Courses
This page displays the schedule of Bryn Mawr courses in this department for this academic year. It also displays descriptions of courses offered by the department during the last four academic years.
For information about courses offered by other Bryn Mawr departments and programs or about courses offered by Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, please consult the Course Guides page.
For information about the Academic Calendar, including the dates of first and second quarter courses, please visit the College's master calendar.
Students must choose a major subject and may choose a minor subject. Students may also select from one of seven concentrations, which are offered to enhance a student's work in the major or minor and to focus work on a specific area of interest.
Concentrations are an intentional cluster of courses already offered by various academic departments or through general programs. These courses may also be cross-listed in several academic departments. Therefore, when registering for a course that counts toward a concentration, a student should register for the course listed in her major or minor department. If the concentration course is not listed in her major or minor department, the student may enroll in any listing of that course.
Spring 2013
| COURSE | TITLE | SCHEDULE/ UNITS |
MEETING TYPE TIMES/DAYS | LOCATION | INSTRUCTOR(S) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CITY B266-001 | Schools in American Cities | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW | Taylor Hall G | Cohen,J. |
| COML B388-001 | Contemporary African Fiction | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 9:45 AM-11:15 AM TTH | English House I | Beard,L. |
| EDUC B200-001 | Critical Issues in Education | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 9:45 AM-11:15 AM TTH | Bettws Y Coed 127 | Lesnick,A. |
| EDUC B266-001 | Schools in American Cities | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW | Taylor Hall G | Cohen,J. |
| ENGL B263-001 | Toni Morrison and the Art of Narrative Conjure | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 2:15 PM- 3:45 PM TTH | English House I | Beard,L. |
| ENGL B388-001 | Contemporary African Fiction | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 9:45 AM-11:15 AM TTH | English House I | Beard,L. |
| FREN B254-001 | Teaching (in) the Postcolony: Schooling in African Fiction | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW | Thomas Hall 118 | Higginson,P. |
| GNST B105-001 | Introduction to Swahili Language and Culture II | Semester / 1 | LEC: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW | Carpenter Library 15 | Mshomba,E. |
| HIST B102-001 | Introduction to African Civilizations | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 11:15 AM-12:45 PM TTH | Bettws Y Coed 127 | Ngalamulume,K. |
| HIST B265-001 | Colonial Encounters in the Americas | Semester / 1 | LEC: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW | Taylor Hall D | Gallup-Diaz,I. |
| HIST B336-001 | Social and Cultural History of Medicine in Africa | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 7:00 PM-10:00 PM T | Carpenter Library 17 | Ngalamulume,K. |
| SOCL B266-001 | Schools in American Cities | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW | Taylor Hall G | Cohen,J. |
Fall 2013
| COURSE | TITLE | SCHEDULE/ UNITS |
MEETING TYPE TIMES/DAYS | LOCATION | INSTRUCTOR(S) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARCH B230-001 | Archaeology and History of Ancient Egypt | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 12:45 PM- 2:15 PM TTH | Carpenter Library 21 | Ataç,M. |
| CITY B266-001 | Schools in American Cities | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW | Taylor Hall D | Curl,H. |
| CITY B269-001 | Black America in Sociological Perspective | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW | Dalton Hall 2 | Washington,R. |
| EDUC B266-001 | Schools in American Cities | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW | Taylor Hall D | Curl,H. |
| ENGL B217-001 | Narratives of Latinidad | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 2:15 PM- 3:45 PM TTH | Thomas Hall 104 | Harford Vargas,J. |
| ENGL B379-001 | The African Griot(te) | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 7:00 PM-10:00 PM M | English House I | Beard,L. |
| GNST B103-001 | Introduction to Swahili Language and Culture I | Semester / 1 | LEC: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW | Mshomba,E. | |
| HIST B236-001 | African History since 1800 | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 12:45 PM- 2:15 PM TTH | Taylor Hall C | Ngalamulume,K. |
| HIST B303-001 | Topics in American History: History of Medicine in America | Semester / 1 | LEC: 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM M | Carpenter Library 15 | Interim,R. |
| SOCL B229-001 | Black America in Sociological Perspective | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW | Dalton Hall 2 | Washington,R. |
