COOPER UNION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND ARTFACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES FALL 2015-COURSE DESCRIPTIONS 4/6/15 HSS1 (3 Credits) HSS1 Freshman Seminar. A literature course concentrating on poetry and drama. Selected texts from antiquity and the Renaissance are common to all sections, with works from other genres, periods and cultures chosen by individual instructors. The course develops aesthetic appreciation of literary texts and encourages a range of critical responses. Through close reading and extended discussion students learn to articulate their responses in written and spoken form. 3 credits. HSS3 (3 Credits) HSS3 The Making of Modern Society. A study of the key political, social and intellectual developments of modern Europe in global context. This course is organized chronologically, beginning with the Industrial and French Revolutions. Students develop an understanding of the political grammar and material bases of the present day by exploring the social origins of conservatism, liberalism, feminism, imperialism and totalitarianism. In discussions and in lectures students learn to study and to respond critically in written and spoken form to a variety of historical documents and secondary texts. 3 credits HUMANITIES (3 Credits) HUM207 Music Cultures of the World. Examines music from a variety of musical cultures around the world, from Native American to Indonesian Gamelan music, including ethnic musical events in New York City. 3 credits. Jason Oakes HUM306 Native America. An examination of Native American world views against a background of history. The stress will be on written literary texts drawn from oral cultures, including collections of traditional songs and stories, as well as contemporary writers. In addition, we will watch videos and listen to music. 3 credits. Brian Swann HUM323 The Presence of Poetry. This will be a class in which the center of attention is the poem itself. We will concentrate on modern English and American poetry. The common text will be The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry Vol. 2, third edition (Jahan Ramazani, Richard Ellmann, and Robert O’Clair) but students are encouraged to look into other anthologies and into such studies as those of William Empson in Seven Types of Ambiguity and Martin Heidegger in Poetry, Language, Thought. 3 credits. Brian Swann with the ultimate aim of assessing what Plato means. Welles. including Griffith. a series of problems. As we work through the text book by book. Mary Stieber HUM392 Ethics. 3 credits Chloe Layman . 3 credits. Canonical works and the major figures of the silent and sound cinema are treated. William Germano HUM328 The History of Cinema I : 1895-1945. They are us. We will then venture briefly into the analogous genre of “utopian” literature which the Republic inadvertently engendered. Chaplin. we will create our own "Socratic dialogue. with this enigmatic work. Comparative material in the form of historical and contemporary (to Socrates and Plato) influences. Sohnya Sayres HUM373D Plato’s Republic. Student interest will determine the ethical situations that we explicitly discuss in key weeks of the course. if not a template for an ideal society. 3 credits. Vertov. inorganic versions of ourselves. 3 credits. Instead of separating the “scientific” from the “poetic. popular culture. documentary. Automation.” and how the boundaries between living/non-living require constant rethinking. and psychoanalysis to drama. Issues in Contemporary Fiction from writers from around the Globe in the Post-WWII Era. relationships. precedents.HUM325 Puppet. and references will be introduced where appropriate. and considerations that would run parallel to the text. finishing with the most influential modern critique. moral skepticism. and its reverberations down through the ages as a model of political theorizing. tba HUM356 Issues in Contemporary Fiction. commitment. and then invented. we have imagined. The course considers real-world ethical dilemmas in a philosophical context. the Republic. students will examine and critically evaluate a variety of ethical theories with the aim of gaining a fuller appreciation of the complexities of difficult or controversial ethical situations.” this course will introduce and explore ways in which we can think about what we want from our “artificial life." that is. Particular emphasis will be placed on questions concerning the nature and importance of value. Hitchcock and Godard. deliberations. questions. duty. and not us: puppets. and intends. and relativism. A history of the motion picture from its origins until now. sometimes for entertainment. 