LCSL Spring 2022 Gen Ed Courses

Fall 2021

General Education
Courses
in
World Cultures,
Literatures, and
Linguistics

in English

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Revolution in
Arts: European

Avant-Garde

CEES 246/AH246
•

Fall 2021
•

Julia Vaingurt
•

TR 11:00-12;15

Creative Arts Course

The Russian Revolution, WWI, the rise of Hitler… Freud and the unconscious,
Einstein and relativity, Marx and class-consciousness… Airplanes, automobiles, and
assembly lines… Radio, telephone, typewriter, and the movie camera… How did
these radical developments in politics, science, technology and everyday life affect
practices of creating art? What role did art play in these revolutions? What
innovations in art did this new era inspire, and, conversely, how did art shape life?

This course will provide a critical introduction to the avant-garde as a pan-European,
international phenomenon. Exploring such experimental and iconoclastic art
movements as Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, and Constructivism, we’ll
concentrate on the cross-fertilization of ideas between cultures and media. We’ll
analyze the ideology and aesthetics of various avant-garde formations, investigating
literature, film, architecture and visual arts.

Lithuanian Culture: LITH 115

Fall 2021

General education / World cultures course
TR 9:30–10:45 am

Vilnius, capital city of Lithuania

Lith 115 course offers a diversity of insights over the cultural landscape
of Lithuania: mythology, literature, film, architecture, art, geography,

population, emigration, history, resistance, language, and identity. Every
semester a guest speaker comes to address our class: scholar, writer,
film director, ambassador. We read, watch, and discuss. We take part in
a field trip to the former Chicago Stockyards as described in notorious
Upton Sinclair’s novel “The Jungle” that features Lithuanian emigrants.

All class materials are available online at no cost.

Register now! Prof. Giedrius Subačius

UIC Department of Polish, Russian, and Lithuanian Studies
FALL 2021 – POLISH STUDIES

POL 130 - Masterworks of Polish Literature in Translation
T/Th 12:30-1:45 – Fulfills Gen Eds: Creative Arts & World Cultures

The Devil in Warsaw: Polish Prose in Modern Times

Enter the vibrant and anguished world of 20th-century
Polish prose with an introduction to literary works by
futurist Aleksander Wat, Auschwitz survivor Tadeusz
Borowski, poet and acerbic social critic C.K. Norwid,
modernist innovator Bruno Schulz, contemporary Polish
author and psychologist Olga Tokarczuk, and others, and
join us as we discuss the modern text as both a
hardworking machine, and an embodiment of desire. In this
course we will ask: What does fiction do, and what roles
has it played in helping to negotiate the experience of
modernity? Is storytelling still necessary and possible in a
world characterized by speed, the machine, and the filmic
arts? If so, what does it desire, and what does it promise?

Topics in this course include Positivist, Futurist, avant-garde
and neo-Romantic movements in Polish literature; witness
literature; the post-1989 literature of small homelands; and
the role of literary theologies in a secular modern world.
Reading short stories and novels written in Poland in the
turbulent 20th century, we will consider narratives that
offer escape from the modern world into the worlds of
fantasy, absurdity, or nostalgia; and narratives whose
purpose is precisely to prevent escape from the shock or
disillusionment of the 20th century.

No prerequisites. All texts will be read in English
translation, with the option to read in the Polish original.

Fulfills Creative Arts & World Cultures Gen Ed
requirements.

Prof. Karen Underhill

POL 130 / Fall 2021
T/Th 12:30-1:45

For more info contact: [email protected]

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RUSS 120 - The Russian Short Story in Translation

Crisis and Upheaval in Russian Short Stories

RUSS 120 – The Russian Short Story in Translation TR: 2:00-3:15
Instructor: Andrei Gorkovoi

The greatest challenge an author of a short story often faces is how to overcome the creative
limitations of the genre and efficiently use all the tools and materials to produce a work of art.
Russian literature is famous for its (mostly long) novels, but Russian short stories are also remarkable
in how succinctly they convey the complexity of historico-philosophical problems that get
conceptualized through aesthetical choices an author has to make. This class will examine different
strategies that various 19th and 20th century Russian authors used to voice their concerns about
particular social issues or tried to process and/or document important historical events.
Consequently, we will focus especially on the texts dealing with the times of political and social
crises, such as The Russian Revolution and World War II.

Creative Arts and World Cultures course

Knowledge of Russian is NOT required



Ital/Rels/Cst 293 293
Dante's Divine Comedy

Close readings of selected cantos from
Dante's Divine Comedy will bring into
relief the history and culture of the
Medieval Mediterranean world. We will
discuss various aspects of medieval
culture, such as Medieval views on
women or the persistence of classical
tradition, while learning about Dante's
idea of love and relationship to literary
models as well as his political views,
philosophical thought and theology. While
Dante's poetic vision of the afterlife offers
a panorama of the medieval world, many
of the issues confronting Dante and his
age are important to individuals and
societies today: social justice, the
relationship between church and state,
personal and civic responsibility,
governmental accountability, literary and
artistic influences. No pre-requisites.

