school of social science - Hampshire College

SS 215
POLITICS OF ABORTION RIGHTS
Marlene Fried
SS 228
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Donald POf'
SS/HA 233
ELEMENTARY YIDDISH
Henia Lewin
SS 234
THE JEWS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY
Leonard Glick
SS/HA 235
ART AND REVOLUTION
James Wald/Sura Levine
SS 244
CULTURAL HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY 1400-1700
Juna Sperling
SS 248
GENDERED CITIES
Myrna Breitbart
SS 259
SUPREME COURT, SUPREME LAW
Lester Mazor
SS 270
RACE IN THE UNITED STATES, UNDER COLOR OF
LAW
Flavio Risech-Ozeguera/Mitziko Sawada
SS 272
CRITICAL RACE THEORY
Michael Ford/e. frances White
SS 274
THE REVOLUTIONS THAT WERE(N'T),
TRANSITIONS IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA AND
CUBA
Carollee BengelsdorfiKay Johnson
SS/HA 280
DIMENSIONS OF CONTEMPORARY JEWISH
SPIRITUALITY AND THE MYSTICAL TRADITION
Lawrence Fine
SS 288
THE HISTORY OF CHILDHOOD, THE CHANGING
MEANING OF CHILDREN IN THE NINETEENTH
AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES
Penina Glazer
SS 290
POSTMODERNITY AND POLITICS
Carollee Bengelsdorf/Margaret Cerullo
SS 305
HISTORIANS WRITE HISTORY, READINGS ON THE
UNITED STATES
Mitziko Sawada
47
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
SSI14p
RENAISSANCE ITALY, CULTURE, POLITICS, AND
SOCIETY
J ulta Sperling
As historians of Renaissance Italy have emphasized over
and over again, the concept of the modern state was "horn" in
fifteenth-century Florence. Others claim that the revival of
ancient philosophy-starting with Petrarch's ascent of Mount
Vemoux-gradually replaced medieval theology; that
Florentine wool manufacturing marked the onset of capitalism;
that the invention of perspective revolutionized painting;
that for the first time, individualism, domesticity, and the
nuclear family were conceptualized. In shon: it is generally
assumed that the profound innovations, transformations, and
revolutions occurring in Renaissance Italy inaugurated the
"modern" age. In the course of this proseminar, we will
investigate these developments and problematize their
traditional interpretations through the study of primary texts,
secondary literature, and visual material.
Class will meet twice a week for one hour and twenty
minutes. Enrollment is limited to 16.
5S 1I5p
POLITICAL JUSTICE
Lester Mawr
This seminar will examine the ways politics, law, and
justice intersect in dramatic political trials. Our goals are to
become familiar with the characteristics of a trial in a court of
law, to examine the functions and limits of the trial process,
and to explore theories of the relation of law to politics and of
both to justice. The bulk of the course will consist of close
study of notable political trials, such as the Sacco and Vanzetti
case, the Alger Hiss case, the Angela Davis case, the Oliver
North case, or the Eichmann case. What political ends were
sought and obtained and whether justice was done will be
persistent questions. Readings will include trial transcdpts and
news accounts; Kafka, The Tdal; and Kirchheimer, Political
Justice. Students will work in small groups to develop
presentations on particular cases.
Class will meet twice a week for one hour and twenty
minutes. Enrollment is limited to 16.
SS 1I6p
REVOLUTION AND MODERNIZATION IN CHINA
Kay Johnson
This course will study the Chinese revolution, emphasizing
the role of the peasantry and the impact of socialist
development and modernization on peasant village life. The
general theme of the course will attempt to evaluate the
Chinese revolution by tracing the major lines of continuity
and change in Chinese peasant society, considering the
potential and limits that peasant life and aspirations create for
revolutionary change, modernization, and democracy. A
major focus throughout will be on the relationship between
the traditional Confucian family and revolution, and the
impact of national crisis, revolution, and socialist economic
development on peasant women's roles and status.
The course will be organized into informal lectures
{which will present general background, comparisons with
other societies and some material gathered in recent visits to a