gen ed

 

 


 

 

Spring 2017 General Education Offerings

GERMANSpring 2017 219
Vikings and Wizards, Northern Myth and Fairy Tales in Western Culture:
The Brothers Grimm and Their Cultural Legacy

Professor Patrick Fortmann MWF 3 - 3:50pm

The course examines the rediscovery and development of classic fairy tales in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries. While focusing especially on the classic Germanic tales, first collected and edited by the Brothers Grimm,
the course also studies their prehistory and the evolution of specific tale types, as well as the rise of the fairy tale in
the nineteenth century. We consider the varied audiences of fairy tales and the diverse functions they have served,
as literature, entertainment, old wives tales, cautionary tales, and socializing narratives. We consider various
interpretive strategies developed to read fairy tales, from Vladimir Propp's formalism to Bettelheim's psychology, to
feminism and new historicism. Through close readings of literary tales, the course provides basic tools for narrative
interpretation and critical argumentation.

ITAL 230 – Italian and Italian American Culture and
Civilization – SPRING 2017

Professor: Dr. Chiara Fabbian T/R 3.30-4.45 PM

3 hours. Taught in English. Understanding the Past, and World Cultures
course

Based upon an integrated approach to science, art, architecture, music,
literature, and film, this course explores key moments in Italian social
history. Through an interdisciplinary, multimedia approach, the course will
focus on the historical role and the modern developments of Art and
Science in Italy. Students will develop a critical consciousness of the
importance of a multidisciplinary overview of Italy’s rich past as they
connect it to their own culture and to the Italian American contribution in
the United States. The program will include free optional activities such as
field trips to the Art Institute, cooking classes, and guest lectures.

Sample students’ comments:

“Chiara is extremely passionate about teaching which comes across in her
lectures. It makes for a great learning environment and really helps you to
also be as excited and interested in the material. This is one of the best
courses I've taken at UIC and I would, and have, recommended Prof
Fabbian to all of my friends. Her passion and caring for students and the
material is outstanding.”

“I loved this class, I am so glad I took this class. Such a great professor.
Really knows a lot and is really caring about students”

SPANISH 231
Civilization and Culture of Spanish America –Literature and Film
Day/Time: TR 2:00-3:15
Instructor: Gabriel Riera
General Education Category: Past and World Cultures Course

The course is conceived as a general introduction the cultural history of
Spanish America. It thus focuses on the main historical events that have
shaped the cultures of the region. We will study a series of texts and films
focusing on the Conquest and Emancipation and their lasting effects on the
region throughout the centuries. Special attention will be paid to definitions
and constructions of national, racial and gender identities. Course taught in
English.
 

Crossing
Borders

and
Contesting
Identities

FR 298 / Spring 2017

Prof. Melissa Pearson
[email protected]

Wednesdays 3-5:45pm

General Education Category: Creative Arts and World Cultures
Course

Course Description :

In this literature course we will explore how French colonial
policy and the colonial experience impacted the cultures and
identities of populations in Francophone countries, especially
Africa and the Caribbean. Through a careful reading of French
texts in translation, we will analyze the cultural, social and
psychological experience of the postcolonial French immigrant.
How do French immigrants negotiate their identity when they are
“between” cultures? What does it mean to be assimilated? How
have Francophone peoples safeguarded traditional cultures?

GKM / HIST 285 "Cultural History of Modern Greece: 1453 to the
Present."

Day/Time: MWF 3:00-3:50
Instructor: Paris Papamichos Chronakis
General Education Category: World Cultures Course

Why has a small nation of less than ten million people been repeatedly catching the world’s
attention during the past two centuries? This course charts the social, cultural, and political
history of Modern Greece and its transformation from a faraway province of an Islamic empire
to a full-fledged member of the world’s wealthiest club, the European Union. We will examine
the various crises the Modern Greek state has endured in politics (army coups, dictatorships,
civil wars), society (refugee resettlement, immigration and emigration), and economy
(bankruptcies and bail outs) and will inquire on the historical roots of such persistent
phenomena as corruption and clientelism. Greece has been a meeting point of many different
cultures and this course will pay equal attention to its Christians, Jews and Muslims and their
particular sense of Greek identity using a variety of historical sources, images, fictional works
and films. Past course

"Dr. Chronakis is a gifted lecturer who is adept at approaching historical events from
unconventional angles. He manages quite well to present information in a comprehensive and
yet succinct way."

"Great Professor. Really cares for his students and wants to help them succeed in the class.
Students need to be willing to ask for help. Would recommend class!"