| SOCL B266-001 | Schools in American Cities | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW | Bettws Y Coed 127 | Curl,H. |
| SPAN B217-001 | Narratives of Latinidad | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 2:15 PM- 3:45 PM TTH | Thomas Hall 104 | Harford Vargas,J. |
Spring 2014
| COURSE | TITLE | SCHEDULE/ UNITS |
MEETING TYPE TIMES/DAYS | LOCATION | INSTRUCTOR(S) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CITY B237-001 | Themes in Modern African History: Urbanization in Africa | Semester / 1 | LEC: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW | Ngalamulume,K. | |
| EDUC B200-01 | Critical Issues in Education | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 9:45 AM-11:15 AM TTH | Bettws Y Coed 127 | Lesnick,A. |
| ENGL B234-001 | Postcolonial Literature in English | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 2:15 PM- 3:45 PM TTH | Taylor Hall E | Tratner,M. |
| ENGL B264-001 | Focus: Black Bards: Poetry in the Diaspora | Semester / 0.5,1 | Lecture: 11:15 AM-12:45 PM TTH | English House I | Beard,L. |
| GNST B105-001 | Introduction to Swahili Language and Culture II | Semester / 1 | LEC: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW | Mshomba,E. | |
| HIST B102-001 | Introduction to African Civilizations | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW | Taylor Hall C | Ngalamulume,K. |
| HIST B237-001 | Themes in Modern African History: Urbanization in Africa | Semester / 1 | LEC: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW | Ngalamulume,K. | |
| HIST B303-001 | Topics in American History: Reproduction in America | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM T | Dalton Hall 25 | Interim,R. |
| HIST B336-001 | Social and Cultural History of Medicine in Africa | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 7:00 PM-10:00 PM T | Carpenter Library 13 | Ngalamulume,K. |
2013-14 Catalog Data
ANTH B200 The Atlantic World 1492-1800 Not offered 2013-14 The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of the way in which peoples, goods, and ideas from Africa, Europe. and the Americas came together to form an interconnected Atlantic World system. The course is designed to chart the manner in which an integrated system was created in the Americas in the early modern period, rather than to treat the history of the Atlantic World as nothing more than an expanded version of North American, Caribbean, or Latin American history. Division I or Division III Inquiry into the Past (IP) Cross-listed as HIST B200 Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Latin Amer/Latino/Iberian Peoples & Cultures Counts toward International Studies Major ANTH B253 Childhood in the African Experience Not offered 2013-14 An overview of cultural contexts and indigenous literatures concerning the richly varied experience and interpretation of infancy and childhood in selected regions of Africa. Cultural practices such as pregnancy customs, naming ceremonies, puberty rituals, sibling relationships, and gender identity are included. Modern concerns such as child abuse, street children, and other social problems of recent origin involving children are considered in terms of theoretical approaches current in the social sciences. Prerequisites: anthropology major, any social sciences introductory course, Africana studies concentration, or permission of instructor. Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Child and Family Studies ANTH B341 Cultural Perspectives on Marriage and Family Not offered 2013-14 This course considers various theoretical perspectives that inform our understanding of cross-cultural constructions of marriage and the family. Sociobiology, deviance, feminism, social constructionism, and cultural evolutionary approaches will be compared using primarily anthropological-ethnographic case examples. Cultural material from Africa and the United States will be emphasized. Applications will emphasize current U.S. socially contested categories such as same-sex marriage, plural marriage, gender diversity, divorce, and the blended family. Prerequisites: any history, biology, or social science major. Division I: Social Science Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Child and Family Studies ARCH B101 Introduction to Egyptian and Near Eastern Archaeology: Egypt and Mesopotamia Not offered 2013-14 A historical survey of the archaeology and art of the ancient Near East and Egypt. Division III: Humanities Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Inquiry into the Past (IP) Counts toward Africana Studies ARCH B230 Archaeology and History of Ancient Egypt Fall 2013 A survey of the art and archaeology of ancient Egypt from the Pre-Dynastic through the Graeco-Roman periods, with special emphasis on Egypt's Empire and its outside connections, especially the Aegean and Near Eastern worlds. Division III: Humanities Inquiry into the Past (IP) Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Middle East Studies CITY B237 Themes in Modern African HistorySection 001 (Spring 2014): Urbanization in Africa Spring 2014 The course examines the cultural, environmental, economic, political, and social factors that contributed to the expansion and transformation of pre-industrial cities, colonial cities, and cities today. We will examine various themes, such as the relationship between cities and societies; migration and social change; urban space, health problems, city life, and women. Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Inquiry into the Past (IP) Cross-listed as HIST B237 Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Environmental Studies CITY B266 Schools in American Cities Fall 2013 This course examines issues, challenges, and possibilities of urban education in contemporary America. We use as critical lenses issues of race, class, and culture; urban learners, teachers, and school systems; and restructuring and reform. While we look at urban education nationally over several decades, we use Philadelphia as a focal "case" that students investigate through documents and school placements. This is a Praxis II course (weekly fieldwork in a school required) Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Cross-listed as EDUC B266 Cross-listed as SOCL B266 Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Praxis Program CITY B269 Black America in Sociological Perspective Fall 2013 This course provides sociological perspectives on various issues affecting black America: the legacy of slavery; the formation of urban ghettos; the struggle for civil rights; the continuing significance of discrimination; the problems of crime and criminal justice; educational under-performance; entrepreneurial and business activities; the social roles of black intellectuals, athletes, entertainers, and creative artists. Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Inquiry into the Past (IP) Cross-listed as SOCL B229 Counts toward Africana Studies CITY B338 The New African Diaspora: African and Caribbean Immigrants in the United States Not offered 2013-14 An examination of the socioeconomic experiences of immigrants who arrived in the United States since the landmark legislation of 1965. After exploring issues of development and globalization at "home" leading to migration, the course proceeds with the study of immigration theories. Major attention is given to the emergence of transnational identities and the transformation of communities, particularly in the northeastern United States. Division I: Social Science Cross-listed as SOCL B338 Counts toward Africana Studies COML B279 Introduction to African Literature Not offered 2013-14 Taking into account the oral, written, aural and visual forms of African "texts" over several thousand years, this course will explore literary production, translation and audience/critical reception. Representative works to be studied include oral traditions, the Sundiata Epic, Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah, Ayi Kwei Armah's Fragments, Mariama Bâ's Si Longe une Lettre, Tsitsi Danga-rembga's Nervous Conditions, Bessie Head's Maru, Sembène Ousmane's Xala, plays by Wole Soyinka and his Burden of History, The Muse of Forgiveness and Ngugi wa Thiong'o's A Grain of Wheat. We will address the "transliteration" of Christian and Muslim languages and theologies in these works. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) Cross-listed as ENGL B279 Counts toward Africana Studies COML B388 Contemporary African Fiction Not offered 2013-14 Noting that the official colonial independence of most African countries dates back only half a century, this course focuses on the fictive experiments of the most recent decade. A few highly controversial works from the 90's serve as an introduction to very recent work. Most works are in English. To experience depth as well as breadth, there is a small cluster of works from South Africa. With novels and tales from elsewhere on the huge African continent, we will get a glimpse of "living in the present" in history and letters. Division III: Humanities Cross-listed as ENGL B388 Counts toward Africana Studies ECON B324 The Economics of Discrimination and Inequality Not offered 2013-14 Explores the causes and consequences of discrimination and inequality in economic markets. Topics include economic theories of discrimination and inequality, evidence of contemporary race- and gender-based inequality, detecting discrimination, and identifying sources of racial and gender inequality. Additionally, the instructor and students will jointly select supplementary topics of specific interest to the class. Possible topics include: discrimination in historical markets, disparity in legal treatments, issues of family structure, and education gaps. Prerequisites: At least one 200-level applied microeconomics elective; ECON 253 or 304; ECON 200 or 202. Division I: Social Science Cross-listed as CITY B334 Counts toward Africana Studies EDUC B200 Critical Issues in Education Spring 2014 Designed to be the first course for students interested in pursuing one of the options offered through the Education Program, this course is also open to students who are not yet certain about their career aspirations but are interested in educational issues. The course examines major issues in education in the United States within the conceptual framework of educational reform. Fieldwork in an area school required (eight visits, 1.5-2 hours per visit). Writing intensive. Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Child and Family Studies EDUC B266 Schools in American Cities Fall 2013 This course examines issues, challenges, and possibilities of urban education in contemporary America. We use as critical lenses issues of race, class, and culture; urban learners, teachers, and school systems; and restructuring and reform. While we look at urban education nationally over several decades, we use Philadelphia as a focal "case" that students investigate through documents and school placements. This is a Praxis II course (weekly fieldwork in a school required) Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Cross-listed as SOCL B266 Cross-listed as CITY B266 Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Child and Family Studies Counts toward Praxis Program ENGL B217 Narratives of Latinidad Fall 2013 This course explores how Latina/o writers fashion bicultural and transnational identities and narrate the intertwined histories of the U.S. and Latin America. We will focus on topics of shared concern among Latino groups such as imperialism and annexation, the affective experience of migration, race and gender stereotypes, the politics of Spanglish, and struggles for social justice. By analyzing novels, poetry, performance art, testimonial narratives, films, and essays, we will unpack the complexity of Latinadad in the Americas. Division III: Humanities Cross-listed as SPAN B217 Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies Counts toward Latin Amer/Latino/Iberian Peoples & Cultures ENGL B234 Postcolonial Literature in English Spring 2014 This course will survey a broad range of novels and poems written while countries were breaking free of British colonial rule. Readings will also include cultural theorists interested in defining literary issues that arise from the postcolonial situation. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) Cross-listed as COML B234 Counts toward Africana Studies ENGL B235 Reading Popular Culture: Freaks Not offered 2013-14 This course traces the iconic figure of the "freak" in American culture, from 19th c. sideshows to the present. Featuring literature and films that explore "extraordinary Others", we will flesh out the ways in which our current understandings of gender, sexuality, normalcy, and race are constituted through images of "abnormality." Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies ENGL B245 Focus: "I remember Harlem" Not offered 2013-14 A transdisciplinary study of the famous Black metropolis as a historic, geo-political, and cultural center (from the Jazz Age to the Hip Hop revolution) this course acknowledges 400 years of history and analyzes the contemporary gentrification of Harlem. We interrogate closely the seismic changes in "Harlem" as a signifier. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) Counts toward Africana Studies ENGL B262 Survey in African American Literature Not offered 2013-14 Pairing canonical African American fiction with theoretical, popular, and filmic texts from the late-19th Century through to the present day, we will address the ways in which the Black body, as cultural text, has come to be both constructed and consumed within the nation's imagination and our modern visual regime. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) Counts toward Africana Studies ENGL B263 Toni Morrison and the Art of Narrative Conjure Not offered 2013-14 All of Morrison's primary imaginative texts, in publication order, as well as essays by Morrison, with a series of critical lenses that explore several vantages for reading a conjured narration. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies ENGL B264 Focus: Black Bards: Poetry in the Diaspora Spring 2014 An interrogation of poetric utterance in works of the African diaspora, primarily in English, this course addresses a multiplicity of genres, including epic, lyric, sonnet, rap, and mimetic jazz. The development of poetic theories at key moments such as the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement will be explored. Prerequisite: Any course in poetry or African/American literature. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) Counts toward Africana Studies ENGL B279 Introduction to African Literature Not offered 2013-14 Taking into account the oral, written, aural and visual forms of African "texts" over several thousand years, this course will explore literary production, translation and audience/critical reception. Representative works to be studied include oral traditions, the Sundiata Epic, Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah, Ayi Kwei Armah's Fragments, Mariama Bâ's Si Longe une Lettre, Tsitsi Danga-rembga's Nervous Conditions, Bessie Head's Maru, Sembène Ousmane's Xala, plays by Wole Soyinka and his Burden of History, The Muse of Forgiveness and Ngugi wa Thiong'o's A Grain of Wheat. We will address the "transliteration" of Christian and Muslim languages and theologies in these works. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) Cross-listed as COML B279 Counts toward Africana Studies ENGL B346 Theories of Modernism Not offered 2013-14 This course will investigate a wide range of works that have been labeled "modernist" in order to raise the question, "Was there one modernism or were there many disparate and competing ones?" Division III: Humanities Counts toward Africana Studies ENGL B369 Women Poets: Gwendolyn Brooks, Adrienne Rich, Sylvia Plath Not offered 2013-14 In this seminar we will be playing three poets off against each other, all of whom came of age during the 1950s. We will plot each poet's career in relation to the public and personal crises that shaped it, giving particular attention to how each poet constructed "poethood" for herself. Division III: Humanities Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies ENGL B379 The African Griot(te) Fall 2013 A focused exploration of the multi-genre productions of Southern African writer Bessie Head and the critical responses to such works. Students are asked to help construct a critical-theoretical framework for talking about a writer who defies categorization or reduction. Division III: Humanities Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies ENGL B388 Contemporary African Fiction Not offered 2013-14 Noting that the official colonial independence of most African countries dates back only half a century, this course focuses on the fictive experiments of the most recent decade. A few highly controversial works from the 90's serve as an introduction to very recent work. Most works are in English. To experience depth as well as breadth, there is a small cluster of works from South Africa. With novels and tales from elsewhere on the huge African continent, we will get a glimpse of "living in the present" in history and letters. Division III: Humanities Cross-listed as COML B388 Counts toward Africana Studies FREN B254 Teaching (in) the Postcolony: Schooling in African Fiction Not offered 2013-14 This seminar will examines novels from Francophone and Anglophone Africa, critical essays, and two films, in order to better understand the forces that inform the African child's experiences of education. Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Counts toward Africana Studies GNST B103 Introduction to Swahili Language and Culture I Fall 2013 The primary goal of this course is to develop an elementary level ability to speak, read, and write Swahili. The emphasis is on communicative competence in Swahili based on the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning. In the process of acquiring the language, students will also be introduced to East Africa and its cultures. No prior knowledge of Swahili or East Africa is required. Division I or Division III Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Counts toward Africana Studies GNST B105 Introduction to Swahili Language and Culture II Spring 2014 The primary goal of this course is to continue working on an elementary level ability to speak, read, and write Swahili. The emphasis is on communicative competence in Swahili based on the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning. Students will also continue learning about East Africa and its cultures. Prerequisite: GNST B103 (Introduction to Swahili Language and Culture I) or permission of the instructor is required. Division I or Division III Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Counts toward Africana Studies HART B282 Arts of Sub-Saharan Africa Not offered 2013-14 This course examines the significant artistic and architectural traditions of African cultures south of the Sahara in their religious, philosophical, political, and social aspects. Division III: Humanities Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Critical Interpretation (CI) Counts toward Africana Studies HART B362 The African Art Collection Not offered 2013-14 This seminar will introduce students to the African art holdings that are part of the Art and Archaeology Collections. Division III: Humanities Counts toward Africana Studies HIST B102 Introduction to African Civilizations Spring 2014 The course is designed to introduce students to the history of African and