Courses

Architecture 4183-001 / 5183-001 – SURVEY OF MIDDLE EASTERN ARCHITECTURE. Khosrow Bozorgi. Survey of Middle Eastern architecture and the impact architects and architecture from this time and region had upon the advancement of environmental/urban design throughout the rest of history.

Art History 3303-025 – RENAISSANCE ART IN ITALY. Kirk Duclaux. Focuses on Renaissance art and architecture in Italy from a social and cultural framework, beginning in the 1200's and ending around 1580. Taught on OU's campus in Arezzo, Italy.

Art History 4373-001 / 5373-001 – ITALIAN CITY: RENAISSANCE / BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE. Allison Palmer. Architecture and urban planning of Italy from about 1300-1700. Emphasis on the growth of the city and how new forms of social interaction affected the development of architecture and the urban setting.

Drama 3713-001 and 3713-002 – HISTORY OF THE THEATRE I. Jennifer M. Ezell. Acquaints the student with the development of drama, theatre and production procedures through the ages from 500 B.C. to 1780.

Drama 3713-300 and 3713-303 – HISTORY OF THE THEATRE I. Thomas Pender. Acquaints the student with the development of drama, theatre and production procedures through the ages from 500 B.C. to 1780.

English 2543-001 – ENGLISH LITERATURE FROM 1375 TO 1700. Jason Lubinski. A survey of major writers and literary movements from Chaucer through Dryden.

English 3523-001 – Sixteenth-Century English Literature. Joseph Mansky. Intensive study of some of the major literary works of sixteenth-century England with attention to the relation between the literature and its social, intellectual and cultural contexts. Readings will include works in various genres by such writers as Spenser, Sidney, Shakespeare, Marlowe, More.

English G4523-001 – SHAKESPEARE COMEDIES. Joseph Mansky. Close reading and analysis of Shakespeare's comedies and histories. Selected criticism, 1600 to the present. Historical background and Shakespeare's theatre. Dramatic traditions, movie interpretations, performance theory and acting. Emphases and reading lists vary from year to year.

French G4153-001 – SURVEY OF FRENCH LITERATURE TO 1800. Michael Winston. Reading and discussion of major French works and their background from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution.

History 3113-001 – THE CRUSADES. Roberta Magnusson. Covers crusades to the Holy Land and Europe against Moors, pagans, heretics, and enemies of the Pope. Topics include crusade ideology, relations between Latins, Byzantines, Jews and Muslims, crusader states, techniques of warfare, and the experience of crusading.

History 3143-001 – THE ERA OF THE REFORMATION. Jane Wickersham. An analysis of the forces leading to the religious upheaval in the sixteenth century and the spread of Protestantism in Northern European countries; the Catholic Reformation or Reaction; Thirty Years War; and the relation of the Reformation Era to medieval and modern civilization.

History 3973-001 – JUDAISM: A RELIGIOUS HISTORY. Alan Levenson. Introductory survey of Judaism from its earliest origins in the ancient Near East to the present. Development of ideas, forms of worship, and religious expression as well as sectarian trends and variations will be examined

History 5110-006 – THE EVOLUTION OF MARTYRDOM. Shmuel Shepkaru. Independent study, arranged between the professor and student, in the history of Europe.

History 5110-010 – THE RENAISSANCE. Jane Wickersham.  Independent study, arranged between the professor and student, in the history of Europe.

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 3013-003 – THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE TO NEWTON. Rienk Vermij. A survey of Western people's efforts to understand the natural world, from earliest historical times to the seventeenth century.

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 3453-001 – Science and Civilization in Islam. Younes Mahdavi. History of scientific traditions and ideas in Islamic civilization, from the origins of Islam to the early modern period. Emphasis is on the derivation, development and transmission of Islamic science, as well as on the assimilation and influence of science within Islamic culture.

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 5523-001 – Renaissance and Early Modern Science. Peter Barker. Advanced studies in the history of Renaissance and Early Modern science. May be repeated with change of content; maximum credit 12 hours. Thematic historical analyses of scientific ideas and practices in the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment, 16th-18th centuries. Includes examination of sources and critical assessment of scholarly Interpretations.

Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 3313-001 – INTRODUCTION TO ITALIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE. Roberto Pesce. Interdisciplinary approach to literature, culture, and history of the Italian peninsula, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Through major works of literature, political science, the visual arts, music, and cinema, students will set Italy's variegated literary and cultural expressions in their social and historical contexts.

Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 3413-001 – ARABIC LITERATURE AND CULTURE. Waleed Mahdi. A survey of Arabic literature tradition and cultural history from the 4th century to the present. Covers themes and genres of the cultural heritage of Arabic-Islamic civilization, continuities and discontinuities between the classical and modern period, and background political and social changes.

Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 3623-001 – PRE-MODERN JAPANESE LITERATURE. Joshua Frydman. A survey of Japanese literature from ancient time to the Meiji restoration. Covers prominent works of poetry and prose in English translation. Students are introduced to traditional genres, themes, rhetorical device and aesthetics, as well as socio-historical context of literary production.

Musicology 2313 and 002 – ANCIENT TIMES TO 1700. Jennifer Saltzstein. A study of the development of music from its inception to the late Baroque era conducted through lectures, readings, listening and analysis.

Philosophy 3423-001 – Ancient and Medieval Religious Philosophy. Neal Judisch. Covers the history of religious philosophy in the West from ancient Greece until the 16th century. Major figures studied include Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Plotinus, Augustine, Boethius, Anselm, Maimonides, Aquinas, Averroes, Scotus, Ockham, and the Reformers.

Spanish 4083-001 – LITERATURE AND CULTURE OF SPAIN. Bruce Boggs.  Introduces the literature and culture of Spain. It covers canonical texts from the Early to the Early Modern Period. It also emphasizes culture throughout its rich history. Like all other courses in Spanish, it emphasizes as well all four language skills (hearing, speaking, reading, and writing) and culture.

Spanish 4713-001 / 5713-001 – HISTORY OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE. Luis Cortest. As an introduction to historical Spanish Linguistics, the basic patterns of the evolution of Modern Spanish from Vulgar Latin, as shown in several major literary texts will be learned. Provides an understanding of how the Modern Spanish sound system evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Iberian Peninsula. Emphasizes as well all four language skills (hearing, speaking, reading, and writing) and culture.

Spanish 5353-001 – RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE DRAMA. A. Lauer. The theatre of the Spanish siglo de oro. Works by Lope de Vega, Ruiz de Alarcón, Tirson de Molina, Calderón de la Barca, and others. Comedia theory and special topics such as kingship, honor, God.

Art History 3263-001—Byzantine Art and Architecture. Instructor TBD. A survey of Byzantine monuments from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 CE to its fall in 1453.

Art History 3303-001—Renaissance Art in Italy. Allison Palmer. Focuses on Renaissance art and architecture in Italy from a social and cultural framework, beginning in the 1200's and ending around 1580.

Art History 3303-025—Renaissance Art in Italy. Kirk Duclaux. This course is offered as part of OU Arezzo. Meets at OUA, Arezzo, Italy. Contact Education Abroad for additional details.

Classics and Letters 3510-004—Syrian Christianity from Jesus to Refugees. Scott Johnson. This course will introduce students to the fascinating history of Syrian Christianity, a “lost” (or at least unknown) Christian tradition for most Westerners. From the Roman Empire, to Persia, Africa, Central Asia, and even China, this class explores the expansion of Christianity towards the East. There, Christians encountered new empires and new religions for the first time, such as Buddhism. We will study their history from a number of angles: language,
literature, art, theology, mysticism, and politics. We will relate it to medieval Christianity more generally and to the rise of of Islam. The course will also examine how Christian minorities have found themselves persecuted in the 21st century and what their future may hold.

Drama 2523-001—Performing Shakespeare. Judith Pender. Designed to develop the actor's skill through the intensive study and performance of scenes and monologues from Shakespeare and other verse drama. Emphasis will be placed upon handling language with believable and appropriate characterization.

