In Land of the Pharaohs, we will use a combination of reading, writing, lecture, and discussion to address some of the most common questions people have about ancient Egypt and about how we are able to reconstruct parts of its history and culture, including (but not limited to): What motivated the ancient Egyptians to invest so much effort and wealth into their tombs and temples? What was life like for most ancient Egyptians? What was expected of members of society? How did this differ if one was a man or a women? How do Egyptian hieroglyphs work? Are they “picture writing”? What do we really know about ancient Egypt and how do we know it? The primary sources that we will use to answer these and other questions include: literature, letters, and administrative records; mythological stories about ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses and about creation; material culture/archaeological remains, such as artifacts found in graves; and art and architecture.

In Ancient Egyptian Religion and Magic, we will use a combination of reading, writing, lecture, and discussion to address some of the most common questions people have about ancient Egypt and about its religion, including (but not limited to): Why and how were the Great Pyramids of Giza built? What motivated the ancient Egyptians to invest so much effort and wealth into their tombs and temples? What practices in ancient Egypt should we consider part of religion? Which should we call magic? Should we even differentiate between the two? Can religion be separated from other aspects of life in ancient Egypt? Were the ancient Egyptians “religious to excess” as the historian Herodotus said? The sources that we will use to answer these and other questions include: literature, prayers, employment records, and letters; mythological stories about ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses and about creation; archaeological materials, and art and architecture.

In Pyramids, Tombs, and Mummies (Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt), we will use a combination of reading, writing, lecture, and discussion to address some of the most common questions people have about ancient Egypt and about how and why people were buried the way that they were, including (but not limited to): What motivated the ancient Egyptians to invest so much effort and wealth into their tombs? During some periods, kings were buried in pyramids, but what about everyone else? How did afterlife and other religious beliefs influence the way that people wished to be cared for after death? Why did the ancient Egyptians sometimes go to great lengths to preserve bodies through mummification? The primary sources that we will use to answer these and other questions include: literature, letters, and administrative records; material culture/archaeological remains, such as artifacts found in graves; art and architecture; and Tulane’s own Egyptian Collection.

Special topics in anthropology.

Special Topics in Anthropology.

Special Topics in Anthropology.

Special Topics in Anthropology.

Special Topics in Anthropology.

This course provides an introduction to the ways in which basic principles of ethnography, ethnohistory, and material culture studies can be used to understand the cultural landscape. Normally offered during the Summer Session, the course will usually be conducted abroad. The emphasis will be on collaborative research skills, understanding of other cultures, and appreciation of the interrelationship of anthropology and geography.

This course is an exploration of pirates from the perspective of the social sciences, with an emphasis on the study of traditions, values, and social statuses and relationships that were characteristic of a variety of pirate societies in historic times. Our objectives in this course will be to discover how historic pirate societies were formed in different areas of the world, how they were organized; and how and why their values and traditions differed from those of the larger societies from which they came.

This course engages a cross-cultural study of healing rituals, emphasizing how social relations and power shape the experiences, roles, practices, and interactions of patients and healers. How is healing—and its related concepts of suffering and illness— defined, managed, and understood in different social and cultural contexts? What is the relationship between healer and patient/client and the public? How are rituals, as social performances, transformative ? How do rituals designed to help manage suffering, enforce, reproduce or challenge cultural ideas about power, gender, and social order? Students will critically examine these questions through reading ethnographies, critical theory and historical essays in order to gain a deeper understanding of healing modalities throughout the world and over time. Readings for this course will examine a wide array of healing rituals and modalities including shamanism, curanderismo, Vodou/Voodoo, western biomedicine and others. Specific aspects of healing rituals will also be analyzed, including symbolism, the role of music and soundscapes, altered states of consciousness, as well as the socio-economic and political dimensions of healing. Because this course zeroes in on anthropological inquiry around the social performance of healing, it is an excellent complement to courses in health and medicine which focus on health systems. Lastly, students will reflect on what healing means in their own local communities, by composing their own research project on a healing ritual including an (optional) auto-ethnographic component.

This course is an exploration of the historic factors which created the cultural diversity and themes that characterize the Caribbean islands today. We will examine the cultural backgrounds of the major national and ethnic groups that came to the islands of the West Indies from pre-Columbian times through the twentieth century. This is not a traditional history course, but rather an examination of the factors that gave rise to certain cultural patterns that are distinctively Caribbean. Topics will include pre-Columbian adaptations to life on small islands; ethnicity among Native Americans in the early historic period; the demise of Native American peoples; the cultural backgrounds of enslaved Africans; Caribbean Creole languages; differences in slavery among the various European colonial powers; the emergence of Voodoo; the daily lives of buccaneers and runaways; & the role of plantations in shaping Afro-Caribbean cultural identities; immigration after the end of slavery.

This course is an exploration of the historic factors that created the cultural diversity and themes which characterize New Orleans today. The course examines the cultural backgrounds of the major national and ethnic groups that came to Louisiana in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The course also examines the ongoing attempts to secure the city from risks inherent in its natural environment.

We usually think of maps as objective depictions of the elements (streets, towns, rivers, etc.) that make up the natural and cultural terrain. However, the stories told by maps, like those told by history, are inherently selective. In addition -- again like history -- the features that are depicted on maps sometimes have no basis in reality. This is especially true of maps that attempt to describe places and people that were recently discovered, or that have not been extensively explored. When their subjects are unknown or poorly understood lands and people, maps can become playgrounds for the interaction of geographic fact, speculation, and myth. This course is an exploration of maps produced by European cartographers during the Age of Exploration, from roughly 1450-1700 A.D. (and brief consideration of the 18th and early 19th centuries), with particular attention to what maps of these periods can tell us about the evolving European understanding of the lands and cultures that lay beyond their own continent.

Special Topics in Anthropology.

Special Topics in Anthropology.

Special Topics in Anthropology.

Special Topics in Anthropology.

Special Topics in Anthropology.

This illustrated course examines New Orleans architecture from the city's founding in 1718 to the present time, as well as its historic neighborhoods. The city's architectural legacy will be explored from the standpoint of broad architectural stylistic trends, their relationship to national and international trends, the forces and architects that helped shape the styles, and local building types. Thirty-eight architectural styles will be examined, including Colonial, Revivals, Aesthetic, Eclectic, Arts and Crafts, and Modern Movement. Identifying characteristics and materials of each style will be discussed through numerous illustrations of demonstrating the variety of each style based on the most current research. Historic interiors and landscapes will be perfunctorily addressed. Field observations of historic architecture will be included, as well as urban history of New Orleans.

The purpose of this class is to provide an introduction on where Historic Preservation and Environmental Conservation overlap in practice and theory. Topics include sustainability, preservation and environmental planning, rural preservation, easements and transfer of development rights, Smart Growth, adaptive reuse, green building, heritage eco-tourism, historic places and global climate change, and interior environmental health.

