Current Courses
Current Courses
Open Courses
Online
Fall 2021
In Session
David Soren
Thursdays
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM (AZ Time)
Sep 23 to Dec 9
Join Professor Soren for a personal online course showing the relationship of Art History and Cinema and featuring films such as Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur. In addition there will be a special live visit from Rick Polizzi, winner of 3 Emmys and producer and director of The Simpsons discussing how television animation is created. This course combines lectures, innovative comedy, art history, film and special guests to create a unique Seminars experience.
Pre-Recorded Online Course Format with Live Q&A Sessions
All classes will be delivered online via pre-...
Main Campus
Fall 2021
Laura Hollengreen
Mondays
1 PM - 3 PM (AZ Time)
Sep 27 to Oct 25
We know that many of the achievements of the Italian Renaissance were founded on a revival of ancient Roman civilization. Less well-known is the variety of ways, moments, and places in which Roman architecture inspired medieval building. On the one hand, Early Christian buildings were modelled on and sometimes built of pieces from ancient buildings and Romanesque architecture looked old enough to be confused at times with ancient Roman architecture. On the other hand, Byzantine and Gothic buildings appear to realize a very different aesthetic while still being indebted to Roman innovations....
Fall 2021
Caleb Simmons
Tuesdays
9 AM - 12 PM (AZ Time)
Sep 28 to Dec 7
Yoga is a ubiquitous presence in the landscape of American fitness culture. For many, it is synonymous with selfcare and holistic healthy living. While yoga is often vaguely connected to Asian traditions, its long history as a philosophical and religious system can be elided with our contemporary focus on the physical and mental benefits of the practice. In this course, we will examine the philosophy, practice, historical roots, and development of yoga over its 2,000-year history. Additionally, we will explore the multiple manifestations of yoga within its original ritual context and as a...
Fall 2021
Fabian Alfie
Tuesdays
1 PM - 4 PM (AZ Time)
Sep 28 to Oct 19
Throughout the ages, expressions of passion and commitment have been central to love poets. This course will focus on the medieval foundations of Italian poetry—and by extension, the rebirth of European literature. The movement known as the dolce stil nuovo (sweet new style) redefined love in the late Middle Ages; no longer was love simply the pastime of medieval nobles, but it was now elevated to a philosophical or religious plane. The great poet Dante Alighieri (1260-1321), author of the Divine Comedy, was at the center of this literary movement, as his youthful experience with love poetry...
Fall 2021
Eddy White
Wednesdays
1 PM - 3 PM (AZ Time)
Sep 29 to Dec 8
Every day we are confronted with paranormal and supernatural beliefs - loosely defined as things that exist or occur outside the natural world - and surveys show that most people in the United States and throughout the world are supernatural/paranormal believers. Such phenomena as UFOs, ghosts, astrology, and ESP (extrasensory perception) clearly defy conventional wisdom and understanding, yet belief in them is a widespread component of human culture, often exerting a profound effect on people’s lives. Why are such unusual beliefs part of the human experience for so many? Why do some people...
Fall 2021
Yadira Berigan
Thursdays
9 AM - 12 PM (AZ Time)
Sep 30 to Oct 28
This course provides a historical overview of Latin America through films. Special attention is paid to the different conceptualizations of the political, social and artistic purposes of film. This course takes a cultural studies approach to film; that is, it involves analysis taking into consideration the following: 1. Text (characters, plot, story, etc.); 2. Context (historical and geographical specificities of when/where the film was produced). We will screen one movie per class and, students might be required to read articles related to the movies before class. Be advised that most of the...
Fall 2021
Susan A. Crane
Fridays
10 AM - 12 PM (AZ Time)
Oct 1 to Oct 22
The past is what happened. History is what we write about it. History and memory are not opposed terms; rather, history and memory shape each other through remembering, forgetting and erasure. Historical narratives are always informed by memories of the past that are alive in individuals’ minds, including what we learned about the past through written and visual histories. Memories exist in individual brains, but they would not persist without social and collective memory frameworks which we study as “histories of memories.” This course will examine histories of memories during the “long”...
Fall 2021
James Watson
Wednesdays
10 AM - 12 PM (AZ Time)
Oct 6 to Oct 27
More than seven million years of evolution led to the dominance of our species over the planet. A long but often scant trail of fossil skeletons tell the tale. But biological evolution is only one part of the equation as behavioral adaptations, or “culture,” both contributed to and accelerated the evolution of our human form. Today we live trapped in bodies that hold the residues of physical evolution and their limitations, under the intensely rapid transformations of modernity. In this four-part lecture series, you will journey through millions of years of evolution with Dr. Watson to trace...
Fall 2021
Greg Sakall
Mondays
6 PM - 8 PM (AZ Time)
Oct 25 to Nov 22
The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to many legal and sociopolitical debates. This course will review the US Supreme Court's role in those debates. The course will start off with a review of the Court’s 2020-2021 term. We will then explore in greater detail issues including individual liberties, compulsory vaccinations, COVID regulations and religious objections to the same, and qualified immunity for law enforcement officers. Readings will focus on recent and historical Supreme Court decisions, and discussion will be encouraged. The final lecture will look ahead toward the cases and issues...
Fall 2021
Meg Lota Brown
Tuesdays
1 PM - 4 PM
Oct 26 to Nov 16
NEW! HSP Deep Dive Seminar
The social, economic, religious, and political instability of the Renaissance informed some of the most brilliantly anxious literature in the history of England. As some authors strained to construct coherent identities, hierarchies, and worldviews, others challenged received notions about what is sacred, natural, or true. In the midst of such tensions the writers we will discuss produced gorgeous, funny, complicated, disturbing, and infinitely interesting works of poetry, prose, and drama. Our focus will be on the conjunction of violence, gender, and the unknown....
Fall 2021
Paul Ivey
Mondays
1 PM - 4 PM
Nov 1 to Nov 29
In this course we will consider historical and contemporary examples of architecture and the visual arts concerned with defining and engaging the spiritual and the sacred. This series of lectures will cover primarily American examples of religious utopian communal settlement, outsider art, alternative, esoteric, and new age spirituality in art, architecture, and cinema, roadside religion, memorials, and contemporary religious art and architecture.
NEW - Hybrid Course Format
All classes will be delivered both in person and online via live video streaming. Students will enroll in their...
Closed Courses
Fall 2021
In Session
David Soren
Thursdays
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM (AZ Time)
Sep 23 to Dec 9
Join Professor Soren for a personal online course showing the relationship of Art History and Cinema and featuring films such as Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur. In addition there will be a special live visit from Rick Polizzi, winner of 3 Emmys and producer and director of The Simpsons discussing how television animation is created. This course combines lectures, innovative comedy, art history, film and special guests to create a unique Seminars experience.
Pre-Recorded Online Course Format with Live Q&A Sessions
- ...