MLA Course Descriptions
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70000 Level Courses (70200-70499)

*70233 THE RISE OF AMERICAN BUSINESS

The evolution of the American business system is examined with emphasis on four basic themes: the impact of technological and managerial change, the interaction between business and society, the position of the businessman and businesswoman in society, and the constantly- changing relationships between business and government. Special attention is devoted to the contemporary business scene.

*70253 WAR TO PEACE: POLITICAL CHANGE IN CUBA AND CENTRAL AMERICA IN THE 1990s

An examination of the dramatic (but low profile) political transition taking place in countries that only recently were torn by revolution and by counterinsurgency wars. The original causes of those revolutions, including the Cold War ideological divisions that formed the international environment in which they took place will be discussed. We will examine the tentative, fragile steps that are presently being taken to overcome the authoritarian and violent political legacies of the past and to build a more inclusive, democratic political future.

*70273 PSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIETY

Over the last thirty years of his life Sigmund Freud went beyond his clinical concerns and constructed social theories. During this period, Freud produced a series of works analyzing human societies and such social phenomena as religion, the family, social groups, and social change. This course presents Freud’s social thought as reflected in these later writings, assessing both his contributions and limitations as a social thinker.

*70303 GREECE AND ITALY: RELIGIOUS ART AND LITERATURE

How do we human beings express our ideas about things that mean the most to us? A simple, yet profound answer will include "words" and "images." This course investigates the intersection of verbal and visual means of communication: the theory of language, visual art and communication; the history and culture of the Greek Hellenistic and Roman periods of Mediterranean civilization; the history, literature and thought of early Christianity; and the interpretation of art objects and biblical texts. The course is conducted on site in the following locations: Greece: Athens, Island of Patmos, Epidavros, and Naufplion; Italy: Rome, Ravenna, Florence, and Assisi.

*70373 MODERN AMERICAN SOCIETY: GLOBAL POWER SINCE WORLD WAR II

This "period" course in American history reviews major political, economic, social, cultural and diplomatic events: World War II, the Truman administration and post-war America, the Eisenhower administration and the consensus of the 1950s, the Kennedy administration, Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society, the civil rights movement, the Republican ascendancy, and the rise of southern power.

70443 WILLIAM FAULKNER: STORYTELLER OF THE SOUTH

An examination of five major novels from the Yoknapatawpha cycle: Light in August (1932), Sanctuary (1931), The Sound and the Fury (1929), Absalom, Absalom! (1936), and Go Down, Moses (1942). The course focuses on the art of Faulkner’s fiction as well as upon his ideas, themes, characters, and meanings.

*70453 RELIGIOUS CULTS, SECTS, AND MILLENNIALISM

This course provides cross-cultural perspectives on the rise, growth, decline, and societal impacts of religious revitalization movements. Readings , discussions, and audiovisuals focus on anthropologically studied cases of religious revitalization, with their prophetic figures and conversion processes, and the relationship of the movements to human struggles over meaning and social identity. The course generates critical insights into five major areas of religious movement inquiry: 1) ideas about how new religions originate, 2) types of new religious movements around the world, 3) dynamics of recruitment and conversion to movements, 4) life inside religious movements, and 5) research in the sectarian setting.

*70473 SINATRA AND POPULAR CULTURE

This course focuses on the cultural importance of Frank Sinatra, one of the most influential figures in 20 th century entertainment. The course examines the Sinatra of recorded music, radio, Hollywood movies, and Las Vegas , politics, and organized crime. Through music, movies, and documentaries, the course explores the changing cultural landscape in the US from the 1930s through the 1980s.

*70483 MEDIEVAL ART, ARCHITECTURE AND RELIGION: FRANCE & ENGLAND

Designed to discover, through on-site studies, the character of Medieval English and French culture and religion especially as exhibited in visual art and architecture.

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*70493 DO THE RIGHT THING: ETHICS IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

This course examines the central question in international politics: What is the ‘right' course of action in a given situation? Thus it considers various approaches to the study of ethics and morality as well as the ends pursued, the means used, and the importance of the decision-making strategies employed by policy makers.

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