Freshman Seminar Program 1

Freshman Seminar Program

The Freshman Seminar program offers a diverse array of courses open only to first-year students and designed with first-years in mind.
Enrollment in seminars is limited to fifteen or eighteen students, depending on the nature of the course. Most seminars meet twice each
week and do not, unless otherwise noted, presume any prior experience in the field. Students must apply and preregister for freshman
seminars before the beginning of each term. To ensure that all applicants share an equal chance at enrolling in a seminar, students are
admitted by lottery from among those who apply. Students who do not preregister may be considered for placement at the instructor's
discretion if space is available. Information regarding application procedures may be found on the program's website.

Courses
* AFAM055a / AMST026a / THST096a, Protest Music in America and the Black Freedom Struggle Daphne Brooks
Exploration of the history, politics, and cultures of protest music across three centuries, including the multiple genres, aesthetics, and
performance strategies innovated as forms of black liberation. Topics include uniquely subversive vocal strategies, lyrical tropes, and
instrumental disturbances, as well as African American literature that interrogates the radical dimensions of black music in the context
of captivity, the post-Reconstruction era, the Jim Crow era, the long Civil Rights, and Black Power movements. Enrollment limited to
freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU RP
* AFAM060b / AMST060b / HIST016b, Significance of American Slavery Edward Rugemer
The history of American slavery, its destruction during the nineteenth century, and its significance today. Topics include the origins of
slavery, the development of racism, the transatlantic slave trade, the experience of enslavement, resistance to slavery, the abolitionist
movement, the process of emancipation, and the perpetuation of slavery and other forms of unfree labor in the twenty-first century.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* AMST007a / HSAR002a, Furniture and American Life Edward Cooke
In-depth study and interpretation of American furniture from the past four centuries. Hands-on experience with furniture in the
collection of the Yale University Art Gallery to explore such topics as materials, techniques, styles, use, and meaning. Enrollment limited
to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU RP
* ANTH030a / ARCG030a / LAST030a, Inca Culture and Society Richard Burger
History of the Inca empire of the Central Andes, including the empire's impact on the nations and cultures it conquered. Overview of
Inca religion, economy, political organization, technology, and society. Ways in which different schools of research have approached and
interpreted the Incas over the last century, including the influence of nationalism and other sources of bias on contemporary scholarship.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. SO
Anthropology: Archaeology
* APHY050a / PHYS050a, Science of Modern Technology and Public Policy Daniel Prober
Examination of the science behind selected advances in modern technology and implications for public policy, with focus on the scientific
and contextual basis of each advance. Topics are developed by the participants with the instructor and with guest lecturers, and may
include nanotechnology, quantum computation and cryptography, renewable energy technologies, optical systems for communication
and medical diagnostics, transistors, satellite imaging and global positioning systems, large-scale immunization, and DNA made to order.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. SC RP
* ARCG030a / ANTH030a / LAST030a, Inca Culture and Society Richard Burger
History of the Inca empire of the Central Andes, including the empire's impact on the nations and cultures it conquered. Overview of
Inca religion, economy, political organization, technology, and society. Ways in which different schools of research have approached and
interpreted the Incas over the last century, including the influence of nationalism and other sources of bias on contemporary scholarship.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. SO
* ARCH005a, Modern Architecture and the City Karla Britton
Issues in modern American architecture and urbanism examined through the work of prominent architects closely associated with Yale
and New Haven. Perspectives on the character, development, and sociocultural consequences of building today. Enrollment limited to
freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* ARCH009b / CPSC078b, See it, Change it, Make it Julie Dorsey
Hands-on introduction to the theory and practice of digital capture, modeling, and fabrication. Topics include digital representations of
shape, 3D scanning, shape modeling and editing, and physical production, including 3D printing, milling, and laser cutting. Architectural
forms at a variety of scales used as vehicles for exploration and experimentation. There are no course prerequisites. Students are expected
to be proficient in high school-level algebra, trigonometry, and geometry. No prior knowledge of architecture is expected. Enrollment
limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. QR
* ART003a / FILM053a, Blue Jessica Helfand
The cultural and iconic history of the color blue and its role as both a method and a motive for making work in the studio. The word
"blue" and its etymological core, evocative connotations, colloquial nuance, and semantic role in different languages and cultures;
2 Freshman Seminar Program