The future of the past is the heart of historic preservation, the topic of “If These Buildings Could Talk”. It is a field of study that offers insight into a variety of fields that deal with change and what should be saved for the next generation. Our culture is reflected in our buildings, landscapes, material culture, and intangible heritage. This class will provide a broad introductory background on the field of historic preservation, looking at issues of conservation, planning, management, and methodology. Besides buildings, we will also study the people who used them, historical events and significance, vehicles, and architectural design for a more holistic understanding of preservation.

This class is an introduction to the diverse range of disciplines and approaches to the study of all aspects of cities and suburbs. This includes economics, planning, architecture, ecology, transportation systems, politics, social relations, etc. This is in contrast to rural studies.

Special topics in architecture. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

The class “Tradition in Louisiana Art: 1780-2020” will provide an in-depth study of the development of artistic styles in Louisiana and the American South from the late eighteenth century up to the twentieth-first century. Among the topics that will be explored are the work of the nineteenth-century portrait and landscape artists, African American artists, women artists, Woodward Brothers and Newcomb Pottery, regional southern impressionism, southern outsider and folk art, Florida Highway Men, Louisiana and southern photography, Charleston Renaissance, Mississippi art in the mid twentieth century, and twentieth century Louisiana art

The class “Photography in the Louisiana and the American South” will provide an in-depth study of the development of photography in Louisiana and the American South from 1839 when the Frenchman Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre announced the invention of the photographic process. Photography reflected the times and history of the Louisiana and South thought portraiture, the documentation of the Civil War from a southern perspective, rural southern communities, effects of weather along the Mississippi River, documentation of historical architecture, life in the French Quarter and musical traditions of jazz and Zydeco music. The pictorialism work of “Pops” Whitesell and Arnold Genthe, early documentary style of Theodore Lilienthal and George François Mugnier, straight photography of Fonville Winans, Eudora Welty, and Michael P. Smith, Storyville images of Ernst Bellocq and the 20th century art photography of Debbie Fleming Caffery and Jerry Uelsmann will be explored.

Special topics in Art History.

Special topics in communication.

Special topics in communication.

Special topics in communication.

Special topics in communication.

Special topics in communication.

Special topics in communication.

Special topics in communication.

Special topics in communication.

This course covers the fundamentals of academic reading and writing, including communicating clearly on the page and over the internet, both in college and beyond.

This course introduces students to college-level writing with an emphasis on basic critical reading, the writing process, and foundational academic skills. Students practice writing clear, well-organized texts while developing an academic voice and control over sentence- and paragraph-level style. For example, emphasis, cohesion, parallelism, figuration, and syntactic variation will be focused on. The course emphasizes drafting, peer review, and revision as central components of effective writing. Multiple drafts are emphasized as crucial to refining and honing grammatical and stylistic skills. Students learn strategies for summarizing and responding to sources in addition to citing others’ work responsibly using MLA conventions. PAEN 1100 prepares students for sustained research-based writing in PAEN 1200.

PAEN 1200 builds on the skills developed in PAEN 1100, focusing on research-based writing and sustained academic argument. Similar to PAEN 1100, students engage in multiple drafting and revision cycles, provide and respond to peer feedback, and adapt their writing for different audiences, genres, and formats. This course, however, places a stronger emphasis on advanced research strategies, source evaluation, and effective integration of evidence using MLA style. Students hone critical reading skills and apply critical theories as lenses to texts in order to contextualize them within broader field discussions. Students subsequently apply these analytical skills to their own work in order to develop original claims in conversation with other critical thinkers -- developing well-structured, persuasive arguments adapted to professional, academic, and community contexts.

Transfer Credit

Transfer credit coursework.

This course will explore how BIPOC thinkers have challenged the domination narratives of nationhood in the United States by studying poetry and prose by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and migrant authors. While the focus will be on more recent literatures (from the mid-twentieth century through the present), the syllabus will also include samples of earlier texts by writers like W.E.B. DuBois, or Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins. Other texts may include those written by Gloria Anzaldúa, Achy Obejas, Luci Tapahonso, Maxine Hong Kingston, Nnedi Okorafor, and Jhumpa Lahiri, among others. Students will interact with these texts through guided reading, discussion, presentations, and written analysis. They will also be challenged to expand their learning beyond the classroom by applying the concepts discussed to something they encounter in their own lives.

This course situates the critical skills and strategies of expository writing within the larger framework of academic writing. The course builds on the concepts and approaches to argumentation that students have learned from PAEN or ENGL 1010.

The course will focus on a collection of films and novels from the 20th century that depict dystopian society, and provide critiques on contemporary social, political, and cultural issues. Through the analysis of a diverse range of media, students will investigate the defining characteristics of dystopian worlds, including themes of economic disparity, social hierarchy, and authoritarianism. The course will cover various genres and styles, from science-fiction to post-apocalyptic films and literature. Students will critically engage with films to understand how they use dystopian settings to question social issues and envision potential outcomes. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with analytical tools to dissect cinematic storytelling, narrative techniques, and visual aesthetics that bring dystopian worlds to life on screen.

Special topics in English.

Special topics in English.

Special topics in English.

Special topics in English.

Transfer coursework.

Special topic in English.

Special topics in English. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Introductory to poetry writing is a workshop course in poetry writing. We will be reading and writing poetry. Students will be introduced to the writing workshop format. Classes are primarily devoted to roundtable discussion of both outside reading and student work. Close reading, in which we note structure, style, tone, and the development of individual voice and point of view, will be the insignia of the class. Through writing exercises, critical readings of both professional and peer writing, constructive reviews, forum discussions, and writing workshops, students will develop the skills necessary to write then revise their own poems. We workshop peer writing where students receive constructive feedback on their own creative writing, participate in the critique of peer work and engage fully in the processes of revision.

This course addresses skills for writing in the business environment. Students learn to differentiate various styles and voice and the documents and occasions appropriate for them.

Students will use the first season of the critically acclaimed AMC television series Mad Men as a springboard for imaginative critical analysis. Additionally, students will reflect on the larger critical issues explored within the show, such as the changing gender politics of the 1960s, the emerging sexual revolution, and the conflict that arises from the cultural expectations and identities that many Americans adopted for themselves in the early 1960s. We will also study basic cinematic elements, as Mad Men is obviously more visual than a standard literary text. Altogether, Mad Men is worth studying because it is a well-made, intricately designed piece of art that rewards in-depth analysis as it keenly attempts to document modern life in America.

This course is not a film appreciation course. Rather, students will use the assigned coming-of-age films as a springboard for imaginative critical analysis and general film study. It’s not necessary to be a fan, per se, of the assigned films; you just have to think about them, critically, from wide-ranging perspectives. We will also study cinematic elements, given the obvious visual nature of the course.

Special topics in English.

Special topics in English.

Special topics in English.

Special topics in English.

Transfer coursework.

Independent study course.

This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of archives and special collections work, with special attention to the role archives play in both reifying and dismantling systems of inequality. The course focuses on developing knowledge of major theories and practices of archives by engaging with primary source materials, exploring how information is produced and preserved, and considering the politics of identity and representation in archives, including gender, race, sexuality, ethnicity, class, religion, nationality, ability, and age.

