Fall 2024 Course Focus Information

Use the information provided to assist you in finding an IAH class that aligns with your interests. Availability of open seats in the classes listed below is subject to enrollment and not guaranteed.

Course numbers that begin with 73* are online asynchronous. Course numbers that begin with 74* are hybrid. Course numbers that end with “H” are honors sections. Enrollment is restricted to students who have been accepted the MSU Honors College.

Additional sections of IAH courses may be available in the schedule that are not listed here.

IAH 201 (United States and the World)

Sections 001-012 – Michigan Culture and History
Section 740 – American Indians from Stereotype to Human Being
Section 741 – The Muslim Experience in the US

IAH 202 (Europe and the World)

Sections 001-012 – From Human Rights to Terrorism: Democracy, Capitalism, and Globalization, 1789-present
Sections 013-014 – The Roots and Consequences of the First World War, 1815-1945
Sections 015-026 – Europe Beyond Its Borders: Cultures of Empire from the Conquest of the Americas to Contemporary Forms of Globalization

IAH 203 (Latin America and the World)

Sections 001-006 – How Conquest, Subjugation, Colonialism, and Empire Have Impacted National Development and Forms of Inequity in Latin America and How Reformers Have Tried to Promote Human Dignity and Greater Political and Economic Equality

IAH 204 (Asia and the World)

Section 740 – Cultural Encounters Between East Asia and the World from the Jesuits to K-pop

IAH 205 (Africa and the World)

Section 001 – Pondering, (Re)Evaluating, (Re)Imagining Relations on the Continent and Beyond

IAH 206 (Self, Society, and Technology)

Sections 001-012 – Biology, Technology, and the Human Condition
Section 013 – The Roles, Controversies, Promises and Perils of Science, Technology, and Social Media
Section 014 – Minds, Brains, and Machines
Sections 015, 022-027 – Social Media and Democracy
Sections 016-021 – Language and Our Lives
Section 730 – Snoop: Self, Surveillance, and Technologies of Control
Section 731 – Altermundos: Introduction to Latinx Speculative Literatures
Sections 740H, 741 – Creativity and Innovation in Social, Cultural, Artistic, and Individual Contexts

IAH 207 (Literatures, Cultures, Identities)

Sections 001-006, 041 – Ideas of Class, Race, and Identity
Sections 007-018 – Monsters
- This course pursues the hauntingly complex figure of the monster throughout several different historical periods and across a range of media, including literature, film, television, and art. We will ask how monsters serve to displace and embody our fears, and how, lurking at the borders that demarcate our cultural identities, the threaten to smash through the distinctions we use to define our sense of the normal, the permissible, and the just.
Sections 019-024 – Soccer and Identity in Global Context
Sections 025-036 – Afrofantastic: Race, Power, and Gender in the Black Imaginary
Sections 040, 730 – The Literature of Extinction
Sections 042, 048 – The Intertwining of Culture, Inequality, and Connection as a Way to (Re)Imagine Navigating the World During These Turbulent Times
Section 043 – Poetry in Motion: Literature, Sports, and Aesthetic Experience
Section 044 – True Crime Narratives: The American True Crime Genre
Section 045 – Death and the Meaning of Human Mortality
Section 046 – Contemporary Mayan Expressions: Contestation and Revitalization
Section 047 – Indigenous Futurisms
Sections 049, 050 – College in Popular Culture
- Considers representations of college life in literature, film, and historical records
Section 051H – How Crime is Romanticized in Film in Lovable Outlaw, Heist, and Gangster Films
Section 731 – Climate, Environment, and Society in Science Fiction
Sections 732, 737 – Modern Mexican Traditions and Identities
Section 733 – Poetry for Daily Life: The Power and Beauty of Words
Section 734 – The Fairy Tale in Culture and Society
Section 735 – Leaving Home: Exploring Immigration Through Young Adult Literature
Sections 736, 740 – The World of Sleepy Hollow
Section 738 – On Women Novelists from the Middle East
Section 741 – Russian Culture
Section 742 – Intercultural Communication Through Film: East vs. West

IAH 208 (Music and Culture)

Sections 001-006 – Music and Social Life
Section 007 – Sound Cities: Pop Music and Urban Space
Section 008 – An Introduction to the Origins and Rise of Hip-Hop Culture
Section 740 – The Evolution of Electronics in Popular and Art Music

IAH 209 (Art, the Visual, and Culture)