scientific and sociological issues; blue in film and the fine arts. Projects experiment with writing, collecting, collage, and digital video.
Use of materials from the Beinecke Library. Enrollment limited to 15 freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar
Program. HU
* ART004b, Words and Pictures Halsey Rodman
Introduction to visual narration, the combination of words and pictures to tell a story. Narrative point of view, counternarrative and
counterculture, visual satire, personal history, depictions of space and time, and strategies and politics of representation. Sources
include illuminated manuscripts, biblical paintings, picture-stories, comic strips, and graphic novels. Enrollment limited to freshmen.
Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU RP
* ART006a, Art of the Printed Word Richard Rose
Introduction to the art and historical development of letterpress printing and to the evolution of private presses. Survey of hand printing;
practical study of press operations using antique platen presses and the cylinder proof press. Material qualities of printed matter,
connections between content and typographic form, and word/image relationships. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration
required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* ART007b, Art of the Game Sarah Stevens-Morling
Introduction to interactive narrative through video game programming, computer animation, and virtual filmmaking. Topics include
interactive storytelling, video game development and modification, animation, and virtual film production. Students produce a variety
of works including web-based interactive narratives, collaboratively built video games, and short game-animated film production
(machinima). Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program.
* ART008a, The Gothic, the Grotesque, and Other Dark Aesthetics Staff
Analytical approaches, drawn from philosophy, critical theory, and popular culture, to explore the darker corners of aesthetics, art history,
and the visual landscape, including the Gothic, the Grotesque, the Decadent, camp, kitsch, and the sublime. Definitions of good taste and
bad, beauty and ugliness, cuteness and creepiness; and the roles played by gender, race, class, and power in shaping such concepts and
sensibilities. Enrollment limited to 15 freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU RP
* ART009b, The Visual Book Richard Rose
Consideration of the book as a work of art, as produced by some of the most influential and respected artists and designers of today.
Different ways of understanding and making books through the creation of content that integrates text, images,color, graphic sequence,
sculptural elements, and audience. In concert with assigned readings, students investigate approaches to ideation, book structure, graphic
sequence, media/materials, collaborations,and thematic studies, culminating in a collective synthesis project. RP
* ART010a, Mastering the Art of Watercolor Adam Van Doren
Introduction to the fundamentals of watercolor painting. Students learn to paint en plein air and to render color, form, perspective,
composition, and shade and shadow. Analysis of works by such varied artists as J. M.W. Turner, John Singer Sargent, Maurice
Prendergast, and Edward Hopper. Includes weekly painting assignments, scholarly readings, and a brief term paper.Open both to
seasoned artists and to beginners; basic drawing skills recommended. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see
under Freshman Seminar Program. HU RP
* CGSC071a, The Mind of a Dog April Ruiz
Examination of one of humans' closest companions: the domestic dog. Readings and class discussion explore how researchers study
animal mindsfrom early observations of animal behavior to contemporary research in comparative cognitionand how this informs
emerging work in canine cognition. Further discussion of how the human mind interprets dog behavior and how empirical investigations
of canine cognition shed new light in understanding how pets see the world. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required;
see under Freshman Seminar Program. SO
* CLCV034b / HIST037b / HSHM002b, Medicine and Disease in the Ancient World Jessica Lamont
Examination of ancientmedicineconsidering modern fields of pathology, surgery, pharmacology, therapy, obstetrics, psychology,
anatomy,medicalscience, ethics, and education, to gain a better understanding of the foundations of Westernmedicineand an
appreciation for howmedicalterms, theories, and practices take on different meanings with changes in science and society. All readings in
English. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* CPSC035b, Twenty-First Century Electronic and Computer Music Techniques Scott Petersen
Exploration of twenty-first century electronic and computer music through the diverse subjects and issues at the intersection of
technology and new music. How computers have changed and challenged the analysis, composition, production, and appreciation of
music over the last fifty years. Knowledge of basic music theory and the ability to read Western musical notation is assumed. Enrollment
limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program.
* CPSC078b / ARCH009b, See it, Change it, Make it Julie Dorsey
Hands-on introduction to the theory and practice of digital capture, modeling, and fabrication. Topics include digital representations of
shape, 3D scanning, shape modeling and editing, and physical production, including 3D printing, milling, and laser cutting. Architectural
forms at a variety of scales used as vehicles for exploration and experimentation. There are no course prerequisites. Students are expected
to be proficient in high school-level algebra, trigonometry, and geometry. No prior knowledge of architecture is expected. Enrollment
limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. QR
 Freshman Seminar Program 3