African Diaspora societies, cultures, and political economies. We will discuss the origins, state formation, external contacts, and the structural transformations and continuities of African societies and cultures in the context of the slave trade, colonial rule, capitalist exploitation, urbanization, and westernization, as well as contemporary struggles over authority, autonomy, identity and access to resources. Case studies will be drawn from across the continent. Division I: Social Science Critical Interpretation (CI) Inquiry into the Past (IP) Counts toward Africana Studies HIST B200 The Atlantic World 1492-1800 Not offered 2013-14 The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of the way in which peoples, goods, and ideas from Africa, Europe. and the Americas came together to form an interconnected Atlantic World system. The course is designed to chart the manner in which an integrated system was created in the Americas in the early modern period, rather than to treat the history of the Atlantic World as nothing more than an expanded version of North American, Caribbean, or Latin American history. Division I or Division III Inquiry into the Past (IP) Cross-listed as ANTH B200 Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Latin Amer/Latino/Iberian Peoples & Cultures Counts toward International Studies Major HIST B235 Africa to 1800 Not offered 2013-14 The course explores the formation and development of African societies, with a special focus on the key processes of hominisation, agricultural revolution, metalworking, the formation of states, the connection of West Africa to the world economy. Division I or Division III Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Inquiry into the Past (IP) Counts toward Africana Studies HIST B236 African History since 1800 Fall 2013 The course analyzes the history of Africa in the last two hundred years in the context of global political economy. We will examine the major themes in modern African history, including the 19th-century state formation, expansion, or restructuration; partition and resistance; colonial rule; economic, social, political, religious, and cultural developments; nationalism; post-independence politics, economics, and society, as well as conflicts and the burden of disease. The course will also introduce students to the sources and methods of African history. Division I: Social Science Critical Interpretation (CI) Inquiry into the Past (IP) Counts toward Africana Studies HIST B237 Themes in Modern African History
Section 001 (Spring 2014): Urbanization in Africa Spring 2014 The course examines the cultural, environmental, economic, political, and social factors that contributed to the expansion and transformation of pre-industrial cities, colonial cities, and cities today. We will examine various themes, such as the relationship between cities and societies; migration and social change; urban space, health problems, city life, and women. Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Inquiry into the Past (IP) Cross-listed as CITY B237 Counts toward Africana Studies HIST B243 Atlantic Cultures
Section 001 (Fall 2012): Maroon Societies/Free Black Societies Not offered 2013-14 This is a topics course. Course content varies. Division I or Division III Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Inquiry into the Past (IP) Counts toward Africana Studies HIST B265 Colonial Encounters in the Americas Not offered 2013-14 The course explores the confrontations, conquests and accommodations that formed the "ground-level" experience of day-to-day colonialism throughout the Americas. The course is comparative in scope, examining events and structures in North, South and Central America, with particular attention paid to indigenous peoples and the nature of indigenous leadership in the colonial world of the 18th century. Division I or Division III Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Latin Amer/Latino/Iberian Peoples & Cultures HIST B303 Topics in American History
Section 001 (Fall 2012): Cold War Political Culture
Section 001 (Fall 2013): History of Medicine in America
Section 001 (Spring 2014): Reproduction in America Fall 2013, Spring 2014 This is a topics course. Course content varies. Recent topics have included medicine, advertising, and history of sexuality.
Current topic description: History of Medicine in America This course offers an introduction to the history of medicine, health, and the medical sciences in America from the colonial period to the present. We will discuss the changing role of medicine and medical professionals in America, from the rise of modern medical specialties to the politics of disease and public health today. Particular attention will be paid to how race, class and gender have been factors in the creation of biomedical knowledge and practices, the organization of medical work and objects, and contributed to difference and inequality in society.
