FREN375 Introduction to French Culture and Society: French Cuisine
Professor: Ana Oancea
An introduction to the many roles food and cooking play in French culture: we will discuss films, TV shows, bande dessinnée, as well as selections from fiction and non-fiction texts. We will discover how demographic and socio-economic changes in France are reflected in the cultural politics of French cuisine. We will also touch on questions related to immigration, as well as the relationship between France and its former colonies: intersects with gender in many ways, and we will explore professional and social inequalities between men and women in places such as restaurants, kitchens and markets.
LLCU375: Video Games and Eastern European Culture
Professor: Holly Myers
This course explores the relationship between video games and Eastern European culture, examining the many ways games impact society in this region and throughout the globe. While game scholars frequently focus on audiences in the United States, western Europe, and Asia, an examination of how games impact culture in regions like Eastern Europe—considered “peripheral” relative to the mainstream video game market—shows how the products of new media are affected by the cultural environments in which they are created, distributed, consumed, and otherwise put to use. Over the course of the semester, students will gain an appreciation for the many ways video games reflect and affect Eastern European culture today, as well as the role that historical events such as the Cold War played in the development of video game technologies.
LLCU330: Masterpieces of African Literature
Professor: Edgard Sankara
Come to the discovery of Africa! A crippled boy overcomes his disability to become the emperor of the Mali empire, the most powerful empire in West Africa: “The Lion King”! Find out whether Ramatoulaye’s response to her unfaithful husband is a feminist one, when she refuses to divorce him and when she also tries to start a new life while raising her eight children on her own. In the most populous nation in Africa, Nigeria, witness how two locals: a warrior (Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart) and a young boy (Wole in Aké the Years of Childhood) experienced colonialism while clinging to their ancestral traditions. How about a woman doctor in a male dominated and conservative religious community? Meet the Egyptian hero, Nawal Al Saadaoui, in her quest to break the glass ceiling. Films and documentaries will help us better understand the marvelous world of Africa: myth, reality, and fiction.
LLCU267 11/81: Happiness, Well-being, and the Latin Cultures
Professor: Dora Marin
Latin American countries are among some of the happiest in the world. Explore how culture shapes happiness and well-being, and how to incorporate simple techniques and strategies including dance, meditation and mindfulness to live a more joyful and meaningful life. No experience required.
LLCU267 10/80: Art of Arabic Calligraphy
This course is an introduction to the beautiful art of Arab calligraphy: we will learn the basic techniques of different calligraphic styles from the flowery ornamental to the geometric, and Kufic styles, using short poetry, proverbs and other phrases as excerpts.
