ART 110H 01. Art History I
4 semester hours
Gimenez-Berger, A.
Selective chronological survey of architecture, painting, sculpture and decorative arts from the birth of art in the Prehistoric period through its development in the Middle Ages, with an emphasis on the Western tradition. Although this course focuses on art created in Western Europe, the survey will also include the art of the Ancient Near East and the Byzantine Empire. Every year.
ART 220 1W. Italian Renaissance Art
4
semester hours
Giminez-Berger, A.
Examination of Renaissance painting, sculpture and architecture from the Late Gothic period (ca. 1270-1300) through the Renaissance (Early and High) and Mannerism. The artists and monuments in Florence, Rome and Venice will receive special attention, although developments in other regions in Italy will also be discussed. Emphasis will be placed on the departure from Medieval art and the revival of Antiquity, and art objects and monuments will be discussed in the context of individual artists, patrons and religious and historical events. Every third semester.
ART 280C 1W. TOPIC: Asian Art History
4 semester hours
Glowski, J.
English 180A - "How Like a God": Myth, Epic, and Metamorphosis
4 semester hours
Smith, Fitz
Prerequisite: ENGL 101E
This course will introduce the student to the work of Greco-Roman myth.With intensive readings of The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, and The Metamorphoses, this course not only will consider the various stories and ideas that myths construct and entail, but also will work to question the more modern myths by which we live today.As a writing intensive section, this course will require a daily reading journal, several short essays, two examinations, and a final analytical paper. The course will emphasize student engagement with the readings and ideas, so class sessions will entail lecture but rely heavily upon class participation.The student will leave this course with a familiarity with the dominant myths of the ancients, as well as a broadened understanding of those myths by which we live-myths more naively known as reality.
English 280A - British Survey I
4 semester hours
Dixon, Mimi
Prerequisite:ENGL 170, 180A, or 190A/C
In this course, we will look at the development of English literature from its beginnings in the Middle Ages to the rise of the novel in the eighteenth century. We will read and discuss representative literary texts and ask a series of important questions: how do these texts grow out of their historical and cultural contexts? How do they build upon, speak to one another? How do they define and redefine the roles of writer and reader? What role does a growing literary canon have in constructing what it means to be a British subject, a self, a man, a woman? We will explore as well the way genres-epic and romance, tragedy and comedy, prose fiction-emerge, change, disappear, in response to a changing culture and readership. You should come out of this course with a foundational knowledge of important writers, dates, literary styles, genres, and critical terms that you can build on in more advanced courses. The course will include some periods and a comprehensive final; two or three formal papers and several informal responses to the reading. Writing Intensive.
English 331A - Shakespeare
4 semester hours
Dixon, Mimi
Prerequisite:ENGL 200 and 280A for majors; junior standing for non-majors
". . . either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical pastoral, scene individable, or poem unlimited.; Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus too light. Hamlet 2.3
Though Shakespeare himself made fun of categorizing plays into genres (in the voice of the foolish Polonius, above), his own writing falls into a wide range of dramatic kinds.Early in his career Shakespeare wrote mostly histories and comedies, later he wrote the great tragedies, and his last plays return again to comedy, this time deepened by tragic possibilities. In this course we will read a sampling of Shakespeare's genres, from the beginning, middle, and end of his writing life.
It is always a challenge to make a selection of Shakespeare's plays for a semester-length course: enough plays to give you an idea of Shakespearean themes, language, and his development as a writer, but not too many, to provide enough time for serious discussion of each play.So inevitably a Shakespeare course is a compromise.You may find that you've read many of the plays on the list, but you will also discover that all the plays bear careful re-reading - they are so rich and complex that each engagement with a play will be rewarded with new pleasures and insights.Moreover, you will find that the experience of reading many of Shakespeare's plays together - putting them in context - changes your understanding of each play.Some of the plays in our list may be new to you - The Winter's Tale, for example; some will be familiar, like Hamlet.I've selected them not only for generic variety, but also because of the connections between plays.For example, Much Ado, Othello, and The Winter's Tale all tell the same story about falsely accused women and male jealousy, but they do so with very different results.Henry IV, Hamlet, and The Tempest also make an interesting triad, exploring male power and leadership, father-son relations, revenge and forgiveness.I've added The Merchant of Venice, a "revenge comedy," you might say, because it is problematic in many ways (including its genre) and a recent film usefully explores some of these problems.As You Like It and King Lear provide another fruitful pairing of pastoral comedy and anti-pastoral tragedy.Of course I've had to leave a number of my favorite plays off our list - Romeo and Juliet, Measure for Measure, Midsummer Night's Dream, etc.But you are free to select a play of your own for your final research project.
