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60000 Level Courses (60600-60799)

60613 LITERATURE AND FILM: THE ART OF ADAPTATION
*60753 THE TALKING BRAIN: PERSPECTIVES IN HUMAN COMMUNICATION
*60793 PUBLIC HEALTH: CURRENT BIOLOGICAL ISSUES

60613 LITERATURE AND FILM: THE ART OF ADAPTATION

Time and again filmmakers turn to literature for inspiration; we have become accustomed to seeing favorite works of literature "translated" for the screen. This course will ask you to move past the initial reaction--Is the film better than the book, or vice versa?--to analyze the methods used in adaptation. How does each medium establish characters, develop mood and atmosphere, communicate emotions and thoughts? Furthermore, the course will examine how adaptations have been influenced by factors such as changing cultural attitudes and censorship.

Instructor: Joan McGettigan
Office Phone: (817) 257-6690

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*60633 THE ROLE OF CAPITAL IN THE DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY

One of the least understood features of our economy is the nature of capital (physical and financial). Yet, it plays a vital role in creating present employment and future productive capacity, and it grabs headlines through stock market fluctuations and international financial crises. This course both arms the student to differentiate among the confusing variety of uses of the term capital and explains what it can and cannot do in terms of world and domestic economic growth, social security financing, federal debt financing, and third world development.

Instructor: John Harvey
Office Phone: (817) 257-6235
Web Site: http://www.econ.tcu.edu/harvey.html

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60653 THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE: AMERICAN PRESIDENTS

A history of the issues, conflicts and personalities in the development of the American presidency. An examination of twelve selected presidential administrations from George Washington to the modern presidency will be conducted.

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*60673 THE JERUSALEM JACKPOT: UNDERSTANDING ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICTS

The struggle for control of Jerusalem and surrounding territories has made violence between Jews and and Arabs a recurring phenomenon since the 1920s. The 1948 creation of an independent Israeli sate only exacerbated this violence. This course examines contemporary conflicts issues between Israelis and Palestinians against the context of a history of past conflicts. Focal points for the course are the underlying reasons for these conflicts, their conduct and resolutions to date, and the various efforts to promote a more lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Instructor: Ralph Carter
Office Phone: (817) 257-6398

Dr. Ralph Carter, Professor of Political Science, received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University and has taught at TCU since 1982. A former president of the Foreign Policy Analysis Section of the International Studies Association, Dr. Carter is co-author of Making American Foreign Policy (1994, 1996) and editor of Contemporary Cases in U.S. foreign Policy: From Terrorism to Trade (2002, 2005). Author of numerous works in both journals and edited books, his most recent articles are in International Studies Perspectives, Politics & Policy, Congress and the Presidency, and PS: Political Science & Politics. He currently serves as president of the Midwest Region of the International Studies Association and an editor for the journal Foreign Policy Analysis . His teaching interests include international politics, American foreign policy, Russian foreign policy, and Mid-East conflict issues. He has twice been a finalist for the Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Teaching.

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*60693 THE SATIRIC VISION: FROM JONAH TO DOONESBURY

Study of the literary art of satire, including forms of satire, angles of satiric vision and examination of chief satirists’ works and techniques.

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*60703 COLUMBUS AND THE AGE OF GLOBAL ENCOUNTERS

Columbus’ first voyage opened a period of dramatic encounters between European, Amerindian, African and Asian peoples. These cultural interactions also brought an exchange of other living organisms (plants, animals and bacteria), of products such as minerals, and of knowledge about the world that irrevocably altered human life. This course examines the Columbus voyages and the encounters and exchanges that followed.

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60713 THE HISTORY OF WAR

In this survey we will seek to understand the influence of war in human history from ancient times to the present. This course will trace the causes and effects of war, the evolution of military technology, and the role-played by leadership. To highlight these, we will discuss decisive military battles throughout history. Hopefully, by examining this process we will be able to understand our world and ourselves a little better.

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60723 DECISIVE SPEECHES IN AMERICAN HISTORY

The mind of America has been expressed in many ways through the rhetoric of the past two centuries. America has come of age, in part at least, through the efforts of men and women who have used persuasive words to direct the course of events. The course will be a study of the ideas and forms represented by the rhetorical works of approximately forty men and women who have played an active part in shaping the destiny of the American nation by persuasive means. The specific efforts of each speaker are placed in historical perspective.

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*60733 CREATIVITY AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE

All of the human enterprises, including science, literature, art, and music, pour forth from the wellspring of human creativity. Society rewards outstanding instances of creativity with prizes ranging from the Pulitzer, to the Van Cliburn, to the Nobel. Yet creative persons of less dramatic achievements can be rewarded just the same with fruitful and fulfilling lives. But what is creativity? How can we identify it? How can we foster it? How did it emerge in homo sapiens? How can each of us lead more creative lives? This course will seek to answer these questions.

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*60753 THE TALKING BRAIN: PERSPECTIVES IN HUMAN COMMUNICATION

Humankind's most distinctive behavior is an elaborate system of communication. It is both the means by which creative thinking and emotions are externalized and our most distinctive social tool. The course (1) describes that system, (2) reviews its origins in the human species and its development in the individual, (3) examines selected language characteristics across cultures, and (4) considers how the brain is organized to effect this most human behavior.

Instructor: Joseph W. Helmick

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*60773 IMAGES OF JESUS IN FAITH AND CULTURE

Jesus of Nazareth, by any account, is one of the most significant figures in human history. Yet the person, role, and images associated with Jesus have been understood in an enormous variety of ways, both within the Christian tradition and outside it. This course introduces the student, in a descriptive manner, to the spectrum of views of Jesus’ person and work found in the Bible, in extra-canonical Christian literature (such as the Gospel of Thomas and recently rediscovered Gnostic writings), in the various streams of Christian history, and in secular culture. The primary focus is on the meaning of the interpretations of Jesus, but some attention will be given to the methods scholars use in assessing these interpretations and in reconstructing the "historical" Jesus, as well as portrayals of Jesus in painting, novel, and film.

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*60793 PUBLIC HEALTH: CURRENT BIOLOGICAL ISSUES

The course examines current biological issues in Public Health through lectures, readings, class discussion and debate. Issues such as vaccines, food safety, use of genetically modified plant crops, environmental toxins, bioterrorism and emerging diseases are examined.

Instructor: Andrew Paquet

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