Departmental Advisors
General Inquiry
Departmental Notes
For course descriptions and pre-requisite information click on the subject column next to the appropriate catalog number.
Attention: Classroom assignments may change between the time you
register and when classes begin. Please check your class schedule for the latest classroom location
information before attending class.
MUSE 1850 - 001 Queer Belonging
Queer Belonging: In this seminar we will explore what it means to belong as queer people. What does it mean for us to belong in our bodies, in our communities, in our families, and in our friend groups? What about in institutions such as history, media, healthcare, and schools? But more than that, what does it even mean to belong, and how might we queer (the verb) belonging in ways that just might open up more interesting, affirming, dare I say euphoric, possibilities for belonging? We will spend our time together intentionally building and nurturing space(s) for our own queer belonging and interrogating what this means for us. We will draw from various queer "texts" ranging from young adult fiction, to film, to art, to music, to historical accounts, to academic research to critically analyze the ways the possibilities for belonging have been structured and presented to us, so that we can make more informed choices about our own attempts at queer belonging. Finally, it is essential to know that this won't work unless we are attentive to the multiplicities of our identities so an emphasis on race, class, gender, ability, age, citizenship, and religion will run through the entire semester.
MUSE 1850 - 001 Queer Belonging
- Class Number: 19245
- Instructor: HACKFORD-PEER, KIM
- Component: Seminar
- Type: In Person
- Units: 1.0
- Requisites: Yes
- Wait List: Yes
- Seats Available: 8
Queer Belonging: In this seminar we will explore what it means to belong as queer people. What does it mean for us to belong in our bodies, in our communities, in our families, and in our friend groups? What about in institutions such as history, media, healthcare, and schools? But more than that, what does it even mean to belong, and how might we queer (the verb) belonging in ways that just might open up more interesting, affirming, dare I say euphoric, possibilities for belonging? We will spend our time together intentionally building and nurturing space(s) for our own queer belonging and interrogating what this means for us. We will draw from various queer "texts" ranging from young adult fiction, to film, to art, to music, to historical accounts, to academic research to critically analyze the ways the possibilities for belonging have been structured and presented to us, so that we can make more informed choices about our own attempts at queer belonging. Finally, it is essential to know that this won't work unless we are attentive to the multiplicities of our identities so an emphasis on race, class, gender, ability, age, citizenship, and religion will run through the entire semester.
MUSE 1850 - 002 Old Meets New in Popular Media
The Old Meets the New: Hades & Persephone in Popular Media- In this course we will examine how and why the ancient Greek myths are still alive in popular media today. We will analyze the characters of Hades, the god of the underworld, and Persephone, the goddess of spring and the queen of the underworld, to better understand their sudden popularity in contemporary culture. We will explore the following questions: Why do we like “dark” heroes? Why are we intrigued by pictures of the underworld? What is appealing about the love story of Persephone and Hades? Why is it important to examine popular culture to understand the concerns of our contemporary world? What does popular culture reveal about modern American society—our hopes and our fears? How can an understanding of the ancient world also help us understand the present world in a deeper way? The “old” Greek texts we will examine: The Homeric Hymn to Demeter; Ovid’s stories of these gods and the underworld from his Metamorphoses; ancient visual art of the gods and the underworld. The “new” texts we will examine: Hades, the video game; music from the Broadway show, Hadestown; Hades and Persephone in the comics; a graphic novel; and a romance novel.
MUSE 1850 - 002 Old Meets New in Popular Media
- Class Number: 19246
- Instructor: TOSCANO, MARGARET
- Component: Seminar
- Type: In Person
- Units: 1.0
- Requisites: Yes
- Wait List: Yes
- Seats Available: 5
The Old Meets the New: Hades & Persephone in Popular Media- In this course we will examine how and why the ancient Greek myths are still alive in popular media today. We will analyze the characters of Hades, the god of the underworld, and Persephone, the goddess of spring and the queen of the underworld, to better understand their sudden popularity in contemporary culture. We will explore the following questions: Why do we like “dark” heroes? Why are we intrigued by pictures of the underworld? What is appealing about the love story of Persephone and Hades? Why is it important to examine popular culture to understand the concerns of our contemporary world? What does popular culture reveal about modern American society—our hopes and our fears? How can an understanding of the ancient world also help us understand the present world in a deeper way? The “old” Greek texts we will examine: The Homeric Hymn to Demeter; Ovid’s stories of these gods and the underworld from his Metamorphoses; ancient visual art of the gods and the underworld. The “new” texts we will examine: Hades, the video game; music from the Broadway show, Hadestown; Hades and Persephone in the comics; a graphic novel; and a romance novel.
MUSE 1850 - 003 Reading American Poetry
Reading American Poetry: In this seminar we’ll read and discuss a representative selection of American poems. These works will provide historical and cultural context for much of the pain, division, and potential joy in American society today. There will also be poems about the inner life, about the rough and tumble of personal and group relationships, and about love. Poetry evokes the potential inherent in language to clarify and inspire—to open up what Walt Whitman points us toward, “landscapes of continents, and a plain public road.” He adds, with visionary conviction, that “not any one else can travel that road for you,/ You must travel it for yourself.” I look forward to our personal and collective journeys of discovery into the language of American poetry.