GKM 296 / HIST 296 / POLS 296
Fascism and Dictatorship in Southern Europe and the

Mediterranean

Day/Time: MWF 1:00-1:50
Instructor: Paris Papamichos Chronakis
General Education Category: Past Course

Why did some of the first European countries to introduce liberal democratic institutions end up
with authoritarian dictatorships in the twentieth century? Focusing on Italy, Greece and Spain,
the course deals with the most important aspects of fascist rule: the origins of fascist ideology;
political violence, torture and repression; propaganda and censorship; the cult of the leader;
treatment of women; culture and fascism’s relation to the classical past. Finally, the course
considers the afterlives of fascism in popular memory and culture. Working through historical
sources, feature films and images and exploring questions of memory and legacy, the course
offers a historically informed perspective on the current crisis of democracy and the rise of
populism and political extremism in Mediterranean Europe and beyond.

"The lectures were very interesting, the weekly topics were informative about the topic of the
class. The style of the lectures was great and the use of the slides was a bonus."

"The teaching was excellent. Professor Chronakis is very intelligent and extremely helpful. He
held the attention of the class in what most would consider a dry subject."

"The lectures were always interesting and thought provoking."

GKM 105 "Modern Greek Culture"

Day/Time: MWF 12:00-12:50
Instructor: Paris Papamichos Chronakis
General Education Category: World Cultures Course

What lies behind the sun-bathed beaches of lush travel brochures? A helpless backward
society or the laboratory of a dismal future? Now that Greece is catching the world’s attention,
discover the rich culture of a country burdened with a glorious past but facing a precarious
future, a place where civilizations meet but ‘Europe’ confronts ‘Asia’. Through literary texts,
images and films, museum visits and sightseeing, explore how Modern Greeks relate to
antiquity; navigate between ‘Eastern’ tradition and ‘Western’ modernity; negotiate the impact of
globalization; and creatively appropriate western stereotypes of Greece as a country of ruins
as well as a country in ruins. All texts are in English; no prior knowledge of Modern Greek
history or literature is required.

"Excellent course. The professor consistently prepared thoughtful lectures. You can tell that he
genuinely cares about his students and the material that he teaches."

"Professor always encouraged us to dig deeper, and other skills that can be applied to
life/other classes"

"The way the professor provides feedback is very helpful for future writings. He gave a great
analysis of our writing and speaking styles and gave recommendations about how to get
better"

Illness,
 recovery,
 and
 healing
 are
 universal
 human
 
experiences
 and
 as
 such,
 they
 are
 prevalent
 
themes
 in
 literature.
 
 In
 the
 Russian
 context,
 the
 
subject
 of
 medicine
 becomes
 par<cularly
 frui=ul,
 
because
 some
 of
 Russia’s
 greatest
 writers
 were
 
physicians
 and
 made
 doctors
 protagonists
 of
 their
 
works.
 
This
 course
 will
 examine
 literary
 representa<ons
 of
 
 
the
 physician
 and
 narra<ves
 of
 illness
 in
 Russia
 
from
 the
 1860s
 to
 present.
 
 We
 will
 read
 fic<on
 and
 
memoirs
 by
 leading
 literary
 figures
 who
 were
 
physicians
 (Chekhov,
 Bulgakov,
 Veresaev,
 and
 
Aksenov)
 as
 well
 as
 semi-­‐fic<onal
 and
 fic<onal
 case
 
histories
 (Tolstoy,
 Solzhenitsyn,
 Ulitskaya,
 Palei).
 
 
We
 will
 discuss
 how
 narra<ves
 help
 us
 make
 sense
 
of
 our
 lives
 and
 our
 worlds
 in
 <mes
 of
 physical
 and
 
emo<onal
 crisis.
 
 
 We
 will
 trace
 how
 medical
 ideas
 
and
 history
 find
 reflec<on
 in
 literature
 and
 how
 
literary
 concepts
 get
 u<lized
 in
 medicine.
 We
 will
 
analyze
 how
 the
 texts
 we
 read
 reveal
 and
 affect
 
cultural
 assump<ons
 about
 disease
 and
 medical
 
authority.
 
 Addressing
 some
 of
 the
 most
 pressing
 
issues
 of
 our
 era,
 the
 readings
 will
 challenge
 us
 to
 
ques<on
 our
 understanding
 and
 reconceptualize
 
no<ons
 of
 normality/disability,
 health/disease,
 and
 
life/death.
 
