AAAS 49S.01

REPRESENTING SLAVERY (SS, CCI)
(Cross-listed as CULANTH 49S.01)

INSTRUCTOR:  Bayo Holsey
This course will examine representations of the Atlantic slave trade within academic scholarship, first-person narratives, documentaries, literature, and film.  Through these various media, we will examine portrayals of Africans, Europeans, and those who were enslaved, as well as the nature of capture, the Middle Passage, and plantation life.  We will also explore contemporary commemorations of the slave trade within museums and the political mobilization of this history within the reparations movement.  Through an examination of the construction of history within these sites, we will ask, what is at stake when representing the slavery?

Bayo Holsey, Ph.D. (Columbia University) is an Assistant Professor in the African and African American Studies department at Duke.  Her research and teaching interests include West Africa, the African diaspora, history and memory, the transatlantic slave trade, historical commemorations, transnationalism, race, gender, and tourism.

AALL 49S.01

FILM AND VISUAL CULTURE (ALP, CCI)

(Cross-listed as FVD 49S.01 and LIT 49S.01)

BAA 49S.01

Michele Rasmussen, Ph.D. (Duke University) is the director of the Academic Advising Center and an Assistant Dean in Trinity College.  Her fields of teaching include introductory biological anthropology, human evolution, primate ecology, and Strepsirhine behavioral ecology.  Her research interests are lemur behavior and ecology, mammalian activity cycles, and predation.

BIOLOGY 49S.01    

INSTRUCTOR: Dan Rittschof

Human activities are increasingly affecting aspects of the ecology of animals and plants in the ocean. This seminar will consider problems and public policies associated with whales, turtles, fish, coastal land development, global warming and marine pollution. Sessions will be conducted by faculty from the Beaufort Marine Laboratory and will meet once a week. The seminar includes a field trip to the Marine Laboratory.

Dan Rittschof, Ph.D. (University of Michigan),  Professor of Zoology at the Duke Marine Laboratory and the Nicholas School, has global and regional research interests ranging from the molecular to the organismal level. He has a profound respect for all academic disciplines and enjoys working in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams.

BIOLOGY 49S.02    

INSTRUCTOR: John Willis

How do modern discoveries in genetics, molecular biology, and genomics inform our understanding of evolution and the origin of species?  What is the role of "selfish genes", DNA parasites, and whole genome duplications in shaping the incredible diversity of life around us?  How has sex left its indelible imprint on our genomes?  In this course we will explore these topics and more as we look at the interplay between Darwinian ideas of evolution and our modern understanding of genomics.  The course will include readings that range from classic literature and the popular press to original scientific research articles.

John Willis, Ph.D. (University of Chicago) is an Associate Professor of Biology at Duke.  His fields of teaching and research interests include evolution, genetics, ecology, and genomics.

ENGLISH 49S.01

Buford Jones, Ph.D. (Harvard University) is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Duke.  His teaching and research interests include American literature, English Renaissance literature, and bibliography.

ENV 49S.01

INTO THE WOODS: EXPLORING THE DUKE FOREST  (NS, STS)

INSTRUCTORS: Jeffrey Pippen and Daniel Richter

What kind of tree is that?  Why does it grow here?  What other organisms depend on it?  Preserving biodiversity, whether in a remote tropical jungle or right in your backyard, is a major world issue.  Through class discussion and local field trips, this course will introduce students to the history and ecology of the Duke Forest, and the importance of forests to our quality of life.  Topics will include community ecology and natural history, organism and habitat identification, and history and management of the Duke Forest.  Field trips during class period will include visits to forested areas around campus as well as to research and management sites in the Duke Forest.

Jeffrey Pippen, MS (University of Michigan) is a research associate at the Nicholas School of Earth and Ocean Sciences.  His research focuses on forest ecology.

Daniel Richter, Ph.D. (Duke University), a Professor at the Nicholas School, is a soil and forest ecologist.

FVD 49S.01

INSTRUCTOR: Negar Mottahedeh
(See LIT 49S.01 for course description)

GERMAN 49S.05     

REFORMATION AND RESISTANCE, FROM MARTIN LUTHER TO ADOLF
HITLER  (CZ, CCI, EI)
(Cross-listed as HISTORY 49S.05)

INSTRUCTOR:  Christa Johns
This seminar will first examine the conceptions of Luther, Calvin, and other reformers about resistance to government and the relationships between religion and society and church and state.  We will then study the various resistance movements to National Socialism, the attempted plots to kill Hitler, and the religious background of his assassins.  Students will read historical sources in English translation and view documentaries on the resistance movements in Nazi Germany. 

