HUHC 020 A-Z - Liberal Arts SeminarSemester Hours: 1-4
Fall, Spring
Liberal Arts Seminars are specialized courses offered to students of Stuart and Nancy Rabinowitz Honors College . Each seminar is proposed, designed, and led by a member of the Hofstra faculty. Multiple seminars are offered each semester on a wide variety of topics. The purpose of the seminars is to provide HUHC students and faculty an opportunity to explore subject matters and topics that do not typically present themselves in regular departmental offerings.
Current Special Topics
HUHC 020A AFRO-PERU: LITERATURE, CULTURE AND MUSIC
The course begins with an overview of the contributions of black culture in Latin America: Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. “Afro-Peru: Literature, Culture & Music” focuses on the study of Afro-Peruvian culture, literature, and music from the 16th century to the present. We will examine fundamental texts that examine the profound influence of black culture in Peru. Since their arrival in Lima in 1527, the Afro-Peruvians have developed a solid identity and their powerful effects are clearly visible today. We will study some notable Afro-Peruvian writers, poets, artists, as well as renowned musicians. Among the selected authors are the painter Pancho Fierro (Lima, 1807-1992), the writers, Enrique Lopez Albujar (1872-1966), Gregorio Martinez (1942-2007), and the poets Nicomedes Santa Cruz (1925-1992), and Enrique Verastegui (1950-2018).
Likewise, Afro-Peruvian music enjoys national popularity in the country. The most well-known percussion instrument is the so-called “Peruvian Cajón” (box-drum), which dates approximately from the 18th century. I have played this instrument since I was fourteen years old in Lima. Some prominent musicians and singers are Susana Baca, Victoria Santa Cruz, Caitro Soto de la Colina, Eva Ayllón, and the folk group “Peru Negro”.
The Chair of the Romance Languages & Literatures Department has indicated that this course may be allowed to count as a departmental elective toward the completion of the Spanish major or minor requirements with the inclusion of selected works in the original language.
HUHC 020B THE MORAL MIND: A COGNITIVE APPROACH TO POLITICAL TRIBALISM
We are living through a period of intense political polarization. Opinions on contemporary political and social issues are treated as moral absolutes, with little-to-no room for compromise, much less tolerance for difference. Consider the passionate, at times vicious, tone of debates over mask-wearing, vaccine mandates, social-distancing, to say nothing of perennial controversies such as abortion and religious liberty. While the intensity of the current moment is significant, and the danger it poses, real, the phenomenon of political polarization is not unique. In fact, it is a recurrent feature of human history and, on a smaller scale, of human behavior in general. This course will approach this phenomenon by examining the evolved cognitive processes that underlie our moral mind. We will draw on research from a number of disciplines (e.g. evolutionary studies, neuroscience, ethology, moral psychology, behavioral economics) to develop insight into moral-cognitive dynamics driving political tribalism.
The chair of the Religion Department has indicated this course may be counted as a departmental elective toward the completion of the requirements for Religion majors or minors.
HUHC 020C ALGORITHMS FOR DATA SCIENCE - LIBERAL ARTS STUDENTS
In this course, we will study and implement popular algorithms with applications in finances, logistics, and data analysis. Most of these algorithms are very wide in their applications and could be adapted to new situations. We will study the background mathematics to understand how they work and why they terminate, also how effective they are in terms of the time needed for the computation. The course has a laboratory part devoted to learning and programming these algorithms in Python. Some background in mathematics and programming is recommended but not required.
HUHC 020D HEALTH AND HEALING IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
This course will explore the health and healing traditions in Sub-Saharan Africa from a geographic perspective in the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial eras. Health and healing in Sub-Saharan Africa are shaped by broader social forces. Health and disease cannot be understood without considering changes in household organization, farming, migration, politics, and other factors. We must consider questions about life and death, and how ancestors interact with the lives of their descendants.
We will explore African healing practices and their relationship with biomedicine and public health initiatives. The course will unpack our understanding of several disease threats, including malaria, HIV/AIDS, as well as our new global threat—COVID-19. Further, students will learn about the increased disease burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, stroke, and depression and how they are being mitigated.
The chair of the Department of Global Studies and Geography has indicated this course may be counted as a regional elective toward the completion of the requirements for the major/minor in Global Studies and/or Geography.
The director of Africana Studies has indicated that this course may be counted as a departmental elective toward the completion of the requirements for a major or minor in African Studies.
HUHC 020E A PLAYLIST FOR REVOLUTION
What does music have to do with revolution? How has music been used to call attention to and challenge injustice? What role, if any, does music play in effecting social change? In the Spring ‘22 Hofstra University Honors College seminar, “Everybody Needs a Playlist for Revolution”, we’ll use sociological lenses to explore the relationship between social injustice; cultural, social, and political movements; and music. Together, we’ll analyze song lyrics, music, music videos, and events in North, Central, and South America; Africa; Asia; and Europe. We’ll consider how music fosters social cohesion. We’ll examine instances where music has served as a cultural vehicle for imagining alternative futures, a mode of storytelling to document movement history and social transformation, and a fundraising and political tool for rights movements. Students will have opportunities to collect memories of music and revolution and to reflect on their own playlists for revolution.”
The chair of the Sociology Department has indicated this course may be counted as a departmental elective toward the completion of the requirements for Sociology majors or minors.
HUHC 020F The Language Detective: Confession, Interrogation & Deception
Every time you open your mouth or sit down at a computer keyboard, you give away far more information about yourself than you realize. Language can tell an expert who you are, what your work is, what movies you’ve watched, where you’re from, where you’ve lived, what school you attended, and whether you wrote that death threat letter. This course centers on how linguistic analysis proceeds in real investigations, intelligence analysis, and forensic language examination – cases involving murder, blackmail, terrorism, false confessions, and exoneration. Our discussions will include specific cases on which the instructor worked with—and sometimes on the opposite side of—the FBI, NCIS, British intelligence, and the NYPD.
The chair of the CLLL department has indicated this course may be counted as a departmental elective toward the completion of the requirements for LING majors or minors.
HUHC 020H RUSSIAN LITERATURE AND IDEOLOGY
This course explores Russian literature-centric tradition from the perspective of its ideological trends, many of which are still relevant around the world today. Through Russian literature, we will learn about nation-building, the struggle between old and new, and the unexpected side-effects of Enlightenment. We will discuss how the frustration of educated young people with lack of opportunities has led to the formation of a revolutionary class and subsequently to three revolutions early in the 20thcentury. We will examine how anarchism, nihilism, populism, and communist ideas collided with traditionalism and religious thought. We will look at how a utopian vision of Russia’s ideal future resulted in millions of individual tragedies during the Soviet experiment and modernization of the country.
The Chair of the Comparative Languages, Literatures and Linguistics Department has indicated that this course may be allowed to count as a departmental elective toward the completion of Russian major or minor requirements with the inclusion of selected works in the original language.
Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
Liberal Arts Seminars are open to Honors College students in good standing and, with the permission of the instructor and the HUHC Deans’ Office, to other students who meet HUHC entrance criteria. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
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