Spring 2010 Course Catalog

Arabic 1 (LANCS06-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 4, 2010 - Apr 15, 2010 on Thursday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class April 1

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-A

Instructor(s): Sally Gomaa

This beginner course is designed to introduce students to conversational and written Modern Standard Arabic. Using a combination of textbook and audio lessons, as well as in-class more »

Writing Life (ENGCS04-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 1, 2010 - Apr 19, 2010 on Monday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/22, 3/29

Location: J. Walter Wilson, room 203

Instructor(s): Douglas Brown

This course on creative nonfiction offers class members the chance to examine what goes into good writing and what it means to be a writer. We will read from a range of works, more »

Renaissance Florence (HARCS01-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $375.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 3, 2010 - Apr 14, 2010 on Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 3/31

Location: TBD

Instructor(s): Mario Pereira

The great city of Florence was the birthplace of the remarkable cultural and artistic revolution known as the Renaissance. This course focuses on the art and architecture of Florence more »

The Bible and Modern Fiction (RELCS01-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $300.00

When: 8 sessions from Mar 2, 2010 - May 4, 2010 on Tuesday, 10:15am-12:15pm. No class 3/30, 4/6

Location: Thayer 101, 116-D

Instructor(s): David Jacobson

This course will study novels that turn biblical narratives into modern works of fiction. In each class session, we will first attempt to determine the original meaning of a biblical more »

Beginning Drawing (VISCS01-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 1, 2010 - Apr 19, 2010 on Monday, 7:00-9:00pm. No class 2/22, 3/29

Location: TBD

Instructor(s): Marlene Malik

Drawing from nature, still life, the model, and the imagination in a variety of media. This course is intended to be an experience which cultivates and stretches the capacity for more »

Writing Poetry: Revision Strategies (ENGCS23-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $240.00

When: 6 sessions from Feb 4, 2010 - Mar 11, 2010 on Thursday, 6:30pm-8:30pm.

Location: J. Walter Wilson, room 303

Instructor(s): Catherine Imbriglio

This workshop will provide intermediate and advanced writers with revision strategies for poems already in progress. The goal of the class will be to prepare a group of poems more »

Remembering Slavery at Brown University and in Rhode Island (AMCCS01-2a )

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $300.00

When: 8 sessions from Feb 4, 2010 - Mar 25, 2010 on Thursday, 7:00pm-9:00pm.

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-C

Instructor(s): Lyra Monteiro

The early days of Brown University were, like the whole of Rhode Island, closely tied to the slave trade. Buildings on college green were partially-built by slaves; the Brown family more »

Preparing Prose for Publication (ENGCS02-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 1, 2010 - Apr 19, 2010 on Monday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/22, 3/29

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-E

Instructor(s): Lauren Sarat

This workshop will focus on what's necessary to bring a work to publication. Participants will be invited to polish one short piece of either nonfiction or fiction through in-class more »

The Art of the Blog (ENGCS11-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $240.00

When: 6 sessions from Feb 3, 2010 - Mar 17, 2010 on Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm.

Location: CIT 267

Instructor(s): Darcie Dennigan

In this course, participants will create and launch their own blog. Together, we will look at successful blogs on different themes, and discuss how the writers create an audience, more »

Six Weeks, Six Poems (ENGCS01-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $240.00

When: 6 sessions from Feb 4, 2010 - Mar 18, 2010 on Thursday, 7:00pm-9:00pm.

Location: Thayer 101, 116-D

Instructor(s): Darcie Dennigan

This is a course that gives you time, space, and encouragement to write your poems. We will examine how poems move, look, sound, speak, and sing. We will study a range of poets more »

Chinese 2 (LANCS27-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 2, 2010 - Apr 20, 2010 on Tuesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/23, 3/30

Location: Smith-Buonanno, room G13

Instructor(s): Lung-Hua Hu

This course will teach the standard Chinese language, Mandarin, at a basic level. All four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) will be taught, but the primary focus more »

Arabic 2 (LANCS26-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 3, 2010 - Apr 14, 2010 on Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 3/31

Location: Smith-Buonanno, room G18

Instructor(s): Muhammad el-Sharkawi

For students continuing Arabic study from Arabic 1 or those with prior experience learning Arabic. more »

Spanish 3 (LANCS32-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 3, 2010 - Apr 14, 2010 on Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 3/31