Christa T. Johns, Ph.D. (Free University of West Berlin) is a member of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literature with an interest in reformation studies.  She has previously served as Assistant Dean and Director of the Study Abroad Program at Duke.

HISTORY 49S.01 

INSTRUCTOR:  John Hart

This seminar introduces students to a wide range of primary materials bearing on the historical events that resulted in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, and participants’ understandings of the meaning of various provisions of those documents.  In addition to closely reading primary texts, public and private, we will consider how these texts have been interpreted subsequently by historians and others.  We will devote relatively little attention to the Supreme Court’s doctrinal elaboration of the Constitution after its adoption.

John F. Hart, J.D. (Yale University) is a Visiting Associate Professor in the History Department at Duke.  His research has centered on the regulation of private property by American legislatures in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and on the courts’ development of new constitutional doctrines to invalidate such regulation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

INSTRUCTOR:   Christa Johns
(See GERMAN 49S.05 for course description)

HISTORY 49S.06

INSTRUCTOR: Henry Petroski
(See EGR 49S.01 for course description)

LIT 49S.01

(Cross-listed as AALL 49S.01 and FVD 49S.01)

INSTRUCTOR: Negar Mottahedeh
This course is designed to acquaint students with the histories and theories of film within the larger context of visual culture in the 20th century. Born out of various modes of representation, film brings to the last century various new ways of seeing. What we see helps shape and reshape how we see the world. Arguably the most powerful art form in the last century, film both informs and is informed by how the world is perceived and, more importantly, how the world can and should be perceived. Along with its artistic and entertaining purposes, film, as an ultimate image (and sound) machine, presents to its audiences' visual fields numerous different horizons of imagination. Imagination here means more than a mere private or individual matter because it also impacts how a community, a region, a nation, a culture, or any combination or derivation of the above is visualized, represented, and constructed. In other words, to understand how film works--how it produces meaning and how meaning is understood and contested--is also to understand how it participates in the making of our social, political, and cultural lives.

Negar Mottahedeh, Ph.D. (Univ. of Minnesota, Twin Cities) is Assistant Professor of Literature and Film Studies at Duke. Her research and teaching interests include critical historiography, film theory, postcolonial theory, critical theory and theories of culture and globalization, as well as film and other media of the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America.

MATH 49S.01

INSTRUCTOR: Mike Reed

This seminar will introduce students to the uses of mathematics in physiology and medicine. Topics will include: genetics; epidemiology; the heart and circulation; oxygen transport; biochemical reactions and regulatory mechanisms, including ovulation and glucose regulation; mechanisms for temperature regulation and salt and water balance; and information processing by neural circuits.  Each student will give presentations to the seminar from the readings and will complete a substantial written project.  Prerequisite: MATH 32 or the equivalent.

Michael Reed, Ph.D. (Stanford University), a Professor of Mathematics, works on research problems in both pure and applied mathematics.

MUSIC 49S.01          

INSTRUCTOR: Harry Davidson

Sex, seduction, murder, deceit, infidelity, betrayal, jealousy, impersonation, thievery, evil spirits: the stuff of opera. Opera scares some. The "O" word can conjure up visions of corpulent people on stage singing at each other for hours on end. Yet, what is opera: a curious sort of mega art form, a sublime means of musical and dramatic expression, or an expensive luxury void of relevance in today's popular culture? This seminar will examine the works of 5 great composers: Purcell, Mozart, Wagner, Verdi and Berg. Then, to get an idea of what goes into the performance of opera, students will become personally involved in the Duke Symphony Orchestra's April production of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" (NO PRIOR MUSICAL EXPERIENCE NECESSARY) with the hope of unlocking some of the mysteries and fun of "drama per musica."

Harry Davidson, M.M. (Pacific Lutheran University) is a Professor of the Practice in the Music Department and director of the Duke Symphony Orchestra.  He made his major orchestra debut conducting the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.  He has guest conducted numerous professional and conservatory ensembles, including the Charlotte Symphony, the Akron Symphony, and the Cleveland Institute of Music and Oberlin College Conservatory orchestras.