Special Topics in Gender Studies.

Special Topics in Gender Studies.

Special Topics in Gender Studies.

Special Topics in Gender Studies.

Special Topics in Gender Studies.

Special Topics in Gender Studies.

This course introduces students to the main currents of Latin American civilization from European conquest to the present, with special attention to the historical background of present controversies. Attention will be paid not only to such dramatic events as Conquest, Independence, and Revolution, but also to such long-term processes as state formation, rural-urban migration, industrialization, national identity, and changing gender roles. The historical roots of problems such as persistent poverty, racism, and political repression will be examined. The lectures and readings will emphasize both the continuity of the historical development of Latin America as well as the differences between diverse epochs and cultures. Our concentration will be on the political, socio-economic, and cultural life of the region throughout the past six centuries. Lectures will analyze the historical forces at work in a chronological order and focus on a variety of themes from race, class, gender, and the region’s relationship to its more powerful neighbors to the north.

This course focuses on the ways in which British monarchs have shaped political, social, economic, religious, and intellectual developments in Great Britain from the Romans to the present. Students will study historical, artistic, and literary portraits of Britain’s kings and queens, and view various media created about Britain’s Monarchs in order to gain a context for their reading. Students will also explore the Monarchy’s influence on the evolution of the English constitution over the millennia.

Special topics in history.

Special topic in history.

The Plantagenet dynasty reigned over a blood-soaked era of English history from the Norman Conquest to the cusp of the Wars of the Roses. In this course students will explore this turbulent period, from the anarchy of King Stephen’s reign to the usurpation of the Crown by Henry of Bolingbroke. Along the way, the class will be introduced to the adventures of Eleanor of Aquitaine; her sons, Richard the Lionheart and bad King John; the Black Prince; John of Gaunt; and Henry V, the hero of Agincourt. As their tales unfold, England will experience Magna Carta, revolting barons and peasants, the Black Death, and the Crusades; emerging from the dark ages to become a vibrant kingdom on an international stage with the rise of parliamentary democracy and the power of the common man.

A series of civil wars that took place in England during the fifteenth century, the Wars of the Roses were the historical inspiration for George R.R. Martin’s book series which became HBO’s mega hit “Game of Thrones.” This course will help to explain the causes of the wars, the outcomes of the fighting, and the subsequent impact on society. Students will be introduced to a number of fascinating personalities, including Edward IV, Warwick the Kingmaker, and the enigmatic Richard III, Sources for discussion will include, among others, The Croyland Chronicle and the famous Paston Letters. This course will also provide an opportunity to consider the importance of archaeological evidence, in the light of recent excavations at Bosworth, Towton, and Leicester.

This course surveys the political, social, economic, and cultural history of France from the origins of the French Revolution to the collapse of the First Empire in 1815. French society experienced more varied and radical changes during this period than at any other time in its history. These changes, expressed in ideas, inventions, and politics, went on to reshape the face of Europe.

The reigns of the five (or six) Tudor monarchs, though brief, oversaw one of the most dramatic periods of change in English history. As the medieval era gave way to the Early Modern, the Tudors ruled through reformation, social upheaval, suspicion, and political intrigue. This course examines the history of England from the accession of Henry (VII) Tudor in 1485 to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, with emphases on the political and personal history of this colorful dynasty, the religious revolution known as the protestant Reformation, the arts and literature known as the English Renaissance, imperial and trade ventures overseas, and aspects of popular culture including the witch craze.

The purpose of this course is to examine the place that rock ‘n’ roll has occupied in American culture. The central question is why a musical and cultural form once dismissed as a “passing fad” has been a very visible (and audible) part of our culture for over sixty years, despite considerable resistance.

Special topics in history.

Special topics in history. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Special topics in history.

Special topics in history.

Transfer Coursework at the 1000 level. Department approval may be required.

Transfer Coursework at the 2000 level. Department approval may be required.

Transfer Coursework at upper-level. Department approval may be required.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an introduction to the humanities through opportunities to examine encounters between peoples and cultures and the formation and transformation of dominant and competing worldviews. The humanities, itself an interdisciplinary field, looks at human outputs. It includes literature, history, religious studies, linguistics, the arts, and philosophy. Students will be introduced to these interdisciplinary materials, concerns and skillsets through a series of chronologically organized case studies. The fundamental questions we ask concern how different sociohistorical visions of community interact with equally diverse ideas of the notion of the individual, how these visions are explored by cultures and individuals through different modes of literature, philosophy, religion and the visual arts, and what it means to create something new out of the traditions we are all formed by and grounded in. In addressing these questions through the humanities, students learn to think critically, speak clearly, write convincingly and ask questions, which prepares students for a wide range of contemporary work environments and professions.

Course designated for transfer credit. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Humanities writing transfer coursework.

The Capstone seminar will allow students majoring in the social sciences and/or humanities to integrate the knowledge and skills gained through their interdisciplinary degree and apply them to a range of professional settings through case study examples. The students will explore relationships between the different content areas, while examining how their communication, writing, and critical thinking skills apply to issues and challenges commonly experienced in various professional settings. The seminar will culminate in a substantial written or a creative project (e.g., op-ed, website, podcast, etc.) that will highlight the interdisciplinary connections between the students’ prior coursework. Creative projects will be accompanied by a shorter academic narrative.

The Capstone Independent Study will allow humanities majors to integrate the knowledge and skills gained through their interdisciplinary degree and apply them to a range of professional settings through case study examples. The students will explore the relationships between the different areas of the humanities, while examining how their communication, writing, and critical thinking skills apply to issues and challenges commonly experienced in various professional settings. The independent study will culminate in a substantial written or a creative project (e.g., artwork, website, podcast, etc.) that will highlight the interdisciplinary connections between the students’ prior coursework. Creative projects will be accompanied by a shorter academic narrative.

This course will study classical works of ancient political philosophy in the Western tradition, with a concentration on Plato and Aristotle. We will examine their understanding of political life and the place of the individual in society, exploring the questions they raise that remain of central importance in our world today: What is justice? What is a citizen? Why is the rule of law desirable? What is the relation between freedom and equality in democracy?

This course will be devoted to a study of classical works of modern political philosophy in the Western tradition. How did the early modern political philosophers try to make a new beginning by turning to a realism they thought missing in the ancients? How did they go about defending individual rights in society on that basis? We will examine Machiavelli’s introduction of this approach, and its development in the political theories of thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau.

This course will examine literary texts, ancient and medieval, that have played an important role in shaping Western thought and imagination. We will explore the understanding of the human condition that comes to light in works such as the Bible, the Homeric poems, Greek tragedy, the dialogues of Plato, the writings of Augustine or Dante, among others.

This course will examine literary texts central to the Western tradition from the Renaissance to the present. We will explore the understanding of the human condition that comes to light in works such as those of Cervantes, Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, Kafka, Toni Morrison, and others.

