Fall 2015 HNRS Courses

Objectives: Natural disturbances (fires, flood, etc.) disrupt our lives, but are beneficial to ecosystem composition and structure. Manmade disturbances (oil production, industrial farming, etc.) produce outcomes beneficial to society, but may negatively affect ecosystems. Neglect of ecosystem function may result in loss of biodiversity, altered disturbance regimes and increased vulnerability... Read More...

Study of the natural processes that have regulated the climate of Earth over geologic time, the impact of climate change on human societies, effects of fossil fuel combustion on Earth’s climate system, and sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels.

One hundred years ago, in 1914, the nations of Europe went to war in a conflict that destroyed their civilization. From prosperity and cultural and intellectual vitality in 1900, through the horrors of trench warfare and poison gas, to devastation and a peace settlement that left Germany bitter and resentful,... Read More...

This course will examine a variety of historical styles of explanation, including memoirs, archival documents, interpretive essays, on-line sources, and various forms of visual propaganda, including feature films and television news film.

A goal of the course is to demonstrate the worldwide reach of the Cold War, though by no... Read More...

This course will examine the lives, actions, and philosophies of three of the greatest leaders of the 20th century – Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mohandas Gandhi. Each of these men led social movements of the masses within their own countries, seeking redress for injustices imposed upon them... Read More...

This class will give students an opportunity to explore in-depth the interrelationship between art and the Western colonial conquests in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia between 1750 and 1950 from a variety of perspectives (art history, history, political economy, social studies, etc.). We will investigate in particular Napoleon Bonaparte’s... Read More...

Taught with Vincent Cellucci, CxC Coordinator, College of Art + Design

Examine the realm of the image-makers. Where the pen becomes a campera and the camera, a pen. In this course, we'll write about films and make films about poems.  We'll explore what it means to live in a world... Read More...

This course examines changing ideas about the supernatural in Europe from ca. 1400-1900. What kinds of forces did Europeans believe were active in their world, and how could these forces be harnessed to accomplish human goals?

We will trace Europeans' changing ideas about nature and causation by exploring the historical... Read More...

We will read ten African-American playwrights who have contributed to the canon of American Drama over the past 60 years. Special attention will be given to how these playwrights respond to the Civil Rights and Anti-War Movements in the 60’s and 70’s, as well as to the oppressions of Jim... Read More...

Since the beginning of the global economic crisis in 2007-2008, there has been much debate on the nature of capitalism, its benefits and pitfalls, and its sustainability.  This course is designed to address these and other questions, including what exactly is capitalism?  What are its intellectual and historical origins? What... Read More...

Curious about the role of money in electoral politics?

Do you know how campaigns are conducted in other countries around the world?

Is corruption always bad or can it “grease the wheels” of economies, legislatures, and presidents?

How are Transparency International and similar NGOs working to clean up elections worldwide?

The ideas that animate our national Constitution have their roots in, inter alia: classical ideas regarding the purposes and structure of government; medieval ideas of sovereignty and liberty; common law ideas of the rule of law and the respective roles of parliament and king; enlightenment ideas regarding natural law and... Read More...