Dean's Seminars

Fall 2013 Dean's Seminars

THE BUDDHIST ART OF ASIA

Professor Susanne Francoeur                   
G-PAC: Arts
AH 1000.10 CRN: 54757                             
T 3:30-6:00 p.m.

As a major world religion, Buddhism has had a profound effect on the cultures of Asia, not least of all on their art histories. This seminar is organized around the specific theme of the history of Buddhist art as initially developed in India and subsequently reshaped and reformulated in the course of transmission eastward into Central and East Asia. The investigation begins with India, the cradle of Buddhism, and includes the contiguous areas of Afghanistan, Nepal, Tibet, and Central Asia. This is then followed by East Asia including China, Korea, and Japan. Particular emphasis is placed on the investigation of works of art at the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution where some sessions are held. By analyzing the stylistic and iconographic properties of these art objects in the museum and through additional reading, discussions, presentations in class, and research papers students familiarize themselves with the major periods of Buddhist art and learn about the key styles, themes, and techniques as well as their development in each culture.

Susanne Francoeur is Professorial Lecturer in Art History. Her primary area of research has been the Buddhist art of ancient South and Central Asia. Most recently she has expanded her interest to the art of the Indianized states of Southeast Asia, focusing on two cultures in particular—Ancient Champa in Central Vietnam and the ancient Khmer culture in Cambodia, both of which regions she has recently visited. She is now analyzing the available sculptural and architectural material, some of which has been recently discovered, to investigate the impact of Hindu as well as Buddhist thought on these cultures.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND MASONIC WASHINGTON

Professor David Bjelajac                             
G-PAC: Art
AH 1000.11 CRN: 57261                             
W 2:30-5:00 p.m.

During the eighteenth-century, English, Scottish, Irish and continental European stonemasons’ medieval guild traditions inspired the modern cultural formation of Freemasonry and competing international networks of Masonic lodges.  Freemasonry attracted men from a wide socio-economic spectrum and found support from both radical revolutionaries and counter-revolutionary conservatives.  But ever since the Age of Enlightenment and the American and French Revolutions, Freemasonry’s secretive lodge meetings, mysterious initiation rituals and esoteric visual symbols have fostered orthodox Christian opposition and anti-Masonic conspiracy theories charging a varying host of purported vices, blasphemies and subversive misdeeds. This course critically examines these conspiracy theories, popularized in a variety of media, while also exploring the visual culture of Freemasonry in the nation’s capital. Washington, D.C.’s urban design, historic-revival architecture, monumental sculpture and large-scale history paintings will be subjects for lectures, readings, class discussions and field trips to local museums, libraries, buildings and monuments.  The seminar will consider the manner in which George Washington himself came to personify American Freemasonry, becoming a model for later United States presidents who joined the fraternity.  Students will read both primary and secondary sources and will be required to write several papers critically analyzing visual objects and architectural spaces while also evaluating the literature of Freemasonry, anti-Masonry and secret-society conspiracies. 

Professor Bjelajac is Professor of Art History and American Studies. He is the author of several books, including Millennial Desire and the Apocalyptic Vision of Washington Allston (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington, D.C., 1988); Washington Allston, Secret Societies and the Alchemy of Anglo-American Painting (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1997), and American Art: A Cultural History (Prentice Hall, 2000; 2nd edition, 2005). He has contributed articles to American Iconology: New Approaches to Nineteenth-Century Art and Literature, ed. David C. Miller (Yale University Press: New Haven, 1993) and The Visual Culture of American Religions, eds. Sally Promey and David Morgan (University of California Press, 2000). He also has published articles on Washington Allston and Thomas Cole in American Art, the scholarly journal of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Professor Bjelajac's current research project comprises John Singleton Copley's Watson and the Shark (1778), Freemasonry and the alchemy of eighteenth and early nineteenth-century American painting. Professor Bjelajac teaches eighteenth and nineteenth-century American art as well as eighteenth-century European art. He has an additional affiliation with the American Studies Department.