In addition to class discussion and some informal writing, there will be several short formal writing assignments plus the final paper required of all English majors (12-15 pages).We will decide on all projects individually, in conference (Theater majors may want to work our a project focused on performance or staging, for example).Prerequisites: junior status, English 101.Writing Intensive.
HIST 110H/C. ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN WORLDS
4.00 Credits
Brooks-Hedstrom, D.
A regional survey history of the Mediterranean world from 3500 BCE-850 CE. As an archaeologist and historian, I have designed this course with an eye to establishing a visual and textual history of the region through the analysis of documentary, literary and artifactual evidence. We will often examine empires comparatively to ascertain the uniqueness of the Minoans in contrast to the Babylonains, while also considering what similarities empires shared such as the Byzantines and Sassanians and how they responded to the Islamic conquests. Readings from the ancient world will frame how we consider the concerns of ancient authors and how they recording the history of their own times. Empires to be studied include the Neolithic settlements of the Fertile Crescent, the empires of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Levant, Anatolia, Persia, North Africa, Arabia, Greece (Minoan, Mycenaean, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic), Rome (Republic and Empire) and the Byzantine Empire. May count toward the PAST minor. Reading Intensive. Non-writing intensive.
HIST 111 H 1W. Medieval Europe
4.00 credits
Livingstone, A.
Prerequisite: none.
The origins of medieval Europe are grounded in the world of Late Antiquity. This class begins with the last of the Western Roman Emperors by surveying the "barbarian" kingdoms that had been created in the fourth and fifth centuries. Essential to understanding Europe is the relationship between East and West. Starting with a dominant Byzantium in the early part of our course, we'll examine ups and downs in the East/West relationship in the ninth and early twelfth centuries and their antagonistic relationship after 1204 and the sack of Constantinople. Essential to this story are the lives of women and religious minorities, such as Jews, Muslims, and pagans. Those stories will be woven in with the traditional highlights of the Middle Ages, such as Charlemagne's ascension as Holy Roman Emperor, the Viking raids throughout Europe, the rise of the Normans and the conquest of England, the reform papacy and the Crusades, and the beginning of the Renaissance. Medieval Europe changed drastically over the thousand years studied in this course, and we will attempt to both understand the events and processes that contributed to that change as well as the shape of Europe at the end of our period. This course counts toward the PAST minor. Writing intensive
HIST 161C 1W. Pre Modern East Asia
4.00 credits
Maus, Tanya
Prerequisite: None
Elegant courtiers and eunuchs, ethical scholars, powerful Buddhist nuns, and impudent commoners were some of many groups that created the fabric of East Asian societies during the pre-modern period. This course looks at how such groups within China, Korea, and Japan developed the foundations for powerful states and societies with flourishing economies and rich cultural diversity. In particular, we will focus on the relationship between politics, religion, and culture as sources of East Asian interchange and identity. Students' work will be evaluated through in-class participation, in-class quizzes, presentations and a variety of written assignments. Writing intensive.
Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum :CLAC
Interested in using your foreign language skills to earn extra credit connected to this course and to learn more about the subject matter of this course at the same time?If so, register for the CLAC components offered here.You don't need to be fluent in the language to exercise this option.In fact, you need only to have completed two credits beyond 112 or to be currently enrolled in a course beyond 112.Your work will be guided by your professor and by faculty from the Languages Department.The CLAC module is designed for intermediate level language learners.
This course offers a foreign language component or CLAC component in the following languages: Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, German
Students who select the CLAC option will complete work in a foreign language that will supplement the work in this course.Students who complete the CLAC assignments successfully will earn 1 credit for the CLAC component.
To register for the CLAC component, you must also register for a one-credit LANG 230 CLAC module listed among the Language Department's offerings.Meeting times and location will be arranged at the beginning of the semester.Credit for CLAC modules may be counted toward the requirements for International Studies and as elective credit in the Language department.
HIST 202H 2W. Children of the Past
4.00 credits
Livingstone, Amy
Prerequisite: ENGL 101E. Sophomore standing.
