Dante’s PURGATORIO

Dante’s PURGATORIO

Dante’s Purgatorio, as is well known, is not a standalone text; it is simply the second part of The Divine Comedy. In this course we will deal with Dante’s views on redemption and salvation as represented in his Purgatorio. Our focus will be the nature of sin: How it...
Exposed: Art History and Technology

Exposed: Art History and Technology

Science and technology enhance our understanding of cultural history by uniting scholars across disciplines in order to expand art historical perspectives and preserve cultural masterpieces. This course begins with an overview of the campus collections and the basic...
Controversial Issues in the Supreme Court

Controversial Issues in the Supreme Court

This course explores the United States Supreme Court and its role in deciding fundamental social questions. After an introductory class on the Court itself, we will focus on landmark cases involving race in education, abortion, religious freedom, and wartime...
The Ever-Changing Brain (Session Two)

The Ever-Changing Brain (Session Two)

Professor Tolbert brings back her popular spring 2016 course with some exciting updates! Please Note: We will be offering two sessions of this course in the coming semester. Session 1 will be held in the morning from 9 – 11 AM. Session 2 will be held in the...
Elementary My Dear…The Modern International Detective Tale

Elementary My Dear…The Modern International Detective Tale

Register Now Professor Compitello brings his popular summer 2014 course to Oro Valley! The detective tale, born of the work of Edgar Alan Poe and altered by Dashiell Hammett, evolved over time in the hands of international masters such as Jorge Luis Borges, Manuel...
Art and the Classical Ideal

Art and the Classical Ideal

Experience the classical world and its enduring legacy on a tour led by archaeologist and art historian Dr. David Soren. Beginning with the amazing structures of ancient Greece and Rome, the course surveys the continuing influence of the classical ideal from antiquity...
Ancestral Hopi Archaeology

Ancestral Hopi Archaeology

The Hopi, who have maintained many of their ancient practices while deftly navigating the dramatic changes of the last 500 years, are among the world’s most fascinating and most studied peoples. This seminar will introduce participants to the archaeology,...
World War I

World War I

2018 marks the centennial of the Great War, as World War I was originally known. The War ended the Concert of Europe, reworked global geography and transformed the domestic structures of the combatants. This course will examine the War’s origins, explore how it ended...
The Ever-Changing Brain

The Ever-Changing Brain

Professor Tolbert brings back her popular spring 2016 course with some exciting updates! Please Note: We will be offering two sessions of this course in the coming semester. Session 1 will be held in the morning from 9 – 11 AM. Session 2 will be held in the...
Walks in Rome

Walks in Rome

For over two millennia, Rome has been central in the West’s symbolic landscape and the city is still filled with the glorious hidden treasures of centuries. The humanist epigram Quanta Roma fuit ruina docet—‘Her ruins teach us how great Rome was,’ invites a study of...
Contemporary Poetry through Four Lenses

Contemporary Poetry through Four Lenses

Register Now In a letter to Thomas Higginson, Emily Dickinson used these words to describe poetry: “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know...
Permanence and Change in Modern Literature

Permanence and Change in Modern Literature

“No person ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he/she is not the same person.” If this is the human condition according to Heraclitus, what remains permanent in the midst of change? This course will explore the twin themes of...
The American West in Myth and Reality

The American West in Myth and Reality

Most of the people in the world know something about the American West. Usually popular ideas about it come from the work of novelists, artists, performers, filmmakers and TV producers, who created a mythical time and place where self-reliant pioneers overcame...
Films in Context

Films in Context

To study film language is to explore how films use narrative structure, visual style and sound design. We will begin at the beginnings of film, from the 1890s through the 1910s feature, the European art film movements of the 1920s and the arrival of sound. With this...
Beyond Brahms at the Piano: Listening to Modern Music

Beyond Brahms at the Piano: Listening to Modern Music

Why is it that much classical music written after 1910 remains difficult for audiences? The answer lies partially in the splintering of compositional languages throughout the 20th century, languages that can leave listeners unnecessarily flummoxed and dissatisfied. In...
Introduction to Reading William Faulkner

Introduction to Reading William Faulkner

In this course, we will focus on learning to read three of Faulkner’s most celebrated novels: The Sound and the Fury (1929), Light in August (1932), and Absalom, Absalom! (1936). “Learning to read,” means learning to analyze, interpret, and enjoy. We will ask...
The Balkans: Identity in Contact and Conflict

The Balkans: Identity in Contact and Conflict

The Balkans has typically been described stereotypically and which countries belong in the Balkans today remains contentious. In this course, we will examine the Balkans from a variety of perspectives: the cultural-historical background of the Balkans as a...