PENN SUMMER - University of Pennsylvania

Summer Session i
MAY 24–JULY 2, 2010
anTh 643 941 MT 5:30pm–8:40pm spooner
MLA Proseminar: Globalization and Its Historical
Significance
Globalization is one of the most comprehensive topics of our time,
and also one of the most controversial. This course assesses the current
state of globalization, considering it in terms of economic, political,
and cultural change, and follows its progress through the semester.
The class will be led through the main topics and debates, introduced
to conceptual and empirical tools for framing academic discussion
and research about its dynamics, how and when it began, and (most
particularly) how it differs from earlier episodes of historical change.
Students will monitor the course of globalization in the course of the
semester, take an exam on the readings and lectures, and develop
their own research project on a related issue of their choice.
CIne 500 941 MW 5:00pm–8:10pm Charney
Thumbs Up! How and Why to Evaluate Movies
Why do we like some movies better than others? How do we justify
those preferences? How have writers traditionally balanced the
search for objective standards with the reality of subjective differences?
How has the Internet era–in which “everyone’s a critic”–changed
the nature of criticism and the usefulness of established philosophies
of taste, aesthetics, and evaluation? This seminar examines film theory
and criticism from the perspective of film evaluation. Readings
include film critics (Pauline Kael, James Agee, André Bazin, Cahiers
du Cinéma, contemporary print and Internet critics) and philosophies
of aesthetics and value (Walter Benjamin, Stanley Fish, Martin
Heidegger, Walter Pater, Richard Rorty, Barbara Herrnstein Smith).
Other required work includes screenings, class participation, film reviews,
and short analytical essays.
engl 410 941 Tr 6:00pm–9:10pm devaney Jr
Creative Non-Fiction and Poetry
ENGL 410 is a creative writing workshop focusing on creative nonfiction
and poetry. The mode of the class is immersion and modeling.
We read. We consider. We write stories and poems that respond (in
some way—in your own way) to the writers we’ve read. Modes of
creative nonfiction, narrative, structure, aspects of style are studied.
Segments from the “This American Life” radio program are used as
models for a creative nonfiction essay. The goal of the workshop is to
submit one revised “This American Life” essay and a suite of poems in
a final portfolio of revised work.
engl 486 941 Tr 5:30pm–8:40pm Powell
Viet Nam and Rock ’n’ Roll
When Jimi Hendrix greeted dawn at Woodstock with a radical reinterpretation
of the national anthem, it represented a profound statement
about how rock ’n’ roll artists were reinterpreting the foundational
myths of “America.” This course will utilize a wide variety of
texts from Neil Young’s plaintive lament, “Ohio,” in the wake of the
Kent State Riots, to a close readings of historical events in both Viet
Nam and the United States that led to an unprecedented outpouring
of politically charged art. In addition to music, the course will
46 MAsTer oF LiberAL ArTs
look at literature, Maya Lin’s Viet Nam memorial, and oral histories
of veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. The Viet
Nam era will be viewed from a wide variety of cultural perspectives
including Euro-Americans, African Americans, Native Americans,
Asian Americans, and feminists. We will also consider the question of
why our how our own generation is responding, through the arts, to
the war in Afghanistan.
hIsT 610 941 Tr 5:30pm–8:40pm Brown
MLA Proseminar: Readings in Atlantic History
This course introduces students to some of the major approaches and
influential studies that define the field of Atlantic history. Reading
recent as well as classic works, students will consider different ways
of conceptualizing Atlantic history and interrogate different practices
of writing and teaching it. Students interested in imperial history
(European expansion), early modern cultural history (cultures in
contact), and the history of slavery should also find substantial readings
in these areas of interest.
sTsC 465 941 Tr 6:00pm–9:10pm ensmenger
Computers, Ethics, and Society
The electronic computer is the defining technology of the modern
era. For many of us it is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine life
without computers: we use computers to do our work, to help us
study, to create and access entertainment, and to communicate with
friends and family. Computers pervade our homes, our workplaces,
our schools, and even our own bodies. But what does it mean to
live in a computer-mediated “information society”? Computers and
other information technologies pose difficult legal, social, and ethical
challenges: how do we benefit from increased communications
capability without losing our privacy? How do we enforce law, protect
our citizens, and ensure justice for all in an increasingly global
“cyberspace”?
These courses, offered by other programs in LPS, are also suitable for
MLA students. Course information can be found in other sections of this
course guide.
anTh 692 910 MW 10:00am–1:10pm hammarberg
American Civilization in the 20th Century
MaTh 420 910 MTWr 1:00pm–3:10pm staff
Ordinary Differential Equations
russ 434 910 MW 4:30pm–7:40pm Todorov
Media and Terrorism
urBs 457 910 Tr 5:00pm–8:10pm Freiherr Von Mahs
Globalization Comparative Urban Development:
Globalization and the Welfare State
Summer Session ii
JULY 6-AUgUST 13, 2010
anTh 529 942 Tr 5:30pm–8:40pm Mitchell
Perspectives in Anthropological Analysis
This course provides an introduction to anthropological theory, including
its relation to other intellectual approaches within the social