The history of Western Culture has seen some of its darkest and brightest hours in the twentieth century with the rise and defeat of fascism, the Holocaust, the Spanish Civil War, the whirlwind of cultural activities during the German Weimar Republic, the collapse of Communism. The United States, meanwhile, observed European developments at first and then intervened. This course is going to study and analyze the intersections of social, political and religious ideologies in Western Culture by looking especially at the second half of the 20^th century through the lens of history and film. We will study the role of Europe after the end of Perestroica and how the fall of the Berlin Wall affected global economic and socio-cultural movements.

The Exploration of Medieval Realism

 Why do medieval ideas still hold so much interest 600 years later?

 How does the Society for Creative Anachronism and Harry Potter relate to the Knights Templar (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici)?

 This course explores such themes as the legends of King Arthur, magic and witchcraft, and the codes of chivalry. After situating these themes in their historical context, we will engage with books (The Name of the Rose) and with modern media; films (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, etc.), television, anime, and manga. There will be field trips to New York City (The Cloisters) and a medieval faire.

This course focuses on religion and politics in the Middle East. It examines the evolution of the world’s major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In addition, it analyzes the historical and cultural factors that shaped the politics and geography of the region. Colonialism, Arab nationalism, religious fundamentalism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and foreign policy behavior of regional actors will be discussed.

Environment, History and Society in the East and West: Malaysia and Central America

This course adopts an innovative approach to teaching world cultures in the context of modern world history, from the 1800s to our new millennium.  Though not intuitively paired, the countries of Central America (particularly Guatemala and Costa Rica) and Malaysia provide a novel opportunity for comparison in terms of the global issues of colonial and post-colonial history, environment and natural resource management, religion, gender, poverty, export and tourism economies, the role of indigenous peoples and minorities as national citizens—issues commonly wrapped up in the term “globalization.” Class format includes lectures, class exercises, discussion, group work, multimedia exploration and guest speakers: we expect active participation from the students.  A class Website adds to the written and visual materials.

The course arose out of discussions between the faculty members about our mutual concerns based on long-term relationships with Malaysia (Dr. Bowman) and Central America (Dr. Adams).  Dr. Bowman has lived in Malaysia, traveled in Malaysia, taught at a Malaysian university as a Fulbright scholar and taken CCSU students on a Study Abroad course to Malaysia.   Dr. Adams, similarly, has lived, worked and taught U.S. students in Central America for over two decades, including as a Fulbright scholar.