Location: Smith-Buonanno, room 207

Instructor(s): Kyle Matthews

This course is intended to allow students who have completed Spanish 2 in Continuing Studies at Brown and those who are comfortable with their Spanish language skills to practice more »

Spanish 2 (LANCS22-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 1, 2010 - Apr 19, 2010 on Monday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/22, 3/29

Location: Smith-Buonanno, room 207

Instructor(s): José Ramón Ortiz

This is the continuation of the introductory level Spanish course. We will continue to build a basic knowledge of Spanish and cultural understanding through the practice of speaking, more »

Classic Fairy Tales before the Grimms (ENGCS05-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $300.00

When: 8 sessions from Feb 2, 2010 - Apr 6, 2010 on Tuesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/23, 3/30

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-A

Instructor(s): Elisabeth Bell

Long before the Grimm Brothers pinned down the literary fairy tale at the beginning of the 19th century, and before Charles Perrault started the genre in the late 17th century, more »

Robert Coover’s Early Short Stories (ENGCS03-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $300.00

When: 8 sessions from Feb 1, 2010 - Apr 5, 2010 on Monday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/22, 3/29

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-D

Instructor(s): Elisabeth Bell

Robert Coover [1932-], Brown professor and internationally acclaimed writer, will be presented by Elisabeth Ly Bell, who has followed this author's literary productions for 30 more »

A Truth Universally Acknowledged: The Novels of Jane Austen (ENGCS07-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $375.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 3, 2010 - Apr 14, 2010 on Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 3/31

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-C

Instructor(s): Derek Wong

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife”. Austen’s famous introduction to Pride more »

RE: Telling – Making New Narratives with Borrowed Characters, Familiar Settings, and Classic Plots (ENGCS10-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $240.00

When: 6 sessions from Feb 3, 2010 - Mar 10, 2010 on Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm.

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-B

Instructor(s): William Walsh

We are living in an era of repurposed narratives: serial novels recast familiar characters in revolving plotlines; movies are recycled from vintage television programs; and video more »

Why is this Art? (HARCS02-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $375.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 3, 2010 - Apr 14, 2010 on Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 3/31

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-E

Instructor(s): Elena Lledó Macau

“Why is this art?” is a common question among visitors to contemporary art museums and galleries. Although many universities still use the expression of “fine more »

Islamic Art and Architecture (ARCCS01-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $225.00

When: 6 sessions from Feb 2, 2010 - Mar 16, 2010 on Tuesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/23

Location: TBD

Instructor(s): Carolyn Swan

The goal of this course is to introduce the art and architecture from Islamic lands during the medieval period until the beginning of the early modern era (AD 7th-16th centuries). more »

Talking with Your Doctor: Strategies for Patients (BMCCS01-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $150.00

When: 4 sessions from Mar 1, 2010 - Mar 22, 2010 on Monday, 6:00pm-8:00pm.

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-E

Instructor(s): Catherine Dubé

Doctors are taught an extensive skill set to use when to talking with their patients Knowing how doctors are trained will help you become a more effective partner and advocate more »

Social Media and Online Community Building (MEDCS03-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $320.00

When: 8 sessions from Feb 1, 2010 - Apr 5, 2010 on Monday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/22, 3/29

Location: Smith Buonanno, room G-13

Instructor(s): Stephanie Gerson

“Social media” is increasingly the ever-present buzzword, and for good reason: social media like Facebook and Twitter have become integral to communications and community more »

International Environmental Law and Policy: A Primer (WATCS01-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $375.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 4, 2010 - Apr 15, 2010 on Thursday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 4/1

Location: Sayles 014

Instructor(s): Saptarishi Bandopadhyay

This is an introductory course on international environmental law and policy intended for lawyers and non-lawyers alike. Through lectures and class discussions the goal is to provide more »

Making Sense of Science (BMCCS02-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $150.00

When: 4 sessions from Apr 7, 2010 - Apr 28, 2010 on Wednesday, 10:15am-12:15pm.

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-D

Instructor(s): M. Pilar Gil

Are natural products better? Can deodorants cause breast cancer? Do children get too many vaccines? Does heating food in the microwave oven cause cancer? What about the power more »

The Future of Media (MEDCS01-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $300.00

When: 8 sessions from Feb 4, 2010 - Mar 25, 2010 on Thursday, 7:00pm-9:00pm.

Location: J. Walter Wilson, room 301

Instructor(s): Andrew Losowsky

Are newspapers doomed? Will all libraries close? What format will the storytellers of tomorrow choose? Will our grandchildren even know what paper is?

