This course explores the development of French philosophy from the interwar period to the present. Using the city of Paris as its context, the course examines how social and political challenges influenced the paths of French philosophical reflection, moving thinkers to question the foundations of knowledge, morals, and politics, leading ultimately to what might be called a “decentered” cosmopolitanism. Topics covered include existentialism and the dramatic events of the interwar and Second World War periods; feminist and postcolonial theories and the liberation struggles of colonial Indochina, Algeria, and the “Third World” more generally; structuralism and the ideological and practical battles of the Cold War; poststructuralism and the 1968 student and worker uprisings; and contemporary multicultural and cosmopolitan philosophies and the developments associated with globalization, postcolonial immigration, populism, and terrorism. Taking full advantage of all that Paris has to offer—countless museums, a diverse cultural life, streets marked by historical events, and an ongoing intellectual tradition in which philosophy is expected to have a direct impact on how people live and in which philosophers themselves often become cultural “stars”—this course will survey the intertwining of 20th and 21st century French philosophy with the recent social, political, and cultural history of Paris.

Course Full Name: French Philosophy in Context

Course Number:  PH205

Faculty Leader(s): Dennis McEnnerney (PH) and Jonathan Lee (PH)

Prerequisites: None

Major and/or College Requirements Met: Major: Meets 1 Modern European or AMerican Course requirement under Historical and Cultural Perspectives within the Philosophy Major. This course can also be counted towards the Philosophy minor or the European Studies minor. 

Course Location: Paris, France

Course Fee: $4,300

An interdisciplinary study of the history and politics U.S. film through an immersive exploration of New York City and films about or set there. We approach the urban setting as a dynamic landscape where different peoples, interest groups, political movements, and other forces vie for power, wealth, recognition, and representation. Topics include race, class, gender, immigration, gentrification, infrastructure, counter-publics, underground art, comedy, and more. For each topic, we will examine key films in the history of New York City filmmaking. Representative screenings include The Apartment (1960), The Pawnbroker (1964), Midnight Cowboy (1968), Shaft (1971), Born in Flames (1983), She’s Gotta Have It (1986), Man Push Cart (2005), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), and Joker (2019).

Regular excursions include walking tours of the Downtown (Lower East Side) and Uptown (Harlem), museums, live theater, public film screenings, and other cultural events. 

Course Full Name: Topics in Film: Politics, Film, and Culture in New York

Course Number:  FM200

Faculty Leader(s): Scott Krzych (FM)

Prerequisites: None

Major and/or College Requirements Met: This course counts towards the Equity & Power graduation requirement

Course Location: New York City, New York

Course Fee: $3,500

Course Full Name: Topics in Computer Science at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Course Number:  CP341

Faculty Leader(s): Danielle Ellsworth (CP)

Prerequisites: CS275 is required.  Students who have also completed CS274 and CS307 will be prioritized for this course.)

Major and/or College Requirements Met:  300-level elective within the CS major.

Course Location: Livermore, California (Bay Area)

Course Fee:  $500 (Reduced Cost thanks to Gift & Endowed Funds)

The Mattel Company has a long history of creativity and economic impact, bringing toys from concept through creation and marketing for nearly 80 years. Their brands include Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, and American Girl, demonstrating generation-spanning appeal to children and parents alike,

This half-credit course will spend nine days on site at Mattel in Los Angeles with two Colorado College faculty, learning from company experts about the toy development process, from ideation through retailing. We will explore: how Mattel collects insights about consumer trends, play patterns, and shoppers; how designers and engineers create toys with desirable features based on those patterns; and how sales/marketing teams work with retail customers. Learning will be hands-on, in small teams based on student interest, with curricular support from our multidisciplinary faculty, and informed by recent college graduates who can advise on the career path ahead. As a culmination, faculty will advise students as they to complete team-based consulting projects to present to Mattel executives. 

Course Full Name: When the Work is Fun: Creativity & Innovation at Mattel

Course Number:  GS222

Faculty Leader(s): Dan Johnson (EC) and Ryan Banagale (MU)

Prerequisites: Sophomore status and declaration of a major. 

Course Location: Mattel Headquarters, El Segundo, CA

Course Fee: $1,650

Encounter the history of Christian martyrdom and sainthood in Rome, Italy. Examines the beginnings of martyrdom in the early church, particularly in the context of the Roman Empire, and the legacies of the apostles Peter and Paul as well as the emergence of later saints, especially in the Catholic tradition. Historical study is attentive to ways in which Christian communities construct and memorialize—through literature, art, and space—martyrs and saints. In Rome, explore imperial spaces, ancient catacombs, and the Vatican; beyond Rome, we'll venture to Sicily to experience the Feast of St. Agatha.

Course Full Name: Martyrs & Saints

Course Number:  RE200/HY200

Faculty Leader(s): Pamela Reaves (RE)

Prerequisites: None

Major and/or College Requirements Met:  Historical Perspectives

Course Location: Rome, Italy

Course Fee: $3,600

Course Full Name: Contemporary French Society

Course Number:  SO270/FR317

Faculty Leader(s): Gail Murphy-Geiss (SO)

Prerequisites: Any 100-level SO Course or Consent of Instructor

Major and/or College Requirements Met: College-Wide: Global, Equity & Power.  Major: 

Course Location: Toulouse, France

Course Fee: $3,700

Course Full Name: Topics in Film: Cinema & Psychoanalysis

Course Number:  FM200

Faculty Leader(s): Scott Krzych (FM)

Prerequisites: None

Major and/or College Requirements Met:  

Course Location: Los Angeles, California

Course Fee: $4,000

Meet and study with important psychoanalysts who share their work and talk about case studies.  We also explore the art, architecture and city life of Chicago.

Course Full Name: Gusto: Italian Food as Art, Culture, and Tradition

Course Number:  IT320

Faculty Leader(s): Amanda Minervini (IT)

Prerequisites: None

Major and/or College Requirements Met: 

Course Location: Rome & various sites, Italy

Course Fee: $3,350

Two Block Option: Students who enroll in both HY200 (Bk 7) and IT320: Gusto (Bk 8) are enrolled as a half-semester and may be able to waive the program fee (see the "Billing for CC-Led Semester & Half-Semester Programs" on our Semester Abroad Billing webpage for more information on this option.)  The half-semester option also includes a meal allowance and airfare voucher, which the 1-block option does not.