Fall 2015 Courses for Liberal Arts and Sciences: Math and Science, Humanities and Media Studies, Foreign Languages, Cultural History, Sustainability, Social Science and Philosophy Table of Contents: Organized by Day/Time Monday 9:30am-­‐12:20pm ................................................................................................................. 2 12:30pm-­‐1:50pm (and Wednesday) ..................................................................................... 5 12:30pm-­‐3:20pm (Manhattan Campus) ............................................................................... 5 2:00pm-­‐4:50pm .................................................................................................................. 6 5:00pm-­‐7:50pm .................................................................................................................. 9 6:30pm-­‐9:20pm (Manhattan Campus) .............................................................................. 13 Tuesday 9:30am-­‐12:20pm ............................................................................................................... 14 2:00pm-­‐4:50pm ................................................................................................................ 19 5:00pm-­‐7:50pm ................................................................................................................ 23 6:00pm-­‐8:50pm ................................................................................................................. 27 Wednesday 9:30am-­‐12:20pm ............................................................................................................... 27 12:30pm-­‐1:50pm ............................................................................................................... 32 2:00pm-­‐4:50pm ................................................................................................................ 32 5:00pm-­‐7:50pm ................................................................................................................ 37 Thursday 9:30am-­‐12:20pm ............................................................................................................... 42 2:00pm-­‐4:50pm ................................................................................................................ 45 5:00pm-­‐7:50pm ................................................................................................................ 49 Friday 9:30am-­‐12:20pm ............................................................................................................... 51 10:00am-­‐12:50pm ............................................................................................................. 53 1:00pm-­‐3:50pm ................................................................................................................ 53 2:00pm-­‐4:50pm ................................................................................................................ 54 4:30pm-­‐6:50pm ................................................................................................................ 54 One Credit Courses ............................................................................................................ 55 1
Monday 9:30am-­‐12:20pm (Unless noted otherwise) Math and Science MSCI 221 – Conceptual Physics 01 Instructor: James Wise ARC E-­‐08; M 9:30am-­‐12:20pm 3 credits This course focuses on the conceptual aspects of physics and thus uses minimal mathematics. Besides providing exposure to classical, as well as quantum physics, the course also considers the influence of physics on different areas of society, and highlights research at the cutting edge. MSCI 490/590 – Science in the Enlightenment 03 Instructor: Barbara Charton ARC E-­‐07; M (11:00am-­‐11:50am) *** 1 credit *** The 16-­‐18th centuries in Europe saw and incredible addition to the body of scientific knowledge available to educated people. Science was a hobby for some very specialized collectors and the next step after collection is organization and attempts to understand the collection. This course will look at the development of natural sciences, both geology and biology, as people looked again at the natural world and tried to explain in terms of new information rather than the ancient classics. Humanities and Media Studies, Foreign Languages *Language courses meet twice a week FREN 101: Introductory French 1 01 Instructor: Sharon Snow NH 209-­‐MW (9:30-­‐10:50) 3 credits This course focuses equally on oral comprehension and speaking, reading, and written expression. Vocabulary is presented thematically in the context of everyday life in France. Students will develop writing skills and will enjoy French songs, poems, and readings on cultural topics. A feature-­‐length French film will complete this introduction. FREN 201: Intermediate French I 02 Instructor: Sharon Snow NH 209 -­‐MW (11-­‐12:20) 3 credits After completion of FREN 101-­‐102 (or Contact [email protected] ) HMS 203A: World Literature I 01 Instructor: Steven Doloff ENGR 307 -­‐MW (11:00-­‐12:20) 3 credits 2
Students investigate a selection of major early Mesopotamian, European, Middle Eastern, Indian, Asian and African literary works of mythology, epic poetry, drama and religious poetry, extending up to the early 17th century. These works are examined within a context of both lecture and class discussion. HMS 262A -­‐ Introduction to Acting 01 Instructor: Don Andreasen ENG 113-­‐ M, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits The essential element desired in acting is to be truthful, to be believable. This course will develop in the actor the ability to be genuine, to listen and respond in the moment. The goal of the class is to develop fundamental acting skills including: voice, movement, expression, imagination, character development, trust and relaxation. tudents will perform memorized scenes and monologues. Additionally, we will work towards knowledge and growth in the Stanislavski and Meisner systems. HMS 440K-­‐ Intensive Film Theory 01 Instructor: Saul Anton ENGR 305 -­‐ M, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits This class will examine what it might mean to theorize cinema, as well as what it might mean to make and view cinema theoretically. Beginning with the evolutions of the cinematic apparatus, the course will move into the early cinema of attractions, the rise of film editing, expressionist and surrealist experiments, and the early Soviet montage theories of Sergei Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov. The course will then examine theories and films of various postwar film movements including the French New Wave, structuralism, participatory documentary, and Third Cinema. The second half of the course will focus on two primary schools of film theory influential in the present, namely, psychoanalysis and the work of Gilles Deleuze. Psychoanlaysis will be examined in particular in regard to the work of Laura Mulvey, along with her African-­‐American and queer critics, as well as in the contemporary work of Slavoj Zizek. Gilles Deleuze's work will introduce students to notions of crystalline cinema, time-­‐
images, and neo-­‐neo-­‐realist cine-­‐political worldmaking. The course will end with an examination of the ways in which cinema is changing in relation to digital technologies such as video games, mobile devices, and distributed computation. HMS 440S-­‐ Readings in Media Theory 04 Instructor: Jon Beller DEK 010 -­‐ W, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits The most recent texts in media theory from leaders in the field. Authors include McKenzie Wark, Paulo Virno, Allen Feldman, Claudia Rankine, Wendy Chun, Eva Ilouz, Frank B. Wilderson III, Sean Cubitt, Fred Moten, Stefano Harney, Randy Martin and others. The list may change depending upon what is published as the course proceeds. This course is designed for students concentrating in media studies, cinema studies, visual culture/studies, art history and allied disciplines who are interested in political theory and aesthetics along with questions of power, inequality, community, race, gender, sexuality and social justice. It is a reading intensive, seminar style course. Students are expected to read attentively, write critically, and develop 3
their analytical skills through close reading and sustained inquiry. Students whose work promises to change the world (for the better) will receive extra credit. ITAL 101 -­‐ Italian I 3 credits 01 Instructor: Barbara Turoff MW 9:30-­‐10:50 02 Instructor: Barbara Turoff MW 11-­‐12:20 03 Instructor: Barbara Turoff MW 9:30-­‐10:50 04 Instructor: Barbara Turoff MW 11-­‐12:20 Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History CH 300: World Civilization I 3 credits 01 Instructor: John Frangos M 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 112 02 Instructor: Noah Simmons M 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 114 CH 400: World Civilization II 3 credits 01 Instructor: Kumru Toktamis M 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 111 PHIL 265: Aesthetics 3 credits 01 Instructor: Josh Karant M 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 305 What is art? Must art be beautiful? Are aesthetic judgments and taste merely subjective? Is the aesthetic sphere autonomous? What are the relations between art and politics, artistic experiment and institutional reality? Is originality important? Is there a difference between art and craft? These and other questions, belonging to the philosophical reflection on art (the sensuous and the practical) are covered in this course. For students with a general interest in the problems of art and aesthetic experience. PHIL 320: Existentialism 3 credits 01 Instructor: John McGuire M 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ENGR 109 A comprehensive treatment of existentialist philosophy, including the work of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and the contemporary work of Heidegger and Sartre. SS 343: Latin American Society 3 credits 01 Instructor: Gabriel Hernandez M 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ENGR 311 This course is a survey of major political, cultural, and economic history of Latin American nations. A broad chronological overview will be presented at the outset, and more detailed attention will be given to specific themes, such as race, gender, and socio-­‐economic inequality in Latin America. The class will primarily focus on the countries Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and 4
Cuba, although other countries in the region will be discussed when relevant to the theme at hand. SS 391: Child and Adolescent Development 3 credits 01 Instructor: Robert Ausch M 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ISC 101A Theories of development from infancy through adolescence are critiqued through reading in psychology and literature, formal observations, and personal experiences. Learning and environmental factors such as gender, race, disability, and economics in the home, school, and community are included in the discussion. Students consider language acquisition and literacy development, sexuality, and cultural identity development. SS 560: Spaces, Movements, Identities 3 credits 01&02: Instructor: Elizabeth Knauer M 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH110 This course concentrates on some of the most important contemporary writings on space, new social movements, identity, and the body. The readings are drawn from sociology, performance studies, cultural studies and feminism. We will use these perspectives to understand power-­‐ how it is to be thought of, questioned, desired, and resisted, and how we experience new kinds of belonging and connecting across contemporary social spaces. We will conduct this exploration by delving into the world of transnational subcultures, movements, and imagined communities. We will examine how cultural symbols and narratives are appropriated and adapted across spaces. Monday 12:30pm-­‐1:50pm French *Language courses meet twice a week FREN 533: French Conversation 01 Instructor: Sharon Snow NH 209 -­‐MW 12:30-­‐1:50 3 credits After completion of FREN 201-­‐202 (or Contact [email protected] ) Monday 12:30pm-­‐3:20pm MANHATTAN CAMPUS Math and Science MSCI 223 – Astronomy (Reserved for AOS/AAS students) 31 Instructor: Vincent Tedeschi W14 705A; M (12:30pm-­‐3:20pm) 3 credits 5
This is a course in basic astronomy, which will provide an overview of our current understanding of the universe around us. Topics will include the origin of the universe, galaxies, stars, planets, interstellar matter, black holes, space travel, the possibility (or not) of extraterrestrial life... as well as the observational techniques we use to reveal the universe. Monday 2:00pm-­‐4:50pm (Unless noted otherwise) Math and Science MSCI 221 – Conceptual Physics 03 Instructor: Steve Kreis NH 107; M (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits This course focuses on the conceptual aspects of physics and thus uses minimal mathematics. Besides providing exposure to classical, as well as quantum physics, the course also considers the influence of physics on different areas of society, and highlights research at the cutting edge. MSCI 262 – Botany 01 Instructor: Barbara Charton ARC E-­‐08; M (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits Botany is the scientific study of plants. This course provides an introduction to the essential components of botany, including anatomical form, physiological function, how major plant groups are related to one another, the important roles plants play in ecosystems, and how evolution has lead to the incredible plant diversity around us. MSCI 490 – The Science of Perception 06 Instructor: Daniel Wright ENGR 111; M (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits How do we see colors of a sunset, hear the pitch and timbre of a violin, or experience the smell, taste, and temperature of a freshly brewed cup of coffee? In this course students examine the way we perceive the world, focusing on visual and auditory perception, but touching on the other senses as well. In addition to exploring the hardware of the sense organs (such as the retina, nerves, and the cochlea) and the basics of brain science, we will examine sensory illusions that illustrate to us in the most enjoyably disorienting way what is known and what is still mysterious about the way our brains process sense data. Humanities and Media Studies, Foreign Language *Language courses meet twice a week ITAL 201 -­‐ Intermediate Italian I 01 Instructor: Barbara Turoff 6
MW (2-­‐3:30) 3 credits HMS 440S-­‐ Bodies, Technology, Visuality 05 Instructor: Minh-­‐Ha Pham DEK 010 -­‐ M, 2:00-­‐04:50 3 credits This course examines how new information and communication technologies have altered the ways we visualize and perform identities. In this course we will question the popular assumption that the “information revolution” has made it possible and even desirable to transcend differences by exploring: 1. How racial, gender and other hierarchies have informed debates around techno-­‐literacy, creativity, ownership, visibility and agency; 2. How race and gender are embodied (through visual, sonic and linguistic cues) in the ostensibly disembodied domains of virtual media; 3. How consumers’ racial, ethnic, and gender identities shape their uses of interactive, online, electronic entertainment, and mobile technologies. HMS 432A -­‐ Animating Narrative 01 Instructor: Eric Fallen ENGR 113 -­‐ M, 2-­‐4:50 3 credits With an eye towards short animation, Animating Narrative focuses on the fundamentals of storytelling and how to employ strong narrative elements in visual work. While analyzing and deconstructing archetypal narrative forms, from classical mythologies to modern stories and post-­‐modern hyperrealist tendencies, students will write and workshop their own stories, emphasizing how these stories might translate to a concise visual format. HMS 496A -­‐ Creative Writing for Art and Design Practice SEC.2. Liza Williams M (2:00PM-­‐3:50PM) NH 202 1 credit Section two meets everything other week beginning week 2. This course is a one-­‐credit writing workshop designed to support artistic and design practice and provide students with creative approaches to meet writing required of them in school and more generally. Students will read and write about visual art, design, dance, money, news and politics, science, poetry. They will also write first person essays and collaborative texts about their own practice of making. Students will complete weekly assignments and cooperatively review work in class. Students will be given the opportunity to publish their work on a class blog or in a print anthology. For a final assignment, students will prepare a writing portfolio and present a revised artist’s statement. Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History CH 300: World Civilization I 03 Instructor: Annie Khan 04 Instructor: Sameetah Agha 3 credits 7
