particularly in the United States.
Trans-cultural Study
through Cultural Immersion
Offsite
Course Fee $20
Gabriele Bosley
Course Description:
This internationally recognized and award
winning course integrates the “laboratory” of study abroad with the U.S.
home-campus curriculum and is delivered to Bellarmine students by connecting
them via the computer networked Blackboard software to home culture peers who
are themselves situated in cultural immersion programs in other countries around
the world, as well as to home university international students attending
Bellarmine. The course examines the limitations of an on-campus intercultural
course versus this writing centered cultural immersion variant and offers
effective intervention techniques, enabling students to maximize their
experience abroad. It is informed by development theory and guided by the
combination of quantitative assessment tools like the Intercultural Development
Inventory (IDI) and Global Perspectives Inventory (GPI), and long term
qualitative assessment of student writing assignments. Learning outcomes are
evaluated employing these quantitative tools via pre- and post- assessment and
through the qualitative assessment of the semester long documentation process of
meta-level analysis, as well as pre and post study abroad workshops where
students have an opportunity to share their voices face to face.
In light of the emphasis on experiential
learning, the course has three major goals: 1) to understand the
advantages and disadvantages of culture study, including the contrast of
internal and external perspectives, and the concept of critical
self-consciousness, 2) to dispel myths and misconceptions about other cultures,
in order to encourage critical thinking about culture and to develop
perspective-taking abilities, 3) to examine similarities and dissimilarities
between and within cultures, 4) to explore forces that contribute to the
development and changes of cultures, including social, economic, political,
geographic, environmental, agricultural, and religious factors.