HOMEMADE AMERICAN RELIGIONS

Professor Joseph Kosek                              
G-PAC: Humanities
AMST 1000.10 CRN: 54752                        
WF 9:35-10:50 a.m.

This course examines four religious movements that began in the United States: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), Christian Science, the United House of Prayer for All People, and the Church of Scientology. These “homemade” American religions have attracted both dedicated adherents and diehard opponents. Their histories raise broad questions about liberal tolerance, scientific rationality, cultural authority, and religious freedom. Using a range of primary and secondary sources, we will examine the beliefs and practices of the four groups, as well as the broader controversies they provoked. Our inquiry will be guided by frameworks from scholars of history, sociology, religious studies, and allied fields.

Kip Kosek is Associate Professor of American Studies. He is the author of Acts of Conscience: Christian Nonviolence and Modern American Democracy, published by Columbia University Press in 2009. The book tells the stories of some religious radicals who responded to the catastrophic bloodshed of the twentieth century by inventing a new form of militant nonviolence. His current research interests include the role of religion in the civil rights movement and the history of economic ethics. Professor Kosek teaches undergraduate courses in American religion and modern American cultural history.

AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE AFTER 9/11              

Professor Elisabeth Anker                          
G-PAC: Humanities
AMST 1000.11 CRN: 57016                        
MW 12:45-2:00 p.m.

What is the relationship between power, violence, and freedom? Many people offer different answers: J.S. Mill contends that freedom begins when power ends, and that violence is a form of power. Yet Hannah Arendt states that freedom requires power, and that power and violence are opposites. Malcom X, however, argues that the pursuit of freedom can require violence, and that power is part of both. How can we piece apart the relationships between power, violence, and freedom, and use them to examine 21st century politics?

Elisabeth Anker is assistant professor of American Studies. Her research and teaching interests are at the intersection of political theory, critical theory, cultural analysis and media studies.  Professor Anker’s current book project, Orgies of Feeling: Melodramatic Politics and the Pursuit of Freedom (Duke University Press, under contract) examines the role of melodramatic narratives in shaping post-9/11 American political discourse.Prof. Anker received her PhD in Political Theory from UC Berkeley, where she also received a Designed Emphasis in Film Studies. She has held research fellowships at Brown University's Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women and UC Berkeley's Charles Travers Fellowship in Ethics and Politics. 

DO WE NEED BIOTECHNOLOGY?

Professor David Morris                              
G-PAC: Natural Sciences
BISC 1000.10 CRN: 54759                          
MW 11:10 a.m.-12:25 p.m.                                                                   
W 1:00-3:50 p.m.

Biotechnology is a broad set of techniques manipulating living organisms through the use of genetic engineering. The advances of biotechnology in the last twenty-five years have been dramatic, and its proponents trumpet significant benefits for humanity. However, many biotechnological applications have raised serious concerns. This course introduces students to modern biotechnological procedures and allows them to work in the laboratory on projects involving the manipulation of DNA and living cells. They will use their knowledge to critically assess the benefits, pitfalls, and possible consequences that the “Biotech Century” may pose for our world.

David Morris is Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences and Genetics. He was involved in the invention of novel cloning vectors for the genetic manipulation of yeast. He has also worked on the genetic improvement of crop plants. His current research is concerned with assessing the bacterial contamination of the Anacostia River, particularly by multiple antibiotic resistant coliforms. He teaches undergraduate courses in microbiology, biotechnology, and cell biology, and was the 2007-2008 recipient of the Trachtenberg Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

BRIEF PROSE FORMS

Professor David McAleavey                        
G-PAC: Humanities
ENGL 1000.11 CRN: 54764                        
MW 4:45-6:00 p.m.