M 2:00-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 114 M 2:00-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 111 CH 400: World Civilization II 02 Instructor: Alhelí Alvarado-­‐Diaz M 2:00-­‐4:50 -­‐ ENGR 311 3 credits PHIL 301: Logic 01 Instructor: Eric Godoy M 2:00-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 305 3 credits Teaches the arts of argument and analytic thinking, formal as well as informal, and how to apply the tools of modern logic to everyday life and language. Topics include semantics, sentential logic, syntax, fallacies, deduction, and dialectic. SS 330: Cultural Studies 01 Instructor: Tom Buechele M 2:00-­‐4:50 -­‐ ISC 101A 3 credits This course will explore the relations of cultural practices to their various social contexts in the contemporary world. Culture is understood as the material expressions and images that people create and the social environment that shapes the ways diverse groups of people experience their world and interact with one another. Various forms of media, design, mass communications, arts, and popular culture will be subject to critical analysis. SS 391: Child and Adolescent Development 02&2E Instructor: Robert Ausch M 2:00-­‐4:50 -­‐ ENGR 109 3 credits Theories of development from infancy through adolescence are critiqued through reading in psychology and literature, formal observations, and personal experiences. Learning and environmental factors such as gender, race, disability, and economics in the home, school, and community are included in the discussion. Students consider language acquisition and literacy development, sexuality, and cultural identity development. SS 456: Social Psychology 01 Instructor: Rebecca Winkel M 2:00-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 112 3 credits A survey of psychological processes in the interaction of individuals and groups; descriptions of group dynamics; methods of group conflict solution; and psychological approaches to social problems. SS 490: The Century of Genocides 20 Kumru Toktamis M 2:00-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits The term 'crimes against humanity' entered the international legal lexicon in 1915 as World War I was scourging the world. This legal conceptualization has not prevented the onslaught of genocides throughout the 20th century. In this course, we survey the political, social, cultural and economic causes and consequences of mass killings and deportations initiated by governments targeting ordinary people throughout the 20th century. After reviewing the pre-­‐
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20th century patterns of mass killings and deportations, we'll start with the Armenian Genocide to politically situate and culturally contextualize these acts through processes of modernization, colonization, decolonization, state formation, and nationalism, by focusing on practices, policies and arguments of the perpetrators and survivors. SS 490: Philosophy Through Film & Literature 28 Instructor: Travis Holloway M 2:00-­‐4:50 -­‐ Main 301 3 credits Through the mediums of film and literature, this course examines two of the most crucial philosophic issues of the present and the past: the problem of personal identity and the problem of justice. The thesis of the course is that film can be a vehicle of philosophical investigation, and that we can think philosophically when we read and write literary texts – novels, plays, poetry and tales. The subject matter we study will be drawn from classic and popular cinema, from authors like Kafka and Tolstoy, and philosophers from Empedocles and Plato to Hobbes, Descartes and Nietzsche. Monday 5:00pm-­‐7:50pm (Unless noted otherwise) Math and Science MSCI 223 -­‐ Astronomy 01 Instructor: Steve Kreis NH 107; M (5:00pm-­‐7:50pm) 02 Instructor: Steve Kreis (this section reserved for Writing Majors) NH 107; M (5:00pm-­‐7:50pm) 3 credits This is a course in basic astronomy, which will provide an overview of our current understanding of the universe around us. Topics will include the origin of the universe, galaxies, stars, planets, interstellar matter, black holes, space travel, the possibility (or not) of extraterrestrial life... as well as the observational techniques we use to reveal the universe. Humanities and Media Studies, Foreign Language *Language courses meet twice a week CHI 101: Chinese 01 Instructor: Echo Sun NH 207 –MW, (6:30-­‐7:50) 3 credits This is a course in conversational Chinese (Mandarin), including basic grammar and vocabulary, along with aspects of Chinese culture. In addition to learning to speak Chinese, students will learn Hanyu Pinyin, a Romanized pronunciation system to aid Chinese learning, and will learn to recognize and write 200-­‐300 Chinese characters. 9
COM 301 – Reports and Correspondence 03 Instructor: Melissa Milgram MANHATTAN –MW, (5-­‐6:20) 2-­‐3 credits This course teaches effective business communication. The use of professional language and the principles of organization are stressed in the resume, cover letter, proposal, letter of refusal, memo, presentation and research report. The electronic workplace and its etiquette are also discussed. HMS 303S – Buddhism-­‐ Theory, History, Practice 01 Instructor: Chris Vitale ENGR 309– M, 5-­‐7:50 3 credits What exactly IS Buddhism? Is it a religion, a philosophy, a psychology? Is the Buddha worshiped as a god, or are there many gods, or no gods? Why are there so many different types of Buddhism, and what do they share in common, and how do they differ? What is meditation, how does it play into all of this, and why are there Buddhist monks and nuns? How has Buddhism changed over time, and what might this mean to trying to understand what Buddhism was, is, or might become? Is Buddhism related to Hinduism, and if so, how?And what DID the Buddha "actually" say? Do we really know, and how much does this play into the complex set of cultural institutions, beliefs, philosophies, practices, and texts which have come to be called "Buddhist"? This class will work to explore all these and many other questions. Starting with a deconstruction of some of the common Western misconceptions about Buddhism, many of which are still taught in schools around the country, this class will begin with an attempt to understand the religious culture out of which early Buddhism and what was to evolve into Hinduism came to be. From there, we will read a variety of early Buddhist scriptures, study the Mahayana revolution, and explore how Buddhism changed, philosophically and practically, as it moved to China, Tibet, Japan, and ultimately the West. In the process, we'll work to understand the relation between Buddhist beliefs and practices and issues such as translation, economics, ritual, war, violence, gender, politics, social hierarchy, and even what Westerners tend to call "science" and "religion." No prior knowledge is necessary, only a willingness to read some challenging texts, and an open mind. HMS 308A -­‐Shakespeare 01 Instructor: Steven Doloff ENGR 307 – M, 5-­‐7:50 3 credits Students analyze and interpret representative Shakespearean plays as works of dramatic art and as reflections of the Renaissance climate. A research project is required of those who opt for three credits. HMS 320B—Creative Writing: Fiction 01 Instructor: Robert Lopez NH 106 -­‐ M, 5-­‐7:50 10
08 Instructor: Robert Lopez (reserved for film/video majors) M, 5-­‐7:50 3 credits This course is an exploration of imaginative composition through analysis of passages from selected authors and regular creative writing. HMS 330A – Freud and Lacan 01 Instructor: Peter Canning MAIN 301 -­‐M, 5-­‐7:50 3 credits This class will involve reading, viewing, and discussion of key works of Sigmund Freud and French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, secondary works explicating psychoanalytic concepts, as well as literary texts and films that exemplify psychoanalytic concepts. Freudian concepts will be studied and discussed in concert with Lacan’s rereading of these concepts through the lens of developments in twentieth-­‐century philosophy, structural linguistics in particular. The second half of the semester will be devoted to Lacan’s theorization of visuality, as well as to his notion that psychic positions (masculinity, femininity, neurosis, perversion, and psychosis) are articulated in relationship to social laws and language. HMS 405S Harlem Renaissance 01 Instructor: Dexter Jeffries MAIN 302 – M, 6:30-­‐9:20 3 credits This course examines selected novels, short stories, poems, and plays of post World War II African American writers. It investigates the way in which the literary artists who came after Richard Wright’s groundbreaking novel Native Son (1940) embraced, rejected, and transcended the legacy of the “protest novel.” Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Malcolm X, Lorraine Hansberry and music/film of the era will be covered. HMS 495B -­‐ Studio Writing for Sculpture Students SEC.1. Jean-­‐Paul Pecqueur M (5:00PM-­‐6:50PM) ENGR 113 1 credit This course is a one-­‐credit writing workshop designed to support artistic and design practice and provide students with creative approaches to meet writing required of them in school and more generally. Students will read and write about visual art, design, dance, money, news and politics, science, poetry. They will also write first person essays and collaborative texts about their own practice of making. Students will complete weekly assignments and cooperatively review work in class. Students will be given the opportunity to publish their work on a class blog or in a print anthology. For a final assignment, students will prepare a writing portfolio and present a revised artist’s statement. Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History CH 300: World Civilization I 05 Instructor: Paul Dambowic 06 Instructor: Annie Khan 11
M 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 305 M 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 114 3 credits PHIL 200: Philosophy: Problem and Issues 01 Instructor: Erum Naqvi M 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ ENGR 311 3 credits This course explores philosophical arguments dealing with basic issues in general philosophy. Topics for discussion and analysis include epistemological issues concerning knowledge and belief; metaphysical issues dealing with concepts of causality and freedom, as well as dualist and materialist perspectives on the nature of reality; issues and debates in the philosophy of mind on human and artificial intelligence; and the fundamentals of ethics. PHIL 400: Phenomenology 01 Instructor: Travis Holloway M 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits Phenomenology is a 20th century movement dedicated to the belief that the proper study of philosophy is experience, and experience must be understood from the first person point of view. Phenomenology investigates the nature and structure of experience, consciousness, and intentionality; it looks at the self’s relation to itself, the world and others; and it thinks about the body, emotions, aesthetic experiences, time, space and memory. Key figures in Phenomenology include Edmund Husserl, Maurice Merleau-­‐Ponty, Martin Heidegger, Jean-­‐Paul Sartre, and Gaston Bachelard. SS 200: Sociology 01 Instructor: Ritchie Savage M 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ ENGR 109 3 credits This course covers basic concepts for the study of society; social processes operating in human groups; the influence of social and cultural forces on personal experience and social behavior; social stratification; major social institutions; and issues of social change. SS 357: Psychology of Gender/Sex Roles 01 Instructor: Hunter Kincaid M 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 112 3 credits An exploration of a variety of issues relating to human sexual behavior from theoretical, biological, and social perspectives. Sexual development, sex roles and gender identity (how we see ourselves as male or female) will be discussed. SS 359: Cognitive Psychology 01 Instructor: Rebecca Winkel M 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 111 3 credits Ordinary mental activities such as recognizing a word, forgetting a phone number, or distinguishing a cup from a glass seem transparently simple. Examined more closely, they are complex and not easily explained. Cognitive psychology is the empirical study of longstanding questions about what we know, how we know it, and how our knowledge is structured, 12
accessed, and used. Topics include attention, perception, memory, language, reasoning, problem -­‐ solving and cognitive neuroscience. SS 490: Peace And Non-­‐Violence 18 Instructor: Alhelí Alvarado-­‐Diaz M 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ Main 001 3 credits This seminar will introduce students to the intellectual origins of non-­‐violent militancy and to foundational texts on the topic. The course will reflect on the reception of non-­‐violent thinking in the writings by Henry David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Leonardo Boff, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, among others. Students will address questions such as: Is peaceful resistance a feasible alternative to anarchy, violence and terrorism? Can peace become a long-­‐term condition of in the lives of national and multicultural communities? Or is it a mere utopia limited by the unpredictable turns of human behavior and the international order of politics? This course will adopt an interdisciplinary approach, covering literature, intellectual history, political philosophy, religion, ethics and political science. Monday 6:30pm-­‐9:20pm MANHATTAN CAMPUS Math and Science MATH 150 – Algebra & Trigonometry 01 Instructor: Jemma Lorenat W14 702; M (6:30pm-­‐9:20pm) 3 credits Topics in algebra, trigonometry and analytical geometry are covered. Note: This is a remedial course only (students do not get credits for this course). MSCI 300 -­‐ Calculus I 01 Instructor: Charles Rubenstein W14 403; M (6:30pm-­‐9:20pm) 3 credits Topics in analytic geometry, functions of one variable, limiting processes, differentiation of algebraic and trigonometric functions, definite and indefinite integrals are covered. Pre-­‐requisites: Algebra & Trigonometry (MATH 150) or; Math Placement Exam (through LMS online: email [email protected] for more information) 13
Tuesday 9:30am-­‐12:20pm (Unless noted otherwise) Math and Science MSCI 202 – CAD Math 01 Instructor: Gerson Sparer NH 107; T (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 3 credits Introduces students to the mathematical principles underlying their computer programs. It familiarizes them with equations of lines and planes, forms for rotation and translation figures on a computer, transformations for 3-­‐D, and prospective projections onto the screen. MSCI 220 -­‐ Science of Light 01 Instructor: Mark Rosin ARC E-­‐08; T (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 3 credits Introduction to light and optical phenomena in nature, technology, and art will acquaint students with all aspects of light. Topics include natural and artificial sources of light, how light travels in natural settings and lenses, and how light is captured by film, video chips (CCDs) and our retinas. Some simple algebra will be used. MSCI 230 – Chemistry of Pigments 01 Instructor: Cindie Kehlet ARC D-­‐02; T (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 3 credits Before the advent of chemistry, artists relied on pigments that could be harvested from the natural environment. In this class, we will study how the science of chemistry has allowed for the rapid synthesis of pigments that normally take thousands of years to form through geological and chemical processes. We will explore how our understanding of the chemical properties of pigments allows us to predict their color and other characteristics. Through a series of guided hands-­‐on laboratory exercises, students will learn how to synthesize pigments. MSCI 270 -­‐ Ecology 01 Instructor: Barbara Charton ENGR 111; T (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 02 Instructor: Barbara Charton (this section reserved for Writing Majors) ENGR 111; T (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 3 credits This course provides a background in the fundamental principles of ecological science, including concepts of natural selection, population and community ecology, biodiversity, and sustainability. Students will acquire an “ecological literacy” about how the natural world works, and develop an understanding of how scientific methods are used to construct ecological knowledge. The course will also explore some of today’s major ecological challenges, and the important research that needs to be done to address these concerns. MSCI 490 – Environmental Science 02 Instructor: Oscar Strongin ARC E-­‐07; T (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 14
3 credits This course focuses on the interaction of humanity and its environment. It contains an overview of the natural world. It deals with a variety of challenges engendered by a changing world: population growth, loss of arable land, climate change, biome destruction, and water scarcity. Methods will be suggested for dealing with these problems with the goal of a more sustainable, habitable planet. Humanities and Media Studies, Foreign Language *Language courses meet twice a week SPAN 501 -­‐ Conversational Spanish I (MEETS TWICE A WEEK) 01, 02 Instructor: Alba Potes T/TH 11-­‐12:20 03, 04 Instructor: Alba Potes T/TH 9:30-­‐10:50 3 credits This is a conversational Spanish course designed to prepare Art and Design Education majors (undergraduate and graduate) for the practicum in New York City schools. Conversational exercises will be oriented to classroom interactions. This is a two-­‐semester course for which credit is achieved only on the successful completion of both semesters. HMS 410S – German (MEETS TWICE A WEEK) 01 Instructor: Uljana Wolf ENGR 113 – TTH, 9:30-­‐10:50AM 3 credits This course is designed to develop basic German language skills focusing on a fun and communicative approach with oral comprehension, speaking, and reading. Vocabulary and embedded grammar will be organized around five topics of everyday life and culture. A wide range of material will be presented, including literature, film, fashion, and music. Note: The class is a beginner’s course, but all levels are welcome. HMS 208A: Medieval Literature and Culture 01 Instructor: Suzanne Verderber ENGR 305 -­‐T 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits Since the term “Middle Ages” is burdened with designating one thousand years of history (c.500-­‐1500), this course will provide a necessarily restricted overview of a few major literary, philosophical, religious, and aesthetic issues that defined the period in Western Europe. Literary and philosophical texts will be situated within the historic, aesthetic, social, and intellectual contexts in which they emerged in order to provide a sense of the specific trends that characterized shorter periods within the medieval era. Some of the trends this class will attempt to grapple with include the shift from a Platonic to an Aristotelian epistemology (or way of knowing) and ontology (or way of understanding being, “what is”) to the influx of translations of Greek texts from the Islamic world in the twelfth century; the exchanges and conflicts, including the Crusades, that took place between the Latin West, the Byzantine Empire, and the Islamic world; the so-­‐called twelfth-­‐century “renaissance” and the question of the emergence of the Western individual, which will take us to the topics of confession, 15
