Seminars

HON 127HA — American West in Culture & Literature

Dr. Tracie Guzzio
MW 3:30 – 4:45 p.m.
3 Credits

“We go eastward to realize history and study the works of art and literature, retracing the steps of the race; we go westward as into the future, with a spirit of enterprise and adventure.” — Henry David Thoreau, “Walking.”

“But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest…” (Huckleberry Finn) — Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

This course considers the American West not only as a specific location but also as a historical and cultural concept. How has the concept of the American West permeated our vision of the American self? How does the American West influence our image of the environment — its geography of “wide open spaces”? Its resources? How does the image of the American West present us with a paradoxical picture of the landscape as both an idealized, pristine wilderness and as a border between savagery and civilization? How has the “promise of the west” influence the narrative of the American Dream? How has the icon of the American frontier — its myth and reality — determine the ways we discuss American historical moments like ‘Manifest Destiny?” American progress? How have these mythic historical stories impacted such groups as immigrants and marginalized Americans — the Other (Native Americans, Chinese immigrants, Latinos, and freed African American slaves) in these narratives? How has the highly masculinized image of the American cowboy and the violence of the American West affected our understanding of gender?

We will address these questions with the vocabulary and research methods essential to critical reading, thinking, and writing. It is our objective to express what we learn through well-reasoned and well-written discourse in an analysis of American history and culture. We will be reading literary works such as On the Road, Roughing It, Ceremony, and No Country for Old Men as well as historical studies such as The Empire of Innocence and Gunfighter Nation; we will also look at selections from nature writers like Edward Abbey and Gretel Ehrlich and view clips from films like The Searchers and Lone Star. The course will be evaluated on a couple of short response papers and presentations and a final research paper. Using historical texts, literature, and film we will have a better understanding of the ways that the image and the narratives of the American West continue to determine the way we see ourselves, our communities, our history and our culture.

5USC/CC – U.S. Identities

HON 132HA — Beyond Hate: Breaking Through Division

Michelle Ouellette
TR 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
3 credits

Students will apply critical thinking and inquiry skills as they look at political and social polarization, and the effects of ingroup loyalties, modern technology, value systems and the way individuals are wired. They will investigate the social and cultural effects and will analyze ways others have managed to bridge gaps and communicate effectively despite differences. Finally, they will apply such tools to the creation of community service efforts.

5SS/CC – Human Communities

HON 153HA — Theatre of the Oppressed

Dr. Shawna Mefferd-Kelty
TR 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
3 credits

Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) is a style of theatre activities and performances that engages communities in social change. Rooted in the work of Augusto Boal, it is a form of activism (artivism) in which “the people become active and they explore, show, analyze and transform the reality in which they are living” (Midha, 8). It is a tool for social change in which everyday people can devise and perform plays based on their own experiences in confronting social, economic, health, and human rights injustices.

TO is a type of interactive performance designed to prompt difficult dialogues and to lead its participants (actors and community audiences) through a process of creating social change. This course will provide students opportunities to learn and employ the concepts of Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre for the purpose of addressing issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. Since theatre is a collaborative art, the majority of the work and learning in this course is collaborative, too. Through course readings and discussions, students will engage in dialogues about power, privilege, cultural identity, and structures of oppression. Students will also work in teams to create an Forum Theatre scene that depicts oppression as it manifests within a given cultural community. To do this, student teams will interview members of a particular community on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus and use the safeguarded transcripts from the interviews as a source of inspiration as they write, rehearse, and perform their own Forum Theatre scene. Students will present their scenes, facilitate a discussion with their audience on the social problems inherent within the scene, and along with the spect-actors (audience), propose productive and peaceful solutions to those social problems.

5ART/CC – Individual Expression

HON 176HA — Extreme Weather & Mass Extinction

Dr. Mark Lesser
TR 9:30 – 10:45 a.m.
3 credits

Western North America is on fire, New York City is flooding, and species are going extinct at alarming rates around the world. These are just a few of the impacts of ongoing climate change. Left unchecked, current rates of climate change will lead to not just higher temperatures, but sea level rise, and unprecedented extreme weather events in terms of scale, location, and frequency.

In this class we will not only explore what the impacts of climate change are, but also delve into the underlying science of climate and the interrelated factors that exacerbate the impacts of climate change (e.g., population and infrastructure growth, habitat loss, invasive species). We will also explore the social justice aspects of climate change — who is responsible and who is bearing the brunt of these impacts. Finally, we will look for solutions and a path forward to tackle this most pressing issue of our times.