Drama 2523-001—Performing Shakespeare. Alissa Mortimer. Designed to develop the actor's skill through the intensive study and performance of scenes and monologues from Shakespeare and other verse drama. Emphasis will be placed upon handling language with believable and appropriate characterization.

Drama 3713-001 & 3713-002—History of the Theatre I. Jennifer M. Ezell. Acquaints the student with the development of drama, theatre and production procedures through the ages from 500 B.C. to 1780.

Drama 3713-300—History of the Theatre I. Thomas Pender. Acquaints the student with the development of drama, theatre and production procedures through the ages from 500 B.C. to 1780. This is an internet course supervised through the Independent campus of the University of Oklahoma.

English G4533-001—Shakespeare Tragedies. Karen Feiner. Amidst the ghosts, regicide, suicide, and creepy familial relationships, perhaps one of the most haunting aspects of Shakespeare's tragedies are the very real and very relatable human experiences that lay the foundation. Let's delve into the humanity amongst the tragedy. We will be writing beyond the classroom and the grade and towards potential publication over the course of the semester.

English G4593-001—Monsters and Heroes: Anglo-Saxon Literature in Translation. Joyce Coleman. Anglo-Saxon poetry is full of darkness: loss, exile, angst, monsters, death. As in Bede's famous simile, man is like a swallow flying in one door of a banqueting hall and out the other: from darkness into a brief moment of warmth and light, and out again into darkness.
      In service of this vision, the Anglo-Saxons produced a body of amazingly spare, imagistic verse that has lost none of its resonance over the centuries. The contemporary reader is both surprised by the seemingly modern sensibility and seduced by the many echoes of obscure and ancient legend. Indeed, through the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien--whose day job was teaching Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University--that ethos has fascinated millions of contemporary readers and viewers.
      The course will read the shorter poems and Beowulf, in translation, while simultaneously exploring the uniquely Anglo-Saxon mergers of paganism and Christianity, oral tradition and manuscript culture, history and legend. Scholarly essays, including a major chapter by Tolkien, will give depth and context to our discussions.  

German G4313-001—Culture and Literature I. Joseph Sullivan. From the beginnings until the end of the seventeenth century. A survey of literature, art, religion, social relations, music and history

History 1113-001—History of Medieval Europe. Roberta Magnusson. History of Europe from the fall of Rome to the end of the 15th century. Emphasis on the development of social structures and culture forms, and the sociocultural background of political and religious developments.

History 3053-001—Medieval Italy. Roberta Magnusson. A survey of Italy from circa 400-1350 CE, emphasizing the mix of Roman, Christian, and barbarian traditions, relations between the church and empire, and the role of cities and commerce.

History 3733-001—History of Heaven and Hell. Shmuel Shepkaru. Traces the evolution of the concept of the afterlife, eternal reward and punishment in Judaism and Christianity from late Antiquity to the high Middle Ages.

History 3773-001—Jews and Christians in the Middle Ages. Shmuel Shepkaru. Traces the development of the relationship between the Jewish minority and the Christian majority in medieval Europe, from the fifth century to the early modern period. Discusses how Jews and Christians dealt with and imagined each other.

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 3013-001—History of Science to Newton. Rienk Vermij. A survey of Western people's efforts to understand the natural world, from earliest historical times to the seventeenth century.

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 3013-002—History of Science to Newton. Peter Barker. A survey of Western people's efforts to understand the natural world, from earliest historical times to the seventeenth century.

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 3833-001—The Scientific Revolution. Rienk Vermij. Explores the history of the "scientific revolution" of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Study includes understanding debates not just about what happened in the past but about how we today define science and how we understand the place of science in the modern world.

International Area Studies IAS 5483-999—Minorities in the Middle East. Gershon Lewental. This course will discover the Middle East's heterogeneity by examining the experiences and changing positions of minorities since the rise of Islam. Specific topics will include the non-Muslims in classical Islamic and Ottoman societies, the rise of nationalism, Kurds and other Muslim ethnic minorities, Jews, Druzis and other heterodox Muslim minorities, Middle Eastern Christians, and the Baha'is.

