Featured Courses

Course Description: Who is a witch? Who decides? What do Slavic and East European witches do? Where and how do they live? How did they become witches? In this course we will explore images of Slavic and East European witches in fairytales, literature, the visual arts, music, and film in their cultural, historical, and political contexts.

Course meeting days and times: Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays 9:55-10:45 a.m., 814 Van Hise Hall

Credits: 3 credits.

Instructor(s): Karen Evans-Romaine

Course Description: Between 1801 and 1917, imperial Russia went from being the center of the world’s largest land empire and one of Europe’s Great Powers to a collapsing state embroiled in war and revolution. Nevertheless, the tsarist regime outlived many of its main rivals. The autocratic empire turned out to be a durable political system even as contemporary observers—foreigners and tsarist subjects alike—remained obsessed with the question of its backwardness. With such staggering ethnic, religious, and cultural difference, as well as immense inequalities in terms of wealth and rights, how did the empire’s constituent parts fit together? How can we understand the relationship between the Russian empire and the nations that emerged from within it? Lastly, how can we explain the end of tsarist autocracy in 1917? In this survey of Russian imperial history from 1801 to 1917, we will examine these questions and pay particular attention to themes of imperial expansion and integration, as well as the social, political, and economic structures that shaped the lives of the tsars’ subjects across Eurasia. Doing so will enable us to consider the historical relationship between Russia and “the West,” Ukraine and Russia, and to evaluate Vladimir Putin’s (mis)use of this history to justify the ongoing war and his broader geopolitical ambitions for the Russian Federation.

Course meeting days and times: Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m., 5206 Levy Hall

Credits: 3 credits.

Instructor(s): Geoffrey Durham

Course Description: Much of the twentieth century would come to be defined by the Cold War: an ideological struggle between capitalism and communism. Extending well beyond geopolitics, the conflict played a significant role in shaping networks of cultural exchange and musical creation in the twentieth century. In lieu of direct military engagement, the United States and Soviet Union “battled” for supremacy in music and to provide a model for aesthetic achievement around the world. In turn, the clash between the two superpowers would come to shape international relations and musical exchanges around the globe. In this seminar, we’ll consider the many geopolitical influences the Cold War had on music—and the ways in which music was weaponized to fight the Cold War. We will explore the ways the conflict shaped music not only in the Soviet Union and United States, but also in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. We’ll consider the extent to which music can be “political” in its aesthetics, as a means of production, and as an idea. Students will gain experience working with primary sources, evaluating recent scholarly literature, and analyzing a variety of styles of art music, popular music, and jazz. 

Course meeting days and times: Mondays & Wednesdays 9:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m., 2521 Mosse Humanities

Credits: 3 credits.

Instructor(s): Gabrielle Cornish

Course Description: Over the last decade, educational policy has been increasingly influenced by philanthropies, educational businesses, ed tech companies, think tanks, corporations, parental groups, media conglomerates, and other policy actors. Although their involvement has come from different ideological and political positions, overall policies have taken a conservative and far-right turn. What networks, coalitions, and strategies fostered this turn? What mechanisms of influencing public and policy perceptions did these actors deploy to achieve
their agendas?

This course pursues answers to these questions by tracing policy networks, coalitions, and assemblages that have played a role in transforming K-12 and higher education in the U.S and across the world.

Professor Aydarova’s scholarship focuses on the interactions between educational policy, policy advocacy, and social inequality across international contexts, including Russia and Ukraine.

Course meeting days and times: Mondays 2:25-5:25 p.m., 345 Education Building

Credits: 3 credits.

Instructor(s): Elena Aydarova