* E&EB050a, The Evolution of Beauty Richard Prum

Exploration of the fundamental mechanism of sexual selection and mate choice, and the patterns of display trait and mating preference
coevolution. Additional topics include what happens when the freedom of mate choice is infringed or disrupted by sexual coercion or
sexual violence; and the role of aesthetic evolution and sexual conflict in the evolution of human sexuality, pleasure, and sexual diversity.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. SC
* EALL050a, Imperial Pleasure Parks and Private Gardens of China Pauline Lin
Study of imperial parks and private gardens in China, focusing on five historic times, spanning from the second century CE to modernity.
Topics include the rationales, philosophies, and economics of constructing gardens; their designs; depictions in paintings and literature;
their impact on the Chinese cultural imagination; modern commercial recreations of earlier gardens and environmental art; and the
changing uses of gardens through time. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program
HU
* EAST030a / HIST030a, Tokyo Fabian Drixler
Four centuries of Japan's history explored through the many incarnations, destructions, and rebirths of its foremost city. Focus on the
solutions found by Tokyo's residents to the material and social challenges of concentrating such a large population in one place. Tensions
between continuity and impermanence, authenticity and modernity, and social order and the culture of play. Enrollment limited to
freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* ENGL017b, Shakespeare's Major Tragedies David Kastan
Detailed exploration of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. What makes the plays great in a way that almost all
readers and audiences have recognized. The works as plays to be performed, as drama to be read, as texts that have been constructed by
the activities of various people, and as plays deeply embedded in the history of their own moment, as well as in later histories for which
they are in some part responsible. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR,
HU
English: Pre-1800 Lit
* ENGL018b, Sequels, Prequels, Reverberations, Revisions in Modern Literature Joseph Gordon
Close reading of novels, memoirs, and journalism from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to understand how certain novelists have
set about to rework fiction and nonfiction source materials to create new narrative.The significance of such artistic means as shifting
the setting, altering or questioning gender identity or sexual orientation of characters, or shifting the historical moment or political
framework of the action. Exploration of how new works dispose the reader to reinterpret earlier works, providing a basis for redefining
what constitutes originality in writing fiction.Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar
Program. WR, HU
* ENGL019a, Cosmology and Literature John Rogers
A study of the literature of cosmology and cosmogony, from Genesis, Hesiod, Plato, and Lucretius, to Milton, Newton, Swedenborg,
Joseph Smith, L. Ron Hubbard, Jorge Luis Borges, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see
under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* ENGL020a / FILM020a, Literature, Media, and Weather John Peters
Interdisciplinary overview of how weather serves as a topic of human imagination and inventionacross such domains as literature and
science, philosophy and religion, painting and popular culture. The stories we tell about weather, the temperamental and nebulous
materials of weather, and the media that helps us understand it and shape it. Readings include poems, prose, and academic articles.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* ENGL021b, Fiction and Consciousness Jonathan Kramnick
Study of literature and the representation of consciousness, focusing in particular on the novel, from Jane Austen to the present.
What literature can tell us about the way minds work; how novels represent the felt experience of people going about their lives; how
literature partners with other ways of understanding the mind, such as psychology and neuroscience. Enrollment limited to freshmen.
Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* ENGL022a, The Art of Losing Staff
Representation of heartache and haunting in literature, film, and popular music, and how art grapples with the experience of loss. Topics
include teenage rebellion and disillusionment, lovesickness, elegy, the Victorian cult of death, historical trauma, spiritualism, and the
occult. Course materials supplemented by archival objects (spirit photographs,memento morijewelry, and letters) from the Beinecke
Library and the Yale Center for British Art. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar
Program. WR, HU
* EVST007a, The New England Forest Marlyse Duguid
Exploration of the natural history of southern New England, with specific focus on areas in and around New Haven. Pertinent
environmental issues, such as climate change, endangered species, and the role of glacial and human history in shaping vegetative
patterns and processes, are approached from a multi-disciplinary framework and within the context of the surrounding landscape.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program.
4 Freshman Seminar Program