Not all our creative urges in literature take the form of poems, short stories, novels, and plays. Increasingly over the past 150 years, writers have been turning to hybrid genres and unusual forms to convey their unique insights. The adventuresomeness of pioneers has produced writing of all shapes and sizes in such forms as the miniature short story or “short-short”—also called sudden fiction by many writers. The rise of brief prose poetry and sudden fiction seems linked to brief forms of the new hybrids of non-fiction which are sprouting, and has spurred writers to think even of the intimate prose space of the journal entry as offering a medium for artistic manipulation. Writers who seek unusual forms face a wealth of possibilities. Our focus will be on the students’ own imaginative writing as it meets challenges posed in part by our readings in the traditions of brief artistic prose. Included in the reading will be prose poems, short fiction, journal entries, essays, and short works by Virginia Woolf, May Sarton, Roland Barthes, Lewis Thomas, and others.

David McAleavey is Professor of English. He has three degrees from Cornell (BA, MFA in Creative Writing, PhD in English), and has taught at GW since 1974. His fifth volume of poetry is Huge Haiku (Chax Press, 2005), and he has published poems in many journals, both in print and online.

WHAT’S NEW ABOUT NEW PLAYS

Professor Evelyn Schreiber                                    
G-PAC: Humanities
ENGL 1000.12 CRN: 54765                        
TR 11:10 a.m.-12:25 p.m.

This Dean’s Seminar takes advantage of the theatre offerings in Washington and asks the question: What is new about new plays? Are contemporary playwrights reworking classical themes or are their works entirely new entities? What themes reappear and how are they presented? The course also considers how classical plays are re-imagined for modern audiences. For example, is a Shakespearean work staged in a different political or social milieu than the original production? Why would directors make these types of artistic decisions? What does it mean for plays to be culturally relevant? Students will consider who attends the theatre and who will be in the audience in the future. These questions form a large part of decisions about what plays are selected to be produced each year and the nature of those productions. We will read three classical plays and three new plays as well as attend at least one new play.

Evelyn Jaffe Schreiber, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of English at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Her first book, Subversive Voices: Eroticizing the Other in William Faulkner and Toni Morrison, examines identity and race via the theory of Jacques Lacan and cultural studies and was awarded the Toni Morrison Society book prize, 2003. Her second book, Race, Trauma, and Home in the Novels of Toni Morrison, is an interdisciplinary study of trauma in Morrison’s fiction and was published in 2010 and was awarded the Toni Morrison Society book prize, 2012. Her articles appear in Mississippi Quarterly; The Faulkner Journal; Literature & Psychology; Style; and Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, and she has contributed chapters to Blackwell’s Companion to Faulkner; Teaching Faulkner: Approaches and Methods; A Gathering of Evidence: Essays on William Faulkner’s Intruder in the Dust; Memory and Meaning: Essays in Honour of Toni Morrison; and Toni Morrison: Paradise, Love, and A Mercy.

SHAKESPEARE AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES

Professor Alexander Huang                                   
G-PAC: Humanities
ENGL 1000.13 CRN: 54766                        
T 6:10-8:40 p.m.

A world-class and truly global author, Shakespeare continues to be the most frequently performed playwright. In the past century, stage, film, and television adaptations of Shakespeare have emerged on a wide range of platforms. The multilingual World Shakespeare Festival during the 2012 London Olympics brought global Shakespeares home to Britain. Beyond the Anglophone world, his plays and motifs are present in the performance cultures of Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Asia/Pacific, Africa, Latin America, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and far-flung corners of the globe. In fact, the history of global performance dates back to Shakespeare's lifetime. What is the secret of Shakespeare’s wide appeal? Has Shakespeare always been a cultural hero? This course examines the aesthetics and techniques of interpreting Shakespeare, with an emphasis on the conversations between Shakespeare's modern collaborators. Specifically, the course considers the tensions between claims for originality and poetic license, text and representation, and between interculturalism and nationalism. Special consideration is given to the cultural history of the Shakespearean corpus. The final list of plays and productions will be sent to students prior to the start of the session. 