Located
 at
 the
 intersec.on
 of
 literature
 and
 medicine,
 this
 course
 will
 aim
 to
 enhance
 
students’
 narra.ve
 competency
 and
 communica.on
 skills,
 essen.al
 to
 the
 prac.ce
 of
 either
 
discipline.
 
 Last
 but
 not
 least,
 it
 will
 improve
 students’
 quality
 of
 life!
 

LITH 130 - Lithuanian Prose Fiction in International Context
Introduction to Eastern European Literature

Day/Time: MWF 10:00-10:50
Instructor: Daiva Litvinskaite
General Education Category: Creative Arts and World Cultures Course

This course traces the main developments of Eastern European literature during the 20th-
21st centuries in relation to Western literary traditions. We will focus on Soviet literary
characteristics, including socialist realist, dissident, Thaw, post-communist and postmodernist
tendencies, as well as émigré literature. Questions such as art and ideology, censorship, Aesopian
language, innovative literary techniques, perception of postmodernism will be addressed either in
a comparative perspective or by focusing on the literature of one country in its cultural and
historical context.

All texts will be in English translation.

RUSS 247
Literature and Fantasy in Russia

Day/Time: MWF 1:00-1:50
Instructor: Irina Ruvinsky
General Education Category: Creative Arts Course

This course explores the literary genre of fantasy, including the subgenre of science fiction.
Through the lenses of Russian literature and film we will investigate the fantastic’s sister
genres: “the uncanny” and “the marvelous.” We will examine how classical Russian writers
ranging from Gogol to Bulgakov engaged with the fantastic, the supernatural and
developments in science and technology. We will study how political ideology and resistance
helped shape Russian fantasies and fears in the 20th and 21st centuries.

What you will learn about:
• basic histories and defining

practices of “world religions”
• who has the authority to

determine someone’s religious
identification
• how your own presuppositions
and interests affect your study
of religion

TR 12:30-1:45
Spring 2017

Instructor: Dingeldein

COME LEARN MORE ABOUT

WORLD RELIGIONS
IN RELS 101

Religions exist throughout our world. Currently, an estimated 5.8 billion people
across the globe affiliate themselves with Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism,
Christianity, Islam, or some other religion. In this course you will learn how to
analyze these religious people and their religious practices from an academic
perspective. The majority of our readings, lectures, and discussions will focus
on people and events associated with so-called world religions in the United
States during the late modern period (1850 until now). This course will change
the way you view the world and yourself.

TR 9:30-10:45am
Spring 2017

Instructor: Dingeldein

COME LEARN MORE ABOUT

CATHOLIC THOUGHT

IN CST 120

From the death of Jesus in the first century CE through Pope Francis’s papacy
in the 21st century, Catholicism has been shaped in part through literature. In
“Introduction to Catholic Thought” we will look at some of the finest letters,
autobiographies, and novels written within the Catholic tradition in an effort to
investigate some of the prominent and distinctive themes of Catholic thought.

 


 

 

 

Classics/English
 297:
 Studies
 in
 the
 Classical
 Tradition:
 “Antigone
 and
 
Her
 Afterlives”
 

Dr.
 Heidi
 Schlipphacke
 
T/Th:
 12:30-­‐1:45
 


 
This
 course
 offers
 in-­‐depth
 analysis
 of
 the
 figure
 of
 Antigone,
 the
 daughter/sister
 
of
 Oedipus
 in
 Greek
 mythology,
 who
 attempts
 to
 secure
 burial
 rites
 for
 her
 
brother
 who
 had
 been
 banished
 from
 the
 kingdom
 of
 Thebes.
 Antigone,
 as
 
represented
 by
 Sophocles
 and
 Euripides,
 is
 a
 passionate
 and
 politically
 engaged
 
character
 who
 is
 willing
 to
 break
 the
 city’s
 law
 with
 an
 eye
 to
 a
 higher
 “divine
 
law.”
 An
 early
 representative
 of
 female
 action,
 Antigone
 brings
 to
 light
 a
 variety
 
of
 modern
 concerns:
 the
 place
 of
 mourning
 in
 civil
 society,
 the
 limits
 of
 the
 law,
 
discourses
 of
 the
 “other,”
 structures
 of
 kinship,
 the
 political
 power
 of
 family,
 the
 
ethics
 of
 love,
 and
 the
 limitations
 of
 the
 state.
 Close
 analysis
 of
 works
 by
 
Sophocles
 and
 Euripides
 will
 be
 followed
 by
 discussion
 of
 some
 of
 Antigone’s
 
many
 modern
 “afterlives”
 (in
 seminal
 works
 by
 G.W.
 Hegel,
 Jacques
 Lacan,
 Jean
 
Cocteau,
 R.W.
 Fassbinder,
 and
 Judith
 Butler).
 A
 reluctant
 heroine
 in
 Greek
 
tragedy,
 Antigone
 remains
 a
 figure
 of
 fascination
 in
 a
 post-­‐Enlightenment
 world
 
both
 as
 a
 representative
 of
 progress
 and
 as
 a
 figure
 outside
 of
 time.
 