* F&ES020a / EVST020a, Sustainable Development in Haiti Gordon Geballe

The principles and practice of sustainable development explored in the context of Haiti's rich history and culture, as well as its current
environmental and economic impoverishment. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar
Program. WR
* FILM045a / THST099a, Dance on Film Emily Coates
An examination of dance on film from c. 1920 to the present, including early Hollywood pictures, the rise of Bollywood, avant-garde
films of the postwar period, translations of stage choreography to screen, music videos, and dance film festivals. The impact of industry,
circulation and audience, aesthetic lineages, and craft in the union of the two mediums. Students develop an original short film for a final
class project. No prior dance or filmmaking experience necessary.Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under
Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* FILM053a / ART003a, Blue Jessica Helfand
The cultural and iconic history of the color blue and its role as both a method and a motive for making work in the studio. The word
"blue" and its etymological core, evocative connotations, colloquial nuance, and semantic role in different languages and cultures;
scientific and sociological issues; blue in film and the fine arts. Projects experiment with writing, collecting, collage, and digital video.
Use of materials from the Beinecke Library. Enrollment limited to 15 freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar
Program. HU
* FREN012b / LITR020b, French Literature in Global Context Jill Jarvis
Introduction to contemporary French fiction in a global perspective. Close readings of prizewinning novels by writers of the former
French Empirein Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbeanalongside key manifestos and theoretical essays that
define or defy the notion of world literature. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar
Program. HU
* G&G010a / EVST010a, Earth, Resources, Energy, and the Environment Mary-Louise Timmermans
Humankind's interactions with, and place within, the natural world. Plate tectonics and natural disasters, biological evolution and
mass extinction, human evolution, population growth and ecology, industrial resources, groundwater and pollution, fossil fuels and
energy transitions, the carbon cycle and greenhouse gases, paleoclimates, current global warming, alternative energies, and a planetary
perspective on the Earth as a singular oasis in space. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman
Seminar Program. SC
* HIST006b / HSHM005b, Medicine and Society in American History Staff
Disease and healing in American history from colonial times to the present. The changing role of the physician, alternative healers and
therapies, and the social impact of epidemics from smallpox to AIDS. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under
Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* HIST012b / AMST012b, Politics and Society in the United States after World War II Jennifer Klein
Introduction to American political and social issues from the 1940s to the present, including political economy, civil rights, class politics,
and gender roles. Legacies of the New Deal as they played out after World War II; the origins, agenda, and ramifications of the Cold
War; postwar suburbanization and its racial dimensions; migration and immigration; cultural changes; social movements of the Right
and Left; Reaganism and its legacies; the United States and the global economy. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration
required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* HIST020b / ARCG031b / CLCV059b / EVST030b / NELC026b, Rivers and Civilization Harvey Weiss
The appearance of the earliest cities along the Nile and Euphrates in the fourth millennium B.C. Settlements along the rivers, the origins
of agriculture, the production and extraction of agricultural surpluses, and the generation of class structures and political hierarchies.
How and why these processes occurred along the banks of these rivers; consequent societal collapses and their relation to abrupt climate
changes. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU, SO
* HIST022a, What History Teaches John Gaddis
An introduction to the discipline of history. History viewed as an art, a science, and something in between; differences between fact,
interpretation, and consensus; history as a predictor of future events. Focus on issues such as the interdependence of variables, causation
and verification, the role of individuals, and to what extent historical inquiry can or should be a moral enterprise. WR, HU
* HIST030a / EAST030a, Tokyo Fabian Drixler
Four centuries of Japan's history explored through the many incarnations, destructions, and rebirths of its foremost city. Focus on the
solutions found by Tokyo's residents to the material and social challenges of concentrating such a large population in one place. Tensions
between continuity and impermanence, authenticity and modernity, and social order and the culture of play. Enrollment limited to
freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* HIST032a / EAST032a, Shanghai Denise Ho
History of the city of Shanghai, with a focus on how Shanghai has been seen and what its experience reveals about modern China.
Shanghai's unique place in imagining China; its transformation in the nineteenth century from a fishing village to an international "treaty
port" and China's gateway to the West; twentieth-century Shanghai as a site of innovation, from politics and capitalism to media and
fashion; the city's vilification in the early Mao years and later reemergence as a symbol of China's modernization. Enrollment limited to
freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
 Freshman Seminar Program 5