Alexander Huang is Director of the Dean's Scholars in Shakespeare Program and Associate Professor of English at GW; general editor of the journal Shakespearean International Yearbook; and co-founder of Global Shakespeares, an open-access digital video archive (http://globalshakespeares.org). He is the recipient of the Modern Language Association's (MLA) Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize. Trained at Oxford, Göttingen, Munich, Strasbourg, Harvard, and Stanford, Professor Huang holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature and a joint Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities from Stanford.

This seminar is offered as part of the Dean’s Scholars in Shakespeare. Students outside of the program who wish to enroll are encouraged to request permission of the instructor.

SHAKESPEARE AND REVENGE

Professor Ayanna Thomspon                    
G-PAC: Humanities
ENGL 1000.15 CRN: 55673                        
MW 4:45-6:00 p.m.

This seminar is offered as part of the Dean’s Scholars in Shakespeare. Students outside of the program who wish to enroll are encouraged to request permission of the instructor.

INQUIRIES, STORIES, HISTORIES: THE INTERPLAY OF FACT, MYTH AND NARRATIVE

Professor Ormond Seavey                          
G-PAC: Humanities
ENGL 1000.16 CRN: 54761                        
TR 9:35-10:50 a.m.

It is naively accepted by many that history, the record of solid factual events, and story, a constructed narrative of events which may or may not have happened, are opposed extremes. But both history and story derive from the same Greek word, a word meaning inquiries, the title of the pioneering work by Herodotus. This course considers various chapters in the complex interplay among fact, myth, story, history, and narrative in Western writing over nearly 3000 years. Beginning with the story of the late years of King David and the perceived presence of the God of Israel in Jerusalem court politics, the course asked how a scrupulous witness can identity a divine hand. Herodotus, writing centuries later about the Persian War, believes in the Greek gods and collects evidence of history and culture in the ancient Mediterranean world. The story is continued in the centuries from 1600 to 1900 in story and history by Cervantes, Shakespeare, Cotton Mather, Henry Fielding, Francis Parkman, and Henry Adams.

Ormond Seavey is Professor of English. He teaches Early American literature and Eighteenth Century comparative literature. He has numerous publications on early American literature including, Becoming Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and the Life. In addition, he has done work on the American historian and man of letters Henry Adams. Originally from Minnesota, his undergraduate degree comes from Carleton College and his doctorate from Columbia. He is married to the filmmaker Nina Gilden Seavey, who is also connected to GW. He has taught here since 1976.

CAPITAL CITIES: PARIS & WASHINGTON                      

Professor Christopher Klemek                   
G-PAC: Humanities, Local/Civic Engagement
HIST 1000.10 CRN: 56446                          
TR 10:00-11:15 a.m.

A comparative history of the French and US capital cities reveals that their similarities are more than skin deep: At the end of the 18th century, President George Washington invited Frenchman (and fellow Revolutionary War veteran) Pierre L'Enfant to give his new capital its unique form--a hybrid of European and American influences. In the middle of the 19th century, both Paris and DC underwent violent upheavals and profound transformations on the path to becoming modern cities. Throughout the 20th century, redevelopment projects from the monumental mall to transit modernization continued this transatlantic conversation. And culminating in the 1960s, both places served as political stages for mobilizations and clashes that proved to be watersheds for their local and national communities. This seminar will place the historical development of GW's civic setting--and of capital cities generally--in an international context.

Christopher Klemek is Associate Profess of History. An expert on European and American urban history, Christopher Klemek been featured as a guide to cities on radio, television, and in print media. As Associate Professor in the Department of History, his scholarly publications include The Transatlantic Collapse of Urban Renewal: Postwar Urbanism from New York to Berlin. Together with Prof. Tyler Anbinder, he is currently curating an exhibition for the GW Museum opening fall 2014, entitled "Civil War and the Making of Modern Washington." Dr. Klemek also lives on campus with his family as faculty-in-residence in West Hall.

EXPLORATIONS IN 20TH/21ST CENTURY ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN                   

Professor Stephanie Travis                        
G-PAC: Not applicable
INTD 1000.MV CRN: 56713                        
TR 1:00-2:15 p.m.