This course will look more »

As America Ages: Implications for Policy and the People (BMCCS03-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $300.00

When: 8 sessions from Feb 1, 2010 - Apr 5, 2010 on Monday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/22, 3/29

Location: TBD

Instructor(s): Stephen Gresham , Jennifer Slattery-Bownds

America’s growing aging demographic has an increasing impact on public entitlement programs and the private business sector, significantly affecting our nation’s finances, more »

Who Wrote the Bible? (RELCS02-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $225.00

When: 6 sessions from Mar 3, 2010 - Apr 14, 2010 on Wednesday, 10:15am-12:15pm. No class 3/31

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-A

Instructor(s): Debra Ballentine

This class will focus on the current scholarly hypotheses regarding the formation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. These five books, known as the Torah, Pentateuch, more »

Constructive Criticism: The Language of the Critic (ENGCS13-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 2, 2010 - Apr 20, 2010 on Tuesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/23, 3/30

Location: Sayles 200

Instructor(s): Nicholas Bredie

As they say, “Everyone’s a critic.” Everyone has opinions, particularly when it comes to cultural and leisure products like food, wine, movies, TV, books, boats more »

Breaking Habits for Fiction Writers (ENGCS12-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $320.00

When: 8 sessions from Feb 3, 2010 - Mar 24, 2010 on Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm.

Location: Smith-Buonanno, room G13

Instructor(s): Brian Conn

Ever get the feeling you're writing the same story over and over again and it's dead? Sometimes we forget that writing should excite us; we put so much energy into refining a more »

The Motivated Brain: Sex, Drugs and Chocolate (MPPCS01-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $150.00

When: 4 sessions from Mar 3, 2010 - Mar 24, 2010 on Wednesday, 1:30pm-3:30pm.

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-D

Instructor(s): Travis Brown

This course will discuss how different rewards (sex, drugs, food, attachment, exercise, love, chocolate, and gambling) are perceived by the brain. The course will cover basic pharmacology more »

U.S. Health Care Reform (BMCCS04-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $375.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 3, 2010 - Apr 14, 2010 on Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 3/31

Location: Sayles 300

Instructor(s): Timothy M. Empkie

Efforts to reform U.S. health care insurance, financing, and organization continue amid significant differences of opinion among policy makers and the population about how to proceed. more »

Divine Intersections: Religion, Environment, and Development (DEVCS01-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $187.50

When: 5 sessions from Feb 4, 2010 - Mar 4, 2010 on Thursday, 7:00pm-9:00pm.

Location: J. Walter Wilson, 302

Instructor(s): Tim Nguyen

The reality of the ecological crisis confronts us from multiple sides. The scale and complexity of the problems and the elusiveness of long-range solutions that the media make more »

Laughing Matters: The Art and Craft of Humor Writing (ENGCS08-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 1, 2010 - Apr 19, 2010 on Monday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/22, 3/29

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-A

Instructor(s): Joe Caliguire

Part workshop, part discussion, this course will cover the 3 P’s: the practical (finding your comic voice), the poetic (arranging the perfect words into the perfect order), more »

Make a Long Story Short: Writing Mini Fiction (ENGCS09-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 2, 2010 - Apr 20, 2010 on Tuesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/23, 3/30

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-E

Instructor(s): Joe Caliguire

A class for fiction writers, poets, and essayists (in fact, all creative writers) who are looking to see how using vivid imagery, precise detail, and a strong narrative voice can more »

Word Perfect: Being Your Own Best Editor (ENGCS06-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $240.00

When: 6 sessions from Feb 3, 2010 - Mar 10, 2010 on Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm.

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-E

Instructor(s): Joe Caliguire

Whether you’re writing an email to your supervisor or a letter to your senator, it is crucial to communicate your ideas in a clear, comprehensible, and audience-friendly more »

Italian 2 (LANCS21-2a )

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 2, 2010 - Apr 20, 2010 on Tuesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/23, 3/30

Location: Smith-Buonanno, room 206

Instructor(s): Chandra Harris

This is the continuation of the introductory level Italian language course. We will continue to build a basic knowledge of Italian through the practice of speaking and listening more »

Russian 1 (LANCS09-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 4, 2010 - Apr 15, 2010 on Thursday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 4/1

Location: Smith-Buonanno, room 207

Instructor(s): Victoria Richter

This course is intended for adults who are not familiar with the Russian language or alphabet. The goal is to introduce the Russian language and culture through Total Physical more »

Italian 4 (LANCS41-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 2, 2010 - Apr 20, 2010 on Tuesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/23, 3/30

Location: Smith-Buonanno, room 207

Instructor(s): Erica Moretti

Italian 4 is the second half of an intermediate sequence. This course allows students who have completed Italian 3 in Continuing Studies at Brown, and those who are comfortable more »

Can Art Change the Future of this Planet? (VISCS02-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $240.00

When: 6 sessions from Feb 4, 2010 - Mar 11, 2010 on Thursday, 7:00pm-9:00pm.