marriage, sexuality, courtly love, and the Arthurian romances; and the seeming “decline” of feudalism and “rise” of capitalism. HMS 300B– Popular Literature: Game of Thrones 01 Instructor: Tracie Morris NH 106 – T, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits Students analyze and discuss the language, structure and meaning in the literary forms of popular culture as well as investigate the impact of technological innovation on those forms. HMS 390A – Poetry Across Media 01 Instructor: Mendi Obadike ENGR 113 -­‐ T, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits What are the limits of the poem? In this course we will look and listen for poems and the poetic across a variety of contexts. Among our poetic texts will be print and audio works published as poems and works typically presented as representative of other artforms (such as sculpture, painting, music, and dance). We will discuss these works in the context of poetry criticism and media theory. HMS 404A—Democratic Vistas 01 Instructor: Steven Doloff ENGR 309-­‐T, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits This course looks at the first great age of American literature as it coincided with the country's greatest social upheaval, the Civil War. Representative authors will be examined as they express the intellectual contradictions of their times, from the most expansive social and metaphysical optimism to the darkest skepticism. HMS 420S – Only The Dead Know Brooklyn 01 Instructor: Samantha Hunt NH 302 – T, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits Only the Dead Know Brooklyn draws from the borough's rich literature, art and history. All readings, films, field trips and writing assignments consider geography’s effect on a writer and how a land gets haunted. Class times will be used in alternating ways: discussion of readings; field trips to Brooklyn locations where students will begin a writing project; and finally, critiques of student work. HMS 431S – Made in NY: 21st Century Craft 04 Instructor: John Gendall DEK 308 – T, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits This course examines ideas of what it means to make in the 21st century. While pre-­‐Modern philosophies of making deal exclusively in handcraft, recent theories of making address industrialized production of commodities, relegating the “hand of the maker” to the annals of history. Contemporary design practices, however, introduce a hybrid condition. In the midst of a globalized economy with instant, single-­‐click transactions, many design practices (and clients) are privileging local, artisanal craft. The course will introduce historical precedents for craft 16
(e.g., Medieval guilds, Arts & Crafts, the 1960s), and will examine seminal texts that address the subject (e.g., Marx, Benjamin, Arendt, Sennett). Once equipped with historical and theoretical background, the course will catalogue and analyze contemporary case studies of local designers and fabricators. Students will carry out original analyses of these practices, resulting in a philosophy of what it means to make today. Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History CH 300: World Civilization I 07 Instructor: John Frangos T 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ISC 101A 08 Instructor: Mitchell Harris T 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 111 3 credits CH 400: World Civilization II 03 Instructor: Kumru Toktamis T 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits CH 250: Between Image and Word: Why Photographers Write 01 Instructor: TBA T 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ARC LL Room C-­‐4 02 Instructor: TBA T 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ARC LL Room F-­‐1 3 credits Captions, artists' statements, essays on their own and others' work, extended critical essays, theoretical statements about the nature of photography: all of these are forms of writing undertaken by photographers. In this course, we will study the writings of photographers with an eye to understanding the many contexts in which photographers write and the expectations for good writing those contexts create. The course will be both theoretical and practical, in the sense that students will study the writings of photographers in order to understand the various contexts of photographic writing and the ways photographers have responded to them and will develop their own skills in meeting the demands of the good use of words. All readings will be by artists who use both photographic images and words to make meaning. PHIL 307: Philosophy and Contemporary Cultural Theory 01 Instructor: Todd Kesselman T 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ENGR 311 3 credits An examination of contemporary cultural critique as developed in contemporary intellectual movements, such as critical theory, post-­‐structuralism and deconstruction anti-­‐theory. The course also elicits and explores central insights of cultural critique in the context of contemporary intellectual, political, and aesthetic concerns. SS 357: Psychology of Gender/Sex Roles 02 Instructor: Hunter Kincaid T 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 114 3 credits 17
An exploration of a variety of issues relating to human sexual behavior from theoretical, biological, and social perspectives. Sexual development, sex roles and gender identity (how we see ourselves as male or female) will be discussed. SS 490: Planet Ocean 03 Instructor: Jennifer Telesca T 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ENGR 109 3 credits Ocean acidification. Exterminated fish. Bleached corals. This course travels to the planet’s last frontier—the ocean—not as an untouched, natural space, but as a site of human action. Students explore islands and waves, empires and economies, nightmares and fantasies among sailors, surfers, scientists and slaves. Our goal is to make visible the hidden but consequential practices unfolding at sea so that we think the “planet” beyond land-­‐based perspectives. SS 490: The Civil War 12 Instructor: Ann Holder T 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 305 3 credits We are now concluding the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, the 150th anniversary of the war that cost the lives of more soldiers than any other in the nation’s history. The commemoration has included films, museum exhibits and—of course—the restaging of battles by Civil War buffs known as ‘reenactors.’ What do these efforts to ‘reconstruct’ the period tell us about how the Civil War changed the nation and why it matters? This class will examine the idea of reconstruction from two different angles: the contemporary obsession with reproducing the material conditions of the period and the political battle over remaking the United States in the aftermath of the war. SS 411/611: Concepts of Materiality 01 Instructors: Uzma Rizvi & Murtaza Vali T 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 112 3 credits Drawing on distinct but overlapping art historical and archaeological methodologies, intersecting with philosophy, anthropology, and the history of science, this seminar examines the many ways that objects, things and matter are thought to hold meaning, memory and history. Tracing the evolution of the concept of materialism through time and across various disciplines the course will focus on the idea of the immanent and nonlinear nature of materialisms as well as the ways in which embodied subjectivities can be conceptualized and materialized. This course will hesitate in the space between the formations of these theories, particularly in light of new materialisms, and matter itself, never inert or static but always in the process of becoming. 18
Tuesdays 2:00pm-­‐4:50pm (Unless noted otherwise) Math and Science MSCI 200 -­‐ Mathematics and the Imagination 01 Instructor: Mark Rosin ENGR 111; T (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits This is a survey of basic mathematical concepts that demonstrate the nature of mathematics. Topics are chosen from areas such as the concept of paradoxes and controversies, infinities, elementary number theory, modular arithmetic, fractals, chaos, topology, elementary probability and statistics. MSCI 224 – Physics of Music 01 Instructor: Daniel Wright MAIN 001 & ENGR 202; T (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits In this course, we will explore the underlying physics behind the music that enriches our lives. We will start with a general description of sound waves before looking into how sound is produced by stringed, woodwind, brass and percussive instruments, as well as the human voice. The receiving end is also important, so we will look into functioning of our ears and our perception of sound. We will analyze notes, tones, musical scales and chords in terms of the frequencies produced by the various instruments above and also plug in and examine the electrification of instruments, the operating principals of operation behind speakers and microphones, and the recording of music from vinyl to MP3s. Where we listen to music matters too, so we will delve into the acoustics of various indoor and outdoor spaces. By the end of the course, you will come to appreciate many fascinating new aspects of the music that you love. MSCI 252 -­‐ Natural Catastrophes 01 Instructor: Anatole Dolgoff ARC E-­‐07; T (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits Earthquakes. Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Floods, Meteor impacts. Climate change. For any of these natural events to morph into a major disaster, you need the human societal input: actions taken or not taken before and after the event intensifies or lessens its effect. In this course we examine the physical causes of natural disasters and, equally important, the human contribution to them. We also discuss the engineering, planning, and political steps necessary to prevent disasters or at least soften their impact. We take a “real world”, case history approach. MSCI 270 -­‐ Ecology 03 Instructor: Aman Gill NH 107; T (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits This course provides a background in the fundamental principles of ecological science, including concepts of natural selection, population and community ecology, biodiversity, and 19
sustainability. Students will acquire an “ecological literacy” about how the natural world works, and develop an understanding of how scientific methods are used to construct ecological knowledge. The course will also explore some of today’s major ecological challenges, and the important research that needs to be done to address these concerns. MSCI 321 – Introduction to Electronics 01 Instructor: Charles Rubenstein ARC E-­‐08; T (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits This is a science course covering basic electronics theory with practical applications in circuit design and interfacing (safe & reliable connection of one circuit to another and/or to a computer port). It is intended for the student curious about modern electronics and as preparation for DDA and ID courses in Interactive Installations and Robotics. Students will work with transistors and integrated circuits along with sensors and output devices such as light emitting diodes and motors. Humanities and Media Studies HMS 400S– Faith in Fiction 02 Instructor: Steven Doloff ENGR 309 – T, 2:00-­‐04:50 3 credits This course covers a range of authors whose fictional works involve questions of modern religious faith. Novels exploring aspects of Eastern theology, mysticism and Catholicism are investigated for their spiritual responses to contemporary social and political events and conditions, as well as for their stylistic elements. HMS 290A– Sound Across the Arts 01 Instructor: Mendi Obadike ENGR 113 – T, 2-­‐4:50 3 credits Much of how we envision narratives depends on sight, but sounds also speak to us. Our understandings of the world are illuminated by visual metaphors, but sonic metaphors also resonate. What do we miss when our critical tools for interpreting the work of sound or recognizing the cultural values inherent in sonic concepts are impoverished? This course will consider the representations, technologies, and metaphors of sound in the arts. We will explore the cultural values inherent in the practice of recognizing a sound as music or noise, the interplay between sound and vision across the arts, and the politics of representing narratives and characters in sound. HMS 431S – Introduction to Deleuze and Guattari 01 Instructor: Ethan Spigland ENGR 305-­‐ T, 2-­‐4:50 3 credits This class will engage in a close reading of A Thousand Plateaus, a book that extends the work that Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari began in Anti-­‐Oedipus. A Thousand Plateaus advances an approach that draws on Marx and Freud among many others to forge an entirely new and radical path. We will explore the authors’ rich proliferation of concepts, which include: the 20
rhizome, assemblages, the body-­‐without-­‐organs, the plane of immanence, smooth space, haecceities, nomadology, war machines, and the refrain. The goal of the class will be to actualize Deleuze & Guattari by putting these concepts to work in students’ own creative projects. HMS 431S -­‐ Mutating Cities 03 Instructor: Youmna Chlala, Christoph Kumpush MAIN 301-­‐ T, 2-­‐4:50 3 credits Mutating Cities is a spatial investigation of contemporary cities as sites of exchange. How is the periphery addressed in architecture film, art, performance and literature? How do we understand malleable and transient boundaries? What are the socio-­‐economic and geo-­‐political effects of cultural production? In this course, we will use research, drawing, video, discussion & writing to develop experiential work about historical, contemporary and future mutating cities. HMS 440S-­‐ Electronic Literature: Theory and Practice 03 Instructor: Stephanie Boluk DEK 010 -­‐ T, 2:00-­‐04:50 3 credits Electronic Literature: What is it? N. Katherine Hayles asks in an essay attempting to chart the contours of this field emerging between netart, procedurally-­‐generated poetics, experimental software, and videogames. How does electronic literature reflect a convergence of aural, visual, textual, and haptic forms? What are the institutional authorities, historical genealogies, theoretical interests, critical audiences, and market values that have produced this constellation of writing practices? This course incorporates a general history of computational media (e.g., Bush, Nelson, Engelbart, Sutherland, Berners-­‐Lee) with the investigation of some literary and artistic precedents (e.g., Tzara, Burroughs, Borges, Perec, Queneau). We will apply this historical framework to the study of contemporary experimental production in networked and programmable media. Works examined will potentially include netart, hypertext fiction, generative poetry, source code, interactive fiction, alternate reality games, bioart, critical interface design, and videogames. Participants in the seminar will be asked to engage in close analysis of works, collaborate on curating a collection of contemporary electronic literature, as well as produce their own e-­‐lit. HMS 493A – Writing as Photography 01 Instructor: Ariel Goldberg NH 106 – T, 2-­‐4:50 3 credits Writing as Photography will study social structures such as image sharing websites, profile pictures, tourist attractions, and combat photography. We will examine both the multiplying types of photographs that appear in our lives, and the multiplying types of photographers. This class is an experiment in captive watching, and hopes to shift our consciousness. What do we lose when we are behind a camera? What implications can the realm of “digital” or lack of physical mean for photographs that are not taken but merely imagined? What does it do to our memories to make images without cameras? These questions will be explored in depth through weekly assignments, reading discussions, a daily log of photographic encounters, an artistic statement focused on the student’s relationship to photography, and a final directed 21