* HIST033a / WGSS033a, Fashion in London and Paris, 1750 to the Present Becky Conekin
Introduction to the history of Western fashion from the mid-eighteenth century to the present, with a focus on Paris and London.
Approaches, methods, and theories scholars have historically employed to study fashion and dress. Enrollment limited to freshmen.
Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* HIST034a, Cuba from Slavery to Revolution Anne Eller
Cubas rich history from the early colonial period to the present. Topics include colonialism, slavery, independence, emancipation, the
Cuban Revolution, and the nation's relationship with the United States. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see
under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* HIST037b / CLCV034b / HSHM002b, Medicine and Disease in the Ancient World Jessica Lamont
Examination of ancientmedicineconsidering modern fields of pathology, surgery, pharmacology, therapy, obstetrics, psychology,
anatomy,medicalscience, ethics, and education, to gain a better understanding of the foundations of Westernmedicineand an
appreciation for howmedicalterms, theories, and practices take on different meanings with changes in science and society. All readings in
English. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* HIST041b, The Americas in the Age of Revolutions Marcela Echeverri Munoz
The connections, contrasts, and legacies of revolutions in the British, French, and Spanish Atlantic empires in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. Interactions between liberalism, black politics and antislavery, indigenous autonomy and citizenship, and
revolutions in the Atlantic world between the 1760s and 1880s. Topics include the foundations of the Atlantic empires, strands of
anticolonialism across the Americas, social aspects of the revolutionary movements, abolitionism and emancipation processes, and
relations between the emergent American nations. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman
Seminar Program. WR, HU
* HIST042a / MMES042a, Oil and Empire Rosie Bsheer
The political and social history of oil since the late nineteenth century, including global trends and processes. Oil's impact on the rise and
fall of empires and the fates of nation-states; its role in war and its impact on social and cultural life. Focus on the Middle East, with some
attention to Venezuela, Indonesia, and the Niger Delta. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman
Seminar Program. WR, HU
* HIST043a, Understanding Totalitarian Philosophy from Central Europe Marci Shore
The study of European intellectual history focused on philosophical responses to the totalitarian experiences of the 20th century.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* HIST045a, The Holocaust and Its Afterlives Jennifer Allen
The history and memory of the Holocaust in Germany. How the Holocaust itself unfolded, and how Germany has worked through
its legacy. Guilt and complicity, the logic of the concentration camps, the limitsof totalitarianism, the representations of horror,
the prosecution of atrocity, Holocaust memory acrossgenerations, and Germany's urban memory landscape. Enrollment limited to
freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* HIST055b, A History of Modern London Becky Conekin
Chronological and thematic exploration of modern London as a metropolitan and imperial center from the late-nineteenth-century to
the present day. Topics include race, gay rights, women's rights, consumer culture, the experience of war, and the development of a
multi-racial society. The fashion, food, and popular music of London emerge as important components of the city's global identity in the
twentieth century. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* HIST070a, Lawyers as Rebels Rohit De
Examination of how lawyers have worked in illiberal and unjust legal systems. Key themes in global history of the twentieth century, such
as imperialism, nationalism, apartheid, holocaust, civil rights, communism, feminism, and LGBT rights. Case studies include Gandhi,
Mandela, Hersch Lauterpacht, Pauli Murray, and Asma Jahangir. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under
Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* HIST072b, The History of World History Valerie Hansen
How the great historians of ancient Greece, Rome, China, the Islamic world, and nineteenth-century Europe created modern
historical method. How to evaluate the reliability of sources, both primary and secondary, and assess the relationship between fact and
interpretation. Using historical method to make sense of our world today. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see
under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU RP
* HIST082b / NELC025b / RLST030b, Christians and Muslims in the Arab World Stephen Davis
Investigation into the history of Christianity in the Arabic-speaking world, with focus on interactions between Christians and
Muslims.Topics include: the history of Christianity among the Arabs prior to the rise of Islam and during the early Islamic period; the
cultural contributions of medieval Christian Arabis in theology, science, philosophy, and ethics; and the role of religion and politics
among Christians and Muslims in the modern Middle East. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under
Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* HLTH081a, Current Issues in Medicine and Public Health Robert Bazell
Analysis of issues in public health and medicine that get extensive media attention and provoke policy debates.Topics include
vaccination, the value of cancer screening and genetic testing, determinants of a healthy lifestyle, the U.S. role in global health, and
6 Freshman Seminar Program

the cost of health care. Enrollment limited to freshmen with a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement examination in Biology or the
equivalent. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program.
* HSAR002a / AMST007a, Furniture and American Life Edward Cooke
In-depth study and interpretation of American furniture from the past four centuries. Hands-on experience with furniture in the
collection of the Yale University Art Gallery to explore such topics as materials, techniques, styles, use, and meaning. Enrollment limited
to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU RP
* HSHM002b / CLCV034b / HIST037b, Medicine and Disease in the Ancient World Jessica Lamont
Examination of ancientmedicineconsidering modern fields of pathology, surgery, pharmacology, therapy, obstetrics, psychology,
anatomy,medicalscience, ethics, and education, to gain a better understanding of the foundations of Westernmedicineand an
appreciation for howmedicalterms, theories, and practices take on different meanings with changes in science and society. All readings in
English. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* HSHM005b / HIST006b, Medicine and Society in American History Staff
Disease and healing in American history from colonial times to the present. The changing role of the physician, alternative healers and
therapies, and the social impact of epidemics from smallpox to AIDS. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under
Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* HUMS065a, Education and the Life Worth Living Matthew Croasmun
Consideration of education and what it has to do with real lifenot just any life, but a life worth living. Engagement with three visions of
different traditions of imagining the good life and of imagining education: Confucianism, Christianity, and Modernism. Students will be
asked to challenge the fundamental question of the good life and to put that question at the heart of their college education. Enrollment
limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* HUMS071a, Intellectual Circles Charles Hill
Study of the creative interactions produced by informal associations of innovative minds in literature, philosophy, politics, science,
psychology, the arts, war, and law. Courtiers, advisors, disciples, and disputers around Confucius, Socrates, Lincoln, Freud,
Wittgenstein, and Niebuhr are among the circles considered. Groups include American Founders, quantum physicists, computer
scientists, Gertrude Steins Lost Generation of Americans in Paris, The Georgetown Set of Cold War friends and rivals, and the
Supreme Court. HU
* HUMS078b, Shakespeare and Music Judith Malafronte
The use of music in Shakespeare's plays, from the original stagings and seventeenth-century adaptations to modern productions.
Consideration of operatic versions of the plays from the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. Includes a field trip to New
York City. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* HUMS080a, Transforming Literature into Opera Judith Malafronte
Examination of ten operatic masterpieces and their literary source material, with consideration of the roles of the composer and the
librettist in fashioning poems, short stories, and plays into operatic works. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see
under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* JDST026a / PLSC026a / RLST026a, Political Theology Eliyahu Stern
Investigation of the theological aspects of modern political ideologies. Topics include sovereignty, universalism, law, election,
commandment, and messianism. Primary readings include selections from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, and the writings
of Thomas Hobbes, Barukh Spinoza, Carl Schmidt, Mikhail Bakunin, Karl Marx, Jacob Taubes, Martin Buber, and Alain Badiou.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* LAST030a / ANTH030a / ARCG030a, Inca Culture and Society Richard Burger
History of the Inca empire of the Central Andes, including the empire's impact on the nations and cultures it conquered. Overview of
Inca religion, economy, political organization, technology, and society. Ways in which different schools of research have approached and
interpreted the Incas over the last century, including the influence of nationalism and other sources of bias on contemporary scholarship.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. SO
* MB&B050a, Topics in Cancer Biology Sandy Chang
Introduction to cancer as a genetic disease, with a focus on major discoveries in cancer biology that offer mechanistic insights into the
disease process. A brief history of cancer; influence of the genomic revolution on cancer diagnostics; molecular defects underlying specific
cancers; current and future cancer therapeutics. Patient case studies highlight specific molecular pathways and treatment strategies.
Enrollment limited to freshmen with a strong background in biology and/or chemistry, typically demonstrated by a score of 5 on
Advanced Placement examinations. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. SC
* MCDB040b, The Science and Politics of Cancer Robert Bazell
Fundamentals of cell biology, Darwinian evolution, immunology, and genetics that underlie cancer; the history of cancer science and
treatment; historical and current policy issues. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar
Program. SC
 Freshman Seminar Program 7

