Documents Page

Introduces students to the major works of Machiavelli through the close reading of his writings in cultural and historical contexts. Discussion and targeted writing assignments will aim at cultivating in students 1) a broad understanding of Machiavelli's principal intellectual attitudes, 2) a deeper understanding of his literary sensibility, and 3) the ability to articulate controversies and complexities surrounding his thought.

Requisites: Satisfied Communications A requirement

Breadth - Literature

Level - Intermediate

Counts as L&S Credit

Examines the concept of magical realism and its cultural implications. Provides a critical framework for evaluating literature, art and movies and engaging in basic research, particularly when it comes to narrative analysis. Pays particular attention to the Latin-American boom, a time of big writers and big literature that presses the limits between fiction and reality, modernity and postmodernity.

Requisites: Sophomore standing

Breadth - Literature

Level - Intermediate

Counts as L&S Credit

Explores Latin American art and literature through historical and psychoanalytic approaches. Topics include: the relationships between literature, art, and violence; how art, literature, and activism contribute to social change; the role of avant-garde movements in art and literature; and the role of art and literature as a mode of empowerment for marginalized groups.

Requisites: Sophomore standing

Breadth - Literature

Level - Intermediate

Counts as L&S Credit

Required Capstone for Juniors and Seniors seeking ILS Certificate.

What does it mean to be an individual? In what sense is individualism valuable, and why? What is the relationship between individuals and societies? While these are perennial themes in art, philosophy, literature, and social inquiry across a variety of cultures, and feature prominently in the ILS curriculum, they are especially important in the literature and philosophy of 19th century America. Students enrolled in ILS 400 will explore these themes through a range of 19th century American literature, including the poetry of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, autobiographical works of Harriet Jacobs, Williams Apess, and Frederick Douglass, philosophical works by Henry David Thoreau, and essays by W.E.B. DuBois.

Requisites: Junior standing and declared in Certificate in Integrated Liberal Studies

Level - Advanced

Counts as L&S Credit