project. We will craft images without a machine. We will become translators of pre-­‐existing and imagined images while studying the contemporary discourse around image making. In this course, weekly readings and writing assignments will correspond with poetry, philosophy, and theory to inform our class discussions. We will begin with close readings of Vilém Flusser’s seminal writings on photography from the early 80s and use this as a lens to survey a selection of photography theory from the past thirty years to inspire our poetry and prose assignments. We will craft voice, content, and form in our writing, and practice photography criticism. In addition to the readings, we will look at the artists Ehren Tool, Zoe Leonard, and Gustav Metzger. Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History, Sustainability CH 300: World Civilization I 09 Instructor: Josiah Brownell T 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ ENGR 311 10 Instructor: Paul Dambowic T 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 111 3 credits PHIL 209: Modern Philosophy: History and Problems 01 Instructor: Erum Naqvi T 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 114 3 credits Philosophy took new shape in the Enlightenment period. Defending the cause of ‘reason’ and the right of the critical intelligence to scrutinize all beliefs, from the moral and political to the scientific and religious, philosophers asked questions about experience, knowledge, value and truth that continue to be argued today. Students will read major thinkers such as Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Kant, Hegel, and Nietzsche. SS 490: Culture of Food 13 Instructor: Josh Karant T 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 112 3 credits More than mere sustenance, food offers a source of identity, community and tradition, and a catalyst for innovation, exploration and exchange. Looking at its role in history, philosophy, economics and daily life, we will examine food as narrative: one that elucidates tensions between business and pleasure, tradition and originality, diverse cultural melting pots and distinct indigenous patterns. In addition to focusing upon specific countries (Italy, France, America) and innovations (the Restaurant, the food “industry”), we will explore contemporary issues such as the cult of celebrity (chefs) and Slow Food. To supplement course readings, we will take field trips to two of New York’s unique culinary epicenters – Jackson Heights (Queens), and Little Italy (Manhattan) – and eat local delicacies. Please note that this course is reading and writing intensive (there is a mandatory weekly paper). SS 490: I Heart/Break New York: Urban Change in NYC 21 Instructor: Caitlin Cahill T 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits 22
"Whose city? Our City!" Inspired by love and loss, this course focuses on the tensions inherent in urban change drawing upon urban geographic, queer, critical race, and feminist theory. Course topics will include urban development, gentrification, historic and contemporary urban social movements. Students will document urban change in iconic NY neighborhoods through photography, video, and mapping. SUST 405: Production, Consumption, and Waste 24 Instructor: Carl Zimring T 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ ISC 101A 3 credits What happens to the trash we toss in dumpsters? How do we determine what waste is, and why do we make so much of it? Learn about the environmental and social consequences of mass production and disposal (past and present), and ways to make the waste stream safer. Tuesday 5:00pm-­‐7:50pm (Unless noted otherwise) Math and Science MSCI 321 – Introduction to Electronics 02 Instructor: Charles Rubenstein ARC E-­‐08; T (5:00pm-­‐7:50pm) 3 credits This is a science course covering basic electronics theory with practical applications in circuit design and interfacing (safe & reliable connection of one circuit to another and/or to a computer port). It is intended for the student curious about modern electronics and as preparation for DDA and ID courses in Interactive Installations and Robotics. Students will work with transistors and integrated circuits along with sensors and output devices such as light emitting diodes and motors. MSCI 432 – Nature of Color 01 Instructor: Cindie Kehlet ARC D-­‐02; T (5:00pm-­‐7:50pm) 3 credits The course introduces students to the nature of color. How do we see color and how does our vision affect the way we see art? The role of light is important when we talk about colors and we will address the question of why things adopt the colors they do. We will review basic chemistry concepts which will be applied to the understanding of the chemistry of colorants and pigments. In this course students will actually synthesize specific pigments in the laboratory. Humanities and Media Studies AIC 101: Film Studies 02, 04 Instructor: Ethan Spigland 23
HH 015-­‐ T. 5:30-­‐8:20 01, 03 Instructor: Deb Meehan HH 015-­‐ T, 5:30-­‐8:20 *1 credit* A film studies course for a general audience focusing on the analysis of a Pratt Film Society semester program including classic cinema, and noteworthy contemporary films. This class will look at work from the international, Hollywood, and independent film worlds, and particularly those critically acclaimed works that are innovative in their approach to exploring the medium. HMS 332S -­‐Bad Girls in Literature, Art & Music 01 Instructor: Adrian Shirk ENGR 113 -­‐ T, 6:30-­‐9:20 3 credits This course is a general introduction to the issues of women, conformity and reception in literature and the arts. Inspired by Patti Smith's recent memoir, this seminar examines nonconforming women who broke down barriers and redefined their eras, focusing on the controversy and commentary surrounding their contributions and media reception. By focusing on the most radical moment for each artist, this course explores the cultural practices, aesthetics, and ways of engendering and conceptualizing sound, music, writing and compositional agency in relation to their reception. One objective will be to examine ways in which the insights and methods of structuralism, post-­‐structuralism, semiotics, critical theory, and feminist criticism have been applied to the problem of understanding how meanings are gendered, negotiated, and celebrated in popular music and literature. We will examine the labeling of women artists as possessed, errant geniuses or incapable “tourists” of the art form and how they were branded as "bad girls." HMS 400S – Ecopoetics 01 Instructor: Melissa Buzzeo MAIN 301 -­‐ T, 5:00-­‐07:50 3 credits In this course, we will read recent experiments in poetry alongside traditional indigenous songs, urban ecopoetries alongside romantic nature poems, classic texts on ecology and the environment alongside postmodern philosophies of language, and histories of cross-­‐cultural exchange alongside writings about “global” culture. These energetic exchanges will lead to a new consideration of how language might affect, support or counter-­‐act the sustainability of our creative practices. Along the way, we might ask and try to answer some of these questions: What has the human use of the word “nature” made (im)possible? How is ecopoetry different from nature poetry? How have binary concepts like self/other, nature/culture, and indigenous/alien contributed to political and ecological erasures? What does language have to do with our experience of, knowledge about and anxiety toward current ecological (as economic and political) events? Is human language capable of exploring non-­‐human (animal, botanic, mineral and even machinic) forms of becoming? What could “I” mean when the idea of a center is relinquished in favor of an infinitely extensive network of relations? And finally, how might representational practices inadvertently affect the outcomes of sustainable innovations? Assignments will consist of readings and discussion, creative writing assignments, one paper, and an experimental project statement (in which students apply their newly developed critical capacities to their own professional or literary projects). Although an interest in reading poetry 24
and experimenting with writing is essential, Pratt students, regardless of their major field of study, are warmly welcomed and encouraged to register and can expect to become more conscious and adept writers. Writing majors will gain new insight into language theory and formal practice that will translate easily to other contexts. HMS 410A – Modern Poetry 02 Instructor: Maria Damon ENGR 305 – T, 5-­‐7:50 3 credits Before Ezra Pound broadcast the battle cry of the moderns, “MAKE IT NEW!” poets had been making it new in significant ways, opening up the line and content, challenging traditional rhyme, meter and meaning and destroying the notion of a pure and individual subject/author. Pound and TS Eliot wrote extensively, offering more official parameters of how to write the new poetry—their ideas are compelling and influential. Yet, simultaneously and since, there are many other legitimate, and often more democratic approaches to this project. We will examine a range of significant contributors to the project and come up with our own ideas of what it means to be modern. Although this class focuses on American poets, some significant poets from the rest of the world will be studied, including Stéphan Mallarmé , André Breton and Aimé Césaire. HMS 440S-­‐ Surveillance Cultures 02 Instructor: Stephanie Boluk DEK 010 -­‐ T, 5:00-­‐07:50 3 credits From surveillance to sousveillance to dataveillance the course will examine how societies of control are shaped through governmental, political, social, and cultural forms of monitoring. We will survey theories ranging from Bentham’s “Panopticon,” Orwell’s "Big Brother," Deleuze’s “Societies of Control” and Galloway and Thacker’s “Protocological Control” in an attempt to think about our contemporary moment of financialization, securitization, and informatization. We will think about what it means to live in an age defined by PRISM, XKeyscore, biometrics, and ultrafast algorithmic trading as much as darknets, black swans, Wikileaks, and cryptographic currency. How has the “googlization of everything” affected models of privacy and public space? What does it mean to live a life tracked through social media in which attention economies expropriate the human senses and monetize the immaterial labor of millions of users? Peter Ludlow has coined the term “Generation W” to describe a new generation of whistleblowers and leakers from Chelsea Manning to Aaron Swartz whose crimes of conscience take the form of information dissemination and an embrace of institutional transparency. We will read theoretical, philosophical, legal and aesthetic texts and study a range of art and media from Steve Mann’s wearable computing to the computer game Papers, Please: A Dystopian Document Thriller. Students will be invited to draw on their reading and research in order to realize a project of their own design addressing itself to surveillance culture. Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History 25
CH 300: World Civilization I 12 Instructor: Paul Schweigert T 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 111 13 Instructor: Ron Van Cleef T 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ ENGR 311 3 credits PHIL 312: Philosophical Ethics 01 Instructor: Robert Richardson T 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ ISC 101A 3 credits Ethics may be broadly defined as the inquiry into what we should or ought to desire, feel or do. In all lives and all cultures there is an ethical dimension, but in philosophical ethics we look for the reasons behind moral thinking, and we ask: what is an ethical judgment? Are ethical judgments universal or culturally specific? Are they expressions of emotional preferences or do they correspond to facts about the world? What is the goal of ethical action: individual happiness, pleasure or fulfillment or the greatest good of the greatest number? And can we know what is right or wrong, what we ought to do? We will examine these issues through contemporary examples and recent philosophical discussion. Moral theories discussed will include utilitarianism, moral realism versus moral relativism, intuitionism and deontology, and perfectionism. SS 480.01: Africa: Society and History 01 Instructor: Paul Dambowic T 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits From the emergence of early humans to contemporary developments, this course takes the measure of African history, culture, and political economy. The first half of the course surveys the archeological, anthropological, and historical record, and the second half explores current events and thematics. Africa is explored in its internal diversity and its international relations. SS 490: I Heart/Break New York: Urban Change in NYC 22 Instructor: Caitlin Cahill T 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 112 3 credits "Whose city? Our City!" Inspired by love and loss, this course focuses on the tensions inherent in urban change drawing upon urban geographic, queer, critical race, and feminist theory. Course topics will include urban development, gentrification, historic and contemporary urban social movements. Students will document urban change in iconic NY neighborhoods through photography, video, and mapping. SS490: Sex, Gender, Power I: Materialist Feminisms 30 Instructor: Zhivka Valiavicharska T 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 114 3 credits This class will explore the relationship between sex, gender, and capitalism. We will examine how the gender binary, the family, and the regulation of sexuality and biological reproduction have been linked to capitalist forms of production, the private property relation, and the reproduction of class relations and other forms of social inequality. Readings will include Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Italian autonomist feminism, Michel Foucault, Gayle Rubin, Angela 26
Davis, Judith Butler, Silvia Federici, and texts from current radical queer-­‐feminist movements. The texts will be considered in light of both the historical evolution of capitalism and the shifting critical paradigms in the history of feminist theory and gender and sexuality studies. Tuesday 6:00pm-­‐8:50pm Math and Science MSCI 271 – Ecology for Architects (Reserved for Architecture Majors) 02 Instructor: Aman Gill NH 107; T (6:00pm-­‐8:50pm) 3 credits Architects build structures that serve as environments for organisms: human beings. Therefore, it is crucial that architects understand the ways that organisms interact with the environment and other organisms. This course will investigate topics in Ecology that will enable you to think more broadly about it means to design living and working spaces. We will discuss topics including biodiversity, energy, competition, systems theory, population growth, human perception, the five human senses, and conservation. This course is required for second year Architecture students. Wednesday 9:30am-­‐12:20pm (Unless noted otherwise) Math and Science MATH 150 – Algebra & Trigonometry 02 Instructor: TBA ENGR 111; W (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 3 credits Topics in algebra, trigonometry and analytical geometry are covered. Note: This is a remedial course only (students do not get credits for this course). MSCI 221 – Conceptual Physics 02 Instructor: James Wise ARC E-­‐08; W (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 3 credits This course focuses on the conceptual aspects of physics and thus uses minimal mathematics. Besides providing exposure to classical, as well as quantum physics, the course also considers the influence of physics on different areas of society, and highlights research at the cutting edge. MSCI 490 – Energy & the Environment 01 Instructor: Oscar Strongin ARC E-­‐07; W (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 27
3 credits This course is designed to describe the relationship between the production/consumption of all forms of energy (both renewable and non-­‐renewable) and its impact on the environment and in particular, the climate changes the world is presently experiencing. This will encompass discussions and studies of the close connection between energy consumption and the various national standards of living; the climate changes of the past, from both a geologic and historic vantage point; considerations of current global warming trends (i.e. is it due to human activities or a result of natural warming in an interglacial age); impact of the revolutionary shale developments that have radically modified the worldwide energy picture (all within this century) and the myriad of other pertinent issues and concerns arising from the above. MSCI 490/590 – Chemistry of Artist’s Materials 05 Instructor: Eleonora Del Federico ARC D-­‐02; W (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 3 credits This course introduces students to the basic Chemistry involved in materials and techniques used by artists. The course also introduces the Chemistry involved in archeological materials and their preservation. This is a hands-­‐on course. Students run laboratory experiments to gain insight into the properties and chemical behavior of artists' materials, their techniques and the degradation and preservation of archeological artifacts. Lectures, multi-­‐media presentations, special projects and case studies reinforce the understanding of the chemical principles involved in the conservation and preservation of works of art and archeological objects. Humanities and Media Studies, Foreign Language *Language courses meet twice a week FREN 101: Introductory French 1 (MEETS TWICE A WEEK) 01 Instructor: Sharon Snow NH 209-­‐MW 9:30-­‐10:50 3 credits This course focuses equally on oral comprehension and speaking, reading, and written expression. Vocabulary is presented thematically in the context of everyday life in France. Students will develop writing skills and will enjoy French songs, poems, and readings on cultural topics. A feature-­‐length French film will complete this introduction. FREN 201: Intermediate French I (MEETS TWICE A WEEK) 02 Instructor: Sharon Snow NH 209 -­‐MW 11-­‐12:20 3 credits After completion of FREN 101-­‐102 (or Contact [email protected] ) ITAL 101 -­‐ Italian I (MEETS TWICE A WEEK) 01 Instructor: Barbara Turoff MW 9:30-­‐10:50 02 Instructor: Barbara Turoff MW 11-­‐12:20 03 Instructor: Barbara Turoff MW 9:30-­‐10:50 04 Instructor: Barbara Turoff MW 11-­‐12:20 3 credits 28