Creative Arts / Understanding the Past
Taught in English M/W 3:00 pm– 4.15 pm
Professor: Chiara Fabbian, PhD

Fall 2021 • Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30-10:45

French 297: Paris in Literature, Film, and Culture

Professor Jennifer Solheim ([email protected])

Taught in English, FR297, Metro Line 2: Paris Transnational, is an immersion experience of 19th to
21st century Parisian history and culture, including:

Nineteenth century revolutions • Immigrant cultures • Laïcité and religious others Prostitution and
the sex industry • The legacy of the Holocaust

Paris architecture and city planning • Charlie Hebdo and the 2015 attacks • The gilets jaunes
movement • Notre Dame reconstruction debates

Meets GenEd requirements for Creative Arts and World Cultures

GKM 105: Modern Greek Culture

Fall 2021 • TR 2-3:15

Taught in English World Cultures Gen Ed

How does modern Greek society compare
to its idealized ancient version?

What were some of the artistic
achievements of the twentieth century in
Greece?

How did Greece come to experience a
devastating financial crisis in the 21st
century?

What are some of the consequences
Greece has experienced from Europe’s
debt and refugees crises?

What were Greece’s trials and tribulations
in its pursuit of European modernity?

Why do Greeks believe in the uniqueness
of their country and identity?

Focusing on a variety of historical events, this course will help students discover the
rich culture of the Greek world.

No prior knowledge of Greek language or history required!

Diaspora, Exile, Genocide:

Aspects of the European Jewish Experience
in Literature and Film

GER 125 / JST 125 / REL 127

Through literature and film students will gain an understanding of important aspects of the European
Jewish experience before and after the Holocaust.
We will read and discuss texts and films about Jewish life in German and Yiddish-speaking Central and
Eastern Europe (and in other parts of the world to which Jews from Europe immigrated) from the
Enlightenment to the present to learn about cultural interchange between Jews and non-Jews; Jewish
cultural autonomy and Jewish nationalisms; migration, immigration, and exile; and racism, anti-Semitism,
persecution, and genocide.

Fall 2021 Ms WF 1-1:50

General Education Credit for Past/World Cultures

Instructor: Dr. Elizabeth Loentz Taught in English
No Prerequisites
[email protected]

GERMAN 217
INTRODUCTION TO GERMAN CINEMA

TR 2-3:15 (CRN 26521) • 4 HOURS
INSTRUCTOR: DR. SARA HALL

This course introduces students to a diverse selection of films made in Germany between 1895 and 2020
and offers practice in examining them as explorations and expressions of the human imagination and the
human experience during the socio-historical events and transitions specific to twentieth-century
Germany (East and West). Through reading assignments, in-class discussion, on-line discussion, quizzes,
homework assignments and paper writing, students will develop analytical skills in the viewing and
interpretation of films and in writing original arguments about film history and cinema culture. Students
taking GER 217 will gain the vocabulary for interpreting, analyzing, evaluating and researching films in
the context of the history that shaped and was shaped by them. They will advance their ability to read,
experience and view films carefully, to think critically, to argue cogently and to communicate ideas about
cinema and a non-US culture in written and oral form. This course serves as an elective in the Germanic
Studies major and minor, the minor in Moving Image Arts and as a General Education course in the
categories of World Cultures and Creative Arts and Ideas. Students seeking credit for the Germanic
Studies major or minor will do alternative homework portfolio assignments and may be asked to write
papers in German and conduct on-line discussion in German. This is a great course for people with an
interest in German cultural history or international film history in general. Films will be watched outside of
class, supplemented by online discussion and interactive elements on Blackboard. 4 credit hours.

Creative Arts or World Cultures Taught in English! Films with subtitles!

GERMAN 219 Fall 2020

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

Professor Patrick Fortmann MWF 2 - 2:50pm

The course examines the cultural legacy of the Brothers Grimm, nineteenth-century collectors and editors of
Germanic fairy tales and legends. Their scholarship of Germany’s national myth, The Song of the Nibelungen and the
questions they posed about oral and literary transmission continue to shape modern scholarship. Their life-long
pursuit of fairy tales launched a tidal wave of European folkloric collecting that led to significant advances in
research. The course will consider various interpretive strategies developed to classify and read this new material,
from Propp’s morphology and Aarne-Thompson’s typology to feminist, historical and animal studies approaches.
Through close readings of literary tales, the course provides basic tools for narrative interpretation and critical
argumentation. Taught in English. Creative Art OR Past course.