This course is an intense analytical investigation of social, political, economic, religious, and philosophical issues in the early years of the American republic. The course examines the people and events of the founding of the American republic from the revolution, through the creation of the American Constitution, and culminating in the election of 1800. This course is primarily an intellectual history course and the main scholarly work that we will read is the work of historians, but the course also delves deeply into issues in political theory, political economy, and political and social philosophy. The course charts the development of American political ideas about constitutionalism, governance, political freedom, economic freedom, representative democracy, republicanism, and federalism primarily from the vantage point of the careers of two of the main figures from this period, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The views of other figures will also be central to our investigation, particularly the views of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. The student will be challenged to examine fundamental assumptions about these topics in order to rethink the intellectual origins of the American political tradition in its founding years.

This course is an intense encounter with the work of perhaps the most significant, original, and influential philosopher in American history, Richard Rorty (1931-2007). The material that we read will cover all the main aspects of Rorty's philosophical and political work. The main focus of the course will be an attempt to come to terms with Rorty's critique of the cult and culture of professional philosophy. We will also be concerned with an attempt to understand Rorty as a major figure in the American intellectual tradition and locate him within the history that includes such figures as Emerson, Whitman, William James, John Dewey, and other figures considered to be exemplars of naturalism, pragmatism, or neo-pragmatism in one form or another.

This course examines the political economy of food by exploring the processes of production, regulation, and consumption that determine the relationships between humans and the food we eat in the world today. We will explore the moral, political, social, and economic dimensions of this topic with the goal of providing a platform for personal exploration and transformation. The presentation of material in the course is designed to be engaging, provocative, and stimulating and to provide the student with an opportunity to make informed decisions about the moral and political dimensions of their own relationship to food.

This course examines the causes and consequences of the Great Recession, the economic crisis of 2008 and beyond. Over the past thirty years, the economic and political landscape of the world has been transformed by sweeping economic changes that reflect the influence of the once marginalized but now dominant ideology of neo-liberalism and free market fundamentalism. These changes have created the greatest accumulation of individual wealth in human history, but also have arguably created greater suffering, poverty, inequality, anti-democratic developments, and the growing potential for the catastrophic failure of the global economy, as evidenced by recent events. We will consider a variety of political and economic views of the Great Recession, from a broad spectrum of economic and political thinkers.

Special topics in liberal arts.

Special topics in liberal arts.

Special topics in liberal arts.

Special topics in liberal arts.

This course will analyze various ways of understanding the nature and importance of religious experience and religious beliefs. We will consider some of the most influential arguments for the existence of God and examine central issues such as the problem of evil or the relation between revelation and reason.

In this course, we will investigate the evidence, both textual and archaeological, for the existence of an historical Arthur, King of the Britons, and will then consider how that evidence was transformed into an imaginative cycle of stories concerning kingship and chivalry that were highly influential within and beyond the Middle Ages. We will pay particular attention to three themes: the ideals of monarchy and knightly behavior that inform the Arthurian stories (e.g. the medieval theory of the divine right of kings); the development within the Arthurian materials of ideas about medieval romantic love or fin amor, especially in representations of the passionate but doomed relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere; and the mystical dimensions of Arthurian romance, as these emerged from writings about the Round Table fellowship's pursuit of the Holy Grail. We will read Sir Thomas Malory's late medieval revision of the Arthurian story cycle, but with reference to other non-Malory materials to be introduced and explained by the instructor (e.g. a long alliterative poem concerning Arthur's battle with the giant of St. Michael's Mount). We will also deal briefly at the end of the course with Victorian adaptations of the Arthurian materials, especially those by Tennyson in his Idylls of the King and William Morris in his Defence of Guenevere. Three written assignments: a midterm and final examination (essay format) and a short critical paper (5 pp. typed, double-spaced). Required Text: Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript, ed. by Helen Cooper (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008).  

This course will explore the legendary history of the medieval outlaw figure, Robin Hood, as it developed through the Medieval and Early Modern periods and into our own century. We will begin by examining historical and archaeological evidence for the person "Robin Hood" (including pre-Christian influences on his character) and then will consider Robin Hood's complex literary and cultural identity. We will also be concerned with various political uses to which the figure of Robin Hood was put in the Medieval and Early Modern periods and with Robin Hood's persistent role in modern British and American popular culture, especially the movies. Three written assignments: a midterm and final examination (essay format) and a short critical paper (5 pp. typed, double-spaced). Required Texts: Stephen Knight and Thomas Ohlgren, eds., Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales, 2d ed. (Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 2000) and Stephen Knight, Robin Hood, A Mythic Biography (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009). 

The Great Irish Famine, 1846-1852, is the central event in the history of modern Ireland. The Famine or the Great Hunger killed approximately one million Irish, forcing the emigration of another two million, and altering not only the history of Ireland, but also the history of Britain, Australia, Canada, and the United States. This course will concentrate on the seminal issues concerning the Famine: Ireland's political and social relationship with British society, the tortured relationship between landlord and tenant, the desperate poverty which afflicted the Irish underclass and threatened much of the population with ruin, the bitter sectarian conflicts which convulsed the island and tainted its political and economic arrangements, and Ireland's struggle for self-determination. We will discuss the causes of the Famine (which were different from the blight which attacked the potato), the domestic and international responses to it, and its consequences for Ireland, Britain, and the United States. This course is a seminar and will emphasize reading, discussion, and writing.

This course will look at popular depictions of Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, Catherine of Aragon, and Anne Boleyn. We will explore questions about creators of historical fiction: Do they have obligations to their audience and to the memory of the dead? Are there some cases in which it is particular important to achieve historical accuracy and others not?

This course will investigate the medieval phenomenon of pilgrimage—or religious vacationing—by way of a reading of one of the classics of English literature, Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th c. masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales. In addition to the motif of devotional journeying, we will study the different medieval social classes (knights, clerics, and peasants) and story types (chivalric romances, fabliaux or bawdy tales, saints lives) that Chaucer explores in his literary masterwork.

In this course we will look at the portrayal of love, romance, and marriage in modern society in short stories, plays and films. 

What does it mean to be “masculine”? What effects does the concept of “masculinity” have on men, on women, and on society? Until recently, masculinity was considered “natural” for “real men.” Recently, however, traditional notions have been challenged by economic crises, social conditions, feminists, and men who do not “fit” the characteristics of “traditional” masculinity. This class takes a critical look at the concept of “masculinity,” particularly “hegemonic masculinity,” its domination of various “sub” masculinities, and its constructions in popular culture. Through readings, lectures, class discussions, and analyses of films and other cultural elements, we examine what it means to conform to and challenge “hegemonic masculinity” in the United States over the last half century or so.