HMS 203A: World Literature I (MEETS TWICE A WEEK) 01 Instructor: Steven Doloff ENGR 307 -­‐MW 11:00-­‐12:20 3 credits Students investigate a selection of major early Mesopotamian, European, Middle Eastern, Indian, Asian and African literary works of mythology, epic poetry, drama and religious poetry, extending up to the early 17th century. These works are examined within a context of both lecture and class discussion. HMS 320S– Screenwriting I 01 Instructor: Don Andreasen ENGR 113 -­‐ W, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits Screenwriting is an exciting field; one that is demanding and exciting – and can be learned. For first time students, in the beginning of the term, we will write scenes and study basic techniques. In the second half, we will plan and write a short film. Also, we will watch and discuss films, considering their characters and structures. For returning students, we will review basic techniques and then plan and write either a full-­‐length film or several short films. HMS 440I-­‐ Film Sound 01 Instructor: Mendi Obadike ENGR 305 -­‐ W, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits Is film a visual medium? This course explores some of the theoretical concerns in designing the sound of a film, including the creation of soundtracks, the use of original scoring, and voiceovers. HMS 440S-­‐ Readings in Media Theory 04 Instructor: Jon Beller DEK 010 -­‐ W, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits The most recent texts in media theory from leaders in the field. Authors include McKenzie Wark, Paulo Virno, Allen Feldman, Claudia Rankine, Wendy Chun, Eva Ilouz, Frank B. Wilderson III, Sean Cubitt, Fred Moten, Stefano Harney, Randy Martin and others. The list may change depending upon what is published as the course proceeds. This course is designed for students concentrating in media studies, cinema studies, visual culture/studies, art history and allied disciplines who are interested in political theory and aesthetics along with questions of power, inequality, community, race, gender, sexuality and social justice. It is a reading intensive, seminar style course. Students are expected to read attentively, write critically, and develop their analytical skills through close reading and sustained inquiry. Students whose work promises to change the world (for the better) will receive extra credit. HMS 360S -­‐ Intro to Performance Studies 01 Instructor: Tracie Morris NH 304 -­‐ W, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits In “The Practice of Everyday Life,” Michel de Certeau writes: “space is a practiced place.” In this co-­‐taught course, of special interest to students who are grappling with concepts of the body in 29
space in their own practices and studies, Professors Hogrefe and Morris will explore different conceptual relationships between architecture, performance studies and performative environments. How does interior and exterior affect the artist and the audience? How is this construction facilitated by or hindered by materials used? How do architects and performers collaborate? This course will be a mixed class of architecture, art and design and humanities students with final performance presentations at the end of the semester. Required for the Performance and Performance Studies minor but open to non-­‐minors as well. Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History CH 300: World Civilization I 14 Instructor: Sal Westrich W 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 112 15 Instructor: John Frangos W 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ISC 101A 3 credits CH 400: World Civilization II 04 Instructor: Justin Jackson W 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 305 3 credits PHIL 350: Metaphysics 01 Instructor: John McGuire W 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ENGR 311 3 credits Metaphysics is the study of reality and its nature. Raising fundamental questions about time, matter, space, identity, action, objects, chance, causation and freedom, metaphysical inquiry underlies all specialized forms of knowledge and discourse, from the natural sciences to recent and early modern theories of consciousness, subjectivity and meaning. Other central topics in metaphysics are the mind/body relationship, the existence of God, the relation of substance and accidents, and the reality of number. SS 209: Anthropology 01 Instructor: Darini Nicholas W 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits This Course introduces disciplines in the field of anthropology, ethnology, and linguistics. Material constructions pertaining to the hypotheses and theories concerning human evolution, comparative cultural analyses, and the nature and significance of language are examined. As a comparative discipline, anthropological study provides important insights into the structure and functioning of culture in kinship as well as class-­‐based societies. This study encompasses a range of societies from simple hunting and gathering to industrialized ones. Visual material is an important adjunct to this course. SS 312: Heritage Practice 01 Instructor: Uzma Rizvi W 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 111 3 credits 30
This seminar examines the shared histories of natural and cultural heritage and their subsequent trajectories in the contemporary world. Considerations of both archaeological sites and natural landscapes have undergone transformations in our thinking over past decades due to factors ranging from indigenous rights, green politics and international tourism. The course examines the development of key ideas including conservation, wilderness, sustainability, indigenous knowledge, non-­‐renewability and diversity. Using case studies from regional and local contexts, this seminar will contextualize World Heritage sites, non-­‐governmental agencies (NGOs) and public interest projects within contemporary global politics. Case studies draw on both cultural and natural sites from India and some comparative case studies from Africa, the Americas and Australia SS 444: Abnormal Psychology 01& 01E Instructor: Shelly Juran W 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH114 3 credits Students examine neurotics and psychotic patterns of behavior with an explanation of etiology. Methods of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness is reviewed. Emphasis is on the development of creative-­‐ expressive skills in art therapy as an approach to the resolution of inter psychic and interpersonal conflicts. SS 490: Food and Cinema 14 May Joseph W 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ DK 308 3 credits Food is history. What we eat, why we eat, how we eat and when we eat impacts the world around us. Empires were created to sustain desires for particular kinds of food: sugar, chocolate, tea, coffee, spices, opium. Food is the all-­‐encompassing sphere of encounter where fear, danger, desire, pleasure, denial, excess and taboo meet. This course invites students to immerse themselves in the politics and aesthetics of food. Through cinema and food writing, we will explore the implications of food as a social practice. SS 490: The Technological Nature of Society 23 Instructor: Iván Zatz-­‐Diaz W 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ENGR 109 3 credits Since the great systems of thought of the German Enlightenment, a dominant view of social development has centered around “technological determinism.” This view, that the development of technology drives history, has led to a linear and teleological notion of technological development – as if the photographic camera grew up into the film camera, or the typewriter grew up and matured into today’s computers. Since the mid-­‐20th Century, however, a different tendency has emerged, viewing technology as an ontological framework (Heidegger), an anthropologically immanent constituent of the human being (Leroi Ghouran), or a materialization of a more general aspect of technics, starting with writing (Derrida). More recently, thinkers such as Virilio, Stiegler and Negri have presented a society so enormously transformed by that we no longer have an accurate way of ascertaining and describing what is unfolding before us. The course will address the history of technology and its relation to other 31
aspects of society in order to grasp the emerging forms of technological ontology mentioned above. Wednesday 12:30pm-­‐1:50pm French Meets twice a week FREN 533: French Conversation 01 Instructor: Sharon Snow NH 209 -­‐MW 12:30-­‐1:50 3 credits After completion of FREN 201-­‐202 (or Contact [email protected] ) Wednesday 2:00pm-­‐4:50pm (Unless noted otherwise) Math and Science MSCI 201 -­‐ Symmetry, Space, and Shape 01 Instructor: Carole Sirovich ENGR 111; W (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits Students explore some visual aspects of mathematics. Topics are chosen from areas such as geometric constructions, tessellations of the plane, symmetry groups, platonic and Archimedean solids, spirals, Fibonacci sequences, Non-­‐Euclidean geometry and circuits. MSCI 220 -­‐ Science of Light 02 Instructor: Mark Rosin ARC E-­‐08; W (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits Introduction to light and optical phenomena in nature, technology, and art will acquaint students with all aspects of light. Topics include natural and artificial sources of light, how light travels in natural settings and lenses, and how light is captured by film, video chips (CCDs) and our retinas. Some simple algebra will be used. MSCI 223 -­‐ Astronomy 03 Instructor: Steve Kreis NH 107; W (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits This is a course in basic astronomy, which will provide an overview of our current understanding of the universe around us. Topics will include the origin of the universe, galaxies, 32
stars, planets, interstellar matter, black holes, space travel, the possibility (or not) of extraterrestrial life... as well as the observational techniques we use to reveal the universe. MSCI 332P-­‐01 – Cooking is Chemistry 01 Instructor: Barbara Charton ARC E-­‐07; W (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits Eating is an essential activity. In this course, the emphasis is on the composition of food. Foods are chemical as is their preparation and digestion so we shall explore what is happening in both the growth of plants and their ultimate use by animals, including humans. The focus of the course is the chemical composition of foodstuffs, their seasonings, preparations, and preservation. Basically, it is a biochemistry course for non-­‐science majors. MSCI 490 – Degradation of A&D Materials 10 Instructor: Cindie Kehlet ARC D-­‐02; W (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits In this course students will gain an understanding of how art and design materials degrade and how they can be preserved. Dirt plays a major role in the deterioration of materials therefore optimal cleaning methods are a necessity. Scientific methods are important for the study of art and design materials. The use of multi-­‐spectral imaging and polarized light microscopy for characterization of art and design materials will be discussed. We will cover how to determine realistic goal for treatments. Students will choose an art or design material and get a chance to scientifically characterize, clean, degrade, and apply a treatment allowing for a deeper understanding of the materials they use in their practices Humanities and Media Studies, Foreign Language *Language courses meet twice a week ITAL 201 -­‐ Intermediate Italian I 01 Instructor: Barbara Turoff MW 2-­‐3:30 3 credits HMS 320S-­‐ Turning Life into Memoir / Nonfiction 05 Instructor: Ellen Conley MAIN 401 -­‐ W, 2-­‐4:50 09 Instructor: Ellen Conley (reserved for film/video majors) MAIN 401 -­‐ W, 2-­‐4:50 3 credits This workshop will help students adapt their unique inner and outer lives into short stories, poetry and monologues. As successful artists have said, “when inspiration comes it will find me working.” Through fun exercises, students will develop the technique and art of successful writing. These techniques work for the beginner as well as those who have had some background in writing. HMS 325A – Journalism Workshop: Prattler I 01 Instructor: Sean Kelly ENGR 205 -­‐ W, 2-­‐4:50 3 credits 33
This course is for students working on the Prattler magazine in any capacity (as writers, editors, designers, etc.) during the fall semester. Students taking the course for credit will be responsible attending and participating fully in weekly editorial meetings (class sessions) and for the editing, managing and production of all issues of the Prattler magazine produced during the semester (normally three), in addition to regular creative contributions. HMS 431A -­‐ Modernism and Post-­‐Modernism 01 Instructor: Ira Livingston NH 106 – W, 2-­‐4:50 02 Instructor: Kristin Pape NH 106 – W, 2-­‐4:50 3 credits This course examines literature, art, music, and architecture associated with modernism and postmodernism, along with their philosophical backgrounds. Topics covered include the aesthetic response to the rise of capitalism, differences between modernism and postmodernism, and concepts typically associated with postmodernism, including commodification, globalization, simulacra, pastiche, schizophrenia, paranoia, the decline of historical consciousness, challenges to the universal subject, and time-­‐space compression. Authors covered may include Nietzsche, Proust, Kafka, Mann, Joyce, Woolf, Pynchon, Borges, and Morrison. HMS 441A -­‐ Global Cinema 02 Instructor: Amy Guggenheim ENGR 305 -­‐ W, 2-­‐4:50 3 credits In this course we will explore visions of iconic contemporary filmmakers from global cinema notable for their innovative cinematic representation of modern life. Through their works, selected for their capability to go beyond national and cultural boundaries, we will examine how the invention of new cinematic language is used evoke poignant insight into human experience, and potentially bear influence on our perceptions of reality. In modules organized by genres, we will develop methods of analysis through in-­‐depth formal and thematic study of several films, extend our investigation in small research projects by students, and based on these studies and integrate theory with practice in applied creative workshops. A guest filmmaker may be invited to hold a post-­‐screening master class with students. Advance viewing of films is expected. Requirements include a midterm essay project and a final creative or theoretical project based on the films from the course. HMS 496A -­‐ Creative Writing for Art and Design Practice SEC.4. Evan Rehill W (2:00PM-­‐3:50PM) NH 116 Section four meets every week for the last 8 weeks of the semester. SEC.5. Krystal Languell W (2:00PM-­‐3:50PM) NH 302 **1 credit** This course is a one-­‐credit writing workshop designed to support artistic and design practice and provide students with creative approaches to meet writing required of them in school and more generally. Students will read and write about visual art, design, dance, money, news and politics, science, poetry. They will also write first person essays and collaborative texts about their own practice of making. Students will complete weekly assignments and cooperatively 34
review work in class. Students will be given the opportunity to publish their work on a class blog or in a print anthology. For a final assignment, students will prepare a writing portfolio and present a revised artist’s statement. Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History CH 300: World Civilization I 16 Instructor: Josiah Brownell W 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ ENGR 311 17 Instructor: Sal Westrich W 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ Main 301 3 credits CH 250: Between Image and Word: Why Photographers Write 03 Instructor: TBA W 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ NH112 3 credits Captions, artists' statements, essays on their own and others' work, extended critical essays, theoretical statements about the nature of photography: all of these are forms of writing undertaken by photographers. In this course, we will study the writings of photographers with an eye to understanding the many contexts in which photographers write and the expectations for good writing those contexts create. The course will be both theoretical and practical, in the sense that students will study the writings of photographers in order to understand the various contexts of photographic writing and the ways photographers have responded to them and will develop their own skills in meeting the demands of the good use of words. All readings will be by artists who use both photographic images and words to make meaning. PHIL 356: Environmental Ethics 01 Instructor: Eric Godoy W 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ Main 302 3 credits If we can be ethical in our relation to others, why can't we be ethical in our relations with the environment? This course assesses the capability of traditional ethical paradigms (and their alternatives) to address current environmental issues, including global climate change, food ethics, sustainable consumption practices, and the intrinsic value of non-­‐human nature. SS 312: Heritage Practice 02 Instructor: Uzma Rizvi W 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ NH 111 3 credits This seminar examines the shared histories of natural and cultural heritage and their subsequent trajectories in the contemporary world. Considerations of both archaeological sites and natural landscapes have undergone transformations in our thinking over past decades due to factors ranging from indigenous rights, green politics and international tourism. The course examines the development of key ideas including conservation, wilderness, sustainability, indigenous knowledge, non-­‐renewability and diversity. Using case studies from regional and local contexts, this seminar will contextualize World Heritage sites, non-­‐governmental agencies (NGOs) and public interest projects within contemporary global politics. Case studies draw on 35
