Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment frequently makes the lists of greatest novels ever written. A masterful combination of philosophical and psychological inquiry, the novel explores the turmoil of the antihero Raskolnikov as he plots and commits a grotesque crime. Literature professor Joseph Luzzi discusses the storytelling techniques and historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts that inform Dostoevsky’s literary vision.
Through classical texts and portrayals on vases and in marble, we can piece together the romantic entanglements of Greco-Roman deities such as Zeus and Leda, Eros and Psyche, and Apollo and Daphne. Despite their divine status, the gods of these myths grappled with feelings remarkedly human in nature, such as desire, jealousy, and the quest for revenge. Art historian Renee Gondek delves into Greco-Roman tales of love, lust, and woe as reflected in both ancient and contemporary artworks. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
After months of contentious negotiations among American, British, and French delegates, the Treaty of Paris was signed in November 1783, formally ending the War for Independence and creating the United States of America. Historian Richard Bell examines the complex diplomatic evolution of one the most important founding documents in this country’s history—as well as the least well-known and the most misunderstood.
Over the past 2,000 years, Samarkand—located in what is now Uzbekistan—has absorbed the wealth and labors of Sogdian merchants, Manichean priests, Islamic astronomers, Mongol khans, Timurid emperors, Russian czars, and Soviet officials, all of whom attempted to use the city as a base from which to conquer Central Asia. Historian Justin M. Jacobs analyzes the cultural achievements of each of these historical groups.
For five weeks in early 1945, the tiny island of Iwo Jima became the site of some of the most brutal fighting in the Pacific Theater. The battle's intensity led Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz to remark, “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.” Historian Christopher Hamner draws on primary sources from both the American and Japanese sides to examine its strategic significance to the United States’ effort against Imperial Japan; its consequences for the final stages of the Pacific war; and its importance to Americans’ memories of World War II.
The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, completed in the 14th century in Florence, is the city’s principal Dominican church. Located next to the main railway station, the church, cloisters, and chapter house contain works by some of Italy’s most notable Gothic and early Renaissance artists, including Brunelleschi, Giotto, and Ghiberti. Italian Renaissance art expert Rocky Ruggiero highlights this lesser-known church and museum and its treasures. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
“Sleeping Beauty” is one of our most famous and most often retold fairy tales. It has a long, complicated past, filled with goddesses, magic rings, and astrology. It can even be connected to the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, which tells of the beauty of nature undergoing a temporary death in the autumn and returning to life with the arrival of spring. Folklorists Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman explore “Sleeping Beauty,” delving into how people tell the story around the world, what changes it has undergone, and how it has been retold to tackle new ideas in recent times.
Overshadowed for many decades, women artists who made important contributions to the Abstract Expressionist movement are finally getting their due. Most notable were five painters whose work was featured in the groundbreaking Ninth Street Art Exhibition of 1951. Art historian Nancy G. Heller examines the art and lives of these “Ninth Street Women,” their relationships with their male counterparts, and the gender-related obstacles they had to overcome to claim their place in a changing art world. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)