Spring 2009 General Interest Courses
These courses are of special interest and must satisfy the following criteria:
- Relevant to broad areas of current interest
- New, innovative or experimental
- Interdisciplinary
- Open to non-majors and without specific prerequisites, unless the prerequisite course is taken by many students
Celtic Studies
125 Irish Literature in Translation (4) A selective study of key themes in modern Irish literature. Texts will include novels, short stories, and poetry and will concentrate on translations of works originally written in Irish. All work will be read in English. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Arts and Literature.
128 Medieval Celtic Culture (4) A study of medieval Celtic culture, its society, laws, religion, history, and the daily life of the Celtic peoples, as they are reflected in a selection of texts ranging from medieval literary works to legal texts and historical chronicles. All works will be read in English translation. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Social and Behavioral Studies or Historical Studies. 
Geography
20 Globalization (4) How and why are geographical patterns of employment, production and consumption unstable in the contemporary world? What are the consequences of NAFTA, an expanded European Community and post-colonial migration flows? How is global restructuring culturally reworked locally and nationally?.
125 The American City (4) The American city, palimpsest of a nation. It all comes together in the modern metropolis: economy, society, politics, culture, and geography. Cities as the economic engines of capitalism, centers of industry, finance, business, consumption, and innovation. Cities as political powers and political pawns, and the government of cities, suburbs and metropolitan areas. Cities as magnificent constructs, built of concrete, credit and land rents, from skyscrapers to housing tracts, freeways to shopping malls, airports to open spaces. Cities as landscapes of social division by class, race and nationality, and the turf battles of mean ghetto streets to the hideaways of privilege. Cities as cultural hearths, places of high art and popular entertainment, style and monumentality, rebellion and desire. The geography of civic upheaval, as urban space is constantly remade by growth, economic shifts, building cycles, land speculation, gentrification and redevelopment.
130 Natural Resources and Population (4) Are there enough energy, water, mineral and land resources for the world's population? The role of natural resources in the world economy, national development and human welfare focusing on the Third World. The origins of scarcity and abundance, population growth and migration, hunger and poverty.
Gender and Women's Studies
129 Bodies and Boundaries (4) Examines gender and embodiment in interdisciplinary transnational perspective. The human body as both a source of pleasure and as a site of coercion, which expresses individuality and reflects social worlds. Looks at bodies as gendered, raced, disabled/able-bodied, young or old, rich or poor, fat or thin, commodity or inalienable.
131 Gender and Science (4) What role has science as a social institution played in the sexual division of intellectual and emotional labor underlying our cultural history? What consequences has the division of labor had for scientific practice?
197 section 1 Internship: Engaged Scholarship in Gender and Women's Studies (3) This class provides students the opportunity to do supervised community service with an organization that relates to women and gender. Students select a nongovernmental organization and complete an internship throughout the course of the semester. Students also spend time reflecting on their internship experiences, connecting their service with concepts learned in Gender and Women's Studies classes, and meet as a group to evaluate and assess issues such as volunteer/unpaid labor, activism and the academy, and the political economy of gender and women's services.
German
39J The Odyssey in Western Culture (3) Homer's Odyssey inaugurated a unique literary theme in Western culture: the narrative of wandering, exploration, and colonization. If Homer and Virgil's heroes still remain within the Mediterranean space, Dante's Ulysses ventures into the unknown, heralding the European exploration of the new world and the subsequent making of modern global society. In this course we will study the figure of Odysseus in Western culture from Homer to our time. All readings will be in English translation. Knowledge of German is not required. Taught in English.
Dutch
C178 The Dutch-speaking Caribbean: Hybridity, Race and Identity in the Antilles and Surinam (3) Although the Caribbean has been recognized in recent years as being one the most compelling areas in regard to questions of interculturality, hybridity and miscegenation, the Dutch-speaking part of it has somehow been neglected. This course intends to give an opportunity to those who do not necessarily have a command of Dutch language, but wish to complete their knowledge of Latin-American and Caribbean history, culture and literature. Cross-listed with African American Studies C178 section 1 and Spanish C178 section 1. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Social and Behavioral Sciences.
History
5 European Civilization from the Renaissance to the Present (4) Why did Europe--a small, relatively poor, and politically fragmented place--became the motor of globalization and a world civilization in its own right. How did "western" become an adjective that, for better and often for worse, stands in place of "modern." See history.berkeley.edu for more information.
100 section 2 The United States and America (4) The history of the United States relationship with the rest of America from the revolutionary wars to the present. Understand what it means to be both American and from the U.S. and discover historical contexts for contemporary debates about border security, immigration, free trade, globalization, the blockade of Cuba, and the future of inter-American relations. See history.berkeley.edu for more information.
100 section 6 History of Technology (4) Discover how technology affects social change and, especially, how technological change is invariably shaped by historical and social circumstances. Topics discussed include the evolution of artifacts and technological systems such as industrial machinery, weaponry, home appliances, computers, and contraceptives. See history.berkeley.edu for more information.
Information
190 section 1 Virtual Communities and Social Media (3) With the advent of virtual communities and online social networks, old questions about the meaning of human social behavior have taken on renewed significance. Using a variety of online social media simultaneously, and drawing upon theoretical literature in a variety of disciplines, this course delves into discourse about community across disciplines. This course will enable students to establish both theoretical and experiential foundations for making decisions and judgments regarding the relations between mediated communication and human community.