5NST/CC – Natural World

HON 341HA — Modeling Dynamic Systems

Dr. Kevin O'Neill
TR 2 – 3:15 p.m.
3 Credits

This course introduces you to system dynamics modeling and systems thinking applied to the analysis of global complexities. You will learn to visualize the environmental, social, economic, physical and biological policy arenas in terms of the structures that create dynamics and regulate performance.

Accelerating economic, technological, social and environmental change requires policy makers to adapt. Increasingly, we must learn how to manage complex systems with multiple feedback effects, long time delays, and nonlinear responses to our decisions. Yet learning in such environments is difficult precisely because we never confront many of the consequences of our most important decisions. You can probably think of a host of examples illustrating this point from the AIDS epidemic to global climate change. Effective learning in such environments requires methods to develop systems thinking, to represent and assess such dynamic complexity — and tools that can be used to accelerate learning by policy makers.

System dynamics allows us to create “micro-worlds,” manage flight simulators where space and time can be compressed, slowed, and stopped in order to assess the long-term side effects of decisions. We can also explore new strategies and develop better understandings of systems. In this class we will use role playing games, simulation models, case studies, and policy flight simulators to develop principles of policy design for the complexities we now face.

This course will help you understand the dynamic, simultaneous, and inter-relational nature of intra- and extra-systems activity through causal loop making and system dynamic simulations. Students will create models that represent complex, non-linear feedback systems of personal or professional interests to them. Some of the simulations we will explore include global concerns such as population growth, epidemics, economic, environmental and social change, among other policy arenas.

The course objectives include the following:

Understanding of basic positive and negative feedback mechanisms.
Use of feedback thinking in developing causal loop models of dynamic systems.
Translation of dynamic causal loop models into system dynamics structures for policy development.
Development of dynamic, simultaneous understanding of complex systems in the global context.

Students will keep a weekly journal and participate in a group project formulating, designing and simulating a systems project that is interesting to you and your team. You will also complete other assignments focused on individual modeling and problem solving homework.

5GLO/CC – Quantitative Reasoning

HON 387HA — Politics of Corruption

Dr. Lucia Manzi
MW 2 – 3:15 p.m.
3 credits

This seminar explores the nature, causes and effects of corruption from a global perspective. The course examines the ways in which political actors can design institutions and engage civil society to prevent the ensuing of corruption, or to fight its persistence. To this end, we will discuss the relationship between civil society, political institutions and corruption across different countries and regions of the world. In order to fully understand this criminal phenomenon, we will also survey the effect of international norms and institutions on international corruption.

We will start the seminar with a discussion of the several definitions of corruption found in the scholarly and policy debate. What is corruption? Is corruption always based on monetary exchanges? Why do political and economic actors engage in corruption? We will then discuss the relationship between corruption and different political regimes. Within the context of authoritarian regimes, we will discuss corruption as one of many available means of survival for authoritarian leaders. Within the context of democratic regimes, we will ask how corruption affects the relationship between citizens and political power.

We will devote a substantial part of the course to analyze the ways in which democracies can respond to corruption. In particular, we will explore the ways in which democratic institutions may create incentives toward corrupt political behavior, or instead make the latter especially hard to pursue on the part of elected officials. We will also survey the criminal justice system’s response to corruption, namely its ability to uncover illicit behavior and hold corrupt politicians accountable.

Finally, we will also address the effects of international norms on corruption, and examine the role of international agencies and institutions in the fight against this criminal phenomenon.

Throughout the course, we will look at several examples of corruption investigations across different countries and regions of the world. Examples will include Brazil, South Korea, Italy, and the US, among others.

5GLO/CC – World Cultures

HON 369HA — Genocide & Atrocity

Dr. Vincent Carey
TR 2 – 3:15 p.m.
3 credits

The seminar topic in this particular course will be genocide and atrocity in broad historical perspective while focusing specifically on causes and implications for relations between peoples. This course will raise the question as to how mass killing has been used and/or abused to contribute to identity and to serve political purposes. A central issue in terms of causation and of use/abuse in the aftermath of mass killing is the role of the nation and nationalism, racism, and the rise of the hegemonic state. As well as informing students as to the extent of genocide in the past, this course will help them explore the larger question of the cultural construction of hatred and its impact on modern society.

At the core of this course is a substantial research paper on a particular genocide or an issue relating to genocide. The course will guide you through the process of researching and writing a major history paper, from proposing a project to choice of method and the final preparation for submission and presentation.

5GLO/CC – World Cultures

Seminars

Spring Semester 2022