Section 001 – If Walls Could Speak! Architecture, Power, Experience: Exploring the Relationship Between Architecture and Structures of Power in Society
Section 730 – Advertising: Propaganda, Literature, Art and Entertainment
Section 731 – Totally Awesome 80s? The influence and Challenges of Historical Narrative
Sections 740-741 – Mid-20^th Century Crime Thrillers Examined in Terms of Power, Privilege, Inequity, Oppression, and Justice

IAH 210 (Middle East and the World)

Section 001 – Israeli Culture
Sections 740, 741H – The U.S. in the Middle East (20^th Century)
Section 742 – Language, Culture, and Society in the Arab World

IAH 211A (Area Studies and Multicultural Civilizations: Africa)

Section 001 – African Cultures, Languages, and Literature
Section 730 – From African Kingdoms: Empires, City-States and Ethnic Nationalities to Modern (Postcolonial) States

IAH 211B (Area Studies and Multicultural Civilizations: Asia and the Pacific)

Section 001 – Asian Arts and Cultures

IAH 211C (Area Studies and Multicultural Civilizations: The Americas)

Section 001 – Cuba: The Forging of a Unique Cultural Identity
Section 002 – Latin American Nationalisms and Globalization
Section 003 – Religion and Race in America
Section 740 – Latin America and the United States: Cultural Exchanges Since 1898
Section 741 – Images of Indians in Hollywood Films

IAH 221C (Great Ages: The Modern World)

Section 730 – Modern Ireland

IAH 231A (Themes and Issues: Human Values and the Arts and Humanities)

Section 002 – Ultimate Reality and the Meaning of Life
Section 003 – The Occult in America
Section 004 – The Good Life: An Exploration into the Nature of Human Flourishing and Well-Being
Section 005 – Art and Disability
Section 007 – Central European Cinema
- Explores history and culture of Central Europe through film
Sections 730-731 – Global Fact Hunters: Testing Our Knowledge of the World and Exploring Our Unconscious Biases

IAH 231B (Themes and Issues: Moral Issues and the Arts and Humanities)

Section 001 – Climate Fictions: From the Environment to the Anthropocene
Section 002 – Media, Propaganda, and Justice
Section 003 – Memory Cultures: Representing the Holocaust in US, German, and Global Contexts
Section 004 – Capitalism, Globalization, and Geopolitics
Section 740 – Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Video Games

IAH 231C (Themes and Issues: Roles of Language in Society)

Sections 001-003 – How to Invent a Language: Constructed Languages from Elvish to Klingon
Sections 004-006 – Language and Mind
Section 730 – Swearing
Section 731 – Language and Power
Section 732 – Core Sociocultural and Historical Factors that Have Impacted the Lives of Many Ebonics Speakers
- IAH 231C, in general, highlights language as a medium of culture in various societies. Power and social identity as manifested through language receive key attention. Before delving into the linguistic system, the course centers some core sociocultural and historical factors that have impacted the lives of many Ebonics speakers. This purview is necessary due to some gaps in U.S. educational systems and firsthand experiences.

IAH 241A (Creative Arts and Humanities: Music and Society in the Modern World)

Sections 001-003 – Music of Africa and the Diaspora
Sections 004, 730 – Sounds of Social Movements: Pop Music and Politics
Section 005 – Connections Between Cultural Experience and Expression in the United States Through the Development of New Forms of Music (Such as Blues, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Various Forms of Pop and Rock)

IAH 241C (Creative Arts and Humanities: Global Cultural and Artistic Traditions)

Section 740 – British Society and Culture Since World War II, with a Focus on Comedy

IAH 241D (Creative Arts and Humanities: Theater and Society)

Section 730 – Ibsen and Society
- Social problem dramas 1879-2017 examined in terms of power, privilege, inequity, oppression, and justice
Section 740 – Theatrical Event as Sensuous Engagement

IAH 241E (Creative Arts and Humanities: The Creative Process)

Section 001 – The Creative Experience
Sections 002-003 – Theatre and Media for Development
Section 730 – How Creativity and Innovation Enrich Your Life: An Introspective Journey
Section 731 – The Influence of Design, Art and the Digital Humanities on Modern Theatre and Performance

IAH 241G (Creative Arts and Humanities: Film and Culture)

Section 001 – Sex and Violence in Film, TV, and Digital Media
Section 002 – Iraeli Culture
Section 003 – Nukes and Chainsaws: Cold War Horror Cinema
Sections 740H, 741 – Beyond Disney: Fairy Tales, Folklore, and Film