190 section 2 Web Architecture and Information Management (3) This course focuses on understanding the web as an information system, and how to use it for information management for personal and shared information. It aims to equip you with actionable knowledge about how the web works and how you can work with the web. It provides the understanding and the skills to better navigate and use the landscape of web information (for example: Wikipedia), web technologies, (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), web tools: delicious and Yahoo pipes, and common web patterns, such as mashups. No prior experience in Web design or Web programming is required.
198 The Politics of Piracy (1) Students will be familiarized with the historical rationales and legal origins of copyright, the current debates surrounding it, and the implications of an old body of law adapting to a digital era. Should we look at the growing sphere of copyright as a public interest problem, or celebrate the expansion of creators' rights? We'll be doing some light reading, a lot of discussion, and some film viewings that relate to our discussions. We'll also have some guest speakers come in to provide us with different perspectives.
Italian Studies
175 Films on Films/Novels on Film (4) The interaction of film style with literary and poetic structure studied through film theories, film novels, and the work of outstanding Italian film directors. Literature shaped by film experience and films dealing with the essence of cinematic form will be analyzed. This course may fulfill the film major requirement in theory. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Arts and Literature.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies
20AC Alternative Sexual Identities and Communities in Contemporary American Society (4) An introduction to varied dimensions of alternative sexual identities in the contemporary United States, with a focus ranging from individuals to communities. This course will use historical, sociological, ethnographic, political-scientific, psychological, pschoanalytical, legal, medical, literary, and filmic materials to chart trends and movements.
C146 Cultural Representations of Sexualities: Queer Visual Culture (4) This course examines modern visual cultures that construct ways of seeing diverse sexualities. Considering Western conventions of representation during the modern period, we will investigate film, television, and video. How and when do "normative" and "queer" sexualities become visually defined?
C148 Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality (4) This course focuses on the production of sexualities, sexual identification, and gender differentiation across multiple discourses and locations.
Scandinavian
C108 August Strindberg's Major Works (4) Reading and discussion of August Strindberg's major works; emphasis on his dramas and their significance. Cross-listed with Theater C108. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Arts and Literature.
116 Studies in Prose: Major Works of Isak Dinesen (aka: Karen Blixen) (4) Readings and discussions of the author's major works. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Arts and Literature.
132 Introduction to Finnish Culture and History (4) An introduction to the political and cultural history of Finland, including its art and literature.
Slavic Languages and Literatures
46 20th Century Russian Literature (3) 20th Century Russia saw major social and political changes brought about by the Revolution in 1917 and its aftermath. The readings: the experimental teens, revolutionary twenties, Stalinist thirties, dissident sixties and seventies, and post-Soviet eighties. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Arts and Literature.
50 Introduction to Russian/East European/Eurasian Cultures (3) Introduction to the cultures of the peoples of the former Soviet bloc (Russia and other areas of the former Soviet Union, including Central Asia and the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe). Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Arts and Literature or Social and Behavioral Sciences.
134G Dostoevsky and Tolstoy (4) Major works by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in the context of Russian and European philosophy and religious thought. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Philosophy and Values or Arts and Literature.
Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies
10 Introduction to Acting (3) This course is a gateway class to the more advanced acting sequence. It is a theory and performance course which provides an overview of the actor's creative process. Fundamental acting techniques are presented in conjunction with exercises, improvisation, and text work designed to enhance concentration, imagination, vocal resonance and projection as well as self-confidence and communication skills. Audition required (experience not necessary). See the description under Theater, Dance and Performance Studies in the Online Schedule of Classes for more information.
26 Introduction to Performance Studies (4) This course introduces the critical terms and practices of the contemporary study of performance. Several key terms and important genres of artistic and social performance will be engaged; the course will draw critical and disciplinary methods from anthropology and ethnography, from the theory of dance and theater, from literary and cultural theory. Critical and theoretical concepts will be used to analyze a wide range of live and recorded performances, as well as performance texts.
60 Stagecraft (3) This course is a practical introduction to the theories, approaches, and applications of construction techniques for the scenic environment, and includes attention to such aspects of production as scenery, lights and costumes. Special emphasis will be placed on theater safety, stage machinery and rigging, scenery building, scenery painting and stage properties. The course involves a laboratory dimension. Students will work on departmental productions.
Democratic Education at Cal (DE-Cal)
The DE-Cal program sponsors a wide variety of student-initiated courses each term. Many of these courses cover topics which are not otherwise explored within the existing campus curriculum. All courses are offered for academic credit. For a listing of courses, and for guidelines regarding enrollment, check out the DE-Cal website, visit their office at 320 Eshleman Hall, or call (510) 642-9127.
Culture And Literature Courses In English Translation
The following courses are offered by faculty in foreign language departments, but no previous training in a foreign language is required for the course. All readings will be available in English, and the language of instruction will be English. Complete course information is available under the department listings.
Celtic Studies 125. Irish Literature in Translation. D. F. Melia
Celtic Studies 128. Medieval Celtic Culture. A. C Rejhon
Italian Studies 175. Films on Films/Novels on Films. G. J. Moses
Scandinavian C108. August Strindberg's Major Works. U. Olsson
Scandinavian 116. Studies in Prose: Major Works of Isak Dinesen (aka: Karen Blixen). K. L. Sanders
Scandinavian 125. Old Norse Literature. G. Sigurdsson
Scandinavian 132. Introduction to Finnish Culture and History.
Slavic Languages and Literatures 46. 20th Century Russian Literature.
Slavic Languages and Literatures 50. Introduction to Russian/East European/Eurasian Cultures. D. A. Frick
Slavic Languages and Literatures 134G. Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. E. Naiman
Slavic Languages and Literatures 148. Topics in Russian Cultural History: Early Modern Russian Culture. V. M. Zhivov