LIBERAL STUDIES AND ALLIED ARTS - School of Continuing and ...

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Eleanor of Aquitaine: Politics, Power,
and Poetry in the 12th Century
X09.9310/$430
M Sec. 1: Thurs. 3–4.40 p.m., Feb. 17–Apr. 28
(10 sessions). No class Mar. 17. Diane Marks,
associate professor, Brooklyn College.
Explore the courts associated with
Eleanor of Aquitaine and her husband,
Henry II of England. Begin in southern
France with Eleanor’s grandfather, William
of Poitiers, a long-lived Norman knight
and historian. Then discuss the court of
Eleanor’s daughter, Marie de Champagne,
famous for its focus on love and as the
place where Chrétien de Troyes wrote the
Arthurian legends of Lancelot, Camelot,
and the Holy Grail. Move on to Henry II’s
conflicts with Thomas à Becket, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, which led to
Becket’s death. And finally, discover the
court life of Henry II’s crusading son,
Richard the Lionheart.
History of Astronomy:
Before and After Galileo
X07.9313/$370
M Sec. 1: Wed. 1–2.40 p.m., Feb. 23–Apr. 20
(8 sessions). No class Mar. 16. Martin Spergel,
visiting scientist, Hayden Planetarium; professor
emeritus, York College.
It has been more than 400 years since
Galileo’s first telescopic observations of the
cosmos. Join an amateur scientist’s exploration
of Galileo and astronomy. Study the
history of astronomic explorations—from
the ancient Greeks, Hipparchus and Ptolemy,
to the 20th-century discovery of microwaves
and their application in radar,
communications, and medicine. Topics include
astronomy’s contribution to general
scientific methods, solar system formation,
the structure and evolution of stars, and
the Milky Way galaxy. No previous knowledge
of science is necessary.
NEW
Music in Jewish Culture and History
X06.9082/$430
M Sec. 1: Tues. 2–3.40 p.m., Feb. 22–
May 10 (10 sessions). No class Mar. 15
and Apr. 19. Marsha Dubrow, adjunct,
Rutgers University; cantor and awardwinning
composer.
Explore how ethnic Jewish world music
transformed over centuries around the world
as a result of expulsions, cultural integrations,
and war. Listen to the multifarious
sounds of the Jewish spirit heard outside of
Israel, as world musical traditions merged
with Jewish rituals and rites. Learn what
makes Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Mizrahi
music sound so different from one another.
Study aspects of Yiddish theater and song,
and enjoy the highs and lows of klezmer
over two centuries of evolution—from the
acoustic tsimbl and fiddle of the 18th and
19th centuries to American bebop klezmer,
to contemporary electric klezmer fusion.
Music and the Holocaust
X07.9051/$430
M Sec. 1: Thurs. 2–3.40 p.m., Feb. 24–
May 5 (10 sessions). No class Mar. 17.
Marsha Dubrow, adjunct professor,
Rutgers University; cantor and awardwinning
composer.
Beginning in the 1930s with the banning
of certain music by the Third Reich, musical
expression figured prominently in the
lives of Jews and others persecuted during
the Holocaust. Ghetto and camp musicians
and composers created in many styles,
wrote their own lyrics, and performed their
own work. This course surveys a musical
spectrum that spans the historic events
that led up to the Holocaust; the Holocaust
itself; and the post-Holocaust, both in
Europe and America. In-class listening,
live performance, and selected readings are
included.
PRE-COLUMBIAN AMERICA
Faculty: George Scheper, faculty associate, Johns Hopkins School of Professional Studies;
director–Mesoamerican Institutes, National Endowment for the Humanities. Take all three
courses and receive a 15 percent discount on tuition.
Eskimo/Inuit Culture: Peoples of the Far North
R09.9012/$95G
M Sec. 101: Fri. 1–4 p.m., Mar. 11.
This seminar explores the intricacies of Eskimo or Inuit culture, emphasizing the lifeways
of the hunting cultures of the northern forests and ice fields, traditions of storytelling,
and other forms of literary and artistic expression—including the rich heritage
of expressive ceremonial masks, ivory carvings, and other exquisitely made ritual and
practical objects. A special focus is placed on the theme of inua or spirit; the subject of
shamanism; and the cross-cultural connections that reach across the northern world
from Siberia, through Alaska and Canada, to Greenland. See and discuss clips from
Nanook of the North, The Fast Runner, and other landmark films.