Although today there are numerous ways to construct a family in America, marriage continues to be the preferred option. Nearly 100% of Americans routinely report a desire to marry at some point in their lives. Roughly 90% of them do marry at least once, and over half do it more than once. Yet soaring divorce rates point to a disconnect between what we expect marriage to be and what it actually is. As young children, we're told that marrying our prince/princess will ensure us a happily ever after, as it did for Cinderella, and this cultural message only gets stronger as we grow up. We're so bombarded by these assurances that we take it for granted that we must marry our prince or princess just to be happy. For this reason, we rarely stop to consider that marriage is a social institution that creates, reinforces, and reflects power and hierarchy. This is a master's level seminar on the social institution of marriage. This course engages questions such as: What is marriage? Where does our notion of marriage come from? How does popular culture act to construct and reinforce that notion and make it part of our taken-for-granted stock of knowledge? How do our idealized notions of marriage differ from our practice of marriage? What politics are implicated in our idealized notions about marriage, and how do those politics play out in the practice of marriage? Drawing on class readings, discussions, and exercises, we engage these issues (and more) as part of the ongoing family values debate that questions whether marriage is in crisis or simply in transition. The intent of this course is to make students aware of some of the hidden forces that shape our contemporary attitudes and ongoing cultural debates about marriage and family. 

This course will explore the theme of power and the state through a study of films, such as “The Man for All Seasons,” “Amistad,” “Schindler’s List” or “Book Thief.” We will discuss the historical accuracy of the films, asking what they can teach us, both about the period depicted and the period in which they were made, considering in particular the way people have thought about power and the state.

This course will consider the life of Huey Pierce Long as depicted in biography and film. It will discuss and analyze three major biographical and literary works about Long: Alan Brinkley's comparative biography Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and the Great Depression, Richard D. White, Jr.'s Kingfish The Reign of Huey P. Long, and Robert Penn Warren's classic political novel, All the King's Men. The course will also view and analyze two films about Huey Long: Ken Burns's documentary Huey Long and an Academy Award film based on Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men. The course will also discuss and assess Long's life in light of other writings on the history of Louisiana, the South, and nation from the 1890s through the 1930s.

This course is an examination of central philosophical questions about the nature of art. We will examine philosophers' responses to questions such as: what is art? Does art differ from craft? Must art be beautiful? Is art universal or the same across cultures? Are there objective standards for determining the value of a piece of art? What is the relationship of aesthetic value to moral value, and what role (if any) does art play in social justice? We will also examine issues that arise in relation to particular art forms, including poetry, music, painting, dance, and theater.

In this course we analyze the representation of love and death in works of literature and cinema. We will discuss questions about the way these works reveal presumptions of gender, economic class, public and private life.

In this course we will look at the ways war has been portrayed by writers or film directors and address a number of important questions:  Why do countries go to war?  When, if ever, is resorting to war legitimate or necessary?  What are the psychological effects of war?

Was it the most violent century or the most humane? Technologically advanced or spiritually sick? What is often called “the American Century” seems to be characterized by contradictions. What is its legacy? This course will address that question by considering important events and processes, including World War II, the Cold War, Existentialism, Colonialism, Imperialism, and Post-Colonialism.

This course is devoted to the depiction of utopia and dystopia in Western culture from Plato to the present. We will consider the relation between the two: Why does utopia so often turn into dystopia? What are the elements of a perfect society? Why have all attempts to create a utopian society failed, at least so far?

In this course students analyze the causes of the rise of witchcraft prosecution in late medieval and early modern Europe (roughly 1300-1700), while also examining recent historiographical trends in early modern witchcraft research. Topics include the relationship between gender and witchcraft, as well as the effects of social, political, and religious change on witchcraft accusations and trials.

In this course we will look at problems in our contemporary culture as they have been represented in short stories, plays, and films. 

This course is a seminar which emphasizes reading, discussion, research, and writing.  Despite the contentions of some historians, the Civil War had a profound impact on the people and history of New Orleans. During the late antebellum period (1840s-1850s), the city was the principal slave market in the nation. This domestic trade fueled the lower south and New Orleans' economic development. Slavery shaped the economic and social character of the south, over the years creating not only a society with slaves, but also a slave society. Despite its dominance and apparent unanimity, slavery was also a contentious and divisive institution. Slavery in New Orleans was no exception to these twin dynamics. The historical records, newspapers, acts of sales, successions, census records, and private correspondence demonstrate the centrality of slavery to New Orleans' antebellum society. On the other hand, the city's complex racial, ethnic, and sectional composition heightened political and social tensions, raising suspicions and fears about racial identity, naturalization and citizenship, and loyalty. Slavery and ethnicity shaped issues of civil liberties, criminal justice, and politics. The presidential and secession elections of 1860 and 1861 sharply divided New Orleans, as they did throughout much of the urban south. These divisions did not disappear with mobilization and civil war, but were only intensified in the hothouse of occupation, reunion, reconstruction, and, above all, loss. New Orleans suffered greatly during and after the Civil War. Thousands of men were killed or died from wounds and disease and even more were maimed physically and scared emotionally. The fighting ended, but the war continued beyond Appomattox Court House. To this day, the privileges and immunities of American citizens are intensely debated, bringing not only hope but also rancor and division, as much as they did in antebellum New Orleans and America. 

This course examines the character of genocide in the modern world, from the killing of the Armenians during World War I to events in Rwanda and Bosnia. What is a genocide? Is it something different than mass murder? What lessons can we learn from the Holocaust and subsequent examples of genocide?

Special topics in liberal arts. Course can be repeated up to unlimited times under separate title.

This course examines the structure and content of the Bible from historical, literary, philosophic, and religious or theological perspectives.

Special topics in liberal arts. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special topics in liberal arts.

Special topics in liberal arts.

Special topics in liberal arts.

This course is a comparative sociohistorical inquiry into the bases and mechanisms of racial domination as a “denegated form of ethnicity” anchored in culturally salient (putative) physical differences. Readings include a wide range of sociological, historical, and anthropological studies of ethno-racial vision and division, accommodation, and conflict in Latin America, Asia, Western Europe, the United States, and Africa. They are geared toward helping us uncover the social mechanisms that lead to the rise, reproduction, and transformation of ethno-racial inequality, wherever and whenever it is found. This course is problem-oriented, not group-oriented; its purpose is neither to celebrate nor to denigrate the experiences of this or that particular category but to explain and understand them in sociological terms.

Language is a powerful mode through which identities and social norms are created, negotiated, and transformed. This course will examine how people use language to enact different cultural, social, or linguistic identities, and how language ideologies impact the understanding and reception of those enactments. We will also explore how people’s language beliefs and practices support or challenge dominant power structures and mainstream discourses. Readings will include critical theoretical perspectives on language and discourse, focusing on topics that include multilingualism, code-switching, language loss, microaggressions, and domestic and global language policies.

This course studies the major intellectual traditions of India and China, including Hindu and early Buddhist thought in India, as well as Confucian, Taoist, and later Buddhist thought in China.

This course will critically explore participation in digital communities, including social networks, blogs, intellectual, political and civic collaborations, and emerging digital cultures and art forms. Through sociocultural perspectives on multimodal discourses, we will examine the relationship between technology and culture, community, identity/representation, language and power, and social activism in global digital communities.

This course engages with transnational, postcolonial, Black, and Chicana feminist theories to examine how different sociopolitical contexts intersect with women’s experiences around the world. In particular, we consider how place, nationality, sexuality, religion, culture, and class impact women’s everyday lives while analyzing how women navigate and challenge dominant social structures. Course topics will focus on the experiences of women in relation to identity, migration, representation, and economic development.

