Courses

This course is designed as an introduction to the Islamic religion, both in its pre-modern and modern manifestations. The semester begins with a survey of the central elements that unite a diverse community of Muslim peoples from a variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds. This includes a look at the Prophet and the Qur'an and the ways in which both were actualized in the development of ritual, jurisprudence, theology, and sufism/mysticism. The course then shifts to the modern period, examining the impact of colonization and the rise of liberal secularism on the Muslim world. The tension between traditional Sunni and Shi'i systems of authority and movements for 'modernization' and/or 'reform' feature prominently in these readings. Topics range from intellectual attempts at societal/religious reform (e.g. Islamic Revivalism, Modernism, Progressivism) and political re-interpretations of traditional Islamic motifs (e.g. Third-Worldism and Jihadist discourse) to efforts at accommodating scientific and technological innovations (e.g. evolution, bioethics ). The class ends by examining the efforts of American and European Muslim communities to carve out distinct spheres of identity in the larger global Muslim community ( umma) through expressions of popular culture (e.g. Hip-Hop).

This course is designed as an introduction to the Islamic religion, both in its pre-modern and modern manifestations. The semester begins with a survey of the central elements that unite a diverse community of Muslim peoples from a variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds. This includes a look at the Prophet and the Qur'an and the ways in which both were actualized in the development of ritual, jurisprudence, theology, and sufism/mysticism. The course then shifts to the modern period, examining the impact of colonization and the rise of liberal secularism on the Muslim world. The tension between traditional Sunni and Shi'i systems of authority and movements for 'modernization' and/or 'reform' feature prominently in these readings. Topics range from intellectual attempts at societal/religious reform (e.g. Islamic Revivalism, Modernism, Progressivism) and political re-interpretations of traditional Islamic motifs (e.g. Third-Worldism and Jihadist discourse) to efforts at accommodating scientific and technological innovations (e.g. evolution, bioethics ). The class ends by examining the efforts of American and European Muslim communities to carve out distinct spheres of identity in the larger global Muslim community ( umma) through expressions of popular culture (e.g. Hip-Hop).

What is the source of truth and authority? What is the origin of the world and how does that determine the social order? Who ought to rule, why, and how? What are the standards for measuring justice and injustice? What is our relationship to the environment around us and how should its resources be distributed among people? How do we relate to those who are different from us, and what does it mean to be a community in the first place? Historically, the answers to these questions that have been described as “religious” and “political” have been the restricted to a specific tradition of Western European Christianity and its secular afterlives. However, these are questions that every society asks, in order to be a society in the first place. This course analyzes how indigenous peoples in the Americas asked and answered these questions through the first three centuries of Western European imperial rule. At the same time, this course pushes students to question what gets categorized as uniquely “indigenous” thought, how, and why.

$15.00= Language Resource Fee, $15.00 = Materials Fee , Designed to develop all four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Taken with RUSS S1102R, equivalent to full-year elementary course.

Prerequisites: RUSS UN1101 and RUSS UN1102 or placement test $15.00= Language Resource Fee, $15.00 = Materials Fee , Builds upon skills acquired at introductory level. Emphasis on speaking, reading, writing, and grammar review. Taken with RUSS S2102R, equivalent to full-year intermediate course.

Using modern, student-centered, active and collaborative learning techniques, students will engage — through field observations, in-class experiments, computer simulations, and selected readings — with a range of ideas and techniques designed to integrate and anchor scientific habits of mind. Throughout the term, all students will satisfy a detailed set of rubrics by documenting their learning in reflection postings designed to serve as a future reference for how they, individually, went from not understanding an idea to understanding it. Topics covered will include statistics, basic probability, a variety of calculational skills, graph reading, and estimation — all aimed at elucidating such concepts as energy, matter, cells, and genes in the context of astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, neuroscience, and physics.

 

Using modern, student-centered, active and collaborative learning techniques, students will engage — through field observations, in-class experiments, computer simulations, and selected readings — with a range of ideas and techniques designed to integrate and anchor scientific habits of mind. Throughout the term, all students will satisfy a detailed set of rubrics by documenting their learning in reflection postings designed to serve as a future reference for how they, individually, went from not understanding an idea to understanding it. Topics covered will include statistics, basic probability, a variety of calculational skills, graph reading, and estimation — all aimed at elucidating such concepts as energy, matter, cells, and genes in the context of astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, neuroscience, and physics.

 

Elementary course, equivalent to SPAN V1101 or F1101. Fundamental principles of grammar; practice in pronunciation. Reading and conversation are introduced from the beginning. Use of the language laboratory is required.

Elementary course, equivalent to SPAN V1101 or F1101. Fundamental principles of grammar; practice in pronunciation. Reading and conversation are introduced from the beginning. Use of the language laboratory is required.