3 credits. A seminar devoted entirely to a close reading and critical analysis of Plato’s greatest dialogue. Throughout the course. Robot. the history of science. that of Popper. and art. moral disagreement. virtue. Renoir. This course will draw upon an interdisciplinary range of materials –from philosophy. From antiquity to the present. sometimes to perform essential tasks. Eisenstein. automata. and robots are toys or machines that look like us (or parts of us). emphasizing the evolution of the language of cinematic representation-in feature. Deren. animated and experimental filmmaking. of disaster in the global twentieth and early twenty-first century. as well as “natural disasters" (for example. the Holocaust. memorials. in the popular imagination and public discourse. the concept of a society that flourishes by living within the limits of. and ask how the current boom in disaster imagery shapes our imagination and sense of future. We will analyze films and television series. Jason Clarke SS334 Microeconomics. the natural environment. Some representative questions we will be discussing are: What is the function of consciousness? How intelligent is the unconscious? What is the relationship between consciousness and attention? Can a machine ever be conscious? Is consciousness fundamental in the universe (as Eastern philosophies argue) or did it emerge as matter became ever more complex (as Western science insists)? Is there a stream of consciousness or is it just an illusion? Do we really ever make conscious decisions or are these decisions already made before we become conscious of them? Can science (as it currently stands) explain subjectivity or is a scientific revolution (comparable to the change in worldview that occurred due to relativity and quantum theory) necessary? 3 credits. This course is an investigation into the scientific exploration of subjective experience. This seminar will be a dialogue on sustainability. including the cultural echoes of key events such as genocide in Armenia during World War I. findings from psychology and neuroscience. lucid dreams. tsunami). what some have called the last great mystery of science. how both have been shaped by the natural environment and have shaped it in return. Katrina. as well as discussing altered states (drugs. and the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Popular Culture. and the Modern Imagination. 3 credits. and Western and Eastern approaches to the subject. technological disasters (from bridge collapses to nuclear plant accidents). past.SOCIAL SCIENCES (3 Credits) SS318A Environmental Sustainability. and in harmony with. and social media in order to better understand varied responses to catastrophes or apocalyptic scenarios. press debates. or terrorism (such as 9/11). The interdisciplinary seminar will focus on cultural expressions. Taking an integrative approach to all aspects of sustainable development. and imaginatively anticipated. historical and policy debates in the study of market processes in capitalist economies. artworks. mysticism. graphic novels. present. Students will investigate a diverse set of examples. This course presents an overview of the essential theoretical. out-of-body-experiences). Microeconomics is the study of individual economic behavior and how it leads to specific social outcomes in a capitalist economy such as relative prices and the distribution of income. Atina Grossman SS318I The Psychology of Consciousness. Al Appleton SS318H Disaster. We will examine the relationship between objective brain processes and first-person awareness. 3 creditis. We begin by developing fundamental economic concepts and examining . and how issues of environmental sustainability shape our lives and careers. the course will stress the ecological characterof human life and human history. Among the trends we will consider are the tensions between resource competition and authority. Course topics include: consumer behavior. global trading systems. Robert Arrow. the environment and sustainable development. including societal and environmental stress. A study of the transformations in food production and consumption. the advent of restaurant culture and the perils of fast and industrial food. do individuals and firms relate to the institutional structures in which they find themselves (the fundamental question of microeconomics vs macroeconomics)? Are there empirical regularities and patterns produced by market processes that can be explained using economic theory? Are the forces that produce these phenomena historically determined? Are social phenomena simply the sum of individuals’ choices? How are individual choices constrained by social institutions? How do legal/political institutions shape market outcomes such as prices and profit? How do competing economic theories explain these phenomena? Do market processes lead to fair and optimal outcomes? What is meant by the term ‘efficiency’? Are market processes stable? What are the benefits and costs of business competition? How should governments regulate and shape market behavior? What is the role of financial markets? Is ‘free trade’ desirable? The course is intended for students John Sarich who have little or no background in economics. Nicholas D’Avella SS358 Social History of Food.some of the pertinent historical facts relating to life in capitalist economies such as wages. among other Nobel Laureates. Thomas Schelling and John Harsanyi. profits. the distribution of income. SS342 Anthropology of Ritual. game theory has quickly gained a large following among students of . Peter Buckley SS372 Global Issues. performance. rituals