This course will examine considerations of justice and morality that help shape law and public policy.  Issues to be discussed may include:  crime and punishment, drugs, gun control, treatment of enemy combatants, torture, surveillance and privacy, free speech and national security. 

By way of numerous Power Point tours of on and off campus sites and materials, as well as our reading of a popular American novel, Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, this course will consider the influence of medieval culture and ideas on New Orleans and, to some extent, Southern culture in general, especially during the post-Civil War period and Reconstruction. For instance, we will discuss medieval architectural styles preserved in Tulane and other local buildings (Richardsonian Romanesque and Gothic Revival), experience medieval music by New Orleans' Musica da Camera (a special guest performance), and explore real medieval manuscript materials from the Tulane Rare Books Room in Jones Hall. We will also talk about medieval influences on such pre-Lenten festivals as Mardi Gras and on such regional foods as gumbo and turducken. Class will conclude with our viewing of a musical film version of Connecticut Yankee, which suggests how Hollywood adapted medieval experience to bring it in line with certain nineteenth-century attitudes toward the Middle Ages. Three written assignments: a midterm (essay format), short critical paper (5 typed pp.), and a final examination (on course terminology). Required Text: Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur?s Court, ed. byMLAR Justin Kaplan (New York: Penguin, 1972). 

What makes Shakespeare a great writer and why are some of his plays and poems judged to be greater than others in terms of their literary merits? We will take up this twofold question by way of a discussion of some of Shakespeare’s “greatest hits,” examples derived from each of his major literary genres.

This course will focus on theories and practices of verbal discourse in comparison with visual imagery and technology.  While concentrating on rhetorics of western cultures, some comparison will be made with rhetorical discourse and imagery in other cultures.  The course will examine topics such as the interfaces of religion and politics, mass media and persuasive campaign, or the role of values in institutional leadership and issue campaigns. 

This course examines various attempts to understand the nature and importance of religious experience and religious beliefs from a naturalistic perspective. We will discuss the ontological, epistemic, and axiological significance of claims about the nature of religious experience and religious beliefs in an attempt to situate these phenomena in a broader naturalistic understanding of the self and the world. After a consideration of the varieties of religious experience as exemplified in the work of William James, we will review arguments by Pascal Boyer and Daniel Dennett to the effect that the origin, development, and diversity of religious belief and religious experience are all phenomena that are scientifically explainable within the naturalistic frameworks of evolutionary biology and cognitive psychology. 

This course uses the controversial art at the center of the Culture Wars as an anchor for questions surrounding the social and political stakes of cultural representation. What does American art look like? What should it look like? Who does American culture represent and who should it represent?

Research suggests that gender and family are inseparable concepts. Family carries particular gender role expectations at both the “ideal” and the “practice” level. However, we rarely think about what family is or how gender plays into family—we simply take gendered family roles for granted. Yet where do our ideas about family and gender come from? This class will explore our perceptions of the gender-family nexus, and the changes that have occurred over the last half century or so, from the perspective of popular culture.

This course will examine the teachings of several major religious traditions—including Hinduism and Buddhism as well as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—through selected readings from their sacred scriptures.

For specific topics, see Schedule of Classes. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

For specific topics, see Schedule of Classes. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

This course will consider the Holocaust, the attempted genocide of European Jewry by the Nazis during World War II, and the diverse ways that the events related to it are portrayed and understood by diverse audiences. The course is divided into thematic sections that highlight the different issues motivating the authors and creators of relevant texts and films.

MLA Transfer Credit. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

The Capstone Portfolio will enable students to integrate the knowledge gained from three courses in the MLA program, while participating in a reflective writing seminar. Building on a portfolio of three previously completed papers/projects, the seminar will culminate in a paper or a creative project (e .g., artwork, website, podcast, etc.) accompanied by a shorter academic narrative. Students will explore topics such as metaphor in narrative writing ; reflective and reflexive inquiry; and credibility and knowledge in reflective writing practice.

The Capstone Project seminar will be structured as a workshop that will support students in improving their research, writing, and critical thinking skills. A variety of writing concerns will be covered, including warranting claims, conducting library searches, writing from sources,creating a dialogue among different disciplines and scholars, interpreting and attributing sources, writing for an audience, analyzing data and methods, exploring structures of presentation, and improving clarity and style. The course will also explore the challenges and opportunities in designing interdisciplinary research projects. Students will work collaboratively to articulate their project's scope, goals, and significance ; develop a comprehensive literature review; frame the research and methods; and complete a full version of the project.

Research in Liberal Arts

Research in Liberal Arts Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

This course delves into the processes used by mathematically-literate citizens and professionals in multiple industries to make optimal decisions in their lives and careers. Students will use technology (such as calculators, Microsoft Excel, Wolfram-Alpha, visual programming languages, and calculators) to create models, providing a rigorous way of simulating and analyzing our complex world. Topics may include probability, introductory statistics, expected value, linear and exponential regression, analysis of functions and their derivatives, and infinite series. Students will explore this content through participant-centered activities and performance-based analysis of real-world contexts based on their interests and careers. Knowledge of high-school algebra is suggested, though not required.

This course introduces students to the core concepts of statistics for health care. Students will leave the class with an in-depth understanding of the essential concepts regularly used in clinical practice. The course will prepare students to calculate and visualize statistical properties of data sets. Students will be able to apply research studies to clinical practice, critique current health care studies as to the significance of the results and use technology to assist in basic statistical calculations. SoPA Core Attribute: Quantitative Reasoning

Special topics course as designed by visiting or permanent department faculty. For description, consult the department. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours under separate title.

Special Topics Music course taught by visiting or permanent SoPA Faculty. May be repeated up to unlimited times under separate topics.

French Louisiana music (Cajun and Creole) was largely ignored in mainstream music culture, except by a handful of collectors, scholars, and commercial promoters who sought to popularize it. From the first recordings in the 1920s to the transformation of the genre by the 1970s, the spread of this regional sound was driven by local, national, and international elites who saw the music’s traditions and performers in the context of larger social, political, and cultural developments, including the folk revival and the civil rights and ethnic revival movements.

Special topics in Philosophy.

Special topics in Philosophy.

Special topics in Philosophy.

Special topics in Philosophy.

This course surveys and considers some of the most crucial thinking about media from the past 100 years. It finds its roots in the early assessments of radio, photography, cinema, and television, which were also “new” media at one time, while proceeding to go into some depth with contemporary theories of the Internet, and digitally-based technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and 'Metaverse'. Students are encouraged to see the connections between how many of these media are perceived, and consider with some sophistication the social and political impacts they have. Although many of the primary readings are from philosophers of media, we will examine a wide range of material in navigating and investigating the issues of the course (social media, cinema, film criticism, journalism, video and VR art installations).