This course will introduce students to modern architecture and design through the context of small-scale key buildings of the 20th and 21st Century. Students will learn the leaders in architectural history, as well as the cutting edge contemporary designers working today. Incorporating an understanding of the architectural drawings of these unique buildings, as well as information from lectures, readings, and course discussions, this course will focus on creativity and innovation within the built environment.

Stephanie Travis is Associate Professor and Director of the Interior Design Program. She has a B.S. in Architecture and a Masters in Architecture, both from the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the studio course in design education, freehand drawing as a tool for seeing, and modern architecture + design.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Professor Robert Paul Churchill                
G-PAC: Humanities, Local/Civic Engagement
PHIL 1000.10 CRN: 57244                          
TR 2:20-3:35 p.m.

Human rights have increasingly become the major way in which we assess the treatment of human beings, but what are human rights? How did human rights become so important? How are human rights justified? And are human rights truly global, or do they apply in different ways in different parts of the world? These are among the leading questions addressed in this Dean’s Seminar that focuses on human rights in theory and practice. The seminar will consider applications of human rights norms to problems relating to free expression, employment, privacy, intellectual property, victims, and children. As well, the seminar will consider whether and how much the rights of the poor and suffering impose obligations of aid on the affluent populations. Reading will include selections from classical texts as well as contemporary studies and commentaries. In addition to regular discussions in the seminar, students will have the opportunity to explore topics of special interest in a research paper.

Paul Churchill is a member of the Department of Philosophy and an advisor for the Peace Studies Program. He regularly teaches social and political philosophy, and philosophy and nonviolence for undergraduates, and normative issues in foreign affairs for graduate students. His publications include the book Human Rights and Global Diversity and he is presently working on a book on women's human rights and gender violence.

ARE THERE ANIMAL MINDS?

Professor Eric Saidel                                               
G-PAC: Humanities
PHIL 1000.11 CRN: 57283
TR 12:45 - 2:00 p.m.   

It is not uncommon to say that one’s dog wants to go out, or that one’s cat believes that there is a mouse under the refrigerator.  What sort of claims are we making about our pets when we say these things?  Should these claims be taken literally?  Do nonhuman animals have minds?  These questions raise other questions: what is a mind?  Are all minds like human minds?   What could count as evidence that something has a mind?  Is there evidence that nonhuman animals have minds?  Being that these are philosophical questions asked in a philosophy class, we may find that these questions have surprising answers.  The study of animal minds is a relatively new and fast growing field in philosophy and in science.  We will look at some of the recent literature, both philosophical and scientific, in the hope of gaining some expertise relating to the study of animal minds.

Eric Saidel is Assistant Professor of Philosophy. He is a philosopher whose research focuses on psychological explanations of human and animal behavior, especially with regard to the evolution of the mind.  He is completing work on a book about the mind-body problem.  He has also written extensively about methodological issues in the study of animal minds.  When he’s not working, Saidel can be found riding his bike, running, cooking, or listening to music.  Sometimes he does more than one of these at the same time.

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR: FROM WORLD WAR II TO AFGHANISTAN

Professor James Lebovic                            
G-PAC: Social Sciences
PSC 1000.10 CRN: 54886                            
F 11:10 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

This class is designed to help students appreciate the challenges that U.S. leaders and society encounter in war by focusing on the major conflicts in which the United States has engaged since its emergence as a global power. By examining the Second World War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan in successive weeks, the class will show that these wars were conducted at two levels: U.S. leaders were concerned both about conducting the war abroad and keeping the U.S. public committed to the war effort. Readings and class discussions will focus, then, on the external dimension of these wars – their origins, U.S. wartime strategy, and the outcomes – and their internal dimensions – public support and perceptions of these conflicts. To give students a better understanding of the societal aspects of these conflicts, the discussion of each war will be paired with a movie (or two) that captures the public sentiment of the period and a trip to a relevant memorial or museum in Washington, DC.

