Spring 2021
Digital Humanities 250: Digital Humanities Methods in Practice
Instructor: Wendy Perla KurtzClick here to see Wendy Perla Kurtz’ profile
Spring 2021
The digital humanities provide a practical and theoretical grounding that can be applied within academia and beyond. In this class, we will study, interpret, and employ a range of digital humanities methods in preparation to enter the job market. Learning to harness skills such as knowledge mobilization, collaboration, maintaining an online presence, clear language research communication, networking, and project management will help ensure that the students’ work has the greatest possible impact beyond graduate school. This praxis-based course is geared towards humanities, and social sciences graduate students and provides a combination of practical skills and collaboration opportunities in developing digital humanities research applications. Through the construction of a personal academic or professional website, we will cover: how to create an effective online presence, the modification of cover letters and CVs for digital humanities and private sector positions, building syllabi with a DH-focus, creating a DH portfolio, and grant and professional writing, amongst other topics.
French 216: Equity or the Desire for Justice in Early Modern France
Instructor: Raphaëlle BurnsSpring 2021
Equity has come to the fore in recent years as a key concept in campaigns for social justice. But what is equity and where does the term come from? This course will explore the classical roots of the concept of equity and its multifaceted revival in early modern French literature and thought. Students will be invited to think critically about the role of early modern approaches to equity in the shaping of present-day ethical and political discourses. Authors will include Rabelais, Marguerite de Navarre, Ronsard, Montaigne, Bodin, and Pascal. All works will be read and discussed in English, though attention to the French originals will be encouraged wherever possible.
French 217: The History of Truth in 17th-Century France
Instructor: Malina StefanovskaSpring 2021
Is truth historical, and therefore relative, or is it universal? Every period and has defined it, pursued it, and questioned it in own context. Through the study of major thinkers and playwrights of 17th century France such as Corneille, Racine, Moliere, Descartes and Pascal, we shall explore the relationship of truth to illusion (fiction), religion, politics, science, social norms and the inner self. Excerpts from theatrical performances will bring the plays closer to us. Texts read in French and in translation, class discussions and papers in French.
German 261: Language and Identity
Instructor: Yasemin YildizSpring 2021
What impact does language have on one’s identity? Does learning and speaking another language change a person? How do multilinguals exist in a supposedly monolingual world? Can a language be traumatized by the acts committed in it? These are just a few of the questions we will be discussing in this course as we explore the nexus of language and identity by drawing on a diverse group of 20th and 21st century writers such as Franz Kafka, Elias Canetti, Klaus Mann, Jhumpa Lahiri, Emine Sevgi Özdamar, and Olumide Popoola, as well as considering relevant films, public debates, and scholarship. Most of the materials for this course are drawn from the German context but the readings and discussions will provide you with interpretive tools to consider the issues in other contexts as well. Taught in English.
Italian 260C: Studies in Italian Cinema
Instructor: Thomas HarrisonSpring 2021
Italian cinema compared with other European countries’ and Hollywood’s cinema, with focus on its development from its origins through Fascist times to neorealism, its legacy, different genres, and contemporary scene. Taught in English.