Native American Cultures of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Land of the Totem
R09.9010/$95G
M Sec. 101: Fri. 1–4 p.m., Mar. 25.
Explore the cultures of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America, including the
Tlingit, Haida, and Kwakiutl, in this half-day seminar. Beginning with archaeology
and prehistory, focus on major categories of social, religious, and artistic expression,
such as the winter ceremonial, the potlatch or chiefly feast, and traditions of masking
and shamanism. Learn about distinctive forms of Northwest Coast art, including
formline paintings and totem poles. See and discuss clips from Curtis’ Land of the War
Canoes, The Spirit of the Mask, and other documentary films.
Pueblo Cultures of the Southwest: An Archaeological and Cultural Excursion
R09.9011/$95G
M Sec. 101: Fri. 1–4 p.m., Apr. 8.
Discover the rich and complex cultural history of the Native American Southwest,
beginning with the extraordinary archaeological sites of the ancient ancestral Pueblo
people, the “Anasazi,” at such sites as Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Canyon de
Chelly. Discuss the cultural traditions of their historical descendents, the Pueblo peoples
of the Rio Grande, the Hopi, the Zuni, and the communities of Acoma and
Laguna. For comparison, look at the history and culture of their neighbors, the Navajo
people, and the impact and consequences of the coming of the Spanish and the Anglos
into “Indian Country.” Discuss clips from documentary films that focus on traditions
of ceremony and healing, and pottery and other Native American craft traditions.
Web
For the most up-to-date
course information and
to register online, visit:
scps.nyu.edu
M Meets at NYU Midtown Center, 11 W. 42nd St.
G No discounts apply to this course.
NEW
British Studies
Oxford: Town and Gown
X09.9375/$95
M Sec. 1: Sat. 11 a.m.–4 p.m., Feb. 26.
Lorella Brocklesby, cultural historian;
NYU-SCPS Excellence in Teaching Award;
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Oxford, England, is a town richly endowed
with centuries of history. It offers us two
faces: the famous riverside university town
with its picturesque colleges, tranquil gardens,
soaring spires, and Bodleian Library;
and the lively city with its newly restored
castle, town hall, canal, and ancient inns.
These two aspects are woven together in a
study of the breathtaking architecture, traditions,
royal connections, celebrated residents,
and famous products of a city that
produced marmalade and motor cars.
Explore the spectacular new galleries of
the world-renowned Ashmolean Museum
and discuss why the city remains one of
England’s most beloved places.
NEW
London’s Literary Haunts
X09.9180/$430
M Sec. 1: Thurs. 2–3.40 p.m., Feb. 17–May 5
(10 sessions). No class Mar. 17 and 24.
Lorella Brocklesby, cultural historian;
NYU-SCPS Excellence in Teaching Award;
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Uncover London’s literary geography—
from Bloomsbury to Kensington—and
study the historic places that have forever
been associated with famous literary residents
and celebrated literary visitors, including
Southwark, with its Chaucer and
Shakespeare connections. Explore the
homes of Samuel Johnson, John Keats,
Charles Dickens, William Morris, and
Henry James; discover Westminster
Bridge, where Wordsworth composed his
famous sonnet; learn of literary rarities, including
the district known to Daniel Defoe;
Virginia Woolf ’s suburban retreat; the elegant
Georgian pied á terre where Harold
Nicolson, husband of Vita Sackville West,
lived; and the home on Baker Street of the
legendary Sherlock Holmes.
NEW
From Tower to Tavern:
Nine Centuries of Architectural
Splendors and Scandals
X09.9179/$430
M Sec. 1: Thurs. 11 a.m.–12.40 p.m., Feb. 17–
May 5 (10 sessions). No class Mar. 17 and 24.
Lorella Brocklesby, cultural historian;
NYU-SCPS Excellence in Teaching Award;
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Majestic Durham Cathedral and an art
deco masterpiece in London epitomize the
splendor of many unique buildings and interiors
that abound in England. In this
survey extending from medieval times to
the present, study how the changing architectural
styles and interiors of important
castles, country houses, inns, mills, and
barns frame a history that reveals changes
in taste, travel, patronage, and wealth over
the centuries. Study the scandals that have
involved patrons and architects—including
rivalries between 18th-century architects,
and why George III, an excellent draughtsman,
offered his own critical views on the
latest Georgian designs.
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