Letters 3123-001—The Examined Life II: Middle Ages and Renaissance. Rebecca Huskey. Survey of the great books of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, with emphasis on the impact of these texts on modern thought.

Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 3303-001—The World of Dante. Roberto Pesce. In this course students will engage in a close reading of a fundamental text in the western literary tradition: Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. The course will also consider one of Dante's minor works, the Vita Nuova, as well as the modern critical readings of Dante's writing and thought. In lectures, special attention will be paid to the historical, political, literary and intellectual context of Dante's poetry and thought.

Spanish 4083-001—Literature and Culture of Spain. A. Robert Lauer. This course covers the main genres and authors of Spain throughout its history, from the Renaissance to the modern period. The representative authors are Miguel de Cervantes (short novels by the inventor of the modern novel), Pedro Calderón de la Barca (the Spanish Shakespeare and Spain’s foremost dramatist), María de Zayas (Spain’s primary feminist woman writer), Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (Romantic poet [the Spanish Heinrich Heine] and short story writer), and Benito Pérez Galdós (the Spanish Charles Dickens). All major periods are represented: The Renaissance (romance ballads), the Baroque (a play and some short stories), Romanticism (poetry and short stories), and Realism/Naturalism (a short novel).

Spanish 5603-001 – Renaissance & Baroque Prose. A. Robert Lauer. This course provides a solid foundation on Hispanic Renaissance and Baroque prose. It also furnishes an inductive theory of the novel, using exemplars from the many “fluid” genres of Early Modern (Golden Age) Spain, namely, the picaresque or Spanish novel in its multiform varieties, the Byzantine or Greek-style adventure romance, the Italianate or courtly psychological story, and the didactic aphoristic book of prudence and manners. Major canonical works by foremost Hispanic authors will be analyzed, among them the Novelas ejemplares of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, inventor of the modern novel; Guzmán de Alfarache, by Mateo Alemán, the major architect of the picaresque narrative in Spain; the Oráculo manual of the Jesuit worldly thinker Baltasar Gracián; and the Novelas amorosas y ejemplares and the Desengaños amorosos of the foremost woman author of 17th-century Spain, María de Zayas y Sotomayor, masterful engineer of the fiction of circumstance.

To find out when and and where courses are being taught, click here.

Art History 3303 – RENAISSANCE ART IN ITALY. Kirk Duclaux. Focuses on Renaissance art and architecture in Italy from a social and cultural framework, beginning in the 1200's and ending around 1580. Taught on OU's campus in Arezzo, Italy.

Art History 3403 – BAROQUE ART & ARCHITECTURE IN EUROPE. Allison Palmer. Covers art and architecture in Europe in the seventeenth century, during the time period called the Baroque.

Drama 3713 – HISTORY OF THE THEATRE I. Jennifer Ezell, sects. 001-002; Thomas Pender, sects. 300-303. Acquaints the student with the development of drama, theatre and production procedures through the ages from 500 B.C. to 1780.

English 2543 – ENGLISH LITERATURE FROM 1375 TO 1700. Jason Lubinski. This course surveys English literature from the Middle Ages to the end of the seventeenth century—from Old English epic to Restoration poetry. As we move across nearly one thousand years of literary history, we will track a set of common themes (including heroism and villainy, love and desire, religious ritual, politics and violence, social critique, identity and otherness) and genres (epic, lyric, satire, tragedy), as well as the evolution of the English language itself. Each text will offer us a window into worlds impossibly distant yet unsettlingly familiar. Throughout the course, we will seek to understand the texts themselves, the periods in which they were written, and their place in the development of English literature.

English 4523 – SHAKESPEARE COMEDIES. Karen Feiner. Close reading and analysis of Shakespeare's comedies and histories. Selected criticism, 1600 to the present. Historical background and Shakespeare's theatre. Dramatic traditions, movie interpretations, performance theory and acting. Emphases and reading lists vary from year to year.