are now seen as arenas through which social change may emerge and are recognized to be present in all societies. The study of ritual takes us to the heart of anthropological approaches to experience. Anne Griffin SS382 Game Theory. Since its introduction in 1943 by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern. 3 credits. Once thought to be "vestigial" organs of archaic societies. the rise of commercial agriculture in the colonies. The course examines the passage of "new world" foods into Europe and Asia. This course will examine current issues of global significance and their implications for policy and decision-making. productivity and technological change. the general theory of games has been instrumental to our understanding of various social behaviors. prices. 1492 to the present. exactly. Questions that we will address include: How. the rise of national cuisines. hierarchies and democracy. Throughout the course we will explore varying definitions of ritual and its universal and particular aspects. We then compare and contrast theories that purport to explain these historical trends. allocation of resources and business competition. With key contributions of such renowned scholars as John Nash. the emergence of a global economy. and the emergence of new security issues. supply and demand. production and the business firm. symbolism and association. and the relationship between markets. while surveying ethnographic case studies from around the world. 3 credits. financial markets. especially sugar. 3 credits. 3 credits. demographic change. from antiquity through the present. and architecture. 102 A-D (Spring) Modern to Contemporary: An Introduction to Art History. and aesthetic parameters of each of the two modes of expression in the shared enterprise of the representation of reality and/or the world of ideas. the second is to consider the application of these concepts in economics and political science. In tracing the history of industrial design from its emergence at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to the present. A diverse group of topics will be considered. Throughout. Leigh. Though at times seemingly abstract. developed as part of the Foundation year for students in the School of Art but open to all students. ‘poetry is like painting’). with the goal of seeking a common ground for a discourse with which to evaluate the nature. be able to describe the main social and political contexts for the changes in art/design over the last two hundred years. typography. The course has two dimensions: the first is to explore the theoretical basis of games. printmaking. is organized around a set of themes running through the history of modernity from the 18th century to the present. evolutionary biology and even political science. 2 credits.’ or more loosely. papers and exams. 2 credits.) but also the social and political forces that have shaped the many styles. we will also demonstrate how movements in industrial design relate to parallel developments in the history of painting. The course will involve museum visits. Students will be able to identify and critically evaluate significant works. “ut pictura poesis” (literally. with theoretical perspectives on art/design production. Jennifer Wilson ART HISTORY (2 Credits) HTA101(Fall). Andrew Weinstein HTA232 Is Painting Like Poetry? Inspired by the famous dictum.economics. covering painting.. poetry. 2 credits. and the allied arts. in writing and class discussion. advertising. Grading will be based on class participation. this course will examine not only aesthetics (of furniture and the decorative arts. whether as rivals or as allies. James Wylie . An introduction to the art of Edo period Japan (1603-1867). ‘as painting. etc. from Horace’s Art of Poetry. machinery. and engage. figures and movements in art/design will be presented chronologically. figures and movements in art/design in the modern period. toys. within a specific historical time frame and context. tba HTA231 History of Industrial Design. This two-semester art history core course. significant works. 2 credits. 3 credits. sculpture. Bedarida. significance. game theory has shown us that it has practical value with applications in firmlevel management and strategic decisions making in military campaigns. Llorens HTA220 Japanese Art. the course examines the interconnections between literature and the visual arts. Within specific themes. the decorations of Rockefeller Center (including Paul Manship’s 1934 Prometheus and Lee Lawrie’s 1937 Atlas). Joshua Decter HTA282 Public Sculpture in New York City. propaganda. and Richard Serra’s Tilted Arc (1978). we consider social context. HTA283 The “Genius” of the Baroque. This course examines the genius of European Baroque art as distilled in the work of its greatest exemplars. 2 credits. the sculptural programs of Central Park. from the beginning photographs have combined realism with theatrical illusion. Maren Stange HTA275 20th Century Art History. We will also examine individual monuments such as Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s Farragut Monument (1880). bourgeois society in the north. and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome with attention to the impact of the classical imagination on the art of succeeding ages. and the cult of great men and women. 