Location: Sayles 200

Instructor(s): Sara Ladds

You are an environmentally conscious person - you tote your own grocery bag, you carry your own coffee mug, you walk or ride your bike as often as you can — and you have more »

Analogue to Digital: An Introduction to Electronic Imaging (MEDCS02-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $320.00

When: 8 sessions from Mar 4, 2010 - Apr 29, 2010 on Thursday, 5:30pm-7:30pm. No class 4/1; Please note new start date

Location: List 512

Instructor(s): Andrew Goodman

Analogue to Digital is an introduction to digital imaging with an emphasis on expanding existing creative skills and interests. The course will cover a broad range of technologies more »

History of Modern China (EASCS01-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $375.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 2, 2010 - Apr 20, 2010 on Tuesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/23, 3/30

Location: Sayles 012

Instructor(s): Shih-Chieh Lo

This course introduces main themes in the history of modern China thorough an examination of political, social, economic, and cultural development of China since 1800 with emphasis more »

Buddhism and Philosophy (PHICS01-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $225.00

When: 6 sessions from Mar 2, 2010 - Apr 13, 2010 on Tuesday, 1:30pm-3:30pm. No class 3/30

Location: TBD

Instructor(s): Nicolas Bommarito

More than 2000 years ago a north Indian prince renounced his royal life to seek an end to suffering. The subsequent development of his ideas has resulted in one of the most varied more »

Environmental Conservation in Rhode Island (ENVCS01-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $375.00

When: 10 sessions from Mar 3, 2010 - May 12, 2010 on Wednesday, 1:30pm-3:30pm. No class 3/31

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-D

Instructor(s): Adam Kovarsky

This class offers a unique opportunity to learn more about your planet through a learning experience with global implications. If you are interested in the environment, concerned more »

German 2 (LANCS23-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $400.00

When: 9 sessions from Feb 1, 2010 - Apr 19, 2010 on Monday, 7:00pm-9:15pm. No class 2/15, 2/22, 3/29

Location: J. Walter Wilson, room 501

Instructor(s): Elke Breker

This course is a continuation of the introductory level German 1 course (chapters 1-6). It is geared toward learners with some previous German language experience - basic tenses, more »

French 2 (LANCS28-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 1, 2010 - Apr 19, 2010 on Monday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/22, 3/29

Location: CIT, room 201

Instructor(s): Andrew Ross

This is the continuation of the introductory level French language course. We will continue to build a basic knowledge of French through the practice of speaking and listening more »

Coffee, Culture, and the Politics of Globalization (AMCCS02-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $75.00

When: 2 sessions from Feb 3, 2010 - Feb 10, 2010 on Wednesday, 7:00pm - 9:00pm.

Location: TBD

Instructor(s): Eric Larson

Few products reflect the economic and cultural globalization of the last two decades the way coffee does. This course considers coffee in light of the massive changes of the Internet more »

Italian-American Directors: Scorsese, Coppola, De Palma (ENGCS14-2a)

Course Status: Open

Fee: $225.00

When: 6 sessions from Mar 1, 2010 - Apr 12, 2010 on Monday, 1:30pm - 3:30pm.

Location: Thayer 101, room 116-D

Instructor(s): Joe Caliguire

In this course we will study the work of directors in the Italian tradition who have struggled with the tension between the ethical and esthetic conceptions of their art. We will more »

Colloquial – Levantine Arabic (LANCS07-2a)

Course Status: Closed

Fee: $400.00

When: 10 sessions from Feb 2, 2010 - Apr 20, 2010 on Tuesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm. No class 2/23, 3/30

Location: Sayles, room 105

Instructor(s): Ghada Abdelqader

The aim of this course is to learn to have a basic conversation using the Colloquial Arabic language, which is spoken in the Levantine countries: Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and more »