What was it like growing up in the past? Did pre modern people have a "childhood?" Historians have recently turned their attention to investigating the private lives of medieval and early modern people. In this class we will explore what historians have uncovered about growing up in the past. We will examine the experiences of children in medieval London and Florence, Reformation Germany and sixteenth-century France. This course will also examine how historians "do" history. What methods, theories, philosophies inform how historians have approached examining the history of childhood? What are the issues that confront historians in regard to the use of primary sources and historiographic traditions? Should historians be objective? Can they be objective? Each of those questions is fundamental to the task, vocation and obligation of the historian. To address such issues, students will read, analyze and critique primary sources. The "history" of historical interpretation, or historiography, will also be explored through a series of monographs and articles. Students will write several short analytical essays, as well as a longer historiographical paper, and participate in discussion and debate. This course counts toward the PAST minor. Writing intensive.
HIST 202H: Luther
4.00 Credits
Taylor, Thomas
Prerequisite: ENGL 101E
HIST 202 courses introduce students to problems in the interpretation of history (more technically called historiography) and to the writing of historical prose. This version of HIST 202 tackles the extraordinary and complex figure of Martin Luther. The course approaches him as a problem in biography, through readings of some of major biographical interpretations of his life, as a problem in theology, through readings of his own writings as well as those of modern theologians and scholars; and as a problem in historical interpretation. Books will include Martin Marty, Martin Luther; Roland Bainton, Here I Stand; Patrick Collinson, The Reformation: A History; Richard Marius, A Short Guide to Writing about History; John Osborne, Luther; Writing intensive: papers and tests and quizzes. This course counts toward the PAST minor.
HIST 203C 1W. Excavating Egypt's History
4. 00 credits
Brooks Hedstrom, Darlene
Prerequisite:Sophomore standing only
"Excavating Egyptian History" will explore the art, archaeology and history of Ancient Egypt during the 18th Dynasty, with particular focus upon the Amarna Period. Tutankhamun and Nefertiti are the two most well-known figures of the Amarna period. We will examine their lives in relationship to the most controversial ruler of ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh Akhenaten. Considered a madman, a heretic, or a visionary by some, this course will endeavor to explore the mysteries surrounding him and his successor, Tutankhamun. Through the reading of primary textual sources in the form of letters, myths, military annals, and biographies, we will ask questions about what life was like before, during and after the Amarna Period. We will also examine archaeological discoveries at Amarna and Karnak that have reconfigured our understanding of the Amarna Period and the successors of the 19th Dynasty. One component of the course will include a trip to the research library at the Ohio State University. This sophomore level, research class will be based upon several pre-writing, writing, and revision exercises to train students how to write a well-designed and argued research paper based upon archaeological and textual material. This methodology course will include exercises that will give students the experience in writing summaries of scholarly articles, revising thesis statements, designing research outlines, and providing peer reviews of early versions of the final research paper. The central focus of the assessment in the course is a project that includes a source bibliography, citation with footnotes, and a research text that analyzes a topic related to the Amarna Period.This course counts toward Africana Studies and PAST minors. Writing intensive.
HIST 304 1W. Late Antiquity
4.00 Credits
Brooks-Hedstrom, Darlene
This course will offer a detailed overview into an era of remarkable historical changes in the Mediterranean world, from ca. 300-700 CE. Extensive readings in the literature and material culture of Late Antiquity will establish key cultural, social, political and religious developments in the Mediterranean World as the Roman Empire shifted into two regional empires and faced external factors such as the influx of new peoples (Huns, Vandals, Ostrogoths and Arabs) into the empires. After an historical introduction, this era will be studied through the presentation of survey and excavation evidence from town and country, then through the art and architecture of the period. Writing Intensive.
HIST 311 1W. Viking World
4.00 credits
Raffensperger, Christian
Prerequisite: One course in History or permission of instructor.
The Vikings occupy an important place in European, and indeed, Eurasian history. From their first recorded attack on Lindisfarne in 793, the Vikings roamed the Baltic and North Seas, continental Europe, the Mediterranean, the eastern European river systems, and even the Caspian and Black Seas. In their travels they met peoples of various faiths and origins, and traded with and raided them all equally. This course will explore the initial outburst of Viking expansion beginning in the late eighth century, look at the way Vikings lived at home and abroad, and will also examine the effect Vikings had on the various places they visited. We will also address the place of women in Viking society and study the Icelandic sagas that have survived to this day as a view to what they can tell us about Viking life and practices. The course will conclude with the creation of Scandinavian kingdoms and empires, such as those of King Cnut and Harald Hardrada. Writing intensive.