Introduction to
World Religions

RELS 101 [World Cultures Course]

Our world is filled with religions: nearly 6 billion people across the globe
affiliate themselves with Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, or
some other religious group. In this course you will learn how to analyze, from
an academic perspective, these religious groups and the people who affiliate
with them. The majority of our readings, lectures, and discussions will focus on
people and events associated with the so-called world religions in the United
States during the late modern period (1850 through the present day).

Instructor: Dingeldein

Fall Semester 2021 TR 12:30–1:45pm

Introduction to Jewish History

Jewish Studies (JST) 102 / Religious Studies (RELS) 126
Fall 2021

Tuesday-Thursday 11:00-12:15

The Jewish People today comprise approximately one quarter of one percent of the
world’s population. Despite their small numbers, their influence on religion and culture
has been remarkable. This course will survey the history of the Jews primarily from a
secular/academic perspective, that is, not as the sacred history of the people of the
Bible, but as a socio-political phenomenon. Since Judaism – the religion of the Jews –
has been important to the self-understanding of the Jewish people, some attention will
necessarily be paid to the basic elements of Jewish religious tradition, as well as its
relationship to Christianity and Islam. There will also be opportunities to reflect on what
we mean by “history,” as well as to consider the relevance of the Jewish experience to
that of other peoples, especially those who have been diasporic minorities.

Individual and Society OR Past course

RELS 130 - Introduction to Islam

Both the fastest growing religion in the world TR 9:30-10:45
and the frequent subject of misunderstanding and
suspicion, Islam is a significant feature of the World Cultures
modern landscape. This course explores various Gen Ed
facets of Islamic religion (beliefs, practices,
history, society) from its origins in seventh-century
Arabia to its status as a multicultural and global
religious expression today.

LING 150
Introduction to the Study of Language

This class introduces you to core areas in linguistics, the scientific study of
language. We will learn how to describe speech sounds and sound patterns
(Phonetics / Phonology), explore how words and sentences are put
together (Morphology / Syntax), and understand the multiple ways that
meaning may be explored within the system of language (Semantics).
With the methods learned from these key areas, we will further study how
language is learned and how language changes over time.

Required prerequisite course for the BS in Computer Science and Linguistics
Required course for the Linguistics Minor

2 sections offered in Fall 2021.

Gen Ed credits for "Individual and Society"

Tues./Thurs. 8:00-9:15AM (CRN 42110) & 9:30-10:45AM (CRN 21176)
Contact: Dr. Xuehua Xiang ([email protected])

Roman Civilization

CL 101

What did a Roman eat for breakfast? What were gladiatorial combats really like? Which
Roman emperor gave dinner parties for his favorite horse, and why? Everything you always
wanted to know about ancient Rome but were afraid to ask! This class incorporates art,
architecture, archaeology, history, and literature to create a complete picture of ancient
Roman life.

General Education Credit for Understanding the Past

Instructor: Dr. Karen Ros ([email protected]) Meets: MWF 3:00-3:50

Introduction to Classical Literature

CL 102

Read the true Classics: great literature from ancient Greece and Rome. We will explore
important literary forms from Classical antiquity, including epic, tragedy, comedy, and
philosophy, as we follow the adventures of Odysseus and Aeneas, suffer along with tragic
heroes and heroines, laugh out loud at sexy Greek comedies, and relive the trial of Socrates.
Includes works by Homer, Virgil, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Plato.
All readings are in English.

General Education Credit for Creative Arts
OR

Understanding the Past

Instructor: Dr. Karen Ros ([email protected]) Meets: MWF 2:00-2:50

Greek Art and Archaeology

CL/AH/HIST 204

Experience "the Glory that was Greece!" Visit the Palace of King Minos, legendary home of
the bloodthirsty Minotaur. Tour the Parthenon, most perfect of all Greek temples. Explore
the range of Greek sculpture from the sublime works of the High Classical Period to the
surprising and sometimes brutal diversity of Hellenistic sculpture -- highlights include a beat-
up boxer, a grizzled granny tottering off to market, and a sexy Aphrodite who is more than a
match for a randy Pan. We will also examine Greek vases, which provide tantalizing glimpses
of daily life and of the world of Greek myth. The course is a survey of ancient Greek art and
architecture in its historical and cultural context, from the Bronze Age through the
Hellenistic Period. 3 credit hours, no prerequisites.

General Education Credit for Creative Arts

OR

Understanding the Past

Instructor: Dr. Karen Ros ([email protected]) Meets: MWF 12:00-12:50

GER/LCSL/SPAN 207: European Cinema

Dr. Heidi Schlipphacke
Fall 2021 • T/Th: 9:30-10:45

Creative Arts OR World Cultures course

All films shown with English subtitles. Taught in English.

