The purpose of the course is to expose the student to major trends in the literature, arts, music, politics, and society of Renaissance Italy (circa 1350-1563) through the reading and discussion of representative works, and the use of sites as places of learning. When relevant, the intellectual and historical dynamic of the period under examination will be compared and contrasted to contemporary American society. We will also discuss the real work of the artist, his position in the contemporary society, the relationships between artist and patron, the organization of the workshop. Through the study of the different techniques, (e.g. the fresco painting, the marble and bronze sculpture, the tempera and oil technique on panels or canvas) the student will become more familiar with artistic language; will discover the importance of the artistic work team; and see the work of art from a different point of view. Visits to local museums and galleries will be the occasion to learn to read or ‘dialogue with’ works of art; to focus on the suggestions that a work of art implies; to analyze the problems of interpretation of religious and pagan symbols in art.

Between the late 1790s and 1817, Jane Austen wrote a series of novels people continue to read, and re-read- indeed, in some cases, to read obsessively. Movies have been made of her work- in some cases, several times over- and we see as well not only Austen movies on TV and in theaters, but various kinds of literary and cinematic spinoffs- Becoming Jane, Clueless, The Jane Austen Book Club, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies- as well as an enormous amount of published "fan fiction." Austen dealt powerfully with deeply important issues of how, fundamentally, people should live their lives, and she did this in a way that was both philosophically sophisticated and deeply sensitive to the particularities of people's situations- in particular, how their class locations and gender identities limited their actions, feelings, and imaginations.

In this course, we will encounter Austen's work in the settings where she wrote it, and set it, and sold it. We'll track the cultural preoccupations of Austen's time, at they bore on her writing, with special attention to the philosophers with whom her work engages- in particular, figures such as John Locke and David Hume- and consider how her novels have been seen as constituting ways of moral thinking by contemporary philosophers, such as Gilbert Ryle, Alice Crary, and Elizabeth Dadlez. A special interest will be the complex relationship between the moral vision that seems latent in her work, and a systematic moral theory that was first being articulated and defended in Britain in and around Austen's life time- the theory of utilitarianism.

This course second level IAH course will focus on the Indian subcontinent and provide an integrated view of the historic and contemporary influences on the culture of the area. Literature, the arts, religion and social institutions will be studied in an historic context. The focus will be on three distinct periods: Pre-British Moghul India, The period of the British Raj, and Post-Independence India. It will serve as a backdrop to a study abroad program, providing a grounding in the cultural basis for contemporary values, beliefs and lifestyles. Much of the content of the course will be presented through hands-on experiences in-country. Dr. Mary Andrews will share the instruction and integration role with the on-site program coordinator, Dr. Archna Kumar. Together, the two will guide students in exploring the rich heritage, living cultures and increasing global nature of India.

Various approaches to government, policy and justice cannot be understood without connection to Australia's past and contemporary challenges to its historical cultural frames and worldview. For example, one cannot understand Australian government and policy approaches without reference to the country's origins as a prison colony, or without reference to the formative 19th century years that posed an inhospitable environment to life and development. These historical realities shape contemporary criminal and civil codes, property rights, basic notions of political freedoms and citizen rights, and orientations toward the role of the state in national development and problem solving. Another frame that shapes contemporary Australia is the interplay between the uprooting of Australia's historical and cultural connections to England/Europe and the reality that Australia increasingly sees itself as an Asian country in trade, population demographics, culture and other strategic realities.

This course will look at examples of the history, languages, contemporary literature (fiction, theatre, poetry) and prose of South Africa seen through the lens of race relations. Students will participate in lecture/discussions with professors from MSU (1) and South Africa (3) in three different regions of the country. They will engage in community developments projects in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng provinces. Through their readings and experiences in each of these locales they will become familiar with the development of South Africa as a multiracial democracy particularly as it relates to rights and responsibilities involved in the struggle for freedom and full citizenship.

The course introduces how the artistic traditions of Sub-Saharan Africa (specifically Ghana) are integrated into daily living, culture, politics, and indigenous healing practices. The course uses lecture-discussion sessions, journaling, readings, music and dance performances and instruction, field trips, and exposure to traditional and contemporary art forms to engage participants in a vast breadth of Ghanaian and West African history and contemporary society. The course explores Ghana’s contributions to world civilization through the lens of its artistic creativity, and attempts to deal with changing realities brought about by colonial and post-colonial experiences.

This course investigates issues of identity and belonging in India, with a particular focus on the ways religion, gender, and the family shape individual identity. Structured as a multidisciplinary exploration with a strong emphasis on literature, drama, and religion within a historical context, this course challenges students to make connections between an academic study of Indian culture and their direct experience this culture through the study abroad component of the course.

This course explores the lives, music, history, and culture of people of African descent in three different world regions, Africa, the Americas, and the British Caribbean. Students will learn about the major themes and developments in culture and history of the African Diaspora. The course examines the nature of slavery and compares slavery and resistance to it in all the focus regions, while exploring the exportation of African musical and cultural practices to the West. The course further examines the historical and cultural underpinnings of emancipation, independence and civil rights movements in the West and the colonial and postcolonial experiences of Africans on the continent. Emphasis will be placed on congruencies and divergences in the historical and cultural experiences of people of African descent in these diverse geographical regions. In addition to required readings and writing assignments, students will view and listen to selected films and musical recordings that reflect the diverse yet related cultural and historical experiences of Blacks in Africa and its Diaspora.