both cultural and natural sites from India and some comparative case studies from Africa, the Americas and Australia SS 318: Heretics, Bandits and Rebels 01 Instructor: Sameetah Agha W 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ NH 305 3 credits Students consider resistance to myriad forms of domination by individuals and groups not represented in conventional historical accounts. The course reviews the historical record, seeking to develop alternative methodologies to reconstruct meaning and power relationships of social and cultural contexts outside the mainstream. The cases examined in the course are drawn from different historical settings, ranging from the heresy of a 16th century miller and cat killing Parisian apprentices under the ancient regime to anti-­‐colonial revolts in the 19th century, and Indian and social bandits in the contemporary United States. SS 444: Abnormal Psychology 02 &02E Instructor: Shelly Juran W 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ NH114 3 credits Students examine neurotics and psychotic patterns of behavior with an explanation of etiology. Methods of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness is reviewed. Emphasis is on the development of creative-­‐ expressive skills in art therapy as an approach to the resolution of inter psychic and interpersonal conflicts. SS 490: Who Built New York City? 01 Instructor: Luka Lucic & Francis Bradley W 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits Starting from the pre-­‐European settlers, early English and Dutch colonizers, the great wave of European immigration in late 19th and early 20th century, to contemporary global and diverse immigrant groups, this course examines the characteristics of environment that preceded and followed the arrival of various immigrant groups to the area that currently constitute New York City. SS 490: Art & Mental Health 10 Instructor: Barbara Esgalhado W 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ ISC 101A 3 credits In this course we will explore mental illness, artistic practice, and the relationship between the two through critical reading, film, and working at an art collective for artists with mental illness. In addition, required to read, maintain an artistic practice in dialogue with the course material, spend one class period a month either at The Artworks Collective in Manhattan or The Living Museum in Queens Village, New York (4 total over the semester; transportation will be provided), and critically reflect and write on their readings, artwork, and art collective experience. In addition to weekly journal entries (visual and written), there will be a midterm and final project. Museum visits are mandatory. 36
SS 510: Controversies in Cultural Theory W 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ ENGR 109 01 & 02 Instructor: Iván Zatz-­‐Diaz 3 credits This is an interdisciplinary seminar that explores theoretical and conceptual issues of common concern to both architecture and the liberal arts. It focuses on bodies of twentieth-­‐century cultural and social theory that can be said to have developed ideology of space, viewed both as a notion of habitat and as a vision of urban utopianism. Wednesday 5:00pm-­‐7:50pm (Unless noted otherwise) MSCI 281 – Green Building Science 01 Instructor: Richard Leigh ARC E-­‐08; W (5:00pm-­‐7:50pm) 3 credits This course will equip students with an introduction to the technical knowledge they will need to assess the true sustainability of design and construction options in building design. Drawing on physics, engineering, chemistry, and environmental studies, students will learn how to understand the performance of a building from the perspectives of heat flow and energy consumption, air flow and the indoor environment, fenestration and lighting requirements. By the conclusion of the course, students will have a clear understanding of how to calculate a “carbon footprint”, and much knowledge useful to advancement in the US Green Building Council’s LEED program. MSCI 490/590 – Arts and Geometries 04 Instructor: Jemma Lorenat ENGR 111; W (5:00pm-­‐7:50pm) 3 credits This course considers the development of geometries and their relationships to art and design. Combining theory and applications, we will progress through ruler constructions, conic sections, parallel and point projections, imaginary and infinite objects, and hyperbolic, elliptic and hyperspaces. Graduate students will complete an additional project synthesizing course concepts and their own research interests. MSCI 490/590 – Chemistry of Artist’s Materials 08 Instructor: Eleonora Del Federico ARC D-­‐02; W (5:00pm-­‐7:50pm) 3 credits This course introduces students to the basic Chemistry involved in materials and techniques used by artists. The course also introduces the Chemistry involved in archeological materials and their preservation. This is a hands-­‐on course. Students run laboratory experiments to gain insight into the properties and chemical behavior of artists' materials, their techniques and the degradation and preservation of archeological artifacts. Lectures, multi-­‐media presentations, special projects and case studies reinforce the understanding of the chemical principles involved in the conservation and preservation of works of art and archeological objects. 37
Humanities and Media Studies, Foreign Language *Language courses meet twice a week CHI 101: Chinese 01 Instructor: Echo Sun NH 207 –MW, 6:30-­‐7:50 3 credits This is a course in conversational Chinese (Mandarin), including basic grammar and vocabulary, along with aspects of Chinese culture. In addition to learning to speak Chinese, students will learn Hanyu Pinyin, a Romanized pronunciation system to aid Chinese learning, and will learn to recognize and write 200-­‐300 Chinese characters. COM 301 – Reports and Correspondence 03 Instructor: Melissa Milgram MANHATTAN –MW, 5-­‐6:20 2-­‐3 credits This course teaches effective business communication. The use of professional language and the principles of organization are stressed in the resume, cover letter, proposal, letter of refusal, memo, presentation and research report. The electronic workplace and its etiquette are also discussed. HMS 261A – Speech and Interpersonal Communication 01 Instructor: Ellen Conley MAIN 401 –W, 5-­‐7:50 3 credits This course is an introduction to public speaking and communication in both large and small group situations. HMS 310S– Collage and Quotation 01 Instructor: Ellen Levy MAIN 301 – W, 5-­‐7:50 3 credits These fragments I have shored against my ruins (T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land). Collage is the uniquely modern art of reassembling the world out of its shattered pieces. It is also a field on which image meets word: as visual artists like Picasso introduced language into their compositions, poets like Eliot began to assemble complex mosaics out of fragmentary quotations. In this course, we will be tracing the intertwined histories of modern poetry and visual art through reading/viewing of artists and writers including: Picasso, Eliot, Kurt Schwitters, Ezra Pound, John Heartfield, Marianne Moore, Max Ernst, Joseph Cornell, Robert Duncan, Jess, John Ashbery, Joe Brainard, Susan Howe, Ray Johnson, and Rachel Blau Duplessis. We will consider collage as a critique of history, modern media, and sex and gender. As part of the work for the class, you will also create your own word/image compositions. HMS 333S– Art of Protest: Dissent in Global Literature and Film 01 Instructor: Dave Kim DEK 010 –W, 5-­‐7:50 3 credits 38
Since 2010, major protests have erupted in virtually every populous region of the world, manifested in movements like Occupy Wall Street, Arab Spring, the environmental and pro-­‐
democracy demonstrations in China, and the student protests in South America. Historians and cultural critics have already begun distinguishing the past three years as a unique period of popular dissent, but many have also made connections (often controversially) between today’s global revolution and those of past decades, such as the fall of Communism (1989–1990) and the unrest of the 1960s. In this course, we will examine the notion of rebellion as a recurring theme in human history and a fundamental element of personal and national identity formation. Our semester will begin with metaphysical rebellion, or protest against the so-­‐called natural inclinations of the self, as discussed in the existential philosophy of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We’ll unpack some of the basic terms that we’ll be referring to throughout the course, words like free will, rebellion, revolution, ressentiment, and other concepts. Part II of the course will focus on protests against state power and the various political and economic systems (namely, modern capitalism) of the past century. The readings and films in Part II will take us to sites of protest around the world and incorporate some of the philosophical questions introduced to us in Part I. We’ll then end the course studying protests against social conventions, which are often more difficult to overthrow than regimes, and critique the instruments of systemic power that create and maintain these conventions. The structure of this class is purposely nonlinear. Rather than shuffling along in a cafeteria line of protest from antiquity to present day, we will move dynamically between eras and geographical sites to forge thematic and ontological connections. HMS 340S – Contemporary Experimental Narrative 01 Instructor: Chris Vitale ENG 309-­‐ W, 5:00-­‐07:50 3 credits This course will examine trends in contemporary experimental narrative world cinema, emphasizing the last two decades, including the increasing fragmentation, looping, shattering, and 'crystalization' of traditional notions of plot, character, action, editing, etc. We will also look at various attempts to use the opposite of this, a radical slowness and inertia, as a counterpoint to these more hectic counterpoints to the dominant Hollywood style. Students will watch two full-­‐length films a week, and write viewing responses. No prerequesites, but prepare to have your mind blown by many of these amazing, shocking, and staggeringly beautiful, complex, frustrating, and gorgeous films from around the globe. Films to include works by Pedro Almodovar, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Sion Sono, David Cronenberg, Takashi Miike, David Lynch, Tsai Ming Lang, Khavn De La Cruz, Peter Greenaway, Gus Van Sant, Samira Makhmalbaf, Guy Madden, Park Chan Wook, Roy Andersson, Bela Tarr, Michael Haneke, Atom Egoyan, Ashim Ashuwhalia, etc. HMS 341B – Japanese Cinema 01 Instructor: Ethan Spigland ENG 113-­‐ W, 5:00-­‐07:50 3 credits 39
A new Japanese New Wave is currently taking the world by storm. With the international success of such directors as Takeshi Kitano (Zatoichi), Takashi Miike (Audition, Gozu), and Hideo Nakata (Ring), interest in Japanese cinema is at an all-­‐time high. However, these directors did not emerge from out of the blue, but from a long and rich national film tradition. This screening class will present a historical survey of the major trends in Japanese cinema from the post-­‐war period to the early 1980s. We will study and view classic works by such acknowledged masters of world cinema as Kurosawa, Ozu, and Mizoguchi, but also groundbreaking films by lesser known directors. Special attention will be given to the Japanese New Wave and Underground films of the sixties and seventies, made by such directors as Masumura, Oshima, and Imamura. We will also introduce and discuss such popular and cult genres as “pink”, “yakuza”, “violent” and “monster” films. These films represent a fascinating alternate history of Japanese cinema, one that is missing from most official accounts. A discussion of the social, political, historical, and cultural climate in which all these films were made will provide a context for our exploration. HMS 441A -­‐ Global Cinema 01 Instructor: Amy Guggenheim ENGR 305 -­‐ W, 6:30-­‐9:20 3 credits In this course we will explore visions of iconic contemporary filmmakers from global cinema notable for their innovative cinematic representation of modern life. Through their works, selected for their capability to go beyond national and cultural boundaries, we will examine how the invention of new cinematic language is used evoke poignant insight into human experience, and potentially bear influence on our perceptions of reality. In modules organized by genres, we will develop methods of analysis through in-­‐depth formal and thematic study of several films, extend our investigation in small research projects by students, and based on these studies and integrate theory with practice in applied creative workshops. A guest filmmaker may be invited to hold a post-­‐screening master class with students. Advance viewing of films is expected. Requirements include a midterm essay project and a final creative or theoretical project based on the films from the course. Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History CH 300: World Civilization I 18 Instructor: TBA 32 Instructor: Ron Van Cleef 3 credits CH 400: World Civilization II 05 Instructor: Justin Jackson 3 credits PHIL 320: Existentialism 02 Instructor: John McGuire W 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 305 W 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 112 W 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 114 W 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 111 40
3 credits A comprehensive treatment of existentialist philosophy, including the work of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and the contemporary work of Heidegger and Sartre. SS 490: Philosophy and Science 05 Instructor: P.J Gorre W 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits The emergence of modern science is one of the most influential intellectual developments of the last few centuries. Arguably, scientific values have come to define all cognitive values. However, as the great science educator Carl Sagan reminds us, even with the pervasiveness of modern science and technology today, “we live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.” In this course we will engage this problem by exploring the historical, philosophical, and sociological intersection of modern science with society. We will do this by embarking upon a journey through the texts and arguments that surround the most influential work on the relationship between modern science and society: Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962). SS 490: Psychology of the Image 11 Instructor: Barbara Esgalhado W 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ ISC 101A 3 credits Where do images come from? How do they create and convey meaning? How do they figure into works of art? We will ask -­‐-­‐ and attempt to answer -­‐-­‐ these, and other questions in this class. How images are created as mental representations of the world will be explored and critically examined from the perspectives of psychology, cognitive science, philosophy, and neuroscience. In addition, we will explore related aspects like visualization, daydreams, dreams, and hallucinations. Connections will be made to how knowledge about the image can enrich art making and everyday life. Students will be asked to keep a day/night dream journal, create a written, visual and/or performed art work, write a final paper, and attend two class trips, one to the Rubin Museum and one chosen based on class interests. SS 490: Public Space 24 Instructor: Caitlin Cahill W 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ ENGR 109 3 credits This course is designed to introduce students, artists, and designers to the key political, social, design and theoretical considerations informing public space. Our focus will be on a broad range of public spaces, from the corporeal and material to the digital, including parks, streets, and sidewalks, privately owned or managed public spaces, temporary and interstitial spaces, and crowd-­‐sourced social media spaces. We will focus on the production of public space including considerations of the meaning of “the public” and the use, design, financing, and management of public spaces. 41
SUST 201: The Sustainable Core 02 Instructor: Jennifer Telesca W 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ ENGR 311 3 credits This course provides an overview of sustainability by exploring definitions, controversies, trends, and case-­‐studies in various systems and locales (urban/rural, local/national/global). Investigation of critical elements of sustainability, including environmental history and urban ecology, sustainable development and landscape transformations, recycling/waste management, ecosystem restoration, and environmental justice. In addition to lectures and discussion led by the course instructor Pratt Institute faculty and guest speakers who are experts on specific topics will provide guest lectures. Thursday 9:30am-­‐12:20pm (Unless otherwise noted) Math and Science MSCI 210 -­‐ Science and Society 01 Instructor: Damon Chaky ENGR 111; TH (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 02 Instructor: Damon Chaky (this section reserved for Critviz Majors) ENGR 111; TH (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 3 credits The Science and Society course explores some of the most pressing science issues facing the human condition today. Through lectures, readings, and discussions, the class will explore such issues as climate change, alternative energy, genetic engineering, emerging infectious diseases, and the overall forecast for the human condition in the next several decades. Students will gain a greater appreciation of how science can inform policies that will shape our society, and will better recognize the limitations of our current knowledge in predicting how modern technology will shape the human condition in the future. MSCI 250 – Geology 01 Instructor: Anatole Dolgoff ARC E-­‐07; TH (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 3 credits Students learn the basic principles of geology and the fundamental underlying concepts of physics and chemistry. The basic objective then is exposure to scientific thought and the more specific objective is to enable students to understand our planet’s formation, composition, internal structure, and internal and external processes. Laboratory work will provide hands-­‐on experience and will be coordinated with lectures. A field trip or museum visit will further enhance the student's appreciation for the earth. Humanities and Media Studies *Language courses meet twice a week SPAN 501 -­‐ Conversational Spanish I 42