2 credits. skepticism. religious faith. so closely intermeshed. sensual and sublime. Miro. will be a key Natasha Marie Llorens component of the course. The focus of this seminar will be the great 13th-century cathedral of Chartres. Kandinsky.HTA 270 The Art of Greece and Rome. 2 credits. viewing sculpture. Dubuffet. intellectual currents and conflicting aesthetic views. Prospect Park. sexual identity and the family. 2 credits. and the many possibilities offered by digitalization. and what roles altered images have played historically. But in addition to technical methods and their esthetic effects. natural history in the service of the nation. asking why we have wanted to alter photographs. as well as historical events. the emergence of Protestant capitalism and a pluralist. collage and pastiche. This course studies altered photography. and Green-Wood Cemetery. in local museums or in situ. We consider early double exposure and double printing. 2 credits. Benjamin Binstock HTA 285 Single-Work Seminar: Chartres Cathedral. An introduction to the sculpture. patronage and social identity. including commemoration of historical events. Smith Calder and others. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty (1886). explored in relation to such enduring artists as Picasso. Art history resides precisely in the relation between our present interest in these artists and the past conditions in which they worked. Emphasis will be placed on reading works or art as primary texts. Photography was invented by a creator of stage sets and dioramas. distorting lenses. Elizabeth Monti . Considers the flourishing “isms” of the 20th century. We will also address the ideology of the counter-reformation church. Isamu Noguchi’s News (1940) and the sculpture garden he created at his Long Island City studio. Malevich. In no other period were body and spirit. hand-drawn manipulation. Klee. Ceilia Bergoffen HTA273 Topics in the History of Photography: Altered Images. Pollack. airbrushing. Matisse. 2 credits. painting. all focused through the position of the artist in society. artistic and civic education for the masses. This course will examine trends that have informed the history of public sculpture in New York City. Giacometti. the avant-garde. students will be familiar with the socio-political and circumstances that led to the birth of this last of the monotheistic religions and the evolution and final decline of what art history calls “Islamic civilization”. developing many of his formative ideas. communication. Cooper Union is a part of this history. Broad topics include.HTA296 Synartesis. this course will explore new potentials for understanding works of art outside the bounds of traditional linear narrative by experimenting with how inter-chronological and thematic comparisons of artworks might allow us to develop a more personal relationship to the past as it intersects with the constantly unfolding future. and video. objects. reading texts to help us understand Fluxus’s contributions to a history of critical art practice and continued relevance today. painting. but are not limited to: Fluxus’s relationship to Modernism. Pop Art and Conceptual Art. In addition to examining samples of architectural monuments. We will explore the roots of Fluxus in New York and internationally. lectures will include reading literary texts. Drawing on what has often been pejoratively referred to as anachronistic or philosophical art history. This seminar centers on the idea of *synartesis* – the act of fastening or knitting together to produce union even among disparate kinds of knowledge and materials. and Mughals. the transgression of traditional media boundaries in new performance. 2 credits. DIY practices. commodification and globalization. listening to Koranic recitations. and watching films. studied art. Students will also research and help to answer the following question: why such a pragmatic philosophy gave rise to an almost exclusively abstract art while there is no explicit text in its dogma that prohibits naturalistic depiction. Lithuanian-born artist George Maciunas. Haitham Abdullah . artist collectives. Students will be introduced to the diversity of Fluxus artists and their practices. Upon finishing the course. 2 credits. and so-called neo-avant-garde. ceramics. cross-cultural exchange. We will study the “new media” of Fluxus in all its forms. This course looks at the Islamic art and architecture with a concentration on the Gunpowder Dynasties: the Ottomans. Allison Leigh HTA313E Fluxus. productive intersections with ideas about organization. systems. concurrent art trends such as Environments. and the legacy of Fluxus in contemporary art. This course examines the international artists collective Fluxus as it emerged on three continents from 1962-1978. Mari Dumett HTA333 Islamic Art and Architecture. metalwork’s and calligraphy. architecture and design here from 1949 to 1952. 2 credits. Happenings. The founder of Fluxus. Safavids.