This second level MSU IAH course meets mornings in the Boyer Building at the Rothberg School of Hebrew, 9:30 am-12:15 pm, and is a core course in the MSU Jewish Studies Summer Program at the Hebrew University/Rothberg International School. The course focuses on the emergence of the modern state of Israel, covering the Zionist idea, the development of a Jewish community in Israel (the Yishuv), the rise of a modern state after World War II, issues of war and peace, and the increasing diversity and complexity of Israeli society with its many clashing voices. The course also takes advantage of its location in Israel to organize on-site learning in several course-related excursions. The course is taught by Dr. David Mendelsson, an historian, and is interdisciplinary as well as historical.

The purpose of the course is to expose the student to major trends in the literature, arts, music, politics, and society of Renaissance Italy (circa 1350-1563) through the reading and discussion of representative works, and the use of sites as places of learning. When relevant, the intellectual and historical dynamic of the period under examination will be compared and contrasted to contemporary American society. We will also discuss the real work of the artist, his position in the contemporary society, the relationships between artist and patron, the organization of the workshop. Through the study of the different techniques, (e.g. the fresco painting, the marble and bronze sculpture, the tempera and oil technique on panels or canvas) the student will become more familiar with artistic language; will discover the importance of the artistic work team; and see the work of art from a different point of view. Visits to local museums and galleries will be the occasion to learn to read or 'dialogue with' works of art; to focus on the suggestions that a work of art implies; to analyze the problems of interpretation of religious and pagan symbols in art.

This is the theory course for the program. You must consider this course as one thread, an important one, you will need to weave your understanding of what this program is about. Think of the trip as part geographical or spatial journey conjoined with an intellectual journey, making you what William Blake calls a ?Mental Traveller.? This course then is about context, about how we go about thinking, valuing, imagining, and experiencing. The program as a whole intends to re-position you perceptually so that the first question you ask of yourself or any observer is "How are we positioned?"

The main organizing principle for this IAH course is Irish nationalism and its expression in modern Irish culture. The course is divided into four units, each unit organized in relation to a specific cultural form of expression and Irish national politics: unit 1, film and Irish nationalism; unit 2, Irish prose fiction and nationalism; unit 3, contemporary Irish visual art and nationalism; unit 4, Irish poetry and Irish nationalism. While Irish culture is more diverse than the national struggle that has marked the island’s history for several centuries, the focus on nationalism remains central to understanding the modern era in general and contemporary issues in modern Ireland in particular.

Dates: July 6-Aug 20, 2009

This course considers the key role that moral issues have played in the course of human conflict with a particular focus on the United States and Europe during World War II. The class will combine an on-campus phase of intensive study followed by four weeks in Europe where students will visit locations where some of the critical decisions were made and the actual events happened during World War II. Other issues to be studied and considered will be the relationship between history and memory and to assess the role of moral issues as they developed and changed during World War II. Understanding how eyewitness testimony concerning moral issues has shaped history will be an additional focal point for study in the course.

Description: This course examines a set of issues concerning health and health care, and their relation to society. To do this we study in detail the case of Costa Rica , which, despite having far fewer resources than the US, has comparable health outcomes. We address how Costa Rica's health care system functions, and how it fits with the cultural context of Costa Rica as a small, developing Latin American nation. We also consider how we can address ethical and policy issues that arise concerning health and the provision of health care, and how these are similar and dissimilar in the US and Costa Rican contexts.

In this section of IAH 231B, we will focus on the lasting, impassioned, and often bloody conflicts between loyalists and nationalists in Ireland (between those who believe Ireland, or part of it, should remain loyal to the British crown and part of the British Commonwealth and those who believe Ireland, or most of it, should be a separate nation).

The purpose of this course is to expose the student to musical traditions of Austria and Germany and their influences on politics and history through the reading and discussion of representative works, and the use of sites as places of learning. This course is designed for non-music majors, to introduce many and varied connections between the arts within the context of their periods. The student will gain a broad knowledge of musical styles and cultures within the European operatic and cultural tradition which, when possible, will correspond to class discussions in AL 400 (Art and Culture).

By focusing on an overview of the ideas and history of the British Women's Movement primarily from the 19th and 20th centuries to the present, on an overview of a selected British women writers over about the same period, and on feminist views on art and the theatre, we hope to come to some answers to these questions and to raise other questions as well. Largely by examining textual excerpts from British feminist philosophers, activists and literary writers, we should gain a general understanding of the roles, history and perspectives of British women, making comparisons with U.S. women occasionally along the way.

This course will introduce the students to contemporary British theatre practice paired with the study of historical theatrical traditions.

Following Robert Edmond Jones’ example, students will explore the influences of today’s theatre by looking at art, fashion, culture and style in order to reflect about societal issues and write educated opinion papers on focused topics.

Between 1650 and 1750, the population of England grew by fifty percent. The population of London grew even faster. In part, this reflected population growth throughout England in general, but in part it represented the migration of formerly rural people to London. This increase in population fostered skyrocketing crime rates and an increasing gap, both socially and economically, between working class and middle class people. We will examine the following topics in depth in regard to their relationship to the theater: 1) English and British politics from 1580 to 1800; 2) The relationships between men and women, as well as aspects of sexuality in dramatic portrayals; 3) Dramatic population and economic changes in eighteenth century Great Britain; and 4) The ways in which architecture embodies changes in social structures and cultural beliefs.

In 1997, South Africa adopted a new constitution, ending its oppressive and contested apartheid era and establishing a new democratic, non-racial government. This course introduces students to the history of the peoples of this remarkable nation through an examination of its literature, visual arts, and music and the institutions that preserve and present cultural heritage. Special attention will be given to how this transformation process is both reflected in and impacted by cultural expression and cultural policies.

Particular attention will be given to issues of diversity and multiculturalism, the role of artistic expression as a form of social action, and the documentation and interpretation of the apartheid and post-apartheid experience.