Seminars

Summer 2008 Seminar

7000 HUM 5213 Islamic Mystical Literature (3 units)
This course explores the Islamic mystical literature with focus on Persian mysticism (Sufism), amongst the highest literary expressions of spirituality dedicated to the divine presence, where verses create a profound longing for the Beloved, and the elaborate techniques of rhythms and rhymes fashion words into melodies. We will examine the importance of symbolism, imagery, metaphors, and rhetoric as well as the aesthetic theories of theology, metaphysics, philosophy and psychology within the context of Persian Sufi literature. Persian mystical literature has occupied a distinctive position in the Islamic literature as well as the Islamic civilization and has influenced many literary figures, both western and eastern, of the later eras. We will explore the poetic styles of love-lyric (ghazal), story-telling, and quatrains (rubaiyyat) as well as the styles in prose.
(Nahid Angha, Religion based seminar, Monday & Wednesday 6-10 p.m. 5/28-6/25)

Fall 2008 Seminars

7000 HUM 5000 Pro-Seminar (3 units)
A required course which examines crucial questions in the humanities through Existential literature and philosophy.  Through close reading and analysis, of a wide spectrum of works and authors, we will probe significant questions regarding the meaning of life.  The course will also focus on extensive, in-depth research and the writing of an interdisciplinary seminar paper.
(James Mullane, required seminar, Monday 6-8 p.m.)

7004 HUM 5107 Language in the Visual Arts (3 units)
An exploration of the use of written language in the visual arts from ancient to modern times. The relation of text and image in medieval manuscripts, the function of inscriptions and captions in ancient to modern art, the art of fine calligraphy, modern experimental typography, and the works of various artists will be showcased.
(Leslie Ross, Art History based seminar, Thursday 6-8 p.m.)

7007 HUM 5601 The Buddhist Tradition (3 units)
A rigorous engagement with Buddhism’s central ideas and their major permutations against the background of its long pilgrimage across Asia and into the West.
(Philip Novak, Religion based seminar, Tuesdays 6-8 p.m.)

7008 HUM 5701 Women and Media (3 units)
Popular media-- from advertisements to Oprah--are instrumental in constructing categories of gender, sexuality, race and class.  Through the framework of feminist theory, we will study how these categories are represented in the media and deconstruct the relations of power inherent in these constructions. 
(Mairi Pileggi, Women and Gender Studies based seminar, Wednesday 6-8 p.m.)

7006 HUM 5801 France: From Literary Salon to Bastille Opera (3 units)
This is a team taught interdisciplinary course which will examine main themes in French culture from the 18th century to the present. Music, art, literature, social structure, gender, political and religious thought will be explored from the Ancient Regime to Post World War II France.
(Craig Singleton and Sr. Patricia Dougherty, Interdisciplinary seminar-History and Music, Monday 6-8 p.m.)

Fall 2008 Workshop

7005 HUM 5251 Prose Writing (3 units)
Practice in the craft of writing prose (essays, short fiction, or a novella) through discussions, exercises, peer workshops, and conferencing with the instructor. Special emphasis will be given to technical aspects of writing, such as characterization, structure, dialogue, and narrative tension. *
(Richard Simon, Tuesday 6-8 p.m.)

*Students not in the Creative Writing Track must have the instructor’s permission.