* MCDB050a or b, Immunology and Microbes Paula Kavathas

Introduction to the immune system and its interaction with specific microbes. Attention both to microbes that cause illness, such as
influenza, HIV, and HPV, and to microbes that live in harmony with humans, collectively called the microbiome. Readings include novels
and historical works on diseases such as polio and AIDS. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman
Seminar Program. SC RP
* MCDB065a, The Science and Politics of HIV/AIDS Staff
Study of the basicvirology and immunology of HIV/AIDS, along with its extraordinary historical and social effects. Issues include the
threat of new epidemics emerging from a changing global environment; the potential harm of conspiracy theories based on false science;
and how stigmas associated with poverty, gender inequality, sexual preference, and race facilitate an ongoing epidemic. For all first-
year students regardless of whether they are considering a science major. Prerequisite: AP Biology or equivalent. Enrollment limited to
freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. SC
* MMES082a / RLST082a, Representing Muhammad Travis Zadeh
Interpretations of Muhammads life, including traditional and modern representations of Muhammad by pious Muslims, as well as an
array of portrayals produced by non-Muslim polemicists and admirers, alike. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required;
see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* MUSI012a, One Thousand Years of Love Songs Anna Zayaruznaya
History of the love song in Western culture from the twelfth-century troubadours to contemporary popular hits. Music and the shifting
social constructions of desire over the past millennium. The song repertory's engagement with ideas and movements such as courtly love,
humanism, romanticism, sexual libertinism, and the LGBT rights movement. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required;
see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU RP
* MUSI020b, Conducted Improvisation Ensemble Michael Veal
Exploration and elaboration of the conduction (i.e. conducted improvisation) methods of Lawrence Butch Morris (19472013).
Ensemble rehearsals; weekly listening assignments to familiarize students with different approaches to improvised music; assigned
readings that provide historical context for students' musical work. Players of all instruments and skill levels are welcome. Enrollment
limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU RP
* NELC001a / AFST001a / ARCG001a, Egypt and Northeast Africa: A Multidisciplinary Approach John Darnell
Examination of approximately 10,000 years of Nile Valley cultural history, with an introduction to the historical and archaeological
study of Egypt and Nubia. Consideration of the Nile Valley as the meeting place of the cultures and societies of northeast Africa. Various
written and visual sources are used, including the collections of the Peabody Museum and the Yale Art Gallery. Enrollment limited to
freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program.
WR, HU
* NELC025b / HIST082b / RLST030b, Christians and Muslims in the Arab World Stephen Davis
Investigation into the history of Christianity in the Arabic-speaking world, with focus on interactions between Christians and
Muslims.Topics include: the history of Christianity among the Arabs prior to the rise of Islam and during the early Islamic period; the
cultural contributions of medieval Christian Arabis in theology, science, philosophy, and ethics; and the role of religion and politics
among Christians and Muslims in the modern Middle East. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under
Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* PLSC026a / JDST026a / RLST026a, Political Theology Eliyahu Stern
Investigation of the theological aspects of modern political ideologies. Topics include sovereignty, universalism, law, election,
commandment, and messianism. Primary readings include selections from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, and the writings
of Thomas Hobbes, Barukh Spinoza, Carl Schmidt, Mikhail Bakunin, Karl Marx, Jacob Taubes, Martin Buber, and Alain Badiou.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* RLST015a / SAST057a, Gods and Heroes in Indian Religions Phyllis Granoff
The basic doctrines and practices of India's three classical religions, Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism, explored through close reading
of texts in translation. Lives of the founders, great monks, nuns, and lay followers of Buddhism and Jainism; myths of the major Hindu
gods; heroinesand goddesses in the three traditions. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman
Seminar Program. HU
* RLST018b / SAST058, Yoga in South Asia and Beyond Supriya Gandhi
The history of yoga practice and thought from the earliest textual discussions of yoga until the present day.Topics include the body,
cosmology, cross-cultural interactions, colonialism, and orientalism. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under
Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* RLST022a, Religion and Science Fiction Maria Doerfler
Survey of contemporary science fiction with attention to its use and presentation of religious thought and practice. Focus on the ways
in which different religious frameworks inform the literary imagination of this genre, and how science fiction in turn creates religious
systems in both literature and society. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program.
HU
8 Freshman Seminar Program