01, 02 Instructor: Alba Potes TTH 11-­‐12:20 03, 04 Instructor: Alba Potes TTH 9:30-­‐10:50 3 credits This is a conversational Spanish course designed to prepare Art and Design Education majors (undergraduate and graduate) for the practicum in New York City schools. Conversational exercises will be oriented to classroom interactions. This is a two-­‐semester course for which credit is achieved only on the successful completion of both semesters. HMS 320S-­‐ Writing as Visual Art 02 Instructor: Anthony Tognazzini ENGR 305 -­‐ TH, 9:30-­‐12:20 07 Instructor: Anthony Tognazzini (reserved for film/video majors) ENGR 305 -­‐ TH, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits In this course, students will explore issues in contemporary art and prose with a special emphasis on artists whose work either includes text as a visual element, uses writing as a conceptual tool, or requires writing in order to be fully realized. These artists may include Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Bruce Nauman, Ed Ruscha, Kara Walker, Yoko Ono, Lorna Simpson, Gertrude Stein, Jackson Mac Low, Laurie Anderson, and others. As the course progresses, we will discuss a different artist in artistic, critical, and historiographic terms with an eye toward creating a final project HMS 340B -­‐ Myth into Film 01 Instructor: Saul Anton ENG 113-­‐ TH, 9:30-­‐12:20 3 credits This course is an examination of certain notable cinematic works wherein film structure and content have attained the larger power and resonance of myth by building on archetypal patterns of experience and tapping primitive sources of response. Screenings of classic films, viewed in class, are preceded by an introductory commentary of background information and followed by interpretations of the mythic and cinematographic contributions to the achievement of film. HMS 360C -­‐ Intro to Performance Practice 02 Instructor: Jennifer Miller NH 210 -­‐ TH, 10:00-­‐12:50 3 credits This class explores the art, the play, the technique and the rigorous fun involved in bringing a strong presence to the unique space of performing. The class begins with a focus on physical and vocal training, moving through improvisation, generating material, and working with prepared material. Time and timing, space, tenderness, chaos, intention, perception, lying, and the imaginary are examples of the kinds of ideas we might use as tools to move us into exploratory spaces. This class is required for the Performance and Performance Studies minor but open to non-­‐minors as well. Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History CH 300: World Civilization I 43
20 Instructor: Ann Holder TH 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ Main 301 21 Instructor: Francis Bradley TH 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 114 3 credits PHIL 208: History of Philosophy: Ancient to Medieval 01 Instructor: PJ Gorre TH 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 111 3 credits A survey of major figures and theories from Greek and Roman antiquity to the early Renaissance, which follow the development of philosophic themes such as the nature of the good life, the difference between truth, belief and opinion, free will and determinism, religion and political obligation, and the reality of the physical world. The course introduces characteristic examples of philosophic argument and inquiry through close readings of philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Heraclitus, Plotinus, Augustine, Aquinas, Ockham, Bacon and Machiavelli. SS 209: Anthropology 02 Instructor: Darini Nicholas TH 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits This Course introduces disciplines in the field of anthropology, ethnology, and linguistics. Material constructions pertaining to the hypotheses and theories concerning human evolution, comparative cultural analyses, and the nature and significance of language are examined. As a comparative discipline, anthropological study provides important insights into the structure and functioning of culture in kinship as well as class-­‐based societies. This study encompasses a range of societies from simple hunting and gathering to industrialized ones. Visual material is an important adjunct to this course. SS 391: Child and Adolescent Development 03&3E Instructor: Robert Ausch TH 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ENGR 109 3 credits Theories of development from infancy through adolescence are critiqued through reading in psychology and literature, formal observations, and personal experiences. Learning and environmental factors such as gender, race, disability, and economics in the home, school, and community are included in the discussion. Students consider language acquisition and literacy development, sexuality, and cultural identity development. SS 490: Sex & Gender ll -­‐ Non-­‐normative Gender Identities and Sexualities 04 Instructor: Shelley Juran TH 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ DK 308 3 credits This is a seminar in which students will read articles on non-­‐normative gender identities and sexualities. This includes information on individuals who are considered transsexual, trans (individuals who do not identify with a binary gender category) and who have non-­‐normative sexual orientations. Non-­‐normative family constellations and roles within those systems will also be explored. Because what is considered normative is always shifting, students will read about historical changes and do research on current theoretical distinctions and philosophies 44
about gender, gender-­‐shifting, and sexual expression. This course will be run as a seminar, organized around class participation and presentations, as well as didactic information from the professor. Students will write a final research paper on an area that interests them. SS 490: Imagining NYC 19 Instructor: May Joseph TH 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ISC 101A 3 credits This course explores the history and context of New York City. Its central focus will be philosophical and historical inquiries into the idea of the city. Participants will also read and discuss ideas about the city that have emerged since the World Trade Center. Using ethnography and fieldwork as tools of inquiry, students will study emerging concerns, theories, and ideas about the future of New York City. In the process, we will also consider current international developments and their implications for the future of cities. This course will culminate in a series of creative and scholarly explorations focusing on the idea of the city. This course is writing intensive. SS 490: Star Trek: Technology and Allegory 26 Instructor: Iván Zatz-­‐Diaz & Ric Brown TH 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 112 3 credits Star Trek was from its very start, in 1966, part and parcel of a moment of deep social and cultural transformation and a shrewdly self-­‐conscious intervention in mainstream American culture. The course will explore all the historical and cultural referents of these series, and will address the ideological elements of the Cold War and the Neoliberal Eras that form the context for Star Trek’s utopian narrative that holds the actually existing world in abeyance. Thursday 2:00pm-­‐4:50pm (Unless noted otherwise) Math and Science MSCI 203P – Subversive Mathematics 01 Instructor: Daniel Wright ENGR 111; TH (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits In this course we will examine the use and abuse of mathematics in many realms of everyday life. You will become a smarter consumer by becoming familiar with methods of financing and investment, a more conscientious consumer by learning how the environmental sustainability of your consumption can be assessed, and a more informed citizen though understanding of how mathematics and statistics are used in politics. Mathematics is a powerful tool that can be effectively used to inform and mislead, aid and exploit, empower and disenfranchise. It is only with an understanding of mathematics that we can hope to wisely navigate through a world imbued with it. 45
MSCI 251 -­‐ Planet Earth 01 Instructor: Anatole Dolgoff ARC E-­‐07; TH (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits Students explore the physical systems that make the earth a planet capable of sustaining life and human civilization. Solar energy, the atmosphere, the oceans, and the earth's surface interact in myriad ways keep us warm, supply us with food and shelter and to provide us with the energy and materials we need. Students will explore these relationships while at the same time will note the impact of human activities on climate, air, water, and other life forms. MSCI 490 – Urban Ecology 07 Instructor: Aman Gill NH 107; TH (2:00pm-­‐4:50pm) 3 credits Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment. Although ecologists for decades focused on ecological interactions in remote areas, the growth in size and economy of the human population has focused attention on the areas we dominate: our cities and their surroundings. This course will consider urban biodiversity, human interdependence with urban ecosystems, the relationship between social differentiation and ecological processes, and various strategies used to manage these interactions. Throughout the course we'll use New York City as a real-­‐world laboratory in urban ecosystems to explore through mapping, research and reading. Humanities and Media Studies HMS 440E -­‐ Poetics of Cinema 01 Instructor: Amy Guggenheim ENGR 305 -­‐-­‐TH, 2-­‐4:50 3 credits In this course we will view films that invent a poetic cinematic vocabulary to represent the strange, unpredictable and counter-­‐intuitive behavior we call reality. We will also use exercises and creative projects to question and utilize the tools and perspectives of the same event, montage, blurring of memory, reality, past and present, etc. to become familiar with these possibilities in our own work as artists and designers. Selected works include, Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashomon”, Cronenberg’s “The Fly”. Sally Potter’s 'Orlando', Hiroshi Kurosawa’s 'Bright Future', Bergman’s “Persona”, Michael Haneke, "The Time of the Wolf" Claire Denis, "Intruder and Beau Travail", and Wong Kar Wai’s Chung King Express. Class discussions will also be informed by readings from the Poetics of Cinema, and The Emergence of Cinematic Time. HMS 440S-­‐ Social Movements and Social Media 01 Instructor: Negar Mottahedeh ENGR 307 -­‐ TH, 2:00-­‐04:50 3 credits The course considers the uses of social media by social movements. Interested in a broader historical study of mediating technologies and the oppositional public sphere, the course considers the uses of cameras, phones, cassette players, pamphlets, the radio, and social media, but also the body, the arts, and fashion as oppositional technologies. The course studies 46
the political and ethical uses of technologies in social unrests in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and in evolution of the global Occupy mobilization. It investigates the impact of technologies on social movements and the re-­‐articulation and invention of new and old media by users and publics in contemporary history. Student driven case studies highlight engagement with technologies of resistance in other contexts. HMS 491A – Companion Forms: The Artist's Book 01 Instructor: Susan (Bee) Laufer ENG 113 -­‐ TH, 2-­‐4:50 3 credits This course develops critical frameworks for interpreting and creating artists’ books; that is, artworks in which the book is a medium. We will study such books alongside histories of the field, theoretical writings, and critical commentaries. These studies will inform our endeavors to create, catalogue, and/or critique artists’ books in which visual, verbal, and material elements are interwoven. Advanced students from various fields are encouraged to use and expand their own disciplinary perspectives. Visits to collections around New York City will supplement Pratt’s resources. Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History CH 300: World Civilization I 22 Instructor: Ann Holder TH 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ ENGR 311 23 Instructor: Francis Bradley TH 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ Main 301 11 Instructor: Sameetah Agha TH 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 305 3 credits PHIL 265: Aesthetics 02 Instructor: Kathleen Kelley TH 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 305 3 credits What is art? Must art be beautiful? Are aesthetic judgments and taste merely subjective? Is the aesthetic sphere autonomous? What are the relations between art and politics, artistic experiment and institutional reality? Is originality important? Is there a difference between art and craft? These and other questions, belonging to the philosophical reflection on art (the sensuous and the practical) are covered in this course. For students with a general interest in the problems of art and aesthetic experience. SS 369: Perception and Creativity 01 Instructor: Luka Lucic TH 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 114 3 credits Students examine the ways in which our perception and creativity are shaped by personal experience and social environment. Students also discuss the visual arts, music, and dance from the perspective of contemporary theories of individual creative expression, culture, and communication. 47
SS 490: Weimar Film and Culture 01 Instructor: Lisabeth During TH 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 112 3 credits The short–lived Weimar Republic (1918–1933) inspired both contempt and fascination. Described the most self–aware epoch in history’ and the birthplace of a cynicism which has dominated the culture of modernity ever since, Weimar sponsored a film industry rivaling Hollywood’s. With such directors as Lang, Pabst, and Murnau and films like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Metropolis, The Blue Angel, and Nosferatu, it took the lead in producing that fragile commodity, the art film. In its experiments with the shadowy mechanisms of the unconscious and the sensational effects of the ‘fantastique’, Weimar cinema developed a distinctive presence. Sexually suggestive, morally ambiguous, at once Gothic and modernist, the films of 1919–32 startled contemporary audiences and influenced later developments such as film noir and the French nouvelle vague. SS 490: Post-­‐Humanist History of Animals and Culture 09 Instructor: Darini Nicholas TH 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits Humans have invented various ways to create and maintain a distinction between man-­‐made culture and non-­‐human nature. Yet the overwhelming evidence throughout our history suggests the distinction is overstated. Can we re-­‐write the story of human exceptionalism as one of co-­‐habitation and co-­‐evolution of humans and animals? This course examines what it means to live and work with a companion species by looking at working animals in animal-­‐
assisted therapies, which include educational, occupational and therapeutic settings that benefit children, adolescents, elderly and special-­‐needs communities. In addition, it explores how diverse cultures make spiritual meaning of animals in animism and other forms of religious naturalism. Lastly, the course raises the question: in reconfiguring our relationship to animals, can we develop a restorative post-­‐humanist ecology? To explore these questions we will draw on various historical and recent ethnographic accounts. SS 490: The Congo, Africa and the World 27 Instructor: Josiah Brownell TH 2-­‐4:50 -­‐ NH 111 3 credits The Congo River has been one of the primary portals through which the rest of the world has interacted with, extracted from, and imagined sub-­‐Saharan Africa. It was an area that witnessed some of the most intense violence from two global slave trades, as well as perhaps the most rapacious extraction of natural resources ever to feed global capitalism. It would later be the site of the first truly international humanitarian interventions, and has more recently been an arena for broader ideological, racial, national, and ethnic conflicts. But even though the Congo basin has long been of regional and global significance, most historical portrayals of the region remain two-­‐dimensional. This course will shift the focus away from outsiders’ ideas about the Congo to include the views of other Africans and the Congolese themselves in an effort to locate Congolese agency in this history. What will hopefully emerge will be a three-­‐
dimensional understanding of the Congo in its regional, continental, and global contexts. 48