PHIL 49S.01

MINDS AND MACHINES  (CZ, R)

INSTRUCTOR:  David Sanford

This course will provide an introduction to philosophy by exploring some problems in the philosophy of mind.  Topics will include mutual influences of the computer revolution and recent philosophy of the mind, as exemplified by Alan Turing on machine itelligence and John Searle on what programs cannot do; science fiction cases concerning personal identity; cyborgs; and the philosophical implications of virtual reality. We will examine ways of understanding mental phenomena as part of the physical world and, in particular, ways of understanding human action and freedom.

David Sanford, Ph.D. (Cornell University) joined the Duke faculty in 1970 after teaching at Dartmouth College for seven years. He specializes in metaphysics, epistemology and logic, and has published several books and articles on these and other topics. His current research interests focus on the philosophy of perception and perceptual attention.

PHYSEDU 49S.01          

INSTRUCTOR: Al Buehler

How American sports developed, their place in education and society, and the issues and problems created and faced in today's world form the core of this seminar.  Topics include: Olympic Games (ancient and modern); the end of amateurism in sport; the decline of youth fitness and the rise of superstars; politics, racism and nationalism in sports; the drug crisis; and the impact of technology on sport.  The major focus will be on American sport history, studied through primary documents and an examination of the major example of modern sport: big-time intercollegiate athletics.

Professor Al Buehler coached Duke track & field for 45 years, retiring from the head coaching position in 2000.  During his coaching tenure, he coached several all-Americans and was three-times team manager for the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team, plus many more achievements on the state, national, and international level.  He has been inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and the Duke Sports Hall of Fame.  He has just retired as chair of the HPER Department after serving nineteen years in this position.

PHYSICS 49S.01 and 49S.02 (2 Sections)       

INSTRUCTOR: Moo Young Han

This course will cover the development of elementary particle physics in the 20th century, including its impact on cosmology, its relevance to the life sciences and molecular medicine, and its relevance to the technology of digital computers.  Topics to be discussed include wave-particle duality of the quantum world, the hidden forces at play within atomic nuclei, and the mysteries and riddles of quarks and gluons hidden deep inside protons and neutrons.  Other topics to be touched on include lasers, semiconductors, DNA and optoelectronics.

Moo-Young Han, Ph.D. (University of Rochester) is a professor of physics.  He is a co-discoverer of the color charges for quarks, which are the sources of nuclear force.

POLSCI 49S.01

INSTRUCTOR: Joseph Grieco

The main objective of this seminar is to identify ways by which history and political science can be used as complementary approaches to the study of the problem of war and peace among nations.  The seminar will review representative statements by historians and political scientists as to the basic goals and methods of their respective disciplines.  It will also review major works from the two disciplines that are directed towards the same problem of explaining the origins of World War I and World War II in Europe.  The seminar will also provide students with an opportunity to undertake and present a significant research project that integrates elements of the two disciplines.

Joseph Grieco, Ph.D. (Cornell University) is a Professor of Political Science with a specialty in international relations.  His teaching and research interests include theories of international relations, issues of international political economy, and problems of international conflict.

PUBPOL 49S.01

INSTRUCTOR: Alma Blount

This seminar explores ways in which value conflicts in communities affect civic and political participation, as well as policy design.  Students will be challenged to develop a framework of problem-solving approaches and to consider diverse ways of exercising leadership in the face of competing interests.  We will examine moral and civic responsibility at the individual and collective levels by addressing a series of questions about democracy:  What does it mean to be an engaged citizen? What is democratic participation, and what does it have to do with leadership? How does one find the courage to face “difficult differences” and to engage in sustained, difficult problem-solving in the public arena? This course will give students an opportunity to develop their leadership capacity for contributing to and facilitating robust group conversations.  The work of the course requires analyzing current events, developing a personal point of view about complex political issues, and participating in fast-paced discussions with people who may disagree with one.  Full participation in this work will give participants a sense of the challenges and rewards of public discourse and group problem-solving work.

Alma Blount, M.Div. (Harvard University) has been the Director of the Hart Leadership Program since 2001 and continues to serve as Director of Service Opportunities in Leadership (SOL), a leadership mentoring initiative for undergraduates at Duke.  She has been a Lecturer in the Department of Public Policy Studies since 1994.  Blount has been a consultant for numerous non-profit and public sector groups across North Carolina on issues of organizational development and project design.  She has also managed programs for international faith-based human rights organizations in the U.S. and Central America.