English 4970/5513 – CHAUCER AND THE 14^th CENTURY. Joyce Coleman. This course will explore the period and the poet that created English literature. Geoffrey Chaucer liked to write himself into his fictions as an innocent stumbling around the language—but he was a brilliant, subtle writer: a linguistic innovator, a master of form, and a penetrating student of human nature. The course will place Chaucer and his achievements within the context of the literary system of his time and the other writers of the period.

French G4153 – SURVEY OF FRENCH LITERATURE TO 1800. Logan Whalen. Reading and discussion of major French works and their background from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution.

French 4313 – FROM LASCAUX TO LA TERREUR. Michael Winston. The political and social background of French literature from its beginning to the French revolution.

History 3113 – THE CRUSADES.. Roberta Magnusson. Covers crusades to the Holy Land and Europe against Moors, pagans, heretics, and enemies of the Pope. Topics include crusade ideology, relations between Latins, Byzantines, Jews and Muslims, crusader states, techniques of warfare, and the experience of crusading.

History 3993 – THE EVOLUTION OF MARTYRDOM. Shmuel Shepkaru. Traces the historical development of martyrdom in Judaism and Christianity to understand what motivated individuals and communities to give up their lives for their convictions. Compare the evolution of the idea of martyrdom in Judaism and Christianity to identify differences and similarities between these two faiths.

History of Science 3013 – HISTORY OF SCIENCE TO NEWTON. Peter Barker, sects. 102 and 103; Rienk Vermij, sect. 003. A survey of Western people's efforts to understand the natural world, from earliest historical times to the seventeenth century.

History of Science 3453 – SCIENCE AND CIVILIZATION IN ISLAM. Younes Mahdavi. History of scientific traditions and ideas in Islamic civilization, from the origins of Islam to the early modern period. Emphasis is on the derivation, development and transmission of Islamic science, as well as on the assimilation and influence of science within Islamic culture.

History of Science 5513 – ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL SCIENCE. Kathleen Crowther. Thematic historical analyses of ancient and/or medieval foundations of science, focusing on the development of particular disciplines or scientific institutions, the relationship between science and religion, or transmission of science. Includes examination of sources and critical assessment of scholarly interpretations.

MLLL 3313 – INTRODUCTION TO ITALIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE. Roberto Pesce. Interdisciplinary approach to literature, culture, and history of the Italian peninsula, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Through major works of literature, political science, the visual arts, music, and cinema, students will set Italy's variegated literary and cultural expressions in their social and historical contexts.

MLLL 3623 – PRE-MODERN JAPANESE LITERATURE. Joshua Frydman. A survey of Japanese literature from ancient time to the Meiji restoration. Covers prominent works of poetry and prose in English translation. Students are introduced to traditional genres, themes, rhetorical device and aesthetics, as well as socio-historical context of literary production.

MLLL 4063 – EARLY LITERARY CRITICISM. A. Lauer. An introduction to the main critical ideas of the West (from Plato onward), with special emphasis on Plato and Aristotle; Greek and Latin Rhetoric (Aristotle, Cicero); the Middle Ages (St. Augustine, Boethius, St. Thomas Aquinas); Italian Renaissance Humanism (Boccaccio, Castelvetro, Mazzoni, Tasso); French Baroque (Corneille); German Idealism (Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer) and Vitalism (Nietzsche, Freud); French Naturalism (Taine, Zola), German Materialism (Marx, Engels); and Anglo-Irish Modernism (Oscar Wilde). This course attempts to establish a solid critical foundation on aesthetics that would enable advanced undergraduates (Junior standing) and graduate students to deal with fundamental ideas—aesthetic and social—developed later by post-Enlightenment thinkers. The emphasis on Greek and Latin rhetoric during the fourth part of the semester will enable students to write strategically and to develop effective (verbal, tonal, and non-verbal) communicative skills. Rhetoric also fosters moral character.

Music 2313 – ANCIENT TIMES TO 1700. Jennifer Saltzstein, sects. 001 and 002. A study of the development of music from its inception to the late Baroque era conducted through lectures, readings, listening and analysis.