Topics in Human Understanding
Tuesdays and Fridays - 1:30 to 3:20
This course is designed to encourage an examination of questions concerning the unity and diversity of the human situation in the world society of cultures. The purpose of the course is not a deep exploration of each of those cultures or even of any one of them; rather, the purpose is to engage in that process of analysis in a variety of different ways, so as better to understand ourselves in relation to other people from other cultures. This will help students prepare for cross-cultural work, by beginning to become comfortable with unfamiliarity and to understand that cultural differences, recognizable even in brief encounters, reach far beyond obvious variety to profound distinctions in worldview. Further, we will try to build some skill in recognizing and outlining the lines of thinking which could be pursued to gain cross-cultural understanding in future academic work both in the classroom and in the field.
Please note: as Topics is a regularly offered class in the World Studies Program it is generally taught by faculty members from across the college. This means that each year, while the description and aims of the class remain consistent, the readings and foci of our discussions will change depending upon the expertise and interests of the faculty members who are teaching it. This year since the course is being offered by Felicity in Art History and Matan in Music, the focus of the discussion is going to be artistic (specifically urban design) and musical.
Left: Cairo, Tahrir Square - Murals inspired by the January 25 uprising; Right: Prague, Monument for the Victims of Communism, 2002