This course investigates the origins and manifestations of anxiety and depression from ancient philosophical insights to contemporary therapeutic approaches. It begins by examining classical perspectives on the human mind from Stoicism, Buddhism, and Epicurean philosophy, highlighting how these traditions sought to understand and alleviate suffering. The course then transitions to modern psychological frameworks, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and psychoanalytic theories, exploring foundational texts and illustrative case studies. We examine Freud's writings on mourning and melancholia alongside modern critiques and film representations, like Hitchcock’s Vertigo, to understand the psychodynamic roots of depression. Further, the course critically examines contemporary approaches to mental health, including biological treatments and critiques of psychopharmacology, as seen in documentaries like Overpill and Letters from Generation RX. In the final section, we delve into existential and societal influences on mental health. Readings from Schopenhauer, Tolstoy, and modern critiques on the impact of technology by Johann Hari and Jaron Lanier shed light on how modern life, social media, and environmental factors contribute to the mental health crisis. Throughout, students will engage with diverse media—including texts, documentaries, and films—to develop a nuanced understanding of anxiety and depression, and to critically assess the potential of different therapeutic models in addressing these pervasive issues.

Special topics in Philosophy.

Special topics in Philosophy.

Special topics in Philosophy.

Special topics in Philosophy.

PAIS 2000 is an intensive, eight-week course that develops core competencies in interdisciplinary thinking and practice. Students begin by identifying a genuine, complex problem from their professional context and progressively deepen their analysis using multiple disciplinary lenses. Through systematic research across disciplines, critical analysis of diverse perspectives, and thoughtful integration of insights, students learn how interdisciplinary approaches reveal solutions that no single discipline could achieve alone.

PAIS 3000 is an intensive, eight-week course that develops advanced competencies in interdisciplinary research methods. Building on foundational understanding, students design and execute original interdisciplinary research projects. They identify wicked problems requiring integration across disciplines, conduct systematic literature reviews using disciplinary frameworks, analyze conflicts between disciplinary perspectives, develop evidence-based integration strategies, and communicate findings to multiple audiences. Through iterative cycles of analysis, synthesis, and reflection, students learn to produce actionable interdisciplinary knowledge that addresses complex real-world problems.

The PAIS 4000: Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies course serves as the culminating experience of the program. Students apply interdisciplinary methodologies to design and execute a major project aligned with their chosen concentrations. These projects—whether research papers, community-based initiatives, digital portfolios, or case studies—will need to demonstrate critical reasoning, leadership, and practical problem-solving skills.

This course examines some of the religious traditions of the Middle East in terms of their history, worldview, devotional practices, cultural expressions, goals and ideas. We will survey the main themes of each religion in a functional way, to examine how religion has worked to influence the region and sub sequential worldview through means such as ritual, myth, symbolism, individual and institutional meaning. Course topics include: Zoroastrianism, Baha’i, Judaism, Christianity and Islam among others.

This course presents the student with a survey of the principal living religions in the modern world, and provides the necessary intellectual tools to understand their history and relation to world events and contemporary issues. The student will also learn to identify underlying religious patterns throughout a large variety of cultures, ancient and modern, incorporating the study of myth, symbol, ritual, scripture, music, and community.

Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Transfer Coursework at the 1000 level. Department approval may be required.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Transfer Coursework at the 2000 level. Department approval may be required.

Transfer Coursework at upper-level. Department approval may be required.

Independent Study.

In 1903, American sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois made his prescient statement, on the launch of his seminal book The Souls of Black Folk: “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.” Can we make this claim in the Twenty-First Century? To answer this question, we will compare race and ethnic relations in the United States, with a focus on understanding how race and racism shape our lives. We will discuss historical accounts of the social constructs of race and ethnic groups and examine current issues of individual, institutional, and systemic racism, media representations of race and ethnicity, racialized forms of migration, racial inequalities, and environmental racism. We will also make connections between race, gender, and social class to understand how they work together in creating inequalities and shaping our identities.

There is no relationship more important to society than the one we have with our natural environment. From how we extract natural resources necessary for everyday life to where we put our waste products, from how we produce our food to where we go on vacation, our dependence on and perceptions of the environment are fundamental to every aspect of our lives. This course focuses on society-environment relations across the globe. We begin by reading about and discussing some conceptual issues that are central to our understanding of society-environment relations. These include the concept of sustainability, environmental resources, political economy, social construction of nature, and environmental justice. We then examine several important society-environment relations, including energy use, agriculture and food, and conservation.

In this course, we are going to look at families as a form of social institution, which means how families work as a set of structured social arrangements that help meet certain human needs. This class will be looking at families within the context of the United States. To begin, we will explore the ways in which families are defined and consider the main elements that describe family relationships. Then, we will address families through history, taking note of the ways they have responded and adapted to larger social changes. Several modules will explore the ways in which families absorb and respond to the larger social inequalities of society. We will also explore family experiences as they relate love and romance, marriage and cohabitation, children, the workplace, divorce and remarriage, and family violence. Throughout the course, we will read and discuss scholarly research and data on families, taking note of how social scientists use research methods to scientifically study this social institution.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

In the last several years, people have said that they have done "research" to come to conclusions. Often, this lay usage of "research" refers to doing some internet searches and watching YouTube videos; these searches and video viewings often result in the person justifying an existing belief, as the person chooses sources that align with what she or he already thinks. As you will learn in this course, that is not research. Research is a systematic endeavor. The researcher uses established practices to test an idea or hypothesis or generate a new theory. Evidence gathered through research may disconfirm a hypothesis. Because "research" has taken on this lay usage, it is important to become knowledgeable about what research is, what practices constitute research, and how one can assess the quality of research. This course will introduce you to the concept of research, research terminology, research ethics, and various research methods. For each method, you will learn about the strengths and limitations of each approach and what types of research questions a method can (and cannot) address.

This course explores the theoretical and methodological formulations of space and place and their relevance for sociological and social analyses. We will study the relationship of space/place to inequality as manifested in different guises around the world: spatial polarization, architecture, urban planning and design, spatial integration, symbolic space, etc. Throughout the course, we will pay close attention to how space and place intersect with inequality and how challenges to inequality are leveled through spatial approaches. How does the urban experience vary for different groups of people (by gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality)? Why? What explains the processes of urbanization and suburbanization? Who controls public space? How do different cities respond to the needs of the poorest residents, and what shapes these responses? How did (do) cities around the world come to develop and grow? What is the role of gentrification? These are some of the questions we’ll address in this course.

This course examines the relationship between tourism and social life from a sociological perspective, the root idea being that it is natural for human beings to make contact with other human beings and societies to create leisure institutions to engage in cultural exchange and enjoyment. This course will examine tourist practices and how they are shaped and made meaningful within a social context. As we investigate why people travel, how they travel, and what they do while they are “on the road,” we will see that tourism is not on the margins of the social world, but rather profoundly interconnected with everyday social life, from the personal to the global. Through readings, discussing, and writing, we will explore the ways tourism is a material, symbolic, and political representation of many of the features of contemporary society’s achievements and ills: modernity and postmodernity, consumption and cultural commoditization, the aestheticization of everyday life, democratization and social inequalities, questions of authenticity, embodiment and identity, gender relations, technology, social mobility and power, and globalization.

