Transcultural & Intersectional Identities

Our identities are not simply our own. They are nested within and emerge from the various cultural contexts we inhabit. Our identities are also dynamic. They are shaped by personal, local, and global events as we move through time and space. The courses in this cluster provoke questions about the nature of identities that exist in transcultural and intersectional spaces - identities that span boundaries and borders, as well as draw from and integrate cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds.

Course Descriptions


CC100: African-American Religious History: An Introduction

Instructor: Christopher Hunt
Learning Across the Liberal Arts Designation: Historical Perspectives
CRN# 12505
Block: 1

This course introduces students to the formation and varying historic trajectories of African American religious traditions in the U.S., with some brief engagement with African-derived religions in the Caribbean. Although some studies of African American religion begin with the period of slavery and the Christianization of diasporic Africans, this course locates the origin of Black religion on the continent of Africa. From this starting point, this course will examine West African religions, religions of the enslaved, the formation of Black Christian denominations, and the origin of Black Pentecostalism. Students will also be exposed to often overlooked historical periods and religious expressions including the arrival of Black religio-racial movements during the Harlem Renaissance and the African derived religions of Haitian Vodou and U.S. Voodoo.

CC120: Writing the News

Instructor: Corey Hutchins
CRN# 12535
Block: 2

Students in Writing the News will learn how to gather information and properly assemble it to create compelling and engaging narratives for a broad readership in various ways.

Whether writing a news report for publication or drafting a press release on behalf of an nonprofit client, clear concise, accurate, and error-free copy is expected.

In this class, students also will learn to understand the difference and relationship between journalism, advertising, public relations, and other forms of communication. They will learn how to write news stories, editorials and opinion columns, memos, emails, analysis, and narrative nonfiction. Students will learn how to tell stories in different ways from different perspectives — and on different platforms.

The goal of this class is to help students understand that each kind of writing operates within its own guidelines, ethics, structure, style, and form. Students will also learn how to evaluate information in an increasingly confusing digital landscape that is rife with misinformation. They will learn how news shapes the world and how actors in the world — good and bad — shape the news. They’ll understand how the news cycle works, how to spot “fake news,” and acquire some skills writers use to produce accurate, ethical, and clear news writing.

Following this class, you might never look at news the same again.


 


CC100: Black and Brown Muslims in White America

Instructor: Peter Wright
Learning Across the Liberal Arts Designation: Analysis & Interpretation of Meaning
CRN# 12573
Block: 1

In this CC100 course, we investigate the often-neglected histories of Black and Brown Muslims as they have negotiated a place for themselves as Muslims in the context of a hegemonic White (Euro-American) Protestant milieu. In the process, we discover how Islam has served minority communities as a site of religious creativity and adaptation, as well as an emblem of a distinctive, if often contested, religious identity—both before and after 9/11.

CC120: Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society, from Petrarch to Monteverdi

Instructor: Dario Sponchiado & Michael Grace
CRN# 12531
Block: 2

This course will address the question: why did we witness an explosion of creative culture, economic and social development in Europe during the Renaissance? In order to understand the phenomenon, we will study the cultural setting giving rise to the Renaissance. We will cover literature, music, painting, architecture, and politics primarily in Italy. Drawing on specific major works. we will consider broad topics such as humanism, the reformation, patronage and politics. An integral part of this class will be examining the specific thinkers who shaped the Renaissance such as Petrarca, Machiavelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo and composers such as Josquin des Prez and Claudio Monteverdi. We will also study the great patrons of the arts and philosophy such as the Medici in Florence, the Sforzas in Milan, the Barberini in Rome, and Isabella d’Este in Mantua. The works of these great thinkers are parts of a complex mosaic, but one worthy of study because the Renaissance contributed so many of the ideas that shaped European society and even our lives today.


 


CC100: The Idea of Latin America

Instructor: Andreea Marinescu
Learning Across the Liberal Arts Designation: Analysis & Interpretation of Meaning
CRN# 12497
Block: 1

This course will examine what we understand to be “Latin America” through different disciplinary fields and cultural productions. What does “Latin America” refer to exactly? Who gets to define and who does not? What forms of authority (scholarly, political, artistic) are necessary to construct that which we call “Latin America”? Why is the term useful or not useful and for whom? How does linguistic diversity play into it (Spanish, English, French, indigenous and creole languages)? We will consider a variety of perspectives from Latin American artists, scholars, and politicians, and also US and European historical understandings of the region. By understanding the constructed nature of the term, we will then look at how various groups have worked to de- essentialize “Latin America” and what might be gained from those efforts. The course will touch on issues of empire and power, as well as resistance and resilience and we will focus on specific themes, such as culture and the environment, race and ethnicity, and economic dependency. This course is designed to align with the college’s Antiracism Commitment, as it deals with the racialization of bodies during colonization, with contemporary unequal relations between the US and Latin America, as well as with political emancipatory struggles led by indigenous, afro-descendent, and queer people throughout the region.

CC120: Pop Culture in Africa

Instructor: Danielle Sanchez
CRN# 12549
Block: 2

Pop Culture in Africa centers on the role of popular culture in contemporary Africa and how different avenues of expression connect to global discussions of globalization, politics, diplomacy, and change. This course focuses on African cultural and social histories from approximately 1900 to the present. Throughout the block, we will delve into pop culture trends, historical transitions, and how African individuals and communities use popular culture as spaces of leisure and activism. This course will address oral traditions, music, art, dance, literature, and dress as ways of exploring dynamic debates on Africa's past and present.


 


CC100: Japanese Culture

Instructor: Joan Ericson
Learning Across the Liberal Arts Designation: Analysis & Interpretation of Meaning
CRN# 12488
Block: 1

In this course we will explore the concepts that inform Japanese culture, both traditional and modern. This includes acquiring an understanding of the underlying aesthetics of literature (from classical poetry and drama to manga) and art forms (from calligraphy and gardens to anime). By the end of the block students will be able to appreciate anime such as “Princess Mononoke” or “Spirited Away” through a better understanding of the cultural and historical referents.

Here are some of the overall concepts we will be addressing in Block 1: What is the Humanities academic discipline? What are stereotypes? Who writes the history of a culture? What is high culture?

Equal time will be spent on discussing readings and videos about the history, literature, and other aspects of Japanese culture. Readings, discussions, and writing assignments will be in English.

CC120: Interpreting Asian Cultures

Instructor: Joan Ericson
CRN# 12523
Block: 2

This course focuses on the intersection of classical and popular cultural forms with global cultural dynamics that has recast what it means to be Asian. Strategies for interpreting culture that emerged in the American academy (Geertz, Benedict), as well as their post- modern critiques, will be put to the test in examining everyday cultural phenomenon, such as McDonalds in China, Disneyland in Tokyo, MTV in India. Students will also study intra-Asian cultural influences (the spread of manga and forms of pop music) as well as the political ramifications of the claims for Asian values and Asian identities.


 

Report an issue - Last updated: 07/13/2021