* RLST026a / JDST026a / PLSC026a, Political Theology Eliyahu Stern

Investigation of the theological aspects of modern political ideologies. Topics include sovereignty, universalism, law, election,
commandment, and messianism. Primary readings include selections from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, and the writings
of Thomas Hobbes, Barukh Spinoza, Carl Schmidt, Mikhail Bakunin, Karl Marx, Jacob Taubes, Martin Buber, and Alain Badiou.
Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* RLST030b / HIST082b / NELC025b, Christians and Muslims in the Arab World Stephen Davis
Investigation into the history of Christianity in the Arabic-speaking world, with focus on interactions between Christians and
Muslims.Topics include: the history of Christianity among the Arabs prior to the rise of Islam and during the early Islamic period; the
cultural contributions of medieval Christian Arabis in theology, science, philosophy, and ethics; and the role of religion and politics
among Christians and Muslims in the modern Middle East. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under
Freshman Seminar Program. HU
* RLST082a / MMES082a, Representing Muhammad Travis Zadeh
Interpretations of Muhammads life, including traditional and modern representations of Muhammad by pious Muslims, as well as an
array of portrayals produced by non-Muslim polemicists and admirers, alike. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required;
see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* SAST057a / RLST015a, Gods and Heroes in Indian Religions Phyllis Granoff
The basic doctrines and practices of India's three classical religions, Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism, explored through close reading
of texts in translation. Lives of the founders, great monks, nuns, and lay followers of Buddhism and Jainism; myths of the major Hindu
gods; heroinesand goddesses in the three traditions. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman
Seminar Program. HU
* SCIE030a and SCIE031b, Current Topics in Science Douglas Kankel
A series of modules in lecture and discussion format addressing scientific issues arising in current affairs. Topics are selected for their
scientific interest and contemporary relevance, and may include global warming, human cloning, and the existence of extrasolar planets.
Credit for SCIE 030 upon completion of SCIE 031; one course credit is awarded for successful completion of the year's work. Enrollment
limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. SC Course cr per term
* SOCY018b, The Sociological Imagination Julia Adams
Introduction to the linked study of sociology and modernity. Topics include the dramatic rise of capitalism; colonialism and empire; the
advent of democracy and bureaucracy; the world-historical invention of the individual; and the contested role of religion in modernity.
Readings from classical and contemporary authors. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman
Seminar Program. SO
* SOCY086a, China in the Age of Xi Jinping Deborah Davis
An overview of the major social institutions in contemporary China, with a focus on the changing relationship between individual
and society. Use of print and visual sources to explore the social consequences of China's recent retreat from socialism and its rapid
integration into the global economy. May count toward the Sociology major as an intermediate course. Enrollment limited to freshmen.
Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. SO
* THST097b, Anatomy in Motion Bronwen MacArthur
The connection between advances in human anatomy and kinesiologythe science of human movementand dance practices from
the early 1900s to the present. Study of seminal texts and practical exercises that drove the research of Frederick M. Alexander, Mabel
Elsworth Todd, Barbara Clark, and Lulu Sweigard and the application of their ideas in contemporary movement practices today. Topics
include the synthesis of dance and science; the reeducation of alignment, posture and balance; the use of imagery; and the unification
of mind and body. No prior dance experience required. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman
Seminar Program. HU
* THST098a, Composing and Performing the One Person Play Hal Brooks
First-year actors, playwrights, directors, and even students who have never considered taking a theater class, create their own work
through a combination of reading, analysis, writing, and on-your-feet exercises.Students read texts and view performances that are
generated by one actor in an attempt to discover the methodology that works best for their own creations.The course culminates with
a midterm and final presentation created and performed by the student. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see
under Freshman Seminar Program.
* THST099a / FILM045a, Dance on Film Emily Coates
An examination of dance on film from c. 1920 to the present, including early Hollywood pictures, the rise of Bollywood, avant-garde
films of the postwar period, translations of stage choreography to screen, music videos, and dance film festivals. The impact of industry,
circulation and audience, aesthetic lineages, and craft in the union of the two mediums. Students develop an original short film for a final
class project. No prior dance or filmmaking experience necessary.Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under
Freshman Seminar Program. WR, HU
* WGSS032b, History of Sexuality Maria Trumpler
Exploration of scientific and medical writings on sexuality over the past century. Focus on the tension between nature and culture in
shaping theories, the construction of heterosexuality and homosexuality, the role of scientific studies in moral discourse, and the rise of
 Freshman Seminar Program 9

sexology as a scientific discipline. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. WR,
HU