Summer 5 weeks II 2027

Coming soon

An analysis of the social, aesthetic, political, and rhetorical implications of cinematic representations of Rome, from silent films to the present. This course will evaluate and discuss ten primary films, along with excerpts from a number of others. We will consider five main topics: Images of Ancient Rome; Before and After World War II; “Americans” in Rome, and Rome in America; Fellini’s Rome; and Urban Angst, Roman Style. As the semester progresses, we will consider how Rome functions as a “character” in the movies, as well as how The Eternal City comprises the mise-en-scene. We will assess the artistic representations of Roman monuments and streetscapes on movie sets, as opposed to location shooting. Special attention will be given to memory construction, as well as the rhetoric of “places and spaces” (how the physical/symbolic setting influences us). In this course, students will visit cinematic landmarks in Rome and write about their experiences

Religion is driving contemporary political events in multiple, multifaceted, and mysterious ways. This course is designed to help students to make sense of this phenomenon and to begin to understand why, and in what ways, religion influences global politics today. In order to do so, the course will address normative concerns about the proper relationship between religion and states in contemporary political societies; theoretical concerns about how various religious institutions and religion-state arrangements influence and are influenced by political processes; and empirical concerns about how, why and where individuals are religious across the globe, and in what ways their religious ideas and identities might influence their political decisions and behaviors. Throughout the course students will be introduced to a set of concepts used by scholars to understand the theory and practice of religion and politics today. They will then have an opportunity to employ and critique these concepts by researching and writing a term paper on a case of religion intersecting with international affairs today. Possibilities include, but are not limited to, the Iraq war debate; the EU vs. the Crucifix debate; the Islam and Democracy debate; and the US foreign policy debate over the engagement of the global Muslim community.

The right to health and wellness is a universal human right; yet global inequalities mean that there are still vast differences in peoples enjoyment of health and access to services. In this course we will see how modern health is not limited to physical or mental states, but encompasses all areas of our lives and communities. We take an ecological perspective to better understand health and predictors of health and wellness across the intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, community, and policy/systemic levels. This course explores some of the key social, economic, cultural and political determinants of health and its disparities. It examines the role of maternal and childrens health, patterns in physical (in)activity around the world, young adults health, mental health and the impacts of substance use. It then discusses in depth the development and management of pandemics and the factors that affect different contagion and survival rates globally. The intertwinement of health and geopolitics is also investigated in relation to migration and health at borders, issues of social justice more broadly, and the right to food security. Students then analyze the cultural dimensions of food and its relationship to health, as well as the environmental variables that determine peoples access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene.