SPECIAL TOPICS COURSES FOR FALL 2017
AN291Economic Anthropology, MW 9:40 – 11:10am
Because each and every action of our everyday lives has as an economic aspect, we must consider how we manage our households, what we buy, how we use our time. This course aims at grasping how people use material world to provide for their living and maintain their social groups. We will investigate how people’s economic actions are embedded in non-economic factors such as their values, ethnicity, religious beliefs, etc. Starting from classical case studies and theories, we will investigate a range of topics including work, production, debt, and last (but not least) money. We will ask about limits of commodification and look whether economy of sharing constitutes an alternative for monetization of social life.
BU 291 Special Topics: Decision Making for Business Professionals: What you NEED to Know
The course provides an overview of how business works, the functions of modern business, and what business professionals need to know. This includes why business professionals often find making decisions difficult, especially in today's global and diverse business environment. Topics discussed include the importance of diversity owing to race, ethnicity, age, gender and culture, and its contribution to the global business experience. Basic economic concepts, business fundamentals and the interactions of business and society will also be covered.
GE 291: Special Topics: German Drama in – and out of - Translation: Max Frisch’s "The Firebugs" (Fall 2017)
The course, which includes a performance component, is in English; no prerequisite knowledge of German. We will concentrate primarily on a single full-length play, Swiss author Max Frisch’s world-famous 1958 dead-serious-comedy “The Firebugs” (“Biedermann und die Brandstifter”). In a 2007 production at London’s Royal Court Theatre, Benedict Cumberbatch played the “wrestler” Eisenring, and in the words of the reviewer inThe Observer,“the play is as close to Pinter as it is to Brecht.” The work employs simple, direct language and structure, while using devices ranging from Greek chorus to parody and slapstick. We will examine the play’s origins and reception, the cultural and historical context in which it arose, the influence of Bertolt Brecht, and the drama’s relevance to a wide range of societies and periods of history, including and perhaps particularly, events and trends in Europe and the US today. We will work with the drama to create a multimedia performance event at the end of the course, and possibly other related projects such as video clips. German minors will read the play in German, as well; students with some knowledge of German will be able to extend and practice their German by working with portions of the original text. NO PREREQUISITES except interest and enthusiasm.
FM 291: Directing Actors and Non-Actors for Film and Television
This course will introduce students to different methods of working with talent while directing film and television. It will cover casting, rehearsing on and off set, and filming with actors. Students will practice working with cinematographers in the director role to capture the best performances from actors. It will also focus on the practice of working with untrained actors in film and television.
FM 291-02 History and Ethics of Non- Fiction Filmmaking
This class is a survey of the history and ethics of documentary story telling from the Lumiere brothers to Laura Poitras. It will cover international documentary traditions and consider how the medium has evolved beyond the single screen to include virtual reality, augmented reality, i-docs and so much more. Special consideration will be given to documentary as citizen journalism and surveillance and the ethical considerations implicit in documentary storytelling.
GOV 291 History and Politics of Post-Soviet World
The dissolution of the Soviet Union launched an avalanche of changes across vast territories of Eurasia. The course will encompass both the causes and the consequences of this historic event. Perestroika and Gorbachev rule, national movements in the new successor states, international politics of Russia and wars that broke where previously peace prevailed – such issues will be discussed. In general, we will focus on the most important social and political processes that have been taking place in region.
HI291 The Holocaust in Film, Theater, Video and the Arts (Weintrob)
The representation of atrocities, as well as acts of courage and resistance, during the Holocaust has the power to challenge intolerance, anti-Semitism and racism. Yet there is also the risk of distorting and exploiting the tragic murder of 75% of European Jews, including one million children, and other victims of genocide. This course will explore how the Holocaust and other genocides (eg. Rwanda) have been represented in film, theater, video testimony, the arts, television, internet and other media. Students will have the option to work creatively with survivor testimony to create films, plays, art, blogs or research papers. Screened films and plays may include: Triumph of the Will (1935), Judgment at Nuremberg (1957), The Shop on Main Street (1965), Cabaret (1972), Bent(1979), Ghetto (1984), Shoah (1985), Schindler's List (1993), Sometimes in April (2005) and Defiance (2009).
HI291 Bringing Past to Present: History in Museums (Palfreyman)
How do Americans remember and memorialize the past? How do museums decide what to display and how to tell complicated, even painful stories about our national history? The purpose of this course is to examine the ways in which historical events are recorded, interpreted, and distributed to public audiences in the United States. We will consider a variety of ways in which historical narratives are created and transmitted: museums, memorials, holidays, historical sites, consumer goods, tourism, films, textbooks, and more. We will visit several key sites in New York City, including the African Burial Ground, the Museum of the City of New York, and the New York City Archaeological Collection.
PS 291 Special Topics: Marriage and Family Therapy. One unit. This course is designed to provide students with a foundational understanding of the dynamics of family interaction from a ‘systems’ perspective. This course is an introduction to the history and systemic foundations of the study and understanding of family life with emphasis on the various theories of family process and development. The development of an understanding of ‘systems theory’, its application to family interaction, and its evaluation will form the basis of the course content. Topics include: historical and conceptual development of Family Systems Theory, introduction to General Systems Theory, family rules, roles, structure and interaction patterns, functional and dysfunctional family systems, life cycle issues in marriage and family and ethnicity and family therapy.Prerequisite: PS 101.