James H. Lebovic is professor of Political Science and International Affairs at The George Washington University. He teaches undergraduate and graduate classes on political methodology and national and international security. He has published widely on defense policy, deterrence strategy, military budgets and procurement, democracy and human rights, and international conflict. He is the author of four books including Deterring International Terrorism and Rogue States: US National Security Policy after 9/11 (Routledge, 2007) and The Limits of US Military Capability: Lessons from Vietnam and Iraq (John Hopkins University, 2010). He has just completed a book on the United States and strategic nuclear arms control.

PUBLIC OPINION AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

Professor Rachel Stein                                            
G-PAC: Social Sciences
PSC 1000.11 CRN: 55584                            
TR 9:35-10:50 a.m.

What do Americans know about U.S. foreign policy? Do they care? How do their opinions influence the foreign policy-making process, if they do at all? This course will explore how the public, the media and political leaders interact to shape U.S. foreign policy. We will consider these relationships in several different policy areas including the use of U.S. military force, international trade, foreign aid and environmental protection. The class will introduce students to established theories about public opinion and foreign policy, as well as cutting edge research. Course assignments will focus on developing students’ critical thinking skills and using evidence to assess competing arguments.

Rachel M. Stein is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science. Originally from Colorado, Professor Stein received her Ph.D. from Stanford University, where her dissertation research focused on the moral foundations of popular support for war. More broadly, her research interests include the causes of violent conflict, the domestic sources of foreign policy, and the role of moral values in shaping public opinion.

POLITICAL MANIPULATION

Professor Forrest Maltzman                                  
G-PAC: Social Sciences
PSC 1000.12 CRN: 56337                            
M 3:30-6:00 p.m.

Why do citizens and politicians act and do what they do?  Does the ability of an agenda setter to structure voting order shape the decisions legislative bodies make?  Does the manner in which a military casualty is portrayed influence the public's support for war?  In this seminar, we will explore how sociological, economic, and psychological factors that influence the political decisions that individuals that make.  Based upon this understanding, we will then look at how the preferences and decisions of individuals can be manipulated and understood.  As part of this seminar, we will design a series of experiments to manipulate the decisions and actions individuals take. 

Forrest Maltzman is Professor of Political Science and the Senior Vice Provost of Academic Affairs and Planning.  He has written extensively on both the U.S. Congress and the Supreme Court.  He is the author of Competing Principals: Committees, Parties and the Organization of Congress (Michigan 1997) and co-author of Crafting Law on the Supreme Court (Cambridge 2000), Advice and Dissent: The Struggle to Shape the Federal Judiciary (Brookings, 2009) and The Constrained Court (Princeton, 2011).  He recently published a piece on how presidents use presidential pets to manipulate the public during periods leading up to war.  See: http://themonkeycage.org/2012/06/13/wag-the-dog-how-presidents-use-their-pets-to-manipulate-american-voters/ .  Links to much of his work can be found at home.gwu.edu/~forrest.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Professor Jill Kasle                                       
G-PAC: Social Sciences
PPPA 1000.10 CRN: 54767                         
TR 12:45-2:00 p.m.

This course analyzes and explains the American legal system, including institutions (courts and the court system), documents (the Constitution), and processes (how the Supreme Court decides a case).  The course emphasizes the development of analytic skills and communicational ability and, through the use of law school teaching methods and exams, is useful for people who are curious about what law school might be like.

Jill Kasle is Associate Professor of Public Policy and Public Administration. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and Boston University School of Law, and has done almost everything that a lawyer can do; she has been a law clerk to a judge, a prosecutor, a defense counsel, a law school administrator, and a professor of law.

HOLLYWOOD AND POLITICS

Professor Patricia Phalen                           
G-PAC: Social Sciences
SMPA 1000.10 CRN: 55645                        
MW 2:20-4:35 p.m.

