Spring 2010 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
American Studies
C171 The American Designed Landscape Since 1850 (3) This course surveys the history of American landscape architecture since 1850 including the rise of the public parks movement, the development of park systems, the establishment of the national parks, the landscape of the Progressive Era, suburbs, and the modernist landscape. The survey encompasses urban open spaces, conservation landscapes, urban design, environmental planning, and gardens. Cross-listed with Landscape Architecture C171 section 1. 
Celtic Studies
129 Aspects of Modern Celtic Cultures and Folklore (4) Comparative introduction to modern Celtic cultures: principally Irish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Breton. Development of the distinctive cultures of the Celtic "nations without states" from 1500 to the present. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in International Studies or Historical Studies or Arts and Literature.
138 Irish Literature 700-1800 (4) Gaelic literature 700-1800 (in translation). Study of the prose saga-cycles, satire, classical lyric poetry, and bardic poetry, developing the mythological and traditional background of modern Irish literature. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Arts and Literature.
173 Celtic Christianity (4) Exploration of the history of Christianity among Celtic-speaking populations. Main themes: pre-Christian belief systems; the spread of Christian beliefs; the influence that Celtic Christianity on Christian experience in Western Europe and the New World. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Philosophy and Values or Historical Studies.
Geography
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
40 Bodies in Motion (3) Course will explore feminist scholarship addressing various forms of bodies in motion; e.g., tourism, sport, migration. Discussions will focus on how power relations (race, gender, ability, nation…) enable or prohibit mobility for variously situated bodies.
100AC Gender, Justice and Resistance (3) Focusing on the interconnected ways that race, gender and sexuality are constructed through legal discourse, this course will examine a wide range of historical texts, legal documents, literature, and critical theory to investigate how law shapes ideas about gender.
141 Interrogating Global Economic "Development" (4) An introduction to women and gender in "development." Addresses theories of "development" (modernization, demographic transition, dependency, world systems, post-development, postcolonial, and transnational feminist): productions and representations of "underdevelopment"; national and international "development" apparatuses; "development" practices about labor, population, resources, environment, literacy, technologies, media; and women's resistance and alternatives.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies
100 section 1 Race and Sexuality: Affinities within Queer of Color Criticism (4) In this course we will study recent work by queers of color and the field’s indebtedness to women of color feminism. In our critical engagement with fiction, film, feminist critiques, and queer theory, we will pay particular attention to the way that affinities are imagined between queer men, feminism, and femininity.
100 section 2 Butch, Femme and New Gender (4) As a survey of representations and theories of lesbian identity and community, in this course we will consider critical theory, literature, and popular representations of lesbian desire. Novels will include The Well of Loneliness, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, I am A Woman, and Stonebutch Blues. We will also consider "The L Word" and Alison Bechdel’s long-running comic strip, "Dykes to Watch Out For." The latter section of the course will consider how emergent transgender identifications intersect with figurations of lesbian identity.
C146A Cultural Representations of Sexualities: Queer Literary Culture (4) This course examines modern literary cultures that construct ways of seeing diverse sexualities. Considering Western conventions of representation during the modern period, we will investigate the social forces and institutions that would be necessary to sustain a newly imagined or re-imagined sexual identity across time. Cross-listed with Gender and Women's Studies C146A section 1.
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 the Department of History website for more information.
Information
181 Technology and Poverty (3) This course will encourage students to think broadly about the interplay between technological systems, social processes, economic activities, and political contingencies in efforts to alleviate poverty. Students will come to understand poverty not only in terms of high-level indicators, but from a ground-level perspective as "the poor" experience and describe it for themselves. The role played by individuals and societies of the developing world as active agents in processes of technology adoption and use will be a central theme.
190 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
50 The Italian Renaissance (4) Interdisciplinary introduction to the Italian Renaissance through selected topics integral to the history, literature, and arts of Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Arts and Literature.
Landscape Architecture
130 Sustainable Landscapes and Cities (3) The course is an introduction to the theory and practice of landscape architecture, a practice that deals with the living contextual environment. It includes art, science and history as well as social, environmental and political issues surrounding the design and use of public and private outdoor spaces.
141AC The American Landscape: Multicultural Difference and Diversity (3) This course will compare and contrast the nature of African American, American Indian, and European American relationships with the American Landscape. Traditional patterns of land use within each subculture will be explored, and juxtaposed against prevailing theory and ideology.
C171 The American Designed Landscape Since 1850 (3) This course surveys the history of American landscape architecture since 1850 including the rise of the public parks movement, the development of park systems, the establishment of the national parks, the landscape of the Progressive Era, suburbs, and the modernist landscape. The survey encompasses urban open spaces, conservation landscapes, urban design, environmental planning, and gardens. Cross-listed with American Studies C171 section 1.
Scandinavian
115 The Films of Ingmar Bergman (4) Examination of the work of Sweden's premier filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman, the phenomenon of his success in the U.S. and world wide, and his contribution to the notions of auteurism and art cinema. 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. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement (assigned based on topic) in Historical Studies or Arts and Literature.
165 Scandinavian Folklore (4) Scandinavian folklore, emphasizing oral narrative traditions (legends and folk belief, folktales, ballads) and their contexts. Such minor verbal forms as proverbs, riddles, and formulas will also be considered. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Arts and Literature or Social and Behavioral Sciences.
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.
130 The Culture of Medieval Rus' (4) Introduction to the cultures of East Slavic peoples in the Middle Ages, including history, mythology, Christian religious culture, literature (writing), icon painting, and architecture. Fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in International Studies or Historical Studies or Social and Behavioral Sciences 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.
11 Scene Study and Characterization (3) In this course the emphasis of the students' studies shifts from the development of basic skills to the development of skills necessary to the character actor. Whereas Theater 10 students are required to develop and perform characters who are close to themselves in age and background, Theater 11 students are encouraged to stretch their abilities into the development of characterizations which lie outside their personal experience. Students continue to employ the basic acting and vocal techniques introduced in Theater 10.
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. Attendance to the first class orientation is mandatory and the class will be closed after the first meeting date.
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 129. Aspects of Modern Celtic Cultures and Folklore. K. A. Klar
Celtic Studies 138. Irish Literature 700-1800. D. F. Melia
Celtic Studies 173. Celtic Christianity. K. A. Klar
Italian Studies 50. The Italian Renaissance.
Scandinavian 115. The Films of Ingmar Bergman. L. H. Rugg
Scandinavian 132. Introduction to Finnish Culture and History. S. M. Wichmann
Scandinavian 165. Scandinavian Folklore
Slavic Languages and Literatures 46. 20th Century Russian Literature. J. C. Stone
Slavic Languages and Literatures 50. Introduction to Russian/East European/Eurasian Cultures. D. A. Frick
Slavic Languages and Literatures 130. The Culture of Medieval Rus'. V. M. Zhivov
Slavic Languages and Literatures 134C. Dostoevsky. O. Matich