This course provides an overview of some of the major developments in European
cinema from the post-World War II period to the present. Europe is the home of the
“art film,” and we will analyze this category by looking at various manifestations
of this genre from a variety of European nations. The “art film” initially arose as
a reaction to the hegemony of Hollywood after the war; European film industries
attempted to support their own national cinemas that often rejected the
commercialism and genre formulas of Hollywood films. Post-war European film
reflects a complex love-hate relationship with American film, and this will become
clear through an examination of the techniques of citation and parody used by
European directors. We will learn about major film movements including Italian
Neorealism, the French New Wave, New German Cinema, Dogme 95, the cinemas
of Eastern Europe before and after the fall of the Iron Curtain, and transnational
European cinema. Students will utilize film terminology to analyze individual films
that are then situated within their particular historical and cultural contexts.
Prerequisite: English 160

KOR/MOVI130: Understanding Korean History,
Culture and Society through Contemporary
Korean Films

General Education: Exploring World Cultures
Tues & Thurs 11:00 am – 12:15 pm

This is an introductory course to Korean history, culture, and society. This course will enhance
students’ understanding of diverse themes, such as national division, struggles against
colonialism and military dictatorship, modernization, lifestyles, values, and point of views of
Koreans, etc. by reviewing relevant literature, newspaper articles, and contemporary Korean
films and by engaging in the in-depth class discussion.

This course is taught in English and all films have English subtitles.

FALL 2021

(T, R – 12:30 – 1:45)
Prof. Tatjana Gajić ([email protected])

Visual Continents: Film Genres and History in Hispanic Cinema

This class explores the relationship between history, narrative and film aesthetics in
Hispanic cinema of the last decades (1940s to the present) by focusing on the
concept of cinematic genre, in particular comedy, melodrama, horror/sci-fi,
documentary and fantasy. Taking our examples from a wide and varied selection of
films from Spain, México, Chile, Colombia and Argentina, we will examine the
poetics of genre in relation to some broader themes related to cinema as a form of
cultural production in national and transnational contexts. Among the themes we
will address are: cinematic genres and the formation of national cinema; filmic
representations of the people and the subaltern subject; film and the politics of
affect; film and the fracture of the national body-politic; reconfiguring national
cinemas in the era of neo-liberal globalization.
Taught in English. Satisfies World Cultures Requirement

SPANISH 210 Introduction to the Formal
Analysis of Hispanic Texts.
Come and explore the imaginative, scary, 3 Hours
twisted and defiant ways in which Hispanic
literature has approached the issues of lalnaoSngfpugteauann“gaOiegpsehtloahifiynestsrhntthweohetiegtUohrronioSnul.ly.epI”ttothihsfeatahstlseemocoothnsted
otherness and difference that appear in
many forms: as mysterious or supernatural
presence, as resistance to cultural and
economic domination, or as non-normative
bodies and identities.

Did you know that there
are 11 Nobel winners in
Literature from Spanish

speaking countries?

Prerequisite(s): Grade of C or better in Span 202; and Credit or
concurrent registration in Span 203 or Credit or concurrent registration
in Span 204 and completion of the university writing requirement.
Creative Arts course, and World Cultures course.

Other Fall 2021 Gen Ed Courses

ARAB 230 - Arabic Literature in Translation • TR 12:30-1:45

Introduces students to the genres and themes of classical and modern Arabic literature in
translation. Taught in English.

Gen Ed Category: Exploring World Cultures

Contact Us:

https://lcsl.uic.edu/

Classics and Mediterranean Studies clasmed.uic.edu
(Arabic, Archeological Studies, Classics, Modern Greek, Latin)

• Interim Director of Undergraduate Studies:

Prof. Young Richard Kim – [email protected]

French and Francophone Studies french.uic.edu/

• Director of Undergraduate Studies:

Prof. Yann Robert - [email protected]

Germanic Studies german.uic.edu

• Director of Undergraduate Studies:

Prof. Imke Meyer - [email protected]

Hispanic and Italian Studies hip.uic.edu
(Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)

• Director of Undergraduate Studies (Spanish):

Prof. lnma Taboada - [email protected]

• Director of Undergraduate Studies (Italian):

Prof. Chiara Fabbian - [email protected]

Linguistics ling.uic.edu/
(Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Linguistics)

• Director of Undergraduate Studies:

Prof. Xuehua Xiang - [email protected]

Polish, Russian, and Lithuanian Studies prls.uic.edu
(Central and Eastern European Studies, Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Slavic)

• Director of Undergraduate Studies:

Prof. Karen Underhill - [email protected]

Religious Studies program rels.uic.edu/
(Catholic Studies, Jewish Studies, Religious Studies)

• Director of the Religious Studies program:

Prof. Junaid Quadri - [email protected]