Current topic description: This course investigates the evolution of reproduction in American medicine, science, politics and culture. We will explore changing ideas about reproductive bodies and health, parenthood, sexuality, and the family as well as changing practices of contraception, conception and childbirth. From midwifery in colonial America to contemporary practices of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), this course focuses on persistent efforts of individuals, organizations, and the state to control reproduction. Division I or Division III Counts toward Africana Studies HIST B336 Social and Cultural History of Medicine in Africa Spring 2014 The course will focus on the issues of public health history, social and cultural history of disease as well as the issues of the history of medicine. We will explore various themes, such as the indigenous theories of disease and therapies; disease, imperialism and medicine; medical pluralism in contemporary Africa; the emerging diseases, medical education, women in medicine, and differential access to health care. We will also explore the questions regarding the sources of African history and their quality. Division I: Social Science Counts toward Africana Studies HIST B337 Topics in African History Not offered 2013-14 This is a topics course. Topics vary. Enrollment limited to 15 students. Division I: Social Science Counts toward Africana Studies HIST B349 Topics in Comparative History Not offered 2013-14 This is a topics course. Topics vary. Division I or Division III Counts toward Africana Studies POLS B243 African and Caribbean Perspectives in World Politics Not offered 2013-14 This course makes African and Caribbean voices audible as they create or adopt visions of the world that explain their positions and challenges in world politics. Students learn analytical tools useful in understanding other parts of the world. Prerequisite: POLS 141. Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Counts toward Africana Studies SOCL B217 The Family in Social Context Not offered 2013-14 A consideration of the family as a social institution in the United States, looking at how societal and cultural characteristics and dynamics influence families; how the family reinforces or changes the society in which it is located; and how the family operates as a social organization. Included is an analysis of family roles and social interaction within the family. Major problems related to contemporary families are addressed, such as domestic violence and divorce. Cross-cultural and subcultural variations in the family are considered. Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Child and Family Studies Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies SOCL B225 Women in Society Not offered 2013-14 A study of the contemporary experiences of women of color in the Global South. The household, workplace, community, and the nation-state, and the positions of women in the private and public spheres are compared cross-culturally. Topics include feminism, identity and self-esteem; globalization and transnational social movements and tensions and transitions encountered as nations embark upon development. Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Child and Family Studies Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies SOCL B229 Black America in Sociological Perspective Fall 2013 This course provides sociological perspectives on various issues affecting black America: the legacy of slavery; the formation of urban ghettos; the struggle for civil rights; the continuing significance of discrimination; the problems of crime and criminal justice; educational under-performance; entrepreneurial and business activities; the social roles of black intellectuals, athletes, entertainers, and creative artists. Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Inquiry into the Past (IP) Cross-listed as CITY B269 Counts toward Africana Studies SOCL B266 Schools in American Cities Fall 2013 This course examines issues, challenges, and possibilities of urban education in contemporary America. We use as critical lenses issues of race, class, and culture; urban learners, teachers, and school systems; and restructuring and reform. While we look at urban education nationally over several decades, we use Philadelphia as a focal "case" that students investigate through documents and school placements. This is a Praxis II course (weekly fieldwork in a school required) Division I: Social Science Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Cross-listed as EDUC B266 Cross-listed as CITY B266 Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Child and Family Studies Counts toward Praxis Program SOCL B338 The New African Diaspora: African and Caribbean Immigrants in the United States Not offered 2013-14 An examination of the socioeconomic experiences of immigrants who arrived in the United States since the landmark legislation of 1965. After exploring issues of development and globalization at "home" leading to migration, the course proceeds with the study of immigration theories. Major attention is given to the emergence of transnational identities and the transformation of communities, particularly in the northeastern United States. Division I: Social Science Cross-listed as CITY B338 Counts toward Africana Studies SPAN B217 Narratives of Latinidad Fall 2013 This course explores how Latina/o writers fashion bicultural and transnational identities and narrate the intertwined histories of the U.S. and Latin America. We will focus on topics of shared concern among Latino groups such as imperialism and annexation, the affective experience of migration, race and gender stereotypes, the politics of Spanglish, and struggles for social justice. By analyzing novels, poetry, performance art, testimonial narratives, films, and essays, we will unpack the complexity of Latinadad in the Americas. Division III: Humanities Cross-listed as ENGL B217 Counts toward Africana Studies Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies Counts toward Latin Amer/Latino/Iberian Peoples & Cultures