by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
What were the key technologies and major technical achievements of classical Greek antiquity? This course examines crucial technological wonders from ancient Greece, focusing on: temple construction (the Parthenon), the mastery of fire for bronzes (the Delphi...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
Can a movie probe more deeply into theology than other works? Can it show the strengths and weaknesses of religious thought more directly, more dramatically? This seminar probes theology and film, examining movies with strong Christian themes. We will use film...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
Is Turkey in Europe or the Middle East? Is this a question of geography, history, politics, or culture? This course explores all those sides of Turkey since the late 19th-century empire, focusing on the republican era after 1923. Turkey is one of the world’s most...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
What is intelligence? What differentiates humans from other animals? This course explores the evolution of cognition in humans and other species, and discusses how science investigates these questions. Why are humans such a unique species on earth–or are we? Why...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
The short story has held a prominent place in Latin American literature for at least 200 years, but it is only within the past few decades that it has become widely known in translation. The course will use the short story as a vehicle to introduce some of Latin...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
Gene Kelly once said that “the history of dance on film begins with Astaire.” One might say that the history of dance on film ends with Kelly. Dancin’ Fools will explore the Broadway and Hollywood careers of these two iconic song and dance men who define the Golden...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
Travels in Consciousness, taught by Norman Austin, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Classics, will explore the history of consciousness as reflected in a variety of texts. Readings will range widely, from Bronze Age Greece to American authors of the Twentieth...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
With an eye to the esthetic qualities of the human body in motion, this course surveys diverse forms of dance in many cultures of the world in order to deepen our appreciation of the spiritual, emotional, and intellectual dimensions of this universal mode of...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
This course tracks the downward spiral of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire, starting from around 146 BC when Rome first firmly established herself as the world power and continuing through the Battle of Actium of 31 BC, where Octavian established...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
This course explores the beliefs and cultures of Islam and the Muslim world. It covers the life and teachings of Muhammad, major themes of the Qur’an, and the primary differences between Sunni and Shi’i Muslims. It also introduces aspects of Muslim cultures in the...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
Because insects account for more than half of all described species and have profound effects on our history and culture, knowledge of their contributions and influences is important. Ecologically, insects provide tremendous benefits and equally daunting challenges....
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
Clearly, Nobel laureates have made major creative contributions to world literature and to international reception of emerging nations’ literary arts. This course will expose students to movements in 20th-century world literature by reading Nobel laureates. Global...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
What makes comedy comedy? Does the comedic aesthetic evolve across cultural and temporal barriers? How do interpretation and performance affect our understanding of the works? What does it mean that comedy is deadly serious? These are a few of the questions to be...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
Two years ago the Main Library of the University of Arizona was given a massive donation of original collections from the American Vaudeville Museum by its curators Frank Cullen and Donald McNeilly. This collection is one of the largest in the world. To commemorate...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
Using the recent translation by Jean and Robert Hollander, we will deal with Dante’s views on human nature as represented in his Purgatorio. We shall discuss the nature of sin: how it is that appetites which keep the body and species alive are evil (i.e., lust and...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
When Oliver Wendell Holmes declared that “the life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience,” he meant that law is a messy and imperfect invention reflecting the human condition. This course will explore the imperfect nature of law today by focusing on...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
This course will give students an understanding of how the Earth’s climate changes naturally, as well as how humans are driving this change. We will explore what is likely to happen in the future, resulting both from natural change and change driven by the...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
Gothic literature, theater, and (more recently) films have been a part of Western culture for over 250 years and have presented us, in disguise, with heightened — and sometimes lurid and monstrous — symbols of what really haunts us as a culture in our...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
Alexander Hamilton promised that the Constitution would “unite parties for the general welfare,” but Washington perceived that “the baneful effects of the spirit of Party” continued to threaten the republic. In the centuries since, we have blamed partisans and...
by bartmann | Apr 4, 2024
Franz Liszt (1811–1886) is one of the seminal figures of the 19th century. As one of the great piano virtuosos, he toured Europe from one end to the other, coming into contact with virtually all the prominent figures of the period. As a composer, he contributed to all...