MUSE 1850 - 003 Reading American Poetry
- Class Number: 19247
- Instructor: MATHESON, MARK
- Component: Seminar
- Type: In Person
- Units: 1.0
- Requisites: Yes
- Wait List: Yes
- Seats Available: 7
Reading American Poetry: In this seminar we’ll read and discuss a representative selection of American poems. These works will provide historical and cultural context for much of the pain, division, and potential joy in American society today. There will also be poems about the inner life, about the rough and tumble of personal and group relationships, and about love. Poetry evokes the potential inherent in language to clarify and inspire—to open up what Walt Whitman points us toward, “landscapes of continents, and a plain public road.” He adds, with visionary conviction, that “not any one else can travel that road for you,/ You must travel it for yourself.” I look forward to our personal and collective journeys of discovery into the language of American poetry.
MUSE 1850 - 004 How to Fail Successfully
How to Fail Successfully: This course is all about failure; understanding how we fail, why we fail, and how often we fail, in order to succeed. We do this through getting to know ourselves. Reflection, more significantly, self-reflection is the map to our methods of learning; if we know how learn, we can fail successfully. In this course we will anchor our learning through fiction. We will follow our protagonist’s journey, identify their choices, and reflect on their transformation(s). Through our protagonist, we will reflect on our own selves. There is no one right way or wrong way to do this. So, I hope you will join me this fall, so we can journey together to find our ways of failing successfully.
MUSE 1850 - 004 How to Fail Successfully
- Class Number: 19248
- Instructor: VEERAGHANTA, SEETHA V
- Component: Seminar
- Type: In Person
- Units: 1.0
- Requisites: Yes
- Wait List: Yes
- Seats Available: 3
How to Fail Successfully: This course is all about failure; understanding how we fail, why we fail, and how often we fail, in order to succeed. We do this through getting to know ourselves. Reflection, more significantly, self-reflection is the map to our methods of learning; if we know how learn, we can fail successfully. In this course we will anchor our learning through fiction. We will follow our protagonist’s journey, identify their choices, and reflect on their transformation(s). Through our protagonist, we will reflect on our own selves. There is no one right way or wrong way to do this. So, I hope you will join me this fall, so we can journey together to find our ways of failing successfully.
MUSE 1850 - 005 Petroculture: Fossil Fuels
Petroculture: How Fossil Fuels Have Shaped Our World- This seminar will study "petro" or "oil culture" through a focus on selected fiction and nonfiction and visual culture (cinema; photography) texts that illustrate how--in the 150 years since the advent of the petroleum industry--petrocapitalism is as much a cultural phenomenon as it is an economic necessity, political force, and environmental concern. Broadly conceived, petroculture encompasses or indexes: the emergence of corporate capitalism on both national and transnational scales; the triumph of automobile or car culture and, as a consequence, the transformation of the nation's transportation system and urban design (think freeways and commercial/residential sprawl); the predominance of “plastic” and “vinyl” products in everyday life; and apocalyptic anxieties associated with both ecological disasters/toxic environments and a dystopian post-petrocapitalism futures. Key texts for this course will be Richard Misrach and Kate Orff’s *Petrochemical America* and such movies as The Wages of Fear (1953), Safe (1995), Blue Vinyl (2005), Dark Waters (2019).
MUSE 1850 - 005 Petroculture: Fossil Fuels
- Class Number: 19249
- Instructor: TATUM, ROBERT
- Component: Seminar
- Type: In Person
- Units: 1.0
- Requisites: Yes
- Wait List: Yes
- Seats Available: 9
Petroculture: How Fossil Fuels Have Shaped Our World- This seminar will study "petro" or "oil culture" through a focus on selected fiction and nonfiction and visual culture (cinema; photography) texts that illustrate how--in the 150 years since the advent of the petroleum industry--petrocapitalism is as much a cultural phenomenon as it is an economic necessity, political force, and environmental concern. Broadly conceived, petroculture encompasses or indexes: the emergence of corporate capitalism on both national and transnational scales; the triumph of automobile or car culture and, as a consequence, the transformation of the nation's transportation system and urban design (think freeways and commercial/residential sprawl); the predominance of “plastic” and “vinyl” products in everyday life; and apocalyptic anxieties associated with both ecological disasters/toxic environments and a dystopian post-petrocapitalism futures. Key texts for this course will be Richard Misrach and Kate Orff’s *Petrochemical America* and such movies as The Wages of Fear (1953), Safe (1995), Blue Vinyl (2005), Dark Waters (2019).
MUSE 1850 - 008 Art of Making Things Happen
The Art of Making Things Happen: Many authors, including Carnegie, Harragan, and Gladwell to name a few, have written guidebooks and manuals for how to “get it done.” Perhaps only loosely rooted in science, they offer practical tactics for creating and navigating change and working effectively with people. Let’s dissect their work, merge and transform ideas, add our own…and reimagine the art of making things happen in a post(?)-pandemic world.
MUSE 1850 - 008 Art of Making Things Happen
- Class Number: 19252
- Instructor: PAISLEY, KAREN
- Component: Seminar
- Type: In Person
- Units: 1.0
- Requisites: Yes
- Wait List: Yes
- Seats Available: 2
The Art of Making Things Happen: Many authors, including Carnegie, Harragan, and Gladwell to name a few, have written guidebooks and manuals for how to “get it done.” Perhaps only loosely rooted in science, they offer practical tactics for creating and navigating change and working effectively with people. Let’s dissect their work, merge and transform ideas, add our own…and reimagine the art of making things happen in a post(?)-pandemic world.