Introduces and explores new religious movements, sectarian spin-offs, and alternative communities in the U.S. that have tested the parameters of acceptable "religion" at different moments in history. Particular attention is given to intersectional dynamics. The class questions the politics and practices of labeling, especially the language of "cults," and centers on specific historical case studies in order to illustrate and analyze major theoretical and methodological challenges in and for the study of religion(s). It considers what draws people to create and join new religious movements, the distinctive worlds such groups endeavor to build, and the controversies that have historically attended them.
This seminar examines the history and methodological development of the discipline of religious studies. After surveying the discipline's inception in textual studies in the late Enlightenment period, the course examines its connections to earlier theological traditions, and the branching out into sociological, hermeneutical, and phenomenological approaches in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The seminar aims to acquaint junior majors with the complexities involved in studying religious phenomena, as well as with the categories and frameworks that constitute the contemporary multi-disciplinary field of religious studies.
A study of “religious freedom” discourse, its histories, and political consequences. Readings emphasize case law in the U.S., though with an eye to its comparative context, as well as the theoretical and methodological questions that studies of “religious freedom” offer the broader study of religion.
Rhetoric
Study of the principles, precepts, and strategies of informative, persuasive, and ceremonial speaking. Emphasis is placed on assessing the rhetorical situation and researching, composing, practicing, and delivering a speech. Ethical, political, and social questions raised by speaking in public are considered. Students deliver speeches, practice effective listening, and serve as speech critics and interlocutors.
Study of the principles, precepts, and strategies of informative, persuasive, and ceremonial speaking. Emphasis is placed on assessing the rhetorical situation and researching, composing, practicing, and delivering a speech. Ethical, political, and social questions raised by speaking in public are considered. Students deliver speeches, practice effective listening, and serve as speech critics and interlocutors.
Topical survey of the major questions and controversies in rhetorical theory, criticism, and practice, including rhetorical situations, classical canons of rhetoric, the role of rhetoric in civic life, and the relationship of rhetoric to power, politics, law, education, and ethics. Students consider the rights and responsibilities of speakers and critics. Accordingly, readings include selections from a wide array of rhetorical theorists and critics as well as a diverse and open canon of orators and speakers.
A seminar on a topic related to rhetoric. This course may be repeated for credit when the topic differs.
An examination of the history and criticism of American women's oratory and the history of women's public discourse in the United States from the colonial period through the present. Considers the historical, social, and cultural significance of women's rhetorical participation in civic life, as well as issues of authority, reception, and the nature of argument both within and about women's public address.
The seminar is designed to prepare and guide senior Rhetoric majors in the preparation of their senior theses. Weekly class meetings will be devoted to various topics related to their projects, including theoretical and practical problems of research, interpretation, analysis, scholarly writing and speaking, and the forms and standards of documentation and citation. Students will prepare and submit regular written and spoken assignments and read and critique each other’s work. They will deliver a final oral presentation of their completed project.
Russian
An introduction to the fundamentals of the language and culture with emphasis on communicative proficiency, clarity of pronunciation and basic skills in reading, writing, and conversation. Use of language laboratory required. Four hours of class each week, plus an additional conversation meeting with a native speaker.
Continued study of grammar and review of basic grammatical structures; readings in Russian with emphasis on acquisition of vocabulary and continued development of conversational and writing skills. Four hours of class each week, plus an additional conversation meeting with a native speaker.
This course focuses on Kazakhstan's contemporary history, highlighting the evolution of cultural forms and political systems under Soviet rule. Employing comparative and transnational approaches to the literatures of Kazakh and Central Asia, the course ultimately explores cultures of resistance.
Emphasis on communicative ability in contemporary written and spoken Russian. Intensive practice in conversation to develop language skills appropriate to various spheres of academic, business, and social life. Audio-visual materials will be used extensively.
The course surveys the major novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky, including Crime and Punishment, Notes from Underground, The Brothers Karamazov, and others. In examining Dostoevsky's reputation and legacy as a psychological novelist, the course explores the author's treatment of politics, religion, philosophy, and ethics. This course is taught in English.
Southern Appalachian Studies
This practicum focuses on historical or prehistoric cultural resources, both archaeological and standing structures, on the University Domain. Students learn excavation and documentation techniques appropriate to the specific resource type. In addition, artifact processing and cataloging will be covered. The majority of this course is field based. This course can be repeated once for credit.
This course examines the complex systems and values influencing land-use decision-making in both rural and urban settings throughout the U.S. and abroad. Students learn how government agencies and local citizens often conflict in their attitudes and values regarding the costs and benefits of growth and development. Particular attention is paid to forest conversion issues on the South Cumberland Plateau. Students attend local planning sessions and meetings with local officials.
This course introduces the history, theory, and practice of public history, examining the ideas and questions that shape and are shaped by public engagements with the past. It engages and evaluates historical works aimed primarily at public audiences in order to determine why and how public investments in the historical past develop and change.
An examination of the events, people, movements, and themes of the region's past, from earliest known human habitation to the present. The course explores contrasting ways of life expressed by native and European peoples; implications of incorporating the area into the United States; the agricultural, industrial, and transportation revolutions of the nineteenth century; popular culture within and about Appalachia; contemporary issues of regional development and preservation; and ways the unique environment of these mountains has shaped and frustrated notions of regional identity.
This course explores ethical questions arising in health care and the biological sciences, focusing on the moral dimensions of decision-making within these domains. Topics may include allocation of healthcare resources, responsibilities of doctors to patients, the distinction between killing and allowing to die, medically-assisted suicide, abortion, and the use of technologies for genetic screening and manipulation.
Spanish
Part I of a year-long intensive, introductory course with emphasis on the fundamentals of grammar (both written and spoken) and extensive practice in listening comprehension and reading. Four class hours per week.