HIST 390 1W. Wives, Wenches, Saints and Sinners: Women in the Middle Ages
4.00 credits
Livingstone, Amy
Prerequisite: HIST 202C/H or permission of instructor.
Saints, martyrs, damsels in distress, grimy peasant women, ladies in pointy hats are some of the prevailing images of medieval women. Scholarship on medieval women is also fraught with different visions of medieval women. Some historians find medieval women's voices silent, and refer to the middle ages as the "male middle ages." More recently, other scholars have come to challenge this model and suggest more of a "rough and ready equality" for medieval women. Keeping in mind these two paradigms of women's experience, this class will explore the lives of a variety of medieval women, including peasants, aristocratic ladies, nuns, heretics, prostitutes, urban women, artists, and mystics. Through examination of primary sources, as well as historical monographs and essays, students explore the complexities of medieval women's experiences. Evaluation will be based on a in depth historiographical analysis of a medieval woman, critiques of primary and secondary sources, class presentations and participation. Writing intensive.
Music 301H 1W. History of Western Music to 1750
4 Credits
Staff
Prerequisite: English 101.Must be able to read music.
This course tracks the important musical developments from early Greek music through the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods, and studies the music and lives of the composers whose creativity brought new ideas to fruition. Topics include the following: chant and early polyphony, Ars Antiqua and Ars Nova, the development of the Franco-Netherlands style, music of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, Italian bel canto, opera and opera-related forms, instrumental music of the Baroque and especially the music of Bach and Handel. Although the course format is generally lecture/discussion/listening, there will also be live performances on organ and harpsichord. The text is A History of Western Music by Burkholder/Grout/Palisca, 8th ed. (W. W. Norton, 2009).Required for music majors.Writing intensive.
PAST 400 01. Capstone Seminar
2.00 credits
Raffensperger, C.
Prerequisite: Must be a junior or senior Pre Modern and Ancient Studies minor and have completed twelve hours of the PAST minor.
Capstone course in which the junior or senior Pre Modern and Ancient World Studies minor integrates the major strands of Pre Modern and Ancient World history, culture, religion and philosophy, and literature around a specified theme and writes an extensive research paper.
PHIL 310 1W. Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
4.00 credits
Reed
Prerequisite: One prior course in PHIL or permission of instructor.
This course is an introduction to the historical method of philosophical reflection and an introduction to the philosophers of a particular period and a particular tradition (ancient Greek to medieval European).As part of the first goal, we will observe the historical nature of philosophical thinking, i.e., the way it develops historically, not by accident but by its very nature.We will trace one tradition of answers to questions variously answered by four particular notions (which themselves are reformulated over and over again):(1) the notion that abstractions (like geometrical figures and the periodic table of elements) are the true objects of knowledge; (2) the notion that it is sometimes very difficult if not impossible to do what you know is good and not to do what you know is bad; (3) the notion that to be real and to be excellent are the same, i.e., that being and goodness are identical; and (4) the notion that the soul is immortal and lives on after the body decays and ceases.Students will take a mid-term and a final exam and write four papers.Writing intensive.
Religion 134 C/R - Chinese and Japanese Religious Traditions
(4 semester hours)
Oldstone-Moore, Jennifer
Pre-requisite: None
This course examines several religious traditions which have shaped East Asian civilizations. We will study the formal traditions of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shinto; we will also consider the popular religious traditions of China and Japan. Classes include both lecture and discussion; students will be evaluated through essay exams, short papers and analysis of scripture and other texts.
Religion 221R 1W Understanding the Old Testament
(4 semester hours)
Kaiser, Barbara
Pre-requisite: NONE
This course is designed especially for religion majors, pre-theological students, and others with a serious interest in biblical studies. We will attempt to place the Old Testament literature in its historical context, understand the theological perspectives which shape the texts, develop methods of interpretation, and simply appreciate the artistry and inspiration of the Old Testament literature. Class sessions have lecture/discussion format. Students will take three exams and write a paper. Writing intensive.