This course introduces students to the relations among globalization and inequality and globalization, with a focus on implications for the developing world. Among topics for study are the world distribution of income, across and within countries; concepts of inequality (income, opportunity, mobility, capabilities, horizontal inequality); the implications of global trade and capital markets for inequality within developing countries; the consequences of inequality for growth and for political institutions in developing countries; the effects of global market failures and differences among countries in economic power on trade, capital, intellectual property, international migration, climate and other global regimes; and the role of global economic institutions (IMF, World Bank, bilateral aid programs) in addressing unequal opportunity and global market failures.

This course is designed as an interdisciplinary and critical introduction to the history, society, literature, and culture of Brazil, the largest nation of Latin America. Students will learn about Brazil’s colonial experience as the only Portuguese colony in the Americas, its unique experiment with monarchical institutions in the nineteenth century, and the trajectory of its uneven modernization in the twentieth century. The course will examine diverse topics including contemporary race relations, gender, sexuality, religion and spirituality, class conflict, migration, and various aspects of Brazilian cultural production and performance, as reflected in film, music, literature, and other forms of popular culture.

Why are rents up? Where are all the people who used to live in this neighborhood? Why was your favorite coffee shop replaced by a bank? What exactly is a hipster? These are all questions swirling around the topic of gentrification. Ruth Glass coined the term “gentrification” in 1964 to describe changes she was seeing in London, in particular the fact that “one by one, many of the working class quarters of London have been invaded by the middle classes.” A physical and social transformation of urban neighborhoods, gentrification might have gotten its name in the 1960s, but it has its roots in social processes that run from the early twentieth century through today. In this class, we will explore the causes and consequences of gentrification, with a focus on the United States. In addition to thinking about what gentrification is, we will think about how urban theorists have conceived of gentrification, and how these conceptions shape debates on the contentious topic.

This course offers an introduction to sociological theories and research related to health and illness, with a focus on mental health and mental illness. Although many people think of mental illness as under the purview of healthcare providers (and psychiatrists and psychologists for mental illness), sociologists have made significant contributions to our understanding and conceptions of health, illness, and mental illness.

This course introduces key approaches to the study of the social foundations of the economy. We will explore how economic institutions, processes, and outcomes are shaped by class, gender, and race. This will involve reading about how contemporary societies construct and make sense of economic processes across a wide range of examples, including inequality, labor, finance, credit, innovation, education, and health.

This course considers the historical, social, political, and economic contexts across the globe that have contributed to the creation and maintenance of global systems and institutions of inequity. Central to the course will be an examination of the early incarnations of the “race as biology” debate that finds its codification in the nineteenth century. This 19th century ideology served as a catalyst for many forms of historical human inequities across the globe as well as today in the twenty- first century including slavery, indentured servitude, modern forms of enslavement, and human trafficking.

The sociological study of jazz provides valuable insights into the intersection of music, culture, and social change. Jazz, as a genre rooted in the Black experience in America, has played a significant role in shaping and reflecting social change. For over a century, jazz has facilitated identity, creative expression, and embodied pleasure. It has served political agendas ranging from American imperialism to Black liberation. It has instituted varied systems of value (e.g. male hegemony) and fueled varied political economies (e.g. sex work to neoliberal capitalism). Its changing uses – from popular entertainment to high art – and social worlds have informed and determined who, how and why the public listens to jazz. Jazz also boasts a global impact, influencing musicians and audiences worldwide. We begin the course by establishing a vocabulary for listening to jazz and by considering its origin stories, we then develop these skills and ideas to consider how jazz shapes and is shaped by social, cultural, and political life.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Independent study course.

Knowledge and understanding of the social sciences place students in position to understand themselves as citizens within an integrated global society. The purpose of this course is to provide students with information about the principal social science disciplines and the relationships among them. Among the integrated social science disciplines are political science, economics, geography, sociology, and anthropology/archeology. Preparation in the skills of social science inquiry prepares the student to engage in rational decision-making as both an individual and as a citizen. In this course, we will examine each of these subjects, what they mean, and how they are relevant to our lives today In order to understand social structure and the relationship of the individual to society, students will be introduced to the concepts of culture, society, personality, socialization and stratification, as well as the principal subsystems of every society: economy, polity, social organization and ideology. A command of this material is necessary for our examination of the human condition. During the second half of the first semester, we will begin to consider theories of social change.

Transfer Coursework at the 1000 level. Department approval may be required.

Transfer Coursework at the 2000 level. Department approval may be required.

Social Science writing transfer coursework.

Social Sciences transfer coursework for upper-level courses that do not have a direct equivalent at Tulane SoPA.

The Capstone seminar will allow students majoring in the social sciences and/or humanities to integrate the knowledge and skills gained through their interdisciplinary degree and apply them to a range of professional settings through case study examples. The students will explore relationships between the different content areas, while examining how their communication, writing, and critical thinking skills apply to issues and challenges commonly experienced in various professional settings. The seminar will culminate in a substantial written or a creative project (e.g., op-ed, website, podcast, etc.) that will highlight the interdisciplinary connections between the students’ prior coursework. Creative projects will be accompanied by a shorter academic narrative.

The Capstone Independent Study will allow students majoring in the social sciences to integrate the knowledge and skills gained through their interdisciplinary degree and apply them to a range of professional settings through case study examples. The students will explore the relationships between the different areas of the social sciences, while examining how their communication, writing, and critical thinking skills apply to issues and challenges commonly experienced in various professional settings. The independent study will culminate in a substantial written or a creative project (e.g., artwork, website, podcast, etc.) that will highlight the interdisciplinary connections between the students’ prior coursework. Creative projects will be accompanied by a shorter academic narrative.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the study of death and dying, covering the key issues and questions in the field. The personal and social attitudes regarding death in our society will be explored as well as those of other cultures and times.

Principles of audience analysis, speech composition, and delivery. Special attention is given to persuasive techniques

Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Special topics in speech.

An analysis of the impact of social, psychological, emotional and environmental factors on the small-group decision-making process. Emphasis is on the study and application of current problem-solving theories and techniques. (Satisfies humanities and/or oral communication requirements for SoPA students.)

Plays and Playwrights is a course examining drama, the literature of theatre. You will read the plays of playwrights from the Greeks to the present. The emphasis is on the playwright and the process of playwrighting. Students will read, analyze and evaluate literature written for live performance. You will post, on Canvas, written comments to engender critical thinking and class discussions.

This course is a survey of the history of theatre and how theatre happens. By the end of the course, students will be able to provide the answer to questions, such as “Who makes theatre happen?” and “Why is it called show business?

American Myth and drama is a course examining the “American Myth” portrayed by playwrights of various cultures and time periods. The emphasis is on reading, writing, critical thinking and class discussions. Students will read, analyze and evaluate literature written for live performance.

This course is a survey of the history of the American Musical Theatre, its origins, its development, and its effects on popular culture. Students will learn about various genres of American Musical Theatre including, but not limited to, opera buffa, ballad, opera, and operetta through the jazz developments of the sixties.

Special topics in theater.

Special topics in theater.