In the 1950s, Senator McCarthy had film and television writers with the “wrong” political views blacklisted in Hollywood. Fifty years later, Michael Moore produced a film that attacked President Bush for having the “wrong” politics. These are just two of the more obvious connections between the world of Hollywood and the world of Washington, D.C. Pop culture and political culture in the United States share a long and complex relationship. Congress convenes hearings to uncover anti-American sentiment in the media. Actors run for, and win, political office. Celebrity endorsements or condemnations affect national elections. In this course we will explore the history and political effects of these connections. Students will study the personalities, organizations, products and principles of political and pop culture and assess the benefits and costs of their symbiotic relationship.

Patricia Phalen is an Associate Professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs. She has a Masters and Ph.D. in Radio/Television/Film from Northwestern University, and an MBA from Boston College. Her research focuses on the socioeconomics of mass media organizations, particularly the relationship between media and audiences. She is co-author of The Mass Audience: Rediscovering the Dominant Model and Ratings Analysis: The Theory and Practice of Audience Research.

MEASURING UNCERTAINTY

Professor Hosam Mahmoud                                   
G-PAC: Mathematics and Statistics
STAT 1000.10 CRN: 54768                         
TR 2:20-3:35 p.m.

This course focuses on developing an understanding of probability and its wide ranging applications in diverse fields that require modeling by random events and notions of chance. The class will concentrate on explaining the concepts and tools of probability required to appreciate and model real-life problems. Prerequisites for this seminar series are limited to high school algebra. No previous knowledge of probability will be assumed.

Hosam M. Mahmoud is a Full Professor and former Chair of the Statistics Department. He has published four books, and more than 70 research papers in peer reviewed journals. He is an editor of Probability Trust (UK), which publishes Journal of Applied Probability and Advances in Applied Probability. He is also an associate editor of Methodology and Computing in Applied Probability (USA) and The Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics (Japan).

GREAT PERFORMANCES IN DANCE

Professor Dana Tai Soon Burgess             
G-PAC: Arts
TRDA 1000.10 CRN: 54790                        
T 5:10-7:00 p.m.

The cultural and historic significance of ballet and modern dance will be illuminated through lecture, movement, video excerpts, and attendance at live performances. This seminar is designed to invigorate the student with the exciting lineage of dance, while stressing its unique ability to communicate the human condition. A special focus will be placed on the individual journeys and works of great choreographers including Anthony Tudor, George Balanchine, Isadora Duncan, and Martha Graham, among others. Their work will exemplify the unique evolution of dance as a proscenium art form. This course will experientially enliven dance through guest lectures by renowned, published dance critics and published dance historians who live in Washington, D.C., while including movement experiences and attendance at live performances.

Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Associate Professor of Dance, is a critically acclaimed choreographer. He has set work and taught throughout Asia, South America, and Europe. He is best known for choreography, which fuses Eastern and Western movement aesthetics. He has served as an American Cultural Specialist for the U.S. State Department and received the D.C. Mayor’s Arts Award in 1994. He has received multiple D.C. Metro Dance Awards for best overall production and an Outstanding Direction Award for his works premiered at the Kennedy Center. He was awarded the prestigious Pola Nirenska Award for Excellence in Modern Dance and the Excellence in an Artistic Discipline award at the Mayor’s Arts Award Ceremony.

POLICY, GENDER, AND INEQUALITY

Professor Cynthia Deitch                            
G-PAC: Social Sciences
WSTU 1000.10 CRN: 56509                                   
MW 12:45-2:00 p.m.

Abortion and same-sex marriage are but two examples of hot-button political issues that bring debates about gender and sexuality into the public policy arena. We will explore differing political and philosophical ideas about equality and the appropriate role of government in reducing inequality. The course examines how policies and policy debates shape, and are shaped by, ideas about gender difference; and how gender intersects with race and class among other inequalities. The focus is primarily on the U.S., but includes cross-national policy comparisons. This course provides students with an introduction to Women’s Studies and to the study of public policy.

Cynthia H. Deitch is Associate Professor of Women’s Studies, Sociology, and Public Policy, and serves as Associate Director of the Women’s Studies Program. She is a sociologist with research interests in gender, race, and class in labor markets and employment policies, and in women’s social movement activism.