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| 70000 Level Courses (70500-70699)
70543 FOSSILS AND MAN: THE IMPACT OF THE FOSSIL RECORD Students will become acquainted with the impact that fossils and paleontology have had on the history of the earth. It was the fact that fossils were finally accepted as a record of ancient life that began to change the way that 17th century naturalists looked at the world. The fundamental notions of change and evolution of natural systems has forever affected man’s view of the world and fossils, which, in particular, document "worlds before man." The history of interpretation of fossils in the argument for evolution, and the use of fossils in modern biology and geology will be examined. *70583 UNDERSTANDING LAUGHTER: HUMOR IN THEORY & PRACTICE Students who take this course will explore not only the theories that purport to explain why people laugh but also a number of practical, social, rhetorical, and psychological uses for wit and humor. The work of the course will revolve around readings of works about humor, analyzing works of humor, and writing essays related to this topic, including one essay in which students attempt to write humorously and then, using several theories of humor, analyze to what extent they have succeeded or failed. *70613 HISTORY THROUGH FILM AND LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA This course covers both colonial and national periods of Latin American history through a combination of historical readings, fiction, and full-length feature films and videos. It aims at providing an overview of the past from the late fifteenth century to the recent present. Important institutions, processes, and themes will be studied. Students are presumed to have little or no knowledge of Latin American history and knowledge of the Spanish language is not required. Students will read both primary and secondary accounts of the events covered in the films and will be asked to assess the films in light of historical facts and interpretation and poetic license. *70653 THE SECOND WORLD WAR: ITS IMPACT ON THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD A focus on the impact of World War II as the seminal event of the 20th century that gave rise to or influenced most major contemporary global issues. By examining the war in a broader perspective, issues such as the East-West balance of power, the end of traditional imperialism, the upheavals in the third world, and the proliferation of technology, the effect of the war fifty years later can be better understood and interpreted. *70673 AMERICAN CINEMA: FILM NOIR AND THE DETECTIVE FILM This course examines the cultural, narrative and critical impact of literary and cinematic forms of Film Noir and the Detective Film in the United States . The course introduces the student to the technical and aesthetic processes used in developing the style and form found in the American Cinema since 1941. *70683 THE AMERICAN RECORDING INDUSTRY: TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURAL IMPACT This course explores how the American popular music and recording industries and American popular culture have intersected in the years since the invention of audio recording and the impact of recorded music on the culture. *70693 WRITING LIFE: AUTOBIOGRAPHY AS CREATIVE NONFICTION Students who take this course will write three full-length pieces (8-12 pages each) of creative nonfiction based on incidents that have occurred in their lives. Students will read selected works of creative nonfiction and from three textbooks on writing (Ann Lamott's Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life , Phillip Lopate's The Art of the Personal Essay, and Mary Catherine Bateson's Composing a Life ), and the work of the course will revolve around writing the three pieces, reading and responding to fellow students' pieces online, and analyzing reading assignments from the textbooks.
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