Thursday 5:00-­‐7:50PM (Unless noted otherwise) Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History CH 300: World Civilization I 24 Instructor: Paul Schweigert TH 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 114 25 Instructor: TBA TH 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ ENGR 311 3 credits CH 400: World Civilization II 06 Instructor: Michelle Standley TH 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 305 3 credits PHIL 450: Advanced Topics in Philosophy: Perception, Behavior, and Design 01 Instructor: Robert Richardson TH 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ Main 302 3 credits There is an intimate interplay between what we perceive and how we behave. What we do, in any given circumstance, depends both on what opportunities we perceive in our environment and what we want. And what opportunities we perceive (and to some degree, what we want) depends on how the environment or the objects in it were designed. Moreover, we often think of the relation going in only one direction – we perceive the designed environment and objects and behave accordingly – but we must also pay attention to the relation going in the opposite direction – we behave with regard to the designed environment and objects and perceive accordingly. This course will be a philosophical examination of the interrelationship between perception, behavior, and design, the nature of intentional action, and the social, moral, and political responsibilities of design. SS 200: Sociology 02 Instructor: Ritchie Savage TH 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 112 3 credits This course covers basic concepts for the study of society; social processes operating in human groups; the influence of social and cultural forces on personal experience and social behavior; social stratification; major social institutions; and issues of social change. SS 210: General Psychology 01& 01E Instructor: Zach Sapolsky TH 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ NH 111 3 credits This course is a study of human mental processes and behavior. Problems of maturation, motivation, emotional and mental development, disorders, and treatment are considered. SS 369: Perception and Creativity 02 Instructor: Luka Lucic TH 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ ENGR 109 49
3 credits Students examine the ways in which our perception and creativity are shaped by personal experience and social environment. Students also discuss the visual arts, music, and dance from the perspective of contemporary theories of individual creative expression, culture, and communication. SS 490: The Art Museum: Theory and Practice 06 Instructor: Corey D’augustine TH 5-­‐7:50 -­‐ ISC101A 3 credits This course will provide an insider’s view of contemporary museum practice, concentrating on several key areas, including exhibitions, conservation and education. In addition, we will examine the changing role of museums in the arena of artistic and cultural production. Once associated only with warehousing cultural patrimony, contemporary museum practice is vibrant, diverse and at times controversial. The goal of the course is to provide a nuanced understanding of the theories underlying museum practice and how museums function within the context of the art world, and also within the broader context of the city, the country and the world. Students will meet with curators, educators and conservators to learn about the different facets of museum practice. Students will also have opportunities to visit commercial galleries, alternative spaces and artists' cooperatives, and to compare and contrast with a host of museums in the city. Classroom lectures on the Brooklyn campus will be supplemented with mandatory lectures and tours at various museums. SS 508: Capitalism and Socialism 01&02 Instructor: Gerald Levy TH 5-­‐ 7:50 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits Various types of modern socioeconomic systems are reviewed, including an examination of general questions such as goals and values of the different systems, degree of popular control over socioeconomic decisions and extent of economic inequality. Thursday 6:30pm-­‐9:20pm MANHATTAN CAMPUS Math and Science PHYS 131 -­‐ Physics 1 (with Lab) for Construction Management Majors 01 Instructor: Vincent Tedeschi W14 705 (lecture) & 704 (lab); TH (6:30pm-­‐9:20pm) 3 credits This three-­‐credit physics course is the first in a two-­‐course sequence tailored for students enrolled in the Construction Management program. Topics in the first part of this two-­‐course sequence include kinematics, mechanics, friction, gravity, energy, momentum, and machines. This course will use a conceptual and mathematical approach to solving problems, and special attention will be given to topics associated with other courses in the CM program. Laboratory exercises will reinforce course topics. 50
Friday 9:30am-­‐12:20pm (Unless otherwise noted) Math and Science MSCI 271 – Ecology for Architects (Reserved for Architecture Majors) 01 Instructor: TBA ENGR 111; F (9:30am-­‐12:20pm) 3 credits Architects build structures that serve as environments for organisms: human beings. Therefore, it is crucial that architects understand the ways that organisms interact with the environment and other organisms. This course will investigate topics in Ecology that will enable you to think more broadly about it means to design living and working spaces. We will discuss topics including biodiversity, energy, competition, systems theory, population growth, human perception, the five human senses, and conservation. This course is required for second year Architecture students. MSCI 490/590 – Chemistry of Ancient Egyptian Art 09 Instructor: Eleonora Del Federico ARC D-­‐02; F (9:30am-­‐12:50pm) 3 credits This is a "hands-­‐on" course that introduces students to the chemistry behind ancient Egyptian paintings and artifacts such as glass and ceramics objects, papyrus and mummies. Laboratory experiments, trips to the Brooklyn museum of art to study the Egyptian Collection and to the Brooklyn Botanical garden to study how the papyrus plant grows and is harvested to turn into writing media, are also part of the course. By the end of the course students produce their own book of the dead from scratch by preparing their own papyrus, ancient ink and paint. Case studies such as the recent restoration of the Tomb of Tut-­‐Ank-­‐Amun are used to introduce students to the degradation and art-­‐conservation issues in desert environments. Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History, Sustainability CH 300: World Civilization I 26 Instructor: Mitchell Harris 27 Instructor: Marina Kaneti 3 credits CH 400: World Civilization II 07 Instructor: Michelle Standley 3 credits SS 202: Introduction to Economics 01 Instructor: Cheol – Soo Park 3 credits 51
F 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ENGR 311 F 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 110 F 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ENGR 109 F 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ ISC 101A This course is an examination of the problems of the American economy and proposals for their solution. Unemployment, poverty, discrimination, economic concentration, inflation, ecology, and the quality of public services, and relations with foreign lands are discussed. SS 210: General Psychology 02 & 02E Instructor: Zach Sapolsky F 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 114 3 credits This course is a study of human mental processes and behavior. Problems of maturation, motivation, emotional and mental development, disorders, and treatment are considered. SS 490: Fashion & Modernism 15 Instructor: TBA F 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 111 3 credits Considering the intertwining of art and fashion throughout the 20th century, this course examines various movements and moments including the Ballets Russes, Futurism, Constructivism, Surrealism, Pop, Op, Conceptualism, and Feminism through the lens of fashion. Emphasis is on artists as designers and their particular or peculiar takes on the garment as a means of perpetuating political and social ideals. For the final project, students will create original garments. SS 490: Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud 25 Instructor: Ric Brown F 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 112 3 credits We will examine the production of life and its relation to our concepts of society, power, and desire through reading selected works of Marx, Darwin, Nietzsche, and Freud. It is important to remember that this course is only a single semester, it can only serve as an introduction to some aspects of what is an extensive and varied body of work. Many students do not have the opportunity to read any of these authors except for brief excerpts or secondary accounts. So the primary purpose here is to begin an engagement with these works that has, for many, lasted a lifetime. SUST 201: The Sustainable Core 01 Instructor: Carl Zimring F 9:30-­‐12:20 -­‐ NH 305 3 credits This course provides an overview of sustainability by exploring definitions, controversies, trends, and case-­‐studies in various systems and locales (urban/rural, local/national/global). Investigation of critical elements of sustainability, including environmental history and urban ecology, sustainable development and landscape transformations, recycling/waste management, ecosystem restoration, and environmental justice. In addition to lectures and discussion led by the course instructor Pratt Institute faculty and guest speakers who are experts on specific topics will provide guest lectures. 52
Friday 10:00am-­‐12:50pm Humanities and Media Studies, Foreign Language HMS 360A -­‐ The New Circus 01 Instructor: Jennifer Miller NH 210 -­‐-­‐F, 10-­‐12:50 3 credits A look at contemporary circus theater combining practical skills with a study of the historical and theoretical issues involved in the evolving new circus movement, in particular the work of Circus Amok. We will look at traditional circus history, history of the sideshow, pageantry, political theater, writings on freaks and otherness, queer theory, dance, and clowning. Specifically, we will study the works of Bread and Puppet Theater. Charles Ludlum and the Theater of the Ridiculous, the WPA and the Federal Theater Project, Judson Church and the Grand Union, and the San Francision Mime Troupe among others. In studio sessions we will also explore performance practices ranging from Judson influenced improvisation and pedestrian movement to clown schtick and grand circus Ta-­‐Da. Practical skills include stilt dancing, juggling, puppetry, slack rope walking , unicycle riding, object balancing, and basic partner acrobatics. All enrolled students participate in a final show. Students will be expected to work on all of kills offered in the class and to master at least one. Whole hearted participation in both studio work and discussion will be expected. Articles must be read and responded to each week. All students will participate in final showing. Friday 1:00-­‐3:50pm Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History SS 490: Iranian Cinema 07 Instructor: Mareena Daredia F 1-­‐3:50 -­‐ NH 114 3 credits The frequent presence of Iranian films in esteemed international festivals is a testimony to its growing film industry and the Persian filmmakers who make compelling movies -­‐ often times underlining socio-­‐political subject matter as well as beautifully highlighting the complexities of humanity. This course attempts to offer an understanding of life and culture in through its cinema. A variety of films from different genres will be presented and discussed. Attention will be given to the social and political contexts from which these works have originated. The discussion will revolve around themes such as development of Iranian Art Cinema, Women and Children and Politics and Religion in Iranian cinema; all along focusing on cinematic productions-­‐its challenges and its development. 53
Friday 2:00-­‐4:50pm Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History CH 300: World Civilization I 28 Instructor: Marina Kaneti F 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ NH 112 29 Instructor: Noah Simmons F 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ NH 110 3 credits CH 450: Women in the “Arab Spring” 01 Instructor: Kumru Toktamis F 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ DK 308 *1 credit* Do the images of Arab women taking part in political upheavals and social turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa challenge the conventional constructs in Western media that has been presenting them as repressed sexual victims or misguided fanatics for centuries? In this one-­‐
credit course we are going to collect and analyze data that represents diversity of women in Arab Spring as artists, union activists, intellectuals, politicians, mothers, daughters in order to capture how women shape and are shaped by times of social change, and have impact on possible outcomes. Friday 4:30-­‐6:50pm Social Science, Philosophy, Cultural History SS 490: Indian Cinema 08 Instructor: Mareena Daredia F 4:30-­‐6:50 NH 114 This course is an introduction to Indian cinema, focusing on Bollywood and Crossover films. We shall concentrate on the evolution of Hindi cinema from the old formula of melodrama to some of the new paradigms in Bollywood. We will discuss the role of the changing socio-­‐political background and the changing audience and analyze some of the new genre of films. We will also pay attention to the aesthetics of film-­‐making such as, script, music, shot division, lighting and editing. This is a cinema that has kept billions around the world rapt for over half a century, so plan to submit entirely to its pleasures. No prior experience of India or knowledge of Hindi is required. This class is for students at all levels. Those who have had no prior experience of Indian Cinema and culture will get an exposure to a new world-­‐view, and those who have some prior experience with Hindi films will find and articulate new ways of approaching and interpreting the films. 54
1-­‐CREDIT COURSES Math and Science: MSCI 490/590 – Science in the Enlightenment 03 Instructor: Barbara Charton ARC E-­‐07; M (11:00am-­‐11:50am) 1 credit The 16-­‐18th centuries in Europe saw and incredible addition to the body of scientific knowledge available to educated people. Science was a hobby for some very specialized collectors and the next step after collection is organization and attempts to understand the collection. This course will look at the development of natural sciences, both geology and biology, as people looked again at the natural world and tried to explain in terms of new information rather than the ancient classics. Humanities and Media Studies: HMS 496A -­‐ Creative Writing for Art and Design Practice SEC.2. Liza Williams M (2:00PM-­‐3:50PM) NH 202 SEC.4. Evan Rehill W (2:00PM-­‐3:50PM) NH 116 Section four meets every week for the last 8 weeks of the semester. SEC.5. Krystal Languell W (2:00PM-­‐3:50PM) NH 302 1 credit This course is a one-­‐credit writing workshop designed to support artistic and design practice and provide students with creative approaches to meet writing required of them in school and more generally. Students will read and write about visual art, design, dance, money, news and politics, science, poetry. They will also write first person essays and collaborative texts about their own practice of making. Students will complete weekly assignments and cooperatively review work in class. Students will be given the opportunity to publish their work on a class blog or in a print anthology. For a final assignment, students will prepare a writing portfolio and present a revised artist’s statement. HMS 495B -­‐ Studio Writing for Sculpture Students SEC.1. Jean-­‐Paul Pecqueur M (5:00PM-­‐6:50PM) ENGR 113 1 credit This course is a one-­‐credit writing workshop designed to support artistic and design practice and provide students with creative approaches to meet writing required of them in school and more generally. Students will read and write about visual art, design, dance, money, news and politics, science, poetry. They will also write first person essays and collaborative texts about their own practice of making. Students will complete weekly assignments and cooperatively review work in class. Students will be given the opportunity to publish their work on a class blog or in a print anthology. For a final assignment, students will prepare a writing portfolio and present a revised artist’s statement. 55
AIC 101: Film Studies 02, 04 Instructor: Ethan Spigland HH 015-­‐ T. 5:30-­‐8:20 01, 03 Instructor: Deb Meehan HH 015-­‐ T, 5:30-­‐8:20 1 credit A film studies course for a general audience focusing on the analysis of a Pratt Film Society semester program including classic cinema, and noteworthy contemporary films. This class will look at work from the international, Hollywood, and independent film worlds, and particularly those critically acclaimed works that are innovative in their approach to exploring the medium. Cultural History: CH 450: Women in the “Arab Spring” 01 Instructor: Kumru Toktamis F 2-­‐ 4:50 -­‐ DK 308 *1 credit* Do the images of Arab women taking part in political upheavals and social turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa challenge the conventional constructs in Western media that has been presenting them as repressed sexual victims or misguided fanatics for centuries? In this one-­‐
credit course we are going to collect and analyze data that represents diversity of women in Arab Spring as artists, union activists, intellectuals, politicians, mothers, daughters in order to capture how women shape and are shaped by times of social change, and have impact on possible outcomes. 56