Creative
 Arts
 and
 Past
 course.
 
 


 

JST 101
Introduction to Judaism

Day/Time: TR 11:00-12:15
Instructor: Dina Elenbogen
General Education Category: Individual and Society Course

This course is an introduction to Judaism through Jewish literature, beginning with the Hebrew
Bible and the Talmud and ending with contemporary Jewish prose and poetry. We will explore
core aspects of Judaism and Jewish rituals, customs, tradition and beliefs. Class will consist of
short lectures, small group work, (Havruta) and class discussion. We will also experience
Judaism as a living tradition and to that aim you will have the opportunity to visit Jewish places
of worship and Jewish cultural events. This course is open to all students, regardless of
background or previous knowledge.

Muslim-Christian Relations,
610-2017 CE

This class provides a broad overview developments in the interaction
of Muslim-Christian relations in the between these two religious groups.
Middle East from 610 CE to the We will also address how to conduct
modern era, as well as a discussion research into various topics on
of major debates surrounding these Muslim-Christian relations, and the
interactions. We will examine works major tools with which to do so.
from various genres of medieval and
modern Muslim and Christian Jessica Mutter ([email protected])
scholarship and will follow major Course Number: RELS 230
religious, political, and cultural TR 2:00-3:15

CL 101 Roman Civilization

Day/Time: MWF 10:00-10:50
Instructor: Karen Ros
General Education Category: Past Course

What did a Roman eat for breakfast? How did he wear his toga? How accurate is the hit TV
series Spartacus? Everything you always wanted to know about ancient Rome but were afraid to
ask. This class incorporates history, literature, art, architecture, and archaeology to create a
complete picture of ancient Roman life.

CL 103 Introduction to Classical and Mediterranean Archaeology

Day/Time: MWF 1:00-1:50
Instructor: Karen Ros
General Education Category: Creative Arts and Past Course

Discover the ancient civilizations of Egypt, the Near East, Greece, and Rome. This course
examines the architecture, sculpture, and painting of these civilizations in their cultural and
historical context. Topics covered range from momentous (the invention of writing), to
fascinating (Hatshepsut, the cross-dressing female pharaoh), to downright odd (bull leaping as a
religious ritual).

CL 218 Pompeii: Everyday Life in a Roman Town

Day/Time: MWF 11:00-11:50
Instructor: Karen Ros
General Education Category: Past Course

The town of Pompeii, buried and miraculously preserved by the sudden eruption of Mt. Vesuvius
in 79 CE, offers a unique opportunity for an in-depth exploration of everyday life in a Roman
town. Topics covered by this course include Pompeii's history, society, politics, economy,
religion, art, architecture, and entertainments, both public and private. Prerequisite(s): CL 101
or CL 103 or CL 205 or AH 110 or consent of the instructor.

Other General Education Courses Offered Through the School of
Literatures, Cultural Studies, and Linguistics

Polish/History 234: History of Poland
Day/Time: TR 11:00-12:15
Instructor: Keely Stauter-Halsted
General Education Category: Individual and Society and Past Course

German/Gender and Women’s Studies 120: Study of Gender, Class, and Political Issues
in German Texts
Day/Time: TR 12:30-1:45
Instructor: Dagmar Lorenz
General Education Category: Individual and Society and World Cultures Course

Polish 120: The Polish Short Story in Translation
Day/Time: MWF 12:00-12:50
Instructor: Agnieszka Jezyk
General Education Category: Creative Arts and World Cultures Course

Polish 130: Masterworks of Polish Literature in Translation
Day/Time: TR 12:30-1:45
Instructor: Alexander Lindskog
General Education Category: Creative Arts and World Cultures Course

Russian 150: Introduction to Russian Cinema
Day/Time: TR 2:00-3:15
Instructor: Anton Svynarenko
General Education Category: Creative Arts and World Cultures Course

German 217: Introduction to German Cinema
Day/Time: Online
Instructor: Christina Mekonen
General Education Category: Creative Arts and World Cultures Course

Arabic 270: The Reel Arab
Day/Time: TR 11:00-12:15
Instructor: Mustapha Kamal
General Education Category: Creative Arts and Course