SOCIOLOGY 49S.01

INSTRUCTOR: Edward Tiryakian
As an introduction to both sociology and the comparative study of disasters, man-made and nature-made, this seminar will develop a broad conceptual perspective on some significant instances of disasters - past, present, and future - ranging from the Great Plague of the 14th Century to 9/11 terrorism today and global warming tomorrow.  While some disasters impact only a small number of people in the everyday world (micro disasters), others have a magnitude that can disrupt an entire community (meso disasters) and entire regions (macro disasters).  Readings will be done to illustrate various of these.
This seminar will also consider related aspects of the study of disasters: (1) the question of human responsibility in “natural” disasters and in post-disaster recovery; (2) disaster prevention; and (3) challenges of social reconstruction after disasters, both man-made and nature-made.  We will make use of local resources to assess disaster prevention at Duke and in Durham.

Edward Tiryakian, Ph.D. (Harvard University) is a Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Duke.  His immediate stimulus for this seminar was going to New Orleans in the Spring of 2006 and meeting disaster victims first-hand.  Professor Tiryakian's fields of teaching and research interests include comparative development; globalization; nationalism and national identity; sociology of religion theory; and modernization and modernity.

STA 49S.01

INSTRUCTOR: Dalene Stangl
Life is full of situations where decisions must be made even though the information one has available to make the decisions is incomplete or uncertain, and the consequences of making the wrong decision may be significant.  Questions such as: Should I invest in the stock market, and if so, what should I buy, and how much should I invest?  If I make the investment, how much can I expect to gain or lose?  If I am seriously sick, which of several treatments should I select if they have different side-effects and probability of cure?  When sitting on a jury, should I vote that the defendant is guilty or not guilty?  As a scientist, how conclusive does my data need to be before I can publish a paper that reports a potentially important new result?  As a doctor, is the evidence for the benefit of a new treatment conclusive enough for me to incorporate the treatment into my practice, or should I wait for confirmatory studies?
Probability and decision theory are the central tools in helping us to analyze questions of this sort and make informed decisions.  They provide systematic tools for deciding how our opinions on various issues ought to change as we learn new data.  Although the basic principles are surprisingly simple, the correct application of these principles can be highly challenging intellectually and indeed is the subject of some of the greatest ongoing debates in science. 
In this course, we will investigate how probability and decision theory can help us make important decisions in problems that arise in science, business, the law, medicine, and even daily life, and we will also consider some of the great controversies that the field engenders.

Dalene Stangl, Ph.D. (Carnegie Mellon University) is a Professor of the Practice at Duke.  Her fields of teaching and research interests include statistics and Bayesian methods in health-related research.

SXL 49S.01

INSTRUCTOR:  Caroline Light
(See WOMENST 49S for course description)

THEATRST 49S.01

INSTRUCTOR:  Dana Marks
Explore what it is to be a part of a true acting ensemble.  This class will train physically and vocally as a group and learn how to incorporate Viewpoints and Suzuki training into creating vivid and refreshing performance onstage.  Collaboration and composition will be highlights of the course.

Dana Marks , M.F.A. (American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre; Institute of Advanced Theatre Training, Harvard University) is a Lecturing Fellow in Duke's Theatre Studies department.  Her fields of teaching and research interests include acting, voice, movement, and Viewpoints and Suzuki training methods.

WOMENST 49S.01

INSTRUCTOR:  Caroline Light

What differentiates a citizen from an “exile” and how is s/he constituted through dominant understandings of sexuality?  How is sexual shame generated on a mass scale, and how does it “rule” people’s lives and choices?  This course investigates the role that sexuality – defined both as an anatomical designation that supposedly determines gendered behavior and as an identity related to sexual desire – plays in proscribing citizenship in the Americas, specifically in the U.S. and Latin America.  We will investigate some of the multiple and shifting ways in which sex is considered a natural difference that distinguishes citizens from non-citizens, and we will seek to understand how sex influences different groups’ efforts to exercise power, challenge the powerful, or reinforce their own powerlessness.  We will also address the ways in which knowledge about citizenship is filtered through assumptions about sex and race.  How, for example, do we come to know what we know about sex, gender, race, and citizenship?  What does globalization contribute to the distribution of this knowledge?  Readings and assignments will help us address the ways in which sexual rights remain a site of contestation and struggle in the global Americas.

Caroline Light, Ph.D. (University of Kentucky) is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Women’s Studies department, and also works as Program Coordinator for Duke’s Institute for Critical U.S. Studies.  Her research interests include Southern Jewish